Navi Mumbai kids conquer Everest Base Camp

Even as most parents prefer keeping their kids occupied with gaming gadgets and smartphones a Navi Mumbaibased trekker couple decided to acquaint their two children with the perilous Himalayas The risks notwithstanding their kids Ayanna 9 and Shreerang 6 have achieved a feat only a few their age could have scriptedLast month the duo along with their parents Vishwanath and Suchitra Mane climbed 17598 feet to reach the Everest Base Camp in Nepal arguably becoming the youngest sibling pair from Mumbai to do so The trek spanned 16 days and involved climbing around 10 to 12 km dailyShreerang 6 proudly holds the Indian flag after reaching Everest Base CampFamily of trekkersBoth Vishwanath who works as an engineer with the BMC and his wife Suchitra are avid trekkers The couple from Airoli has together climbed several ranges across the state and India In August the duo decided to get their children who study at the New Horizon Scholars School in Navi Mumbai to join them But instead of opting for a less arduous climb the Manes took the toughest path possible mdash the Everest Base Camp the worlds highest base camp below Mt Everest in Nepal My aim was to introduce my kids to nature but by doing things differently Climbing higher altitudes is not an easy task One has to face several challenges including oxygen depletion breathlessness and acute mountain sickness said VishwanathAt their age most children are occupied with some gadget or the other I wanted my kids to channelise their energies towards something more real he addedAyanna Shreerang with their parentsGearing up for the trekVishwanath said that after they broke the news to the children they could not contain their excitement and were more than willing to put themselves to the test In order to prepare them for the tough climb ahead the parents got the kids into the habit of walking every day For three months we walked around 4 to 5 km every morning carrying 5 kg of baggage each We also got them to stop taking the lift and climb up and down the stairs of our building Before leaving for the base camp the couple took their children to Leh in Jammu and Kashmir for a week to acclimatise them with the extreme climate conditions The family then joined a group of 21 others to climb up to the base camp They started their journey at Phakding a small village in the Khumbu region of Nepal and then went to Namche Bazar and Gorak Shep before reaching the base campThe Mane family at the Everest Base CampThe trekkers from other parts of the country and world were quite fascinated to see Shreerang and Ayanna join us said SuchitraRecalling the experience Suchitra added At higher altitudes we were supposed to drink a lot of water even if not thirsty Also as we went higher the temperature dropped from 10 degrees Celsius to 3 degree making the climb very difficult However despite a few hiccups the children took on the mountains effortlessly Except for predictable problems like headache due to altitude sickness and breathing there were absolutely no complaints from them They made it look so easy for the rest of us Suchitra addedWhen midday spoke with Shreerang he was excited about his recent trek I enjoyed the adventure and would love to go for such trips again he said Ayanna echoed similar sentimentsAyanna 9 at the base campCommendable climbExperts have appreciated the siblings rare feat Anusha Subramanian a trained and certified mountain guide and founder of Bohemian Adventures said that while there was no way of verifying whether the duo is the first sibling pair from Mumbai to complete the climb she hasnt heard of anyone else their age accomplish such a task before We dont have a body that monitors such achievements so its hard to say But its possible that they could be the youngest She added Nothing excites and makes kids learn more effectively than being able to use their five senses Trekking is a great way to introduce them to nature and helps children increase their awareness of their own skills and abilities improve confidence and selfbelief in their own abilities