Born and brought up in UK, Kamal Kaur is now settled in Delhi. Apart from summiting Everest in May 2019, she has conquered Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru (Africa), Aconcagua (South America), Elbrus (Russia) and Denali (North America). She has also successfully tackled 10 high altitude mountains, including Machu Pichu and Mount Misti (South America), Cho Oyo (Tibet) and Ama Dablam (Nepal).
Excerpts:
Tell us about your Mount Everest expedition.
I summited on May 23, 2019. It was full of joy, fun, laughter, tears, tragedy, betrayal and overwhelming emotions. I sustained multiple injuries and frostbite on my hands and feet. I was left on my own without oxygen after my Sherpa fell sick, and my aftercare led me to a six month recovery period. During this period, I learned a lot about myself, my strength, the faith in hope and the universe. I strongly feel my mother’s presence and protection of the mountains helped led me back to the base. I still can’t believe I did it. This euphoric enlightening experience is indescribable.
You are now aiming for Kanchenjunga and Makalu...
Yes. It’s a calling from my heart and soul. I love expeditions. I have a deep connection with the mountains. I feel they call me.
What the pre-requisites and skills required to climb mountains?
Determination, awareness of your mental strength, endurance, and physical fitness. I train differently every day. From endurance on a rower, hike with a heavy backpack or bike, strength and conditioning training, swimming, tennis, CrossFit, and yoga, pranayama and meditation. In all, I spend up to six hours training five days a week. When I train for a climb, the intensity changes and then I also do fasted training (training after not having eaten for several hours), guided by a coach.
How did you get interested in mountaineering?
While growing up (in the UK), I always said yes to any sporting event, especially outdoors. Once, someone asked me to do a challenge for a charity called Help for Hero’s. I did that. Then Firefighters Charity asked if I would climb Kilimanjaro. I did that too. That set the way.
Isn’t mountaineering an expensive proposition?
Yes. I’ve had to sustain multiple jobs and work to save money for it. Everest was the only one that I had sponsorship for, through friends. It’s hard to fund these expeditions myself. I’ll be working on getting grants and funds for future trips once we sort the world out by helping each other get through these tough times.
How are the mountaineering training facilities in India vis-à-vis the UK?
It’s super hard to get my head at the ‘not walking everywhere’ attitude. I walk minimum 10-12kms on a normal day just to the shops and back. Food is different, training facilities and yoga studios are slightly challenging here. But I can’t compare. Every country is different and I still need to figure getting the miles in. Obviously the UK was a lot better because I had a solid routine, friends, and community, I trained with. Now I have found Create CrossFit in Lajpat Nagar, Delhi, run by two inspirational guys Nakul and Akash (proud to say my coach!) that has been my saving grace. To be honest, I almost felt like heading back to the UK till I found them.