In September this year, Anusha Subramanian aims to lead a team of seven, including two persons with disabilities, to the top of Africa’s highest mountain, Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. But before she has even begun the climb, she is facing an uphill struggle.
For Ms. Subramanian, a journalist and seasoned mountaineer, the height is not daunting: the dormant volcano, at 5,895 m (20,000 feet), is classified as an extreme altitude mountain trek, and not very technically demanding. Taking disabled people along isn’t worrying either: she believes passionately in inclusive adventure, and has already learnt that disability isn’t a disqualifier, it just needs to be accounted for. What does seem insurmountable at the moment is the finance.
“In climbing, at least you are aware that it is going to be tough,” she says, but with fundraising, “even ₹100 does not come easily.” So far, she has been unable to find sponsors for the ₹21,75,000 cost of the expedition. Emails to at least 20 companies have gone unanswered; even appeals via friends have been ignored. “I don’t think brands and corporates understand anything beyond cricket and Bollywood celebrity endorsements.” For the first time since she quit full-time journalism in 2013, Ms. Subramanian will use the skills she learnt as a reporter: “Do not leave the reception till they meet you.” And the resilience climbing has taught her: “I used to hesitate to ask for money. I do not feel ashamed any more.”
Adventure for a cause
Ms. Subramanian started SummitingForHope in 2013 to “give back to the adventure community” and committed to one large expedition for a cause every year. In 2014, she set up flood-relief camps in Kashmir, in 2015, she coordinated relief efforts after the Nepal earthquake, and in October 2017, she trained and led six novices and a BBC filming crew on a trek to Everest Base Camp.
In 2016, her organisation tied up with Adventure Beyond Barriers Foundation (ABBF), which promotes adventure sports for persons with disability and able-bodied people together. In 2017, she participated in ABBF’s first inclusive Manali-Khardungla tandem cycling expedition, which raised around ₹1.55 lakh to help persons with disabilities who could not afford to pay to join the expedition. She plans to crowdsource ₹5 lakh for ABBF to take persons with disability from underprivileged backgrounds on a trek in the Himalayas.
For the 2018 adventure, she chose Kilimanjaro for the first-ever inclusive climb by Indians, as it is “challenging yet doable.” The eight-day trip, from September 8 to 15, will cost around ₹1.75 lakh per person.
The team includes two blind people, three sighted certified guides from India, a cameraperson, and a director who will also shoot.
Omkar Potdar, director of reality shows such as Fear Factor and I Can You Can, will film the climbers’ progress; their videos will go up on ABBF’S YouTube channel, and be shared via social networks. “I have always loved the mountains,” he says, “and I have always wondered how people with disability would climb them.” He got some of his answers when he shot Divyanshu Ganatra for a series on Discovery Channel recently. (Mr. Ganatra, ABBF’s founder and India’s first blind qualified paragliding pilot, will also be doing the Kilimanjaro climb.) Mr. Potdar says he will do the trip whether or not there’s enough sponsorship. “I don’t want to let go of such an opportunity.”
Prasad Gurav (44), an IT consultant from Pune, loved trekking as a young man, but when he lost his eyesight to retinitis pigmentosa, he also lost his confidence. It took 12 years and lots encouragement from his wife for him to start again. Since then he has climbed Stok Kangri (6,000 m) in Ladakh, and trekked Markha Valley (5181m) and the Pindari Glacier (7,816 m). In 2017, he rode in ABBF’s tandem cycling ride in Ladakh. He is practising to be a triathlete. “I want to raise my ability each year.” Kilimanjaro will be special because it’s his first international trek.
“As a concept [inclusive adventure] isn’t new,” Mr. Gurav says. “But it’s only now that it’s being done at an organised level. The shift is from an individual thirst for adventure to a larger cause.” That cause: getting the world to see disabled people beyond the stereotypes. “When they see a reference point, it acts as an anchor. We are the first movers in that sense.” He remembers that in the Stok Kangri, it took his guide a while to get used to the fact that he could climb.
For Karn Kowshik (36), climate change explorer and certified mountain guide, the trip is about sharing his love for the mountains. No one teaches you how to trek with the differently-abled, he says. “Sensitivity is important. That is something we are working on.” He knows he isn’t leading a disabled partner; they are “building a partnership,” connected by more than the rope. “What happens to one happens to the other. It’s sacred.”
Personal heights
Climbing, says Ms. Subramanian, is about reaching for a higher personal achievement. She knows what it’s like to deal with a disability: she is a chronic asthmatic for whom every climb is a challenge. “Companies are always telling me that I am going at my own risk, asking me if I can take care of myself.”
But that won’t stop her taking as many people to the mountains as she can. Now, if only those sponsors show up. She has been told women’s empowerment and girl-child education were more ‘popular’ causes to fund. “Maybe it’s because we only have stories of achievements to showcase,” she says. “There are no sob stories.”
Mr. Ganatra says he too has had little success with funding. “In India, they ask you, ‘Why should we pay for your vacation?’ Try climbing 5,000 metres; it’s not really a vacation.” It’s fun, yes, but also about creating opportunity. And transformation: after trips like this, participants talk about ability not disability; they go back and build inclusive worlds, live a life of empathy. “Climbing your own Kilimanjaro and having a conversation around it is important.”