Two years ago, TW+ reported that Captain Ankur Bahl, a former master and then shipbroker, was determined to become the only seafarer to have conquered the highest mountain on each of the world's seven continents.
He has now completed his self-set challenge by scaling Carstensz Pyramid (Puncak Jaya) in Papua province, Indonesia, which is considered to be the highest peak in Oceania.
The ascent is said to be the most technical of the seven summits, involving slopes of between 60 degrees and 80 degrees, some rock climbing and a Tyrolean traverse. There is even an option for a tightrope walk and gaps where “one has to climb down a few feet and jump across a chasm, albeit with gaps of only about four to five feet”.
And, according to Bahl, that is not even the most difficult part.
“I think the toughest is waiting for the helicopter," he said. "We had to hang around at Timika for nine days for the weather to clear up.”
It is then a flight to base camp at 4,300 metres and a one-day climb to the summit at 4,884 metres and back.
“When we finally got to the base camp, we started climbing within the hour and came back later in the afternoon, which meant an altitude gain of nearly 5,000 metres in one day, which was taking a bit of a chance,” he said.
He added that they got away with little worse than a headache.
But he is not done yet. He has set his sights on the explorers’ grand slam, which involves skiing the last degree of latitude leading up to the North Pole and South Pole in addition to completing the summits. He did Antarctica in January and may do the Arctic next spring.
Bahl, who sailed for 18 years and spent 20 years as a shipbroker in family firm Globus Marine Services, believes he was the first former master to climb Everest and is the oldest Indian, at 57, to complete the seven summits. His wife, Sangeeta, 53, has got the climbing bug too, this year becoming the oldest Indian woman to conquer Everest.
Bahl says that he wants to continue climbing, perhaps attempting Kanchenjunga, the third-highest mountain in the world. He may also tackle a few other 8,000-metre peaks, including Lhotse, when time allows.
