The man and the mountain: This Kargil war veteran scaled Mt Everest with a powerful mind and a prosthetic leg

The wind, at 120 km/h, was a wailing beast. The road ahead, if you can call a wall of ice that, would have posed a challenge for any mountaineer, seasoned or amateur. But Kargil war veteran Captain Satender Sangwan (Retd), with his reserve of experiences in the frosty terrains of Drass and Batalik, was determined to haul his team upwards and closer to their destination, the Mt Everest summit.

The month was April (2017) and the team — ONGC's (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited) Team Everest, 12 ONGC employees divided into two synchronized groups – led through Himalayan pockets by a fighter who lost his right leg at war, and gained through the same ordeal, the strength to keep on fighting. While 'Mission Everest' was certainly a feather in the many caps donned by the National level badminton player and Indian representative at the World Badminton Championship for the physically challenged, conquering challenges has always been the modus operandi in ONGC HR Executive's life. "I've seen many ups and downs, but professionally, it's always been an upward trail!" insists Sangwan, speaking contentedly about the life he now leads in Delhi, with his wife, daughter and son — the quaint routine purposefully shaken up with adventures and activities every now and then, to suit the 45-year-old's zest for fresh quests.

Sangwan took on this challenge after testing his mettle at an Everest Base Camp Trek arranged by his organization, in 2015. The trek was followed by two years of intensive fitness training, and a thorough screening process involving activities like a five km run in 25 minutes, 20 kms of endurance trek in Mussoorie-Dehradun led by the Indian Military Academy, a two week's adventure course and eight weeks of basic and advanced mountaineering courses. If that wasn't enough, a further four weeks of winter conditioning and an expedition to Mt Satopanth (7074 m) cemented his position as the team leader. "It all started as a small target for maintaining physical fitness, taking things forward one step at a time. But I got a kick out of moving on to the next stage every time," is how he describes his prep routine. With the rigour of the training behind him, Sangwan kicked off the climb of a lifetime on April 4, from Lukla in north-eastern Nepal, "where my two teams, bubbling with energy, travelled from Kathmandu."

As a disabled climber, he had to take concrete measures to ensure that his health or mission were not compromised in any way. "I had two new limbs made from the Ottobock company, before we started. I used to wear both of them from time to time, so in case I had to switch over to the other limb, it would not take time to adjust. I learnt to make necessary corrections in alignment in case the foot cracked down," says Sangwan. Creams for possible rashes and skin injuries and protection films to avoid damage to the artificial limb were also a part of his arsenal."But Sangwan's apprehensions had nothing to do with his physical form, which has been in stellar shape since a dalliance with fitness kick-started a new phase in life after the injury. "What worried me was that the rest of my team members were 15-20 years younger, and possibly more energetic. I drew confidence from my leadership experiences at Kargil — the terrain was similar and temperatures could still plunge to -20 to -40 degree Celsius — but I was so young back then, it was all 18 years ago!" Sangwan laughs. But assured by team mentor and ace Everester Loveraj Singh Dharmshaktu that "in the mountains, steadiness, not speed matters the most," Sangwan had no reason to look back.

The climb up to Everest Base Camp was spread out over nine days, followed by an ascent to four camps, each at progressive altitudes. It wasn't until the first team hit Camp 4 that they were faced with mortal danger. "A heavy blizzard at Camp 4 on the May 22 meant that Team 1 had to abandon their attempt to reach the summit, allowing Team 2 to take over on 26th night. "The winds were fast and freezing, At one point, all communication was lost between the two teams," recalls Sangwan. Meanwhile, the expedition leader's sole ambition remained to coordinate and motivate his teams to the top, even as he himself had to come down to the base after developing a medical condition. "I reminded my team-mates that my duty wasn't duty wasn't any different from the one undertaken at Kargil, and that I'll ensure their successful climb and safe descent," he shares. To keep the climbers inspired throughout, Sangwan had allowed them three minutes of WhatsApp calls with their families, and communication over individual WhatsApp groups that he had created (of which other members were not a part), whenever possible. The idea was to give them a sense of familiarity and connectedness in the alien landscape, a sentiment recognised easily by the army veteran.

Sangwan's efforts paid off in the early hours of May 27th and again, on May 28, when the teams managed to scale the summit, one by one. "As a leader, I had completed my mission with zero regrets," he says, divulging plans to aim for the peak again in 2019. "The mountains reminded me of the importance of asserting your willpower when the body gives up. The higher you climb, the humbler you begin to feel, you realise how minuscule you are in front of nature,'' signs off the man who has scaled the mountains of challenges life threw at him with sheer, sparkling spirit.