(August 9, 2024) Padakanti Vishwanath Karthikey used to be a lazy kid, for whom being healthy was not a priority. But that was until the day he, as an 11 year old, accompanied his sister Vaishnavi on a trek to Mt Rudugaira in Uttarakhand. He trekked till the first camp but had to return due to Acute Mountain Sickness (ACD). Nonetheless, this experience turned his life around and sparked an interest in mountaineering. The 15 year old mountaineer has since gone on to hold three world records, and is the youngest person to summit Europe’s highest peak Mt Elbrus in 24 hours, a feat he accomplished on India’s 75th Independence Day.
“My mountaineering journey started because of my sister and I motivate myself to be better everyday. I want to be an inspiration for many people and also seek inspiration from them to do new things,” smiles mountaineer Vishwanath Karthikey, in a chat with Global Indian.
Mountaineer Vishwanath Karthikey
Taking on the icy Mt Denali
In his most recent expedition, the teen mountaineer embarked on an arduous journey up Mt. Denali, the highest peak in North America, which stands at over 20,000 feet above sea level. He reached the summit, conquering both physical and personal obstacles along the way.
Karthikey started the Mt Denali expedition on June 10 and reached Anchorage the following day, where he spent the night and shopped for essentials. “We took the West Buttress route to the mountain,” says the teenager, who reached the base camp by June 15.
From there, he climbed for 4-6 hours straight and reached camp 1 where he and few other mountaineers pitched their tents, cooked food and melted ice for water. “We stashed our non essential items into the snow and marked the spot so that we wouldn’t lose it. Our climb started again the next morning, and went on for around eight hours.”
Karthikey says it was a tiring journey as he had to pull his sledges too. “No pain, no gain, so we went on and reached the camp site,” says the three-time world record holder, who reached the summit by June 24.
Two days before reaching the summit, he was extremely dehydrated as he was not able to consume the water, which felt too hot while drinking, and also tasted foul to him. “Despite this and the low temperatures, I made it to the summit,” says Karthikey, who underwent strength, agility, stability, endurance and cardio training for this climb.
Mt Elbrus
The journey began with two months of rigorous training, as Karthikey prepared to climb Mt Elbrus in 2022. In his first attempt, he returned from the lower camps of the mountain. “I was successful in summiting Mt Elbrus on my second attempt. It was a very special expedition for me as I summited it on India’s 75th Independence Day,” smiles the teenager who became the youngest in the world to accomplish it in less than 24 hours.
He describes the Mt Elbrus climb as a wonderful experience. “I got to meet many new people, my cousin was accompanying me and there were two more people of my age group,” he says.
However, it wasn’t always smooth. The mountaineers faced terrible weather conditions on this climb. “The wind speed was 40-50 km/hr with a -30 temperature. We weathered these conditions and reached the summit,” Karthikey recalls.
Within 15 days of this climb, Karthikey went on to climb two 6000 meter peaks, Mt Kang Yatse 2 and Mt Dzo Jongo. “It was exhausting but I managed and became the youngest person to do it within 72 hours,” says the class 11 student of Resonance Suchitra campus, beaming with pride.
The following year, he climbed Mt Kang Yatse 1 and once again became the youngest person to do so. He is also the youngest person from Asia to climb Island Peak in Nepal.
Hyderabad’s teen mountaineer
Born October 2008 in Hyderabad, Karthikey studied in DRS kids till LKG and shifted to St Peters high school, Bowenpally from where he completed his class 10. “I was a below average student before starting mountaineering but after starting it, my scores increased immensely,” says Karthikey, who is the son of P Rajendra Prasad and P Laxmi.
He enjoys various sports and came in second at the state-level weightlifting competition and third in powerlifting.
Mountaineering
Karthikey’s mountaineering journey began at the age of 11. “My sister was googling something when she found out about mountaineering and shared it with my mother, who arranged a trek for my sister as she knew some mountaineers. I wanted to be part of it and convinced my parents to send me with her,” recalls Karthikey, who has also climbed the Friendship peak in Himachal Pradesh, Dzo Jongo peak in Ladakh, Nangkartshang peak, Kilimanjaro in Africa, Tereskol in Russia among others.
After his first climb to Mt Rudugaira in Uttarakhand, Karthikey went to NIM (Nehru Institute of Mountaineering) for a 10-day adventure course, which only propelled his internet in mountaineering. It is there that he first experienced jumaring, rock climbing and rappelling.
Daily routine
Fifteen-year-old Karthikey is up by 4:30 am everyday and heads straight to the gym. “I directly go to college from the gym as my college timings are 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. I study for about two hours in the evening and go to bed by 10 pm,” says the mountaineer. When he’s preparing for an expedition, he alternates between a 5km and a 10km run each day over the final month before his departure.
His plans are ambitious. “My next mountaineering expeditions include Vinson Massif, Antarctica’s highest peak, and Aconcagua, South America’s highest and then Mt Everest,” says Karthikey, whose ultimate goal is to join the armed forces.
The young mountaineer likes to do wave boarding, skating and playing games with his friends. “I don’t watch TV on a daily basis. I like to listen to Arijit Singh songs and 2000-2010s hits,” informs Karthikey, who also enjoys public speaking to motivate people.
With a relentless spirit and a commitment to pushing boundaries, Karthikey continues to pursue his dreams of scaling some of the world’s highest summits, inspiring others with his courage and perseverance along the way.
