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Sky is the limit
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SANJAY AUSTA speaks to Indian Army's ace climbers C.N.Bodh and Neel Chand about their experiences.
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On the way to the top. Photo: Sanjay Austa.
IF YOU are born at an altitude of over 3,000 meters, waking up in the middle of a winter night to
shovel snow off the roof, walking neck-deep in snow for miles to get the basic kitchen rations or
firewood are just some of the things one has to do as a matter of course. C. N. Bodh (36) and Neel
Chand (35) grew up doing all that and more in Lahul & Spiti in Himachal Pradesh where they belong.
After school, they joined the Army but the mountains did not leave them. When a list of volunteers for a mountain expedition was being drawn, Bodh and Neel Chand were among the first to enter their names. Ever since, both have spent more time climbing than in their unit. Their climbing expertise, perseverance, mental and physical strength - all pre-requisites of a good climber - ensured them a place in virtually all the major and minor Army expeditions to peaks in India and Nepal.
Scaling Kanchenjunga
This year at 9: 40 a.m on October 10, Bodh and Neel Chand, now both Naib Subedars in the Indian Army, were among the six soldiers to successfully touch the Kanchenjunga summit. With the successful ascent of Kanchenjunga, Bodh became the only Indian to scale four out of the fourteen 8,000 meter peaks of the world. Neel Chand, meanwhile, became the only Indian after Bodh to scale three of the fourteen 8,000 meter peaks. Both were part of the successful Everest expedition in 2001 and in 2002. C. N. Bodh became the first Indian to set foot to Annapurna-1. In 2003, both successfully climbed Lotse.
Ask Bodh why he chooses to risk his life climbing mountains and he quotes Mallory for an answer "Because they are there." A devout Buddhist, Bodh keeps a picture of Dalai Lama in his rucksack and keeps touching the beads of his rosary while climbing. "I am very lucky and all this is because I pray to God. If the weather is bad during the summit attempt , I send an e-mail to God and he clears the weather up," he jokes.
Neel Chand failed to climb the summit of Annapurna-1 in 2002 because of a storm but even Bodh regards him as a better climber than himself. Self effacing and reticent, Neel Chand has a reputation of getting better the higher he climbs. Even in Annapurna-1, he was only 80 meters short of the summit. Because of his expertise and mountain hardiness, the expedition leaders always keep him as part of the first team to lead a summit attempt.
Says Lt. Colonel Satish Sharma, a veteran mountaineer himself and the leader of the Kancehnjunga-2004 expedition: "One cannot compare any two mountaineers. But in terms of climbing the most peaks, C. N. Bodh has achieved more but in terms of physical fitness and expertise, Neel Chand certainly has an edge."
According to Neel Chand, a climber needs a good balance of mental and physical toughness. "Toughness alone is not enough to get you to the top. One needs the mental strength to persevere and endure the hard weather conditions and the lack of oxygen in the those inhospitable heights," he sums up.
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