(ir)rationality personified: resolution

।। श्री आशापुरी देव्यै नमः ।।

a Year of Mountain madness..

Resolution(s) T24..

24 peaks, 2024 kms, 224 climbs

thursday rituals at सिंहगड 🐚

resolutions are like the trail markers of life - they keep us on course and ensure 📵 we don’t accidentally end up binge-watching our way through another year.. goals give us purpose 👻, and achieving them brings immense satisfaction - not to mention some serious collective bragging rights though 😝.. resolutions also push us to step out of our comfort zones 🛌, whether it's scaling new heights (24), or simply walking those extra miles (or 2,024) !!

as the year passed by, the yearly goal / goals were like, "हमने तुम्हे चारों तरफ से घेर लिया है" 😉.. first of the 4 being - 1️⃣ 24 peaks.. as one can easily guess, this calendar year is T24, so "24 peaks".. well, I didn't literally climb all 24, but the goal was to gain 📈 the elevation equivalent to combined heights of all these..

before getting into more details.. some Q&A..

what is a mountain? and how to identify / categorize any particular geolocation as a peak? any idea ❓.. while the first is an easy one, for the second one, few of you seem perplexed 🤔.. here we go then..

mountains aren’t just heaps of rock 🪨.. they’re natural skyscrapers that inspire awe 🫢.. "a mountain" is a large landform that rises prominently above the surrounding land in a limited area.. and, "a peak" is its tip 🔝- like the cherry on a giant rocky sundae 🍨.. that was easy and obvious? wait !! here's the twist - prominence.. no offence 😭, but as per "International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA)", राजगड doesn't qualify as a peak according to Himalayan standards of min. 600m.. hope 🤞, the standards in western ghats are different.. so, क्या बला है ये?

"prominence" is a measure of a peak's independence, or how much higher 📈 it is than the lowest point on the ridge that connects it to higher terrain.. in simple words, कचरे काकांच्या घरापासून बालेकिल्ला म्हणजे, राजगडचा prominence, which is not 600m+.. anyway,

none of these 24 need any introduction on "why it was included in the list?".. बस नाम ही काफ़ी है.. 14 eight-thousanders 🗻 (600m+ prominence), नंदा देवी 🇮🇳, कळसुबाई, zugspitze 🇩🇪, सिंहगड 🚩 and highest from other 6 continents = summing up to 164,183 meters, equivalent of ascending ⛰️ सिंहगड 328 times..

न भूतो न भविष्यति

along with this (24 peaks) then, and evaluated based on the same criteria, the next 2 were 2️⃣ 2024 kms of feet distance 👣 (hike / walk / run) and 3️⃣ repeat सिंहगड 224 times.. 4th one, which did not include any '24' in the target, was achieved on 24-Aug, with 2400m+ elevation gain, qualifying for a 4️⃣ "¼ Everesting".. more details on Everesting, read here..

one important refurbished learning was - to never stop striving for the personal bests.. having had given-up after multiple failed 💔 trials in the past - this year, attempts to better the सिंहगड ascending time ~~paid~~ earned well / unexpectedly well.. lingering around 42 minutes since a long time, it is bettered to 35m today 💝..

not adding any numbers now, but all of this was only made possible with a mix of determination, planning, and a touch of madness 🤪.. for the elevation gain, each peak was visualized as a milestone and chipped away, one step at a time ⏱️.. completing the first resolution ensured second and third needed no extra planning.. but the last one (¼ Everesting) turned out to be a pretty hefty climb 😦, translating into a feud between the legs and gravity 🤜🤛..

to sum up the year..

it’s not just about reaching the summit but enjoying the climb 🌞.. setting audacious goals teaches us discipline, perseverance, and the art of laughing 😃 at our own exhaustion.. completing the resolution(s) is immensely fulfilling, especially knowing that I gained enough height to match the elevation of these iconic peaks 🗻 ⛰️ 🏔️..

the best part was also the realization of "how capable 💪 we are when we commit".. in other words, "how much we underestimate our bodily capacity" 😇..

quote credits - महेश

caption credits - IRONMAN event

in the end - don't be afraid to dream rationally big.. setting ambitious goals and working hard to achieve them can be incredibly rewarding 🎖️.. as James Clear states in his book "Atomic Habits", break them into smaller milestones and celebrate the progress 🎉.. the mountain we’re climbing isn’t just a peak, it’s us 🤠..

so, lace up those shoes and conquer your own Everest 🎯, one step at a time..

last but not the least, the most memorable moment amongst many others in all of this was a special "conquering Everest" gift 👕 from महेश..

।। श्री आशापुरी देव्यै नमः ।।

Everesting - सकाळीच हा शब्द पहिल्यांदा ऐकला.. 'काय असतं?' विचारल्यावर कळलं की Mt. Everest च्या height एवढं elevation चढणे / total elevation gain करणे, ह्याला Everesting केल्याचं म्हणतात.. त्या हिशोबाने आम्ही आज quarter Everesting केलं होतं.. AllTrails app ने मोजल्या प्रमाणे २२७१ मी. ☺

that's an excerpt from the very ~~first~~ second ✌️ article from the other blog "घरबसल्या trekking", describing the proceedings from the very first ☝️ SRT, back in 2020.. while nothing seemed to be incorrect with that conclusion (त्या हिशोबाने आम्ही आज.. ..), as other criteria were unveiled later, today's understanding of Everesting does not technically qualify that or any of the next 4 SRT activities for a "¼ Everesting" 🥺.. why?

to re-iterate then, this time in English, Everesting - anywhere in the world, in a single activity, climb a total of 8,848m - the equivalent height of Mt. Everest 🔝.. and to this, now the extension - the activity must involve repeats on the same hill 🔂, on the same face, without any sleep in-between, and if descends 📉 are not to be supported 🚖 🚡 🏍️, those are also expected on the same route.. there are also other conditions, but for the scope of this article, those need not be talked about.. and now, if we evaluate SRT, all matters of interest add-up to nothing but an absolute zero 😔..

Everesting in short

while all of this was conveniently forgotten / never pursued further, Parmeshwar shared a message a few months ago about Illi Gardner's sub-8 Everesting 😱 at Crowcombe.. wait, what? ⚠️.. yes, less than 8 hours, translating literally to 1100+ metres elevation gain (and loss) per hour 🫡.. believe it or not, such super crazy things are happening outside our / their comfort zones.. few days later, Rahul shared a message about a supported 🏍️ Everesting event, scheduled for Dec-2024 ⛰️, to be done by individuals / in groups.. exploring more (assisted by Mahesh), then learnt about everesting.cc 'Hall of Fame' where all the Everesting activities are listed, be it 1. full, 2. half or 3. quarter.. and, that was it 😃.. nothing more was needed then to reanimate the excitement, to replenish the lost count, that had to be sacrificed to the criteria revealed 😟.. and by the way, who would not want to be part of such a list, maintained at global level 🌏, when you know your strengths and have potential? 😇..

but is it not that, this topic of 'elevation gain' 📈 is inappropriately neglected when it comes to doing any activity?.. most of the times, almost all of the times, the focus is either on the time taken (how fast?) ⏱️ or on the distance covered (how long?) 📏.. be it any sporting event (except high jump) or challenges on Strava (except 2000m वाला), there is nothing that focuses 🔍 and counts / accounts 'elevation gain'.. and that's where, we have team of these really nice people 💚 maintaining the list of such activities, while also characterizing 'Everesting' as "Fiendishly Simple, Yet Brutally Hard".. true that 👍..

सिंहगड ६x.. an unknown attempt failed 🤦‍♂️

while it was not the first planned attempt when this could have got potentially achieved back in 2021, the goal 🎯 then was completely different.. but even if that one is to be ignored, 24-Aug was still not the first "¼ Everesting" attempt..

an organized attempt failed 💔

as the conceptualized activity was to be mandatorily realized on a single hill 🔂, it was time to evaluate the options.. सिंहगड was not the first or obvious choice for many reasons 🤨.. the most important being, the initial low grade walk of half-a-km consumes unnecessary efforts and time, contributing not that significantly to the objective 🙄.. but devoid of any other high grade options (barring पर्वती), the discussion (with self) was back to सिंहगड.. and when the final question 'how much - full / partial / in combination?' was answered - the drafted plan 📝 read - 12 lower half repeats, उसमे भी 75% being partial of that lower half (high grade)..

come 17-Aug night 🌌, it rained more than the entire week combined and heavier than the 'accuweather' forecast, which must demonstrably now be renamed to 'inaccuweather'.. never have these guys done a prefect forecast in monsoon 🌧️.. but as they say, 'something is better than nothing', we prefer referring it, exactly the same way as we prefer lotus 🪷 / भगवा over others.. back to pavilion, disappointed after the one-and-only rep of lower half, elevation gain for that night mocked hard from the height 📐of about one-tenth of the actual target.. mathematically, one-fortieth Everesting.. and again, केलेली जय्यत तयारी गाडीतच राहीली (another excerpt from ६x article)..

alternatively, पर्वती being a more सुटसुटीत option, next morning 🌄, a dry run was performed to examine all the affecting parameters.. what came out as the result was nothing 'dry' 😥 and nothing 'run'.. after 15 reps, I was 'Milkha Singh' wet 😅 for the first time ever, with no breeze 🍃 contributing to the cause.. and although, all other parameters were perfectly ok, the only other option on the list of probable candidates had to be struck off 👎.. because, during an actual "¼ Everesting" attempt, 44 reps in such conditions, even if mostly at night, would have been a disastrous complex at least to Farhan Akhtar 🤪..

first one is always special.. ¼ Everesting.. and the Hall of Fame

back in the month of June, for the palindromic status update (42:24 for #737), Bhushan had questioned, 'how is it possible?' 🤔.. can only repeat the reply here, 'nothing more than just-a-coincidence buddy'.. and as we shall soon see / read, this is only an another one.. it. just. happens. #CannotAskForMore

while article on चैत्र नवसकाळी talked about this year's target 🎯, since then / by now, the list of T24 Resolutions has grown to 4.. "¼ Everesting" being one of them, was the odd man out, in terms of not being related to the number 24 by any means 😒..

after a failed 17ᵗʰ, it was time to re-consider the draft..

1. for some reason then, 12 half reps 🔂 did not feel right and the itinerary was changed to 5 full reps, of which 3 did not include that low grade half-a-km..

2. overnight event was changed to - have some sleep 😴, get-up at 2 a.m., start from base at 3 a.m. 🕒, and try to end by 11 a.m...

24-Aug-2024

and with all of this fiasco, here we go 🤘.. a week after the failed attempt, the destined 24ᵗʰ 📅 single-handedly crossed the line 🏁.. how perfect that would have been, if the total elevation gain was 2408 😎, rather than 2421 📈?.. anyway..

done-n-dusted ✔️ 2212+ 📈

nothing much to write ✍️ about the activity though, which is also the reason behind this article featuring in this blog, instead of घरबसल्या trekking ☺️.. as expected, it was all no man's land during the first rep.. first human was spotted 🕵️‍♂️ after going 70% up during second.. it started drizzling 🌧️ during the third descend, but by then, it was more than too late to give-up.. during the fourth rep, regular / transactional people started questioning, 'if that was my second?' 😉.. during fifth descend, it was more of a downpour than just the rain, as if somebody had provoked the Jul-end version of इंद्रदेव again ☹️..

rain-lashed पायवाट

regardless of the fact that, accuweather goofed-up yet again 🙂‍↔️ and it rained against the forecast, all of this would not have been possible without 'विठ्ठलाची गाणी' playlist 🎶 on Spotify, without Coasters (CTR) hiking shoes 🥾 and last but not the least, without the seasonal hiking companion ☔..