HYDERABAD: Hyderabad has always been home to an adventurous lot. With horizons opening up, the various adventure sports clubs that have been springing up is a testimony to that. One such group, the Hyderabad Runners has been going strong since November 2003. But the enthusiasm didn’t stop there. Taking things one challenging step higher, a group emerged from the running group, forming the Wind Chasers in December 2011, that now organises yearly trekking trips to the Himalayas. The fountainhead of it all, Ram Sethuram tells us more. The origin It started in 2006, when Ram went on his first professional marathon in the Gobi Desert in China. There, a fellow runner got him interested in the idea of trekking. He decided to organise a trek in the year 2009 along with a couple of other amateur runners. The experience was all he needed to get him hooked.“It was an overwhelming experience. I had never seen the Himalayan mountain at such a close range. I managed to see the four tallest peaks together and that was magical.”The group decided to do it again, and then again, and thus Wind Chasers was born.Ram now manages the treks with his partner Priyya Darshani. Priyya who wasn’t a professional runner or trekker was infected by Ram’s enthusiasm and with his help, she discovered the trekker in her. “When we first began our treks, there weren’t many organisations that catered to an all Indian group of middle-aged people. That was one of the reasons we finally formed our own troupe. While we do open arms to everyone, Wind Chasers is meant to be a platform for those who are interested in trekking, despite no formal training.”In December 2011, they started inviting people who’d be interested in taking part in their yearly ritual, whether amateur or semi-professional.Pump up that muscleWith their doors being open to just about everyone, most people who sign up require training before the trek. Thus a special training package was devised and people were asked to follow the system. Explains Satish Mandalika, an engineer who signed up for the most recent trek in April this year, “Previously, I’d been doing marathon runs, but I had never really done a trek before. Being my first time, I ran for about 60-70 kms a week, which roughly came to an average of eight kms a day.” Besides physical activity, food also plays an integral part in the training procedure, but doesn’t imply a specific diet plan. Says Mike Baymiller, a city-based business man who was also on the trip, “I didn’t follow any diet, but did stock up on a lot of protein. However, eating healthy is the best way to stay fit!”Going the distanceThe most recent trip which was organised in April, lasted four days. The trek was flagged off on April 29 and came back on May 4, covering a distance of 3636m, starting at around 20 km a day and going upto 42 kms. The climb was the trickiest part because of the high altitude and the harsh weather conditions. Sudden weather changes are normal, making climate predictions unreliable. Other factors that affected the climb included temperatures dips and hail storms. The lowest temperatures experienced through the trek was -10 degree Celsius. Given the precarious conditions, of the 17 who went, only five people dropped out. With the average climb lasting between 7 am to 2 pm, the group managed to avoid getting stuck in the hail storms. Says KVN Gupta, a software engineer, “Luckily, I didn’t get caught in the snow storm. I escaped by starting early in the morning and walking fast so that I could reach before we really got hit.”Cost factorThink a trip to the Himalayas and the sound of a cash register ringing may pop up in your head. However, a trip with the Wind Chasers is costs around Rs 50,000 ($1500 USD) including equipment and stay. One will nevertheless have to spend on clothes and the travel expense till base camp.“A rough estimate of a round trip by flight from a metro city to base camp which is in Bagdogra, West Bengal will cost around Rs 10,000. While there are direct flights, there aren’t many direct trains. So ideally, if you want to travel by train, then one can take a train either from Delhi or Kolkata which will taken them around 36 hours or 10 hours respectively,” informs Ram.
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