Mount Kilimanjaro soars almost 5,895 metres above sea level and is the highest mountain in Africa as well as the highest single free-standing mountain in the world. Embarking on an expedition to Mount Kilimanjaro is never easy feet to achieve, it can be the pinnacle of a climbing career and a seven-year-old boy from Hyderabad became one of the youngest people to scale the highest single free-standing mountain in the world. Every year thousands of men and women alike set their goals to make it to the highest point.
Yes, you read it right, Virat Chandra Telukunta etched his names in history books by becoming one of the youngest people to scale Mount Kilimanjaro. In doing so, the youngster has made the whole country proud as he climbed the highest mountain in Africa. He achieved this foot on 6th March along with his coach Bharat Thammineni post doing one-month of rigorous training.
Virat has the passion to climb ever hence he heard inspirational stories of the experiences of his cousins. The youngster got very motivated when saw his cousins at Rudugaira Mountains in Uttarakhand where they had gone for a trekking trip. He shared his dream with his parents and which led to his parents contacting now coach Bharath to train him. The seven-year-old and his life trainer followed all the protocol during the journey.
His coach Bharat Thammineni was quoted saying, his pupil was very thrilled to train, was astonished to with his determination to finish training and did not quit midway through the training sessions. Virat too preparation very seriously and finished all the tasks such as running and mock climbing with dedication. While Interacting with ANI, Bharat Thammineni was quoted saying, “we had started the journey on March 5 and in between we took rest. As Virat is still a child so all us took all the precautions so that he does not feel uneasy. We started the climb on March 5 and reached the Uhuru peak of Kilimanjaro on March 6.”
Talking about his experience of climbing the highest single free-standing mountain in the world was quoted saying, “My parents accompanied me until Horombo hut. From there, I continued the journey with my guides. It took almost five hours to reach Kibo hut, which is at an elevation of 4,720 metres, also had to deal with heavy snow and windy conditions at that place. I was frightened because it was still dark. I could hear the wind whistling and there was a heavy downpour of snow. It took almost eight hours to reach the summit. I am happy to accomplish the mission.”
Besides Climbing, The Class 2 student also enjoys Skating, playing Cricket, running 6 km every day and doing yoga. “I even took part in a 5K run to prove my mettle. “My guides said Mt Kilimanjaro would be ideal to travel and climb.”
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