For 53-year-old climber Basanta Kumar Singha Roy, the "near-death" experience he had during his failed Dhaulagiri expedition last year, has not dampened his spirit, as he has now taken up even a greater challenge.
Roy, a banker by profession, from Krishnanagar in Nadia district, had his right foot's hammer toe and two other toes from both feet amputated after his unsuccessful expedition in May last year.
Determined as ever, he is now all set to climb the Neelkanth peak situated in the Garhwal division of the Himalayas from August 19.
Talking about his tough experiences last year, Roy said, "It was a windy day and we were about 800 ft short of the peak. Seeing the tough condition, we decided to climb back. I was tired so I sat somewhere on my way back, and it was when I realised that my oxygen cylinders were leaking and soon my feet went numb too."
"My friend rushed to the camp to get help but meanwhile I fell conscious and later after much difficulty I was taken to a hospital in Kathmandu and admitted in an ICU," he recalled.
But Roy said, "Making a comeback was not that tough because mountaineering has been a passion all my life and I owe it to my family because of their full support."
People even said it was a miracle that he was still alive. "Even I thought it was the end of my mountaineering."
Coming back was always in the back of his mind and getting the Tenjing Norgay National Adventure Award last year was a motivation, said Roy, who conquered Mt Everest in 2010 and climbed Kanchenjunga in 2011.
"For the last few months I've started working towards my goal. I went for trekking at the Ayodhya Hills... Now I'm absolutely fit and ready to and raring to got for the Neelkanth expedition," he said.
If successful, Roy claimed, he would become the first Indian civilian to climb the Neelkanth peak.
"Foreign climbers tried climbing Neelkanth and there have been two or three expeditions to the peak by the Army but never by any Indian civilian," he said.
He said he had a dream of climbing the Nandadevi (main), Changbang too, but was unsure if he could realise it in his lifetime.
