Meet a banker from Thiruvananthapuram who’s on a mission to climb the seven summits of the world

When Anil Kumar Kannangal landed at Mineralnye Vody Airport in Russia final yr on the way in which to climb Mount Elbrus, the best peak in Europe, he was in for a shock. The safety guards took him into custody, accusing him of being a spy on his solution to Poland. After a number of rounds of questioning and an intensive examination of his emails and devices, Anil was let off, upon the reassurance given by the Russian pal of his Nepali information.

That was one among the many many unforgettable episodes in Anil’s life as a mountaineer when he isn’t working as a clerk at Brahmos department of Canara Bank in Thiruvananthapuram. Recalling the incident in Russia, Anil says, “The assault on a live performance corridor in Moscow had occurred just a few months again. Security was at its peak and all international nationals got here underneath scrutiny. That was why I used to be additionally questioned.”

Ever since he took up mountaineering just a few years in the past, Anil, a retired Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel, has discovered himself getting extra connected to it. He is now on a mission to climb the best peaks on the seven continents, having already summitted three of them — Mount Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mount Elbrus (Europe) and Mount Aconcagua (South America).

“I’ve been captivated with mountaineering and went for treks and expeditions whereas in service. After retirement, I used to participate in marathons and biking expeditions,” says Anil, who took voluntary retirement from IAF in 2014.

When he determined to scale the peaks, he began out with Agasthyarkoodam within the Western Ghats, one of many main trekking spots in Kerala. It was a profitable try and he went on to trek summit peaks resembling Varayadumotta, Kurishumala, and Kalimala amongst others.

“There is an pleasure within the preparation and course of concerned in a climb. Once I obtained the dangle of mountaineering, I wanted to get a glimpse of the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest. For that I did a trek to the Everest Base Camp in 2023. The climb was robust, however I loved it. After that I began interacting with mountaineers and that’s how I selected Kilimanjaro as my subsequent aim. When I achieved that I puzzled what if I tried to summit the remaining six peaks as properly.”

Anil joined social media teams of mountaineers. From Kerala he obtained the steering and assist from fellow mountaineers resembling IAS officer Arjun Pandian, the current District Collector of Thrissur, and Sheikh Hassan, a Kerala authorities worker, who’s the primary Malayali to beat the seven summits.

Anil plans to climb Mount Kosciuszko in Australia in September or October this yr, adopted by Mount Denali (North America), Mount Vinson (Antarctica) and eventually Mount Everest. “The forthcoming treks are going to be costly when in comparison with those I’ve already accomplished. The value would come between ₹15 and ₹50 lakhs, which is a matter of concern. Friends and household had chipped in to fund the earlier journeys.”

Each journey has been unpredictable, he notes. “In all my journeys, I needed to take care of flight diversions that pressured me to reschedule my journey.”

The 50-year-old stresses that each one treks have had challenges in addition to thrilling moments. “If it was a journey via snow within the case of Mount Elbrus, climbing Kilimanjaro concerned crossing totally different climatic zones — farmland, tropical forest with big bushes, plateau, desert, moorland, and glacier. Surprises have been in retailer on a regular basis. When we crossed Andes, the mountain vary the place Mount Aconcagua is positioned, we needed to stroll via desert for round 14 hours,” says Anil.

He factors out that one problem for mountaineers from India is that there are just a few formally registered trekking corporations within the nation and they don’t straight deal with the itinerary. “It is finished by brokers in respective international locations. But in Europe the businesses straight cater to every little thing.”

Anil admits that it has not been straightforward to steadiness his ardour and occupation. “When I take go away, the workload on my colleagues will increase. But they’ve been understanding and supportive.”