Sambhaji Narayan Gurav, an assistant police inspector from the quick response team of the Navi Mumbai Police has become the third policeman from Maharashtra to climb Mount Everest. Sambhaji Gurav, along with nine others, started the base camp trek on April 9 this year—on its successful completion after nine days, only five of them could go ahead. Of the five, some turned out to be COVID-19 positive while some fell ill due to adverse weather conditions. The final summit climb began on May 18, and he reached the peak of Everest on May 23.
Gurav, who hails from Sangli, is in the police force since 2010. He is 35 years old. He has dedicated his achievement to his mother who had passed away in early 2018, and after reaching the peak on May 23, he unfurled a poster that read ‘Respect women’.
Gurav could not perform the funeral rituals of his mother, instead decided to pay her a tribute by climbing the highest mountain peak in the world.
“We often take our mothers for granted and ignore the struggle they go through. After she died, I could not take part in the final rites, but instead, I promised myself to go through physical hardship to pay homage to her. The guilt in me helped to prepare myself for this. And finally, after 2 years I could achieve this,” Gurav said.
For completing the journey, three things were important: physical, mental, and financial capability said API Sambhaji Gurav.
“The first challenge for was the low oxygen. Usually, the oxygen level is above 95% but from the base camp itself it comes down to 70%. Towards the final summit, it dropped to 30%. We had to carry a portable oxygen cylinder,” Gurav said.
Gurav, who is thankful to Ex. CP of Navi Mumbai said, “The former Navi Mumbai Commissioner of Police, Sanjay Kumar, has supported me through thick and thin. He had asked many people to fund my trek and support me.”
The entire expenditure for the trek had cost him around Rs. 25, 00, 000. It took him 2 years of physical training and ample dedication and perseverance to conquer the summit.
Speaking exclusively to The Daily Guardian, Sambhaji Gurav said, “I consider Mount Everest as symbolic. Mount Everest is that ordeal in life, one needs to cross and be on top. For different individuals, Mount Everest can be taken differently depending on what they want in their life.”