Allen Career Institute
The world is changed by examples, not opinions. These wonderful words by famous author Paulo Coelho beautifully summarize the life of mountaineer, Kuntal Joisher.
Born in Kharagpur, West Bengal, India on February 26, 1980; Kuntal happens to be the first in the world to have scaled Mount Everest on a 100% vegan lifestyle.
A staunch follower of the vegan diet, achieving this feat wasn’t easy for Kuntal. He had to face many difficulties due to his vegan diet, in regard to diet & gears used for mountaineering.
But Kuntal successfully overcame every hurdle. He lived his deeply cherished dream of summiting Mount Everest from both north & south side, on a vegan diet.
From Engineering to Mountaineering
After completing computer engineering in 2001, Kuntal Joisher went to America. He completed his master’s degree in computer from South California University, Los Angeles.
For four years, he worked as a software engineer in the US. It was during his stay that in 2002 he took to vegan diet following the things he learned about cruelty met to animals for their meat & other products.
In 2006 he had to come back to India owing to his father’s health. Being a software engineer, he continued working in the same field without having any inkling of what the future had in store for him.
He and his wife planned a trip to Shimla in 2009 with the goal to see snow. They weren’t able to experience snow for nearly six days of their stay. So they decided to hike up to the Hatu Peak in Narkanda only to enjoy the snow.
Once at the peak, Kuntal had a surreal experience and he felt as if he belonged there.
This proved to be the turning point in his life. After the trip, all Kuntal Joisher wanted to do was live the experience all over again. He then started hiking. In October 2010 when he first hiked to Everest camp, he was captivated by the beauty of the world’s highest peak. Kuntal then decided to climb Everest.
The Hard work, Training & Dedication
Kunal used to weigh 110 Kgs and had worked hard to stay fit during his hiking period. To scale Everest, Kuntal knew he needed to work more on fitness.
The primary concern here was him being a vegan. Kuntal wanted to complete the climb without compromising on his veganism. Right from the diet to mountaineering gears, Kuntal worked hard to make everything completely vegan.
People often doubted and criticised his efforts citing reasons that mountaineering required a diet rich in non-veg foods like meat and eggs. But Kuntal continued with his efforts and such words only encouraged him further to set an example before all.
In 2014, during his first attempt to climb Everest, Kuntal survived Khumbu Icefall that killed 16 Sherpa climbing guides.
He again attempted in 2015 but this time the avalanche caused due to the Nepal earthquake hindered his dreams.
Finally, he headed on his mission in 2016 where post 45 days of hardships, Kuntal managed to scale the peak of Everest on May 19, 2016.
Through his passion, willpower, and dedication, Kuntal proved a vegan diet is equally healthy and people who follow veganism can do any task that requires physical strength, mountain climbing being one.
We salute Kuntal’s spirit and hope that he will continue guiding others towards achieving their dreams of scaling the highest mountain!
Tags: Kuntal Joisher | Mountaineer | Vegan Mountaineer | Mount Everest | Vegan Diet | First Vegan Mountaineer
