Is it merit or luck by chance

Shanti Rai on top of Ama Dablam peak

From academic performances to competitive exams, in sports and individual feats of courage the discourse often veers around whether success is a matter of chance, luck or merit. My belief that destiny and luck often disposes the best of preparations and capabilities looked me straight in the face as I mingled with women mountaineers at an informal gathering.

It was the story and fetes of Shanti Rai which made me curious. A mountaineer from Sikkim, Shanti is easily considered to be among the best in India. What strengthens this statement is the fact that over the last couple of years her name is on top of every list of mountaineers picked for expeditions by Indian Mountaineering Foundation. The 37 year old began climbing in 2011 by scaling 6578 meters high Mt. Bhartekunte in Uttrakhand.

In 2013, 2015, 2018 Shanti was selected for Mt Everest expeditions but luck played its part and on all three occasions her ambition to scale the Everest remained unfulfilled. “In 2013 two teams were prepared, one represented the North Eastern states and the other was of Sikkim. I was a part of the team from Sikkim. The team from North East was flagged off but the previous night before we were to leave a stay order came from the court over the need for sending two teams from North East and our expedition was abandoned,” she says. Political tussles over selections procedures hit the expedition in 2015. But what rankles in her the most is the reason for which she couldn’t be a part of the expedition in 2018. “Three people from India were selected for the Eco Everest Expedition of IMF. But at the eleventh hour we were informed that we couldn’t go as funds had not come through. One of us, a bureaucrat could organise funds for himself but we couldn't.” An Everest expedition can cost upto Rs 25 lakh to a climber. Arranging funds is even tougher than climbing says Shanti.

Mt. Nuptse

In what could have been an opportunity to summit the Everest, Shanti was selected for the Everest Massif Expedition of IMF in 2021. It was an ambitious first of its kind event where mountaineers would aim to scale four peaks including Mt Nuptse (7,862 metre), Mt Pumori (7,161 metre) and Mt Lhotse (8,516 metre) along with Mt Everest (8,848 metre) in Nepal. Mountaineers believe that it is easier to scale Everest than Mt. Lhotse, Mt. Nuptse and Mt.Pumorias as it requires tough training and skills particularly for Mt. Nuptse and Mt. Pumori. Shanti’s name was added to the list of four mountaineers selected to scale Mt Nuptse. It was surely an acknowledgment of her abilities as an ace mountaineer though it once again spiked her dreams of summiting the Everest. “The IMF wanted Nuptse expedition to be successful so they assigned the toughest among us for this,” says Shanti. But despite all the jugglery, the climb to Nuptse had to be abandoned midway due to heavy precipitation caused by cyclones Tauktae and Yaas, and bad weather conditions, while the other three peaks were scaled successfully.

Shanti cycling in Nelong valley

What kept Shanti’s spirits intact was the fact that earlier in the year she had successfully scaled Mt Ama Dablam and summited the 6,812 meter peak on January 9, 2021. She was the only Indian mountaineer in the International Winter Expedition team which included participants from Mexico, Oman, Turkey and Egypt. Winter expeditions are considered extremely tough as climbers have to brave severe winds and blizzards and extremely low temperatures. The wind chill factor is also very high. Otherwise too Ama Dablam is viewed to be technically tough as it requires skill and a sound climbing experience and high-level dexterity in fixing bolts in ice. The way up is difficult and leads through steep ice and rock South-West Ridge. Scaling it demands strength and endurance. It speaks of Shanti’s fitness and expertise that she didn’t do the altitude acclimatisation and continued her climb without returning to the base. “I started at 5.10am and was at the summit at 3.35 in the afternoon,” informs Shanti who became the first Indian and the first women to summit Ama Dablam in winter.

The glamour of Everest is high even among the mountaineering community. The urge to summit the highest peak in the world is like an itch for every mountaineer worth her salt. Shanti too suffers from it and while she keeps adding feathers to her snowsuit cap she is anxious to push that priceless plume which she will once she stands on the top of the world.

These many slips between the cup and the lip are jarring on the nerves of those striving to achieve set goals. It requires a steady mind and lots of mental strength to consider setbacks as just hiccups while continuing the journey to attain excellence and put up milestones. Luck and chance may have a part to play, but I would love to believe that talent accompanied by grit and determination always triumphs. Shanti has all of it. I wish her additional luck to get there sooner than later.