Dr Murad Lala is the first doctor from India to scale the world’s highest mountain. The journey took two months.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in
Scaling the highest mountain in the world must give one a huge high. Setting a record in the process must be simply fabulous.
Mumbai-based consultant oncosurgeon Dr Murad Lala reached the summit of Mount Everest on May 19 this year at exactly 9.10 am to become the first doctor in India to have summitted the mountain successfully. Dr Lala, attached to the PD Hinduja Hospital, Mahim, took seven weeks of climbing to reach the top.
Mount Everest is 29,035 feet high and lies in the Himalayas along the border of Nepal, China and Tibet. Dr Lala set out on the journey from Mumbai on March 28. “I reached Kathmandu the same day,” he said. “After completing the formalities set by the Nepal Government, my team and I set out on April 1 to Lukla and from there, we walked approximately 63 km and reached the base camp on April 8.” From there on, it was a short three-hour journey to Camp 2, and from Camp 2 to 3, and from Camp 3 to Camp 4 was a journey of approximately 16 hours in all. “The whole process of climbing Everest takes time because mountaineers believe in ‘scaling high and resting low’, which means even though one reaches Camp 1, climbers have to come back the same evening to base camp and rest. This is done so that one’s body gets acclimatised to high altitudes,” Dr Lala explained.
Why Everest?
Dr Lala said, “Since childhood I always I had this dream of climbing Mount Everest. The Hinduja Hospital management has been kind enough to allow me to take time off and realise my 
dream. Trekking the Everest is a no mean task. I did my training by doing the ‘Triple Crown Expedition’, which means scaling the three peaks Lobuche East – (6,119 metres high), Pokalde (5,806 metres) and Island Peak (6,145 metres).
“We were a group of eight (excluding the personal sherpas and Western guide, Marty Schmidt) and our group motto was ‘One Team, One Dream’. The 12-hour journey was the walk of a lifetime for me. When I finally reached the top, I finally realised that just because we are ordinary people, it does not mean we cannot have extraordinary dreams.”
Congratulating Dr Lala for his accomplishment, Dr Gustad Daver, Director-Professional Services, PD Hinduja Hospital said, “Dr Lala, apart from being an excellent cancer surgeon with our hospital since 2001, has been an epitome of courage and determination by achieving this act. As a fellow consultant, I feel proud that he has managed to excel in his professional life and in the same time achieved his personal dream to become the first doctor from India to have scaled the Everest.”
(Pictures courtesy Dr Murad Lala)