Renowned explorer visits Woodstock!

To build up knowledge and anticipation for the Activity Week hikes, Woodstock students were introduced to renowned mountaineer and explorer Harish Kapadia on Thursday, October 8th. Harish, who was on a special visit to the school, gave a talk about his outdoor expeditions and adventures in Parker Hall. He has made several unique contributions to knowledge about the Himalayas, including exploring several untouched regions, and has written more than a dozen books and articles about the outdoors.

Over his eventful lifetime, Harish has climbed 35 major peaks and participated in several expeditions, including Mount Everest, Kalanath, Nanda Devi, Mount Kailash, Siachen Glacier, peaks in Sikkim, around Garhwal, and in unknown areas in Arunachal Pradesh around the India-China border. One of the highlights was when he reached the summit of Everest, a challenging expedition that took several months of planning before he attempted to climb it.

Harish also showed several breathtaking photographs of his adventures. He spoke about how, coming from Mumbai, he became interested in the outdoors and mountaineering. Of the places he visited, he gave details about the history and the people he came across, and even discussed wildlife and coming across rare Himalayan flowers. He also gave a brief history of Himalayan mountaineering.

With Activity Week approaching, Harish gave tips about planning expeditions, and shared his own experiences with training courses for his preparations. He encouraged Woodstock students to take full advantage of the mountaineering opportunities present in our environment.

Concluding his talk, Harish spoke about environmental problems plaguing several parts of the Himalayas, including areas near the politically sensitive Siachen Glacier. He encouraged the young students to work to protect our natural environment.

Harish Kapadia has been the editor of 'Himalayan Journal', which is one of the most authoritative and comprehensive records of exploratory activity in the Himalayas. He was elected Honorary Member of the leading Alpine Clubs; of London, USA, Japan and Poland. He was awarded the Indian Mountaineering Foundation Gold Medal in 1993. In 2003, Harish Kapadia was honoured with the Royal Medal, the "Patron's Medal", by the Royal Geographical Society 'for contributions to geographical discovery and mountaineering in the Himalaya'. He was the first Indian to receive this highest adventure award after 125 years. The President of India honoured him with the prestigious 'Tensing Norgay National Adventure Award" (2003) for lifetime achievements, the highest Adventure Award in India. In 2006 he received the prestigious 'King Albert I Mountain Award' in Switzerland.

Click here to find out more about Harish Kapadia.