Everest & Lhotse in 20 hours
Hyderabad-born Satish Gogineni sets record in double-summit mountaineering
Last month, when Satish Gogineni summited Mt Everest and Mt Lhotse — the first and fourth highest peaks in the world, within 20 hrs of each other, in one single expedition — he wrote a new record.
He became the fastest Indian to achieve the double-summit, a feat less than 100 climbers in the world have managed.
Born and raised in Hyderabad, Satish relocated to the US in 2004. He has been an endurance runner since 2007, and has run several marathons in the US and around the world — including four world majors.
“In 2013, I was introduced to mountaineering when my friend invited me to join him on a backpacking trip to Mt Whitney — the tallest peak in the US
(14,505ft). I absolutely hated it at that time — it felt like running two marathons simultaneously,” Satish shares. But he got a high when he returned home. “I remember looking at YouTube videos on ‘How to climb Everest’ at 3 a.m. after being sleepless for 48 hrs,” he reveals.
Since 2014, Satish has been climbing mountains in the US, such as Mt Shasta, Mt Rainier and Mt Hood, every year. He ventured into Mexico to solo-summit the 17,159-ft volcano Iztaccihuatl in 2018 and climbed it again along with Pico De Orizaba — the thirdhighest mountain in North America
(18,491ft) in 2019. In June 2021, he summited Mt Denali — the highest mountain in North America (20,310ft).
“I enjoyed travelling to new cities within
Satish became the fastest Indian to achieve the double-summit — Mt Everest and Mt Lhotse — within 20 hours of each other, in one single expedition. This is a feat less than 100 climbers in the world have managed
and outside the US,
and meeting people. This, combined with my curiosity to find my vertical and endurance ceiling, pushed me to challenge myself,” explains the longdistance runner, who also summited Mt Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Southern Hemisphere at 22,837ft.
His ultimate goal was to climb Mt Everest and Lhotse — an 8000 m doublepeak expedition, and he eventually achieved it.
Satish is only the second guy from India to achieve this feat (Dr Somat Chetariya from Gujarat was the first — he did it in two days) and the fastest to summit both peaks.
“It felt amazing when I achieved this feat for which I've have been training specifically since April 2021,” shares the mountaineer.
The 39-year-old adds that standing on the summit of Everest gave him tremendous confidence to push himself further.
Currently working for Bank of America as a Risk Associate, he has always been an adventure freak and loves spending time outdoors. “Doing the doublepeak was fun but also very challenging. It was more mentally challenging than physically,” he says.
He had to closely monitor his body for any physiological changes and maintain a certain pace. “The biggest mental challenge I encountered was to be patient and wait for my turn on the mountain,” he adds.
“But when you see other mountaineers progressing and summiting swiftly you get FOMO — the fear the missing out. You question yourself — ‘what if there is no good window to climb both peaks on back-to-back days?’ ‘What if this is the only opportunity and you are sitting here watching it happen as a spectator?”
Admitting that he is very impatient, Satish says, “But this expedition taught me the importance of being patient.”
One tough aspect of the double peak expedition was having to traverse the dangerous Khumbu glacier en route - the place where most deaths happen on Everest.
“These glaciers are huge ice charms and when the sun comes out the ice bridges break or move
IT FELT AMAZING WHEN I ACHIEVED THE FEAT FOR WHICH I’VE HAVE BEEN TRAINING SPECIFICALLY SINCE APRIL 2021. DOING THE DOUBLE-PEAK WAS FUN BUT ALSO VERY CHALLENGING. IT WAS MORE MENTALLY CHALLENGING THAN PHYSICALLY — SATISH
in deep as we step on them. There’s a danger of falling into a crevasse and disappearing forever. It was one of the hardest parts of the climb, hampered by multiple ladder crossings, cold weather and darkness,” says Satish.
He flags mental strength as being very important for such expeditions. He has been challenging his mental strength by climbing solo and unguided, without any help, to prepare for Everest.
“I trained my body for 2-3 hrs back-to-back four times a week, doing strength work, Pilates, yoga and / or running. And on the weekends, I would go for 6-8 hrs with a weighted pack to build stamina and endurance for the double-summit,” he reveals.
Mark Postle, a well-known Mountain Guide and Mountaineering Coach with Uphill Athlete, agreed to guide Satish in his training for Everest post his Mt Aconcagua summit. Satish also moved to Boulder
Colorado to work with his strength coach Connie Sciolino at the Alpine Training Center.
“These two experts have constantly shared their experiences on the big mountains, giving me insights on how to train and prepare both my mind and body for the expedition,” he says.
Satish recalls that he broke his hand two weeks before he was to leave for Argentina to scale Mt Aconcagua in January of 2020, and spent the next 15 months going from surgery to surgery and undergoing therapy for his dominant hand. “I went into a shell worrying throughout this period that I might never be able to climb again,” he shares.
But to his credit, Satish has since climbed three of the hardest of the ‘7 Summits’ — the tallest peaks on each continent — and Lhotse — in less than a year.
“My journey over the past 24 months — the ups and the downs — has given me the confidence that I can withstand life’s challenges and succeed,” shares Satish, who is also an avid traveller and landscape photographer.
Satish concludes by saying that he dedicates all of his summits to his late mother.
Satish visits Hyderabad frequently while his father is in the city.