This episode is a conversation with Kuntal Joisher, the first vegan to summit Mount Everest. I’ve known Kuntal for many years – we went to the same college and later took different paths. Thanks to social media, I’ve been able to follow his work. Kuntal is a computer engineer turned mountaineer who’s accomplished four summits of 8000’ers and 20+ summits of 6000’er mountains. The most surprising part – Kuntal was scared of heights. Go figure!
It’s refreshing to hear a different voice to understand the process of achieving challenging goals. His idea of climbing mountains is to ensure success in a healthy state. Kuntal shares his preparation techniques, both mental and physical, to conquer our inner Everests.
Highlights
- Summiting Mount Everest twice without having the expressed ambition to do so. 3:02
- Does being cautious work against you in high-risk situations? 9:32
- Difference between preparing and training for a mountaineering expedition 16:54
- What mental preparation looks like? 20:20
- How does one determine a hand-over for events when their mind doesn’t work clearly? 28:28
- What it feels like at the top of the world 35:06
- Difference between South Side vs North Side Summit expeditions on Everest 39:20
- Vegan diet and mountaineering 41:50
- Climbing with equipment that’s vegan-friendly 44:29
Where to follow Kuntal
Instagram: Kuntal A. Joisher (@kuntalj) • Instagram photos and videos
Facebook: (20+) Kuntal Joisher | Facebook
LinkedIn: (2) Kuntal Joisher | LinkedIn
Kuntal's Bio
Kuntal Joisher combines the distinction of being both an accomplished mountaineer and a high-end, computer science professional. He is an alumnus of Vivekanand Institute of Technology, Mumbai, and USC Viterbi School of Engineering, Los Angeles. His insatiable passion for mountaineering has led him to climb mountain ranges across the world, including the Western Ghats near Mumbai, the Northern Icecap in Chile, the Andes in Argentina, and the Nepalese and Indian Himalaya. Joisher has climbed to the top of Mt. Everest from both Nepal side (May 2016), and China side (May 2019). Some of his other notable climbs are the ascent of Manaslu (October 2014), Lhotse (May 2018), and Aconcagua (Feb 2020) among others. He is a well-respected photographer, and his work has been published in National Geographic, BBC Earth, Space.com, Himalayan Journal, The Outdoor Journal, Time Out, Traveler Trails, Indian Mountaineer, and several other newspapers and magazines across the world. Joisher has been named one of India’s top 30 fitness influencers, has been featured on cover of magazines across India and the world, and has also been featured on the TEDx platform multiple times. Joisher is an athlete ambassador for the Italian company “Save the Duck”, and represents them while mountaineering across the world.
Joisher regularly travels across the world to speak about his life transforming journey of climbing Mt. Everest in hopes to inspire his audience to pursue their dreams and passions. Joisher continues to train hard both mentally & physically, and his latest project is to compete in a natural bodybuilding competition, and follow it up by climbing the 7 summits – both in a 100% #Vegan fashion in the next 2 years. In addition to his dedication to mountaineering and bodybuilding, Joisher is passionate about three causes: raising awareness about the disease of Dementia, spreading the message of Veganism, and education of the underprivileged in Nepal.
When Joisher is not climbing, he works as a nutrition and fitness coach helping people make smarter choices, build better habits, and overall lead a healthy and fit life!