Corporal Dalip Shekawat, a Reservist with 17 Field Ambulance and a special education teacher at St. Amant Centre, is, as he said during a recent interview with the Voxair, “going for the grand slam.”
He is not talking about baseball, though, where that term has a special meaning (a home
run with the bases loaded).
It refers to “the Explorer’s Grand Slam, often referred to as the Adventurer’s Grand Slam,” notes online information.
It is “the challenge to complete ALL of the famed Seven Summits as well as ski to both the North and South Poles. It is one of the most coveted adventure achievements on earth and only a tiny handful of people have ever completed this feat. (Approximately 70!)”
Cpl Shekawat has already summited 17 mountain peaks and completed over 40 ultra-marathons, says his bio.
In May 2019, Cpl Shekawat summited Mt. Everest, and in October 2021, he completed the Marathon des Sables, a 250 km ultra-marathon in the blistering heat of the Sahara Desert. In June 2022, he tackled the Jungle Ultra, a 230 km ultra-marathon in the grueling Amazon rainforest. Later that year, in December, he participated in the breathtaking “Ski the Last Degree” expedition, reaching the Geographic South Pole.In July 2023, he completed the 210 km Mountain Ultra in Kyrgyzstan, a challenging race at an altitude of 4,000 meters. The following month, in August, he reached the Geographic North Pole and made history by running the first-ever marathon at the North Pole during the summer season.
Whew!
A native of India, Cpl Shekawat’s father was a member of the Indian military.
“We traveled throughout India at different postings,” Cpl Shekawat, who’s lived in Canada for 14 years now, said.
“So, that inculcated a sense of adventure in me. My first job was in the Himalayas. I met people who had climbed Everest. I connected with nature and did my mountaineering courses. I’ve never looked back and set my aim for Everest.”
The group he was with on Everest stayed at the basecamp for close to 50 days.
“You live together and build that camaraderie,” he said.
“You become friends with each other. Out of fifteen people, six of us qualified to do the summit push. It was such a great experience to reach the summit. We were dehydrated. We were oxygen deprived because we were running low on oxygen. We didn’t sleep for four days straight. We didn’t eat at that altitude.”
The body is burning 10,000- 15,000 calories a day during the climb, he added.
Standing on the summit, he was able to see the curvature of the Earth and “look around the world.”
But, there was a downside.
“Passing through all those (dead) bodies is like a war zone,” commented Cpl Shekawat, noting that his wife is a teacher, while their oldest son is a reserve Lieutenant in the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, and younger son is a member of the Air Cadets.
“You work for fifteen years to achieve that. You just have to be focussed. You stand with the flag of Canada and your unit flag. You feel such a sense of accomplishment. When we came back, we found out that we lost of two of our fellows on the climb. They didn’t make it back. That was the biggest setback. They died of exhaustion.”
During the ascent their Sherpa guides made them move constantly for 36 hours, he said.
“They didn’t allow us to stop,” Cpl Shekawat continued.
“I was lucky that I had trained enough to make it back to camp. I had some soup, and was coughing very heavily. I was lucky that I didn’t stay longer.”
It’s recommended that you don’t stay in the “death zone,” which starts at about 8000 metres up, for more than 16 hours, he said.
“That’s where the summit push happens,” said Cpl Shekawat, a former science teacher in India, who has Masters Degree in Environmental Ecology and a second Masters in Botany.
Over 340 people have died attempting to reach—or return from-- the summit of Mount Everest, according to the Wikipedia site, “List of people who died climbing Mount Everest.”
“There are thought to be over 200 bodies left on Mount Everest, and no one is entirely sure how many or exactly where many are because of the horrific and unrelenting conditions,” says the online information.
There is no way you can simulate the actual environment on Everest, Cpl Shekawat stressed.
“It’s genetics, training and experience that counts,” he said.
“Those two climbers who died didn’t have much experience on the mountain. There are many factors involved when you climb the highest mountain in the world. Everest comes with so many dangers, frostbite, earthquakes, Khumbu cough, avalanches, slippery ice slopes, dizziness. Anything can go wrong.
“I lost two toes on my left foot from frostbite. I lost twenty kilos of weight. I was numb for six months. I couldn’t feel my body. I had PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) afterwards.”
When he returned home, Cpl Shekawat ramped up his already intense training regime.
“I started running 150 mile races after that,” he said.
“It’s my way of recovering.”
Now, he’s preparing for a 230 k race at the Arctic Circle in Sweden in February 2025.
“The race is self supporting,” the soft spoken Cpl Shekawat said.
“So, I have to carry my food and all the equipment and prepare my food at the end of the day.”
His 50th birthday is coming up.
“I’m going to celebrate with a 500 k race in Australia, just to give myself a birthday gift in May 2025,” Cpl Shekawat said.
Next up for him is a trip to Argentina in late November 2024 to climb Aconcagua, at 6959m the highest peak in the Andes.
“It is also the highest mountain in the world outside of central Asia,” Cpl Shekawat observed.
“I’m going with another CAF member from Winnipeg.”
In January 2020, Cpl Shekawat noted that he founded “Rising Runners,” a running group with the vision to inspire others to pursue fitness while supporting the community through fundraising and climate action initiatives.
In October 2020, he was recognized at the legislative building by MLA Riel Minister Rochelle Squires for his community service efforts in Riel.
In October 2022, he was honored by the Mahatma Gandhi Centre of Canada with the Community Service Award, and in December 2022, he received the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal at the Legislative building.He has spearheaded many fundraising initiatives for various charities and non-profit organizations, including Wounded Warriors Canada, Homes for Heroes Foundation, St. Amant, Cancer Care Manitoba, Sewa Canada, Winnipeg Harvest, Main Street Project, and the Reconciliation Run.
Through his talks, Cpl Shekawat seeks to inspire the community by sharing his journey to some of the world’s highest peaks and most inhospitable environments, says his bio.
An adventurer extraordinaire.
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