Wecome from Harish of Awimaway

Hi,
Up till now, Harish has rejected pleas to write the story of his best Himalayan adventure saying, “I want to keep the secrets of the Himalaya”. Now at last, after 25 years, Harish breaks his silence and agrees to tell the story in his own words. This blog is about his many adventures and favourite expedition – the Trans Himalayan Expedition, which made history in the world of mountain exploration.

About the Author
Harish took tiny steps at the age of 8, to climb the Himalayas on a religious trip. This trip left a lasting impression on his ethos. His quest for a life of adventure led to a lifetime achievement Award for Adventure and his name in the Limca Book of Records, India's equivalent to the Guinness Book of World Records.

Little did Harish realise then, that his deep passion for adventure would take him across four continents leading trekking, mountaineering, skiing, riding and river guiding adventures and wildlife safaris to India, Spain, Bolivia, Peru, Tanzania, Namibia, Madagascar, Guatemala and Belize among others. He has climbed high on Mt Everest, crossed the Norwegian Arctic on skis and run across Iceland. He is the author of "Across the Frozen Himalaya", the story of his treacherous ski journey across the Himalaya.

Harish will write in this blog about his adventures and favourite expedition – the Trans Himalayan Expedition – which made history in the world of mountain exploration.


More about Harish:
Explorer, adventurer and mountaineer Harish Kohli is one of the most widely travelled Himalayan experts. He has visited almost every valley in the Himalaya and stood atop hundreds of its mountain passes. Out of his vast experience and passion for adventure came the idea of finding a ski route across the Himalaya. This became a 2,000 km marathon ski traverse in near-Arctic conditions and a journey of exploration into unknown regions. He wrote the story in his book ‘Across the Frozen Himalaya’ and the famous explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, OBE, wrote the foreword.

Harish Kohli is the founder of the Asian Geographic Trust. For his contribution to exploration and adventure, he has received the Vishist Seva Medal from the President of India and the National Adventure Award. His two record-breaking expeditions are in the Limca Book of Records (India’s Guinness Book of Records).

As a young man, Harish lived and worked in Australia for a time, skiing in the fashionable resort of Thredbo and scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef. In recent years Harish has led several expeditions to different parts of the world, spending over a month in countries on the four continents. He has explored the Amazon jungles in Bolivia, taken the Machu Picchu trail in Peru, followed the Maya Trail in Guatemala and Belize, swum with sharks and stingrays in Caye Caulker, off Belize, taken a desert safari across Namibia, climbed Mt Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, and followed humpback whales off the coast of Madagascar. He has ski-sailed alone across Lappland, northern Norway, ran across Iceland to raise funds for cancer research and climbed to 8,000m on Mt Everest.

One of his first adventures was also his best. In 1981-82 he conceived and led the first traverse of the Himalaya, covering 8,000 km on foot in 475 days, a pioneering journey of adventure and discovery. Much emulated since by other travellers, the expedition has been praised as the “the best in Himalayan history” and the legendary mountaineer Reinhold Messner said of it, “What I do vertically, you do horizontally”.