Malli Mastan Babu

{{Infobox person

| name = Mastan Babu Malli

| image = Malli Mastan Babu.jpg

| image_size = 250x350px

| birth_date = 3 September 1974

| birth_place = Gandhi Janasangam, Nellore, Andhra Pradesh

| death_date = 24 March 2015 (aged 41)

| death_place = Nevado Tres Cruces, Andes

| nationality = Indian

| education = B.Tech, M.Tech, PGDM

| alma_mater = {{ubl|NIT Jamshedpur| IIT Kharagpur|IIM Calcutta}}

| occupation = Mountaineer and motivational speaker

| website = [http://www.1stindian7summits.com 1stindian7summits.com]

| caption = Malli Mastan Babu

}}

Mastan Babu Malli (3 September 1974 – 24 March 2015) was an Indian mountaineer. He is best known for his 2006 world record of climbing the Seven Summits in the shortest span of time at that point - a total of 172 days with the first climb on 19 January 2006 and the seventh on 10 July 2006. This feat made him the first Indian and South Asian to climb all seven summits, the first Indian to climb Vinson Massif and the first Indian to climb Carstensz Pyramid. While his record for climbing the seven summits has since been improved upon, his record of attaining each summit on a different day of the week still stands today.

Mastan Babu died on 24 March 2015 in Andes mountains after getting caught in bad weather post a successful attempt of Tres Cruces Sur Summit. The continent-spanning journey that began with a schoolboy drawing inspiration from a Sainik School senior who had died while nearing the top of Mount Everest thus ended high on another demanding peak in the Andes. In between, he settled down for brief periods to earn degrees and a living.

Early life and education

Born on 3 September 1974 at Gandhi Janasangam village of Sangam Mandal in Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh to a family of Malli Mastanayya and Subbamma, Mastan Babu was their fifth child. He was amongst the first in his farming family to receive formal education.{{cite web|url=http://getahead.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/jun/08/slide-show-1-from-iit-iim-to-the-worlds-tallest-peaks.htm|title=The Indian on top of the world|date=9 June 2009|work=Rediff}} He is said to have been named after Mastan Swamy, a saint. He studied at Sainik School, Korukonda, Vijayanagaram district., Andhra pradesh state during 1985–1992. After completing his B. E. in Electrical Engineering from National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur in 1996, Malli went on to earn an M.Tech. in electronics from Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur in 1998, distinguishing himself in various sports and adventure activities at both institutes.

Following a three-year stint as a software engineer, with Satyam Computers, Malli was selected for the two-year Post Graduate Diploma in Management(PGDM) program at Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, graduating in 2004.https://www.linkedin.com/pub/mastan-babu-malli/9/652/637 Retrieved from ‘Malli’s LinkedIn profile. An early inspiration for his turn towards mountaineering is said to have been the statue in his school of Lt. M.Uday Bhaskar Rao, a former student who was among those who died during the Indian Army's Everest expedition of 1985.{{cite web|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1061010/asp/calcutta/story_6850853.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150406014213/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1061010/asp/calcutta/story_6850853.asp|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 April 2015|title=The Telegraph - Calcutta : Metro|work=telegraphindia.com}} In IIM Calcutta, he was given Dr. B.C. Roy award, for his outstanding contributions towards enriching campus life.

Malli's untiring efforts to increase the fitness levels of fellow-students and to institutionalize adventure activities led to the foundation of IIM-C's Adventure Club in 2003. It continues to hold many events, on and off campus.{{cite web|url=https://www.iimcal.ac.in/index.php?q=about/campus-life/adventure-club|title=Adventure Club|work=iimcal.ac.in}}

Initiatives, achievements and awards

Malli was one of the recipients of the annual Distinguished Alumnus Award presented by IIM-C in November 2011.{{cite web|url=https://alumnilive.iimcal.ac.in/about/golden-jubilee/events/2011-awardees-iim-calcutta|title=2011 Awardees, Distinguished Alumnus Award - IIM Calcutta ALUMNI|work=iimcal.ac.in|access-date=5 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418090402/https://alumnilive.iimcal.ac.in/about/golden-jubilee/events/2011-awardees-iim-calcutta|archive-date=18 April 2015|url-status=dead}} He also received the Army Commander's Commendation in 2007 and the 2006 Conjee Rustumjee Cohoujee Bey Award given by the Friends of South Asian American Communities in California (FOSACC) for outstanding youth contribution.{{cite web|url=http://www.nriinternet.com/Associations/USA/A_Z/F/FOSAAC/2008_Sep06/index.htm|title=FOSAAC celebrates 61st Independence Day|work=nriinternet.com}}{{cite web|url=http://newsevents.saibabaschool.com/category/categories/page/4/|title=Categories - News and Events - Page 4|work=News and Events}}

After completing climbing Mount Everest, he moved towards Mt.Kailash but he didn't step on it cause it is a sacred mountain. He continued to inspire countless students in his former schools and colleges by his record-breaking pursuits, writing to them, participating in alumni meets, and holding courses on hiking, high altitude trekking, Yoga, Vipassana meditation, etc.
A proud Sainikorian, Malli paid tributes to his hero, Lt. Rao, and planted his school flag during his Everest trips. While many of his expeditions were unguided, they were always preceded by meticulous planning.{{cite web|url=https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/ssk85to92/conversations/messages/1944|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150406081524/https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/ssk85to92/conversations/messages/1944|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 April 2015|title=Yahoo! Groups|work=yahoo.com}}

After the quick (172 days) summiting of the highest peak in each of the seven continents in 2006, Malli continued to set new benchmarks of physical and mental endurance and excellence.{{cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/iimc-alumnus-a-master-of-high-peaks-set-for-2-000km-grand-himalayan-voyage/|title=IIM-C alumnus,a master of high peaks,set for 2,000-km grand Himalayan voyage|date=2 September 2009|work=The Indian Express}}

In June and July 2007, he accomplished through trekking and climbing a high-altitude traverse of the four major Hindu dhams of Uttarakhand. Between 21 October and 3 November of the same year, he executed his plan to run 14 half marathons in 14 days in 14 different states, during which he received support from the Indian Army. Before the end of the year, he had run "8 full Marathons and 3 half marathons in 13 days, spanning 10 Indian states".

In 2008, he completed a "75 day High altitude trek from the Mount Everest region to Kanchenjunga, climbing all the high passes between them, covering a total of approximately 1,100km of the Himalayan terrain.". Through his 2,000-kilometre, 132-day trans-Himalayan expedition from Mount Everest to Mount Kailash, Malli wanted to bring to everyone's attention the damage being done to both hills and plains by global warming and also to help in mapping the change in glacier topography.
South America, and especially its peaks, were a source of fascination for Malli, who travelled there often after first summiting Mt. Aconcagua in 2005.{{cite web|url=http://www.deccanherald.com/content/237513/F|title=Indian conquers the Andes in Latin America|work=Deccan Herald}}

Malli relished the opportunity of standing at top of peaks and of realizing the relative insignificance of humans when compared with awe-inspiring Nature.{{cite news |last1=Pandya |first1=Haresh |title=Give Ace Mountaineer Malli Mastan Babu His Due |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/give-ace-mountaineer-malli-mastan-babu-his-due/294044 |work=www.outlookindia.com/ |date=4 February 2022 |language=en}}

Seven Summits

In 2006, he completed the Seven Summits, the highest peak in each of the seven continents, in a span 172 days, which was also a world record during that time. He climbed each summit on a different day of the week.

Continent	Mountain	Height (in metres)	Date of Reaching the Peak	Day of Week
class="wikitable sortable"
Antarctica	Vinson Massif	4897	19 January 2006	Thursday
South America	Aconcagua	6962	17 February 2006	Friday
Africa	Mount Kilimanjaro	5895	15 March 2006	Wednesday
Australia	Mount Kosciuszko	2228	1 April 2006	Saturday
Asia	Mount Everest	8848	21 May 2006	Sunday
Europe	Mount Elbrus	5642	13 June 2006	Tuesday
North America	Mount McKinley (Denali)	6194	10 July 2006	Monday
Australia \|Puncak Jaya (Carstenz Pyramid) \|4884 \|28 October 2006 \|Saturday

Awards and recognition

Distinguished Alumnus Award by Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta in 2011{{cite web | url=https://alumnilive.iimcal.ac.in/about/golden-jubilee/events/2011-awardees-iim-calcutta | title=Distinguished Alumnus award 2011 | publisher=IIM Calcutta | accessdate=5 April 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418090402/https://alumnilive.iimcal.ac.in/about/golden-jubilee/events/2011-awardees-iim-calcutta | archive-date=18 April 2015 | url-status=dead }}

Final climb

After climbing Mt Aconcagua solo in 2005, Malli visited South America a number of times. He developed a special liking for the Andes and he climbed a number of Andean peaks. He became fluent in Spanish so that he could easily communicate with the locals. He wanted to climb the 10 highest peaks of the Andes.

Malli decided to climb Tres Cruces Sur summit (6,749 m) of Nevado Tres Cruces on 23 March 2015 before heading back for India on 28 March 2015. Weather deteriorated when he was descending after the successful summit of Trés Cruces.

Death

File:Mastan babu -funneral.JPG

Malli went missing on 24 March 2015 and died outside his pitched tent on the slopes of Cerro Tres Cruces Sur in the Andes.[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Top-Indian-mountaineer-Malli-Mastan-Babu-who-went-missing-on-Mar-24-found-dead/articleshow/46802432.cms. Top-Indian-mountaineer-Malli-Mastan-Babu-who-went-missing-on-Mar-24-found-dead] The Times of India, Retrieved 4 April 2015. Malli, who was climbing solo, was caught up in the exceptionally bad weather, which also led to the 2015 Northern Chile floods and mudflow, in the Andes. With all access routes to the mountain being cut, it took close to 10 days for the rescue teams to reach him. His body was found on 3 April 2015.{{cite web |url=http://www.outdoorjournal.in/news-2/malli-mastan-babu-found-dead-in-the-andes/|title=Malli Mastan Babu found dead in the Andes |author= |work=The Outdoor Journal|date=4 April 2015 }} He was supposed to have returned to India by month-end after adding the last of the ten highest peaks in the Andes to his list of conquests.{{cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2015/04/04/malli-mastan-babu_n_7002806.html|title=Malli Mastan Babu, India's Ace Mountaineer, Found Dead|work=The Huffington Post |date=4 April 2015}}{{cite web |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Top-Indian-mountaineer-Malli-Mastan-Babu-who-had-gone-missing-on-March-24-found-dead/articleshow/46802432.cms|title=Top Indian mountaineer Malli Mastan Babu, who had gone missing on March 24, found dead|work=The Times of India}}{{cite web |url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/mountaineer-malli-mastan-found-dead-in-argentina/|title=Mountaineer Malli Mastan found dead in Argentina|date=5 April 2015|work=The Indian Express}}

The PM of India Narendra Modi paid homage to Malli Mastan Babu.{{cite news | url=http://pib.nic.in/newsite/mbErel.aspx?relid=117961 | title=PM pays homage to Mountaineer Malli Mastan Babu | date=5 April 2015 | agency=Prime Minister's Office | accessdate=5 April 2015 | author=AK | location=New Delhi}} The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N. Chandrababu Naidu condoled his death.{{cite news | url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/states/ap-cm-condoles-death-of-mountaineer-malli-mastan-babu/article7068345.ece | title=AP CM condoles death of mountaineer Malli Mastan Babu | date=4 April 2015 | agency=The Hindu Businessline | accessdate=5 April 2015 | author=V, Rishi Kumar | location=Hyderabad}}