Our Friend Kuntal Joisher Becomes First Vegan To Summit Mount Everest From The North & South Side!

Surprise and good news! Our friend Kuntal Joisher, on Thursday, May 23rd, summitted Mount Everest from the north and south side - becoming the first vegan in the world to do so!

Kuntal Joisher is no stranger to the vegan community – a dedicated animal activist and mountaineer, he made history by becoming the first person to climb Mount Everest on a vegan diet in 2016.

Joisher has been vegan since 2002 and when he began his mountaineering journey, he was clear that he would climb Mount Everest “on a vegan diet or not at all.” He wanted to disprove that a vegan diet is nutritionally deficient

After attempts in 2014 and 2015, he summited successfully in 2016 – proving to the world that vegans can indeed, scale the highest mountains! 

But there was one more thing he had to address – scaling the great mountain on clothing and equipment that was not made from animal products. That meant vegan insulated jackets, hiking boots, socks and more.

Joisher during one of his previous expeditions

Joisher didn’t give up on his dream – and on the morning of May 23^rd, 2019 at 5:30 am, he made his way to to the top of the world – this time, on a vegan diet and with all-vegan equipment and gear. 

Here is a video of Kuntal shot at the Everest Basecamp right before he started out his juorney. 

That’s a feat no one else can boast of! We sure are super proud - and hope he inspires more elite athletes to switch to a vegan diet. Also – Joisher will be speaking at the Vegan India Conference this July in Delhi! He is part of an interesting panel that is all about staying fit on a vegan diet. Check out the full speaker line up for the conference here Interested in meeting more changemakers like Joisher from the Indian and global vegan ecosystem? Register for the conference here!

*All images courtesy Kuntal Joisher

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Read: Meet Kuntal Joisher: A Vegan Mountain Climber Who Conquered Mt. Everest!

Read more: Himalayan Vegan Retreat In Nag Tibba