Title: The Mountaineering Handbook
Author: Sanjai Banerji
Pages: 318
Publisher: Blue Rose Publishers
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Firstly, it is obligatory to understand the very concepts of ‘Trekking’ as well as ‘Trekker’ before going ahead. As many of the readers might not be aware of the subject matters, on which this review has been carried out.

Well, ‘Trekking’ is an outdoor activity of walking for more than a day. It is a form of walking, undertaken with the specific purpose of exploring and enjoying the scenery. Trekking could be a motive or it could be a commitment, an aim, an objective, a mission, a party, or a social gathering. Whereas, ‘Trekker’ is a traveler who makes a long arduous journey hiking through the mountainous country!

It must be noted that this title “The Mountaineering Handbook” contains very deeply researched mountaineering knowledge. Moreover, if you are a trekker or planning to be one then you should make your basics clear before going to the mountains because, in the mountains, it is your basic knowledge & instincts that will help you to overcome crucial situations. Therefore, it becomes truly important to have a proper knowledge of the mountains before going trekking and this book is designed to help you in attaining the required information & knowledge for mountaineering. Interestingly, the author himself is a professional mountaineer & one of the senior marathon runners in India.

Author Sanjai Banerji, is the oldest man at 61 years in the year 2021 to attend and successfully complete the Basic Mountaineering Course with an A grade from 3rd April to 28th April 2021 from the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports at Manali, Himachal Pradesh. He was amongst 44 persons from five states (Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, West Bengal & Himachal Pradesh) from varying backgrounds to come together to complete the course. He is also a gold medallist in Journalism in his postgraduate studies with 36 years of experience in the steel, paper, publishing, and cement sectors started running marathons in 2008 at the age of 48, after a stone operation on his left kidney. He has run several half marathons, and ultra-races all over the country in different terrains hills, deserts, high altitudes, and stadiums. Through his running, Author Sanjai got a boy from Ladakh admitted to the country’s prestigious Residential Public School, The Doon School, Dehradun with a fee waiver!

 
Author Sanjai Banerji retired recently on the 31st of December 2020 as General Manager from Prism Johnson Limited, Satna, where he was in charge of Corporate Image and Corporate Social Responsibility. Under his tenure, Prism Johnson Limited received four CSR Awards from Greentech Foundation and Apex India Foundation. He presently lives with his family in Bhopal. He has written a book on running titled ‘Crossing the Finish Line’ that is available on Amazon and Flipkart in paperback as well as in e-Book editions, which was nominated as Best Author in the category of Health, Fitness and Dieting 2021 by Navi Mumbai Chamber of Business and Industries. Author Sanjai Banerji also holds the national record for running 117 virtual races between the months of March to December 2020.This particular book, ‘The Mountaineering Handbook’ is a study guide and comes under the category of “Researches & References Textbooks!” The book will be useful for the trekker or novice climber wanting to go higher or the veteran climber wanting to brush up on the technicalities in the wilderness. A wide spectrum of subjects has been covered on mountaineering, like building climbing anchors, key belaying steps, rappelling, jumaring, rock climbing, snow craft, ice craft, avalanches, glaciers, mountain ranges of India, tent pitching, river crossing and the map as a navigation tool in this volume!

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In addition, the author has been very cautious to mention the details of the safety & risk factors under high altitude acclimatization, avalanche rescue, survival techniques, preventing accidents, cold injuries, and first aid. Well, through this book, the author has also made a conscious & noble effort to spread awareness to the reader on maintaining the pristine beauty of the hills and forests in the wilderness through the principles of leaving no trace, the Do’s & Don’ts of mountaineering, selection of campsite, climate change, camp sanitation and hygiene. One of the salient features of the book is the emphasis on the physical training exercises required for mountaineering.

Well, coming to the Readers’ Connect section, I must mention that the book is going to be of tremendous help for both the experienced as well as the aspiring trekkers, hikers, rock climbers & all kinds of mountaineers. In this handbook, the readers will find various vital information with regard to the subject matter of mountaineering, which is bound to help them during their course of mountain climbing. The book also highlights the various risk factors as well as the survival techniques, which indeed holds a great value and the author has carried out a very deep research in the process of making this book. The book consists of proper steps to follow before going to the mountains as well as the steps to prepare yourself before your adventure. Well, the best part of this book is the emphasis on physical training exercises is laid in this book. In addition, through this book, our author also explains the admission process to mountaineering institutes!

Now, coming to the final part, which is Book’s Verdict it becomes necessary to mention that after studying the complete subject matter presented by the Author in this book, we can easily conclude that the Book Title is very apt & suitable. The Author had very well justified the book title, as the subject matter present in this book truly gives a very deep & layer by layer information on the subject matter.

Moreover, a book like “The Mountaineering Handbook” deserves a chance from all kinds of readers (both trekkers & non-mountaineers) since the book has a lot to us about the mountains, which we all must know in our lives. Moreover, survival instincts and the details of risk factors are some of those vital aspects that we should not ignore and the overall information in this book is going to be beneficial only for the readers. Therefore, for the sake of knowledge & awareness, this book is a MUST PICK one, and Author Sanjai Banerji indeed deserves appreciation for presenting such beneficial knowledge through this book of his!

About the Author-Sanjai Banerji is the author of a previous book, ‘Crossing the Finish Line’, and a regular contributor on fitness as expert panelist in, Finisher Magazine. He is an ultra-marathon runner, who has run in the forests, on hills, deserts, roads and high-altitude mountain ranges. In 2019, he was one of the oldest Indians to have completed the big three Asian Marathons in Mumbai, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

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A gold-medalist in journalism in his post-graduate studies, with 36 years experience in the corporate sector, Sanjai also completed the special Basic Mountaineering Course with an A Grade at the age of 61. He is an ardent advocate of tackling global warming challenges by managing climate risks in and beyond the mountain regions.

Sanjai has travelled extensively in different parts of the country and has had several articles, photo-features and short stories published in newspapers and magazines. He is presently embarking on climbing the highest peaks of the continent of Africa (Mount Kilimanjaro) and the continent of Europe (Mount Elbrus) in 2023.