Frequent flyers think nothing of the gradual descent into an airport from 35,000 feet. For Upasana Basnyat, a current Flex-Time MBA student who grew up in Nepal, altitude is everything. In Nepal’s northern Mountain Region there is Mt. Everest at 29, 029 ft.
Upasana is a slender 5’6” and the references in her resume to “Trained Mountain Climber, Himalayan Mountaineering Institute” and “Member of the National Swimming Team of Nepal” seem incongruous at first, until you recognize the determination behind the words. Upasana was a somewhat rebellious teenager growing up in Kathmandu, a busy city of around 2 million, where MTV and other Western influences make for a heady mix of cultures. Athletics came naturally to Upasana, and a weekly routine of hiking and cycling provided a convenient break from studying. Learning to swim took a matter-of-fact two days. It is not a given that if you grow up in a country rimmed by the tallest mountains in the world you will be drawn to climbing and the out-of-doors. The mountains are sacred places in Nepalese culture - Mt. Everest (Mt. Sagarmāthā) is “Mother Goddess” and protector. Not many Nepalese climb, but the mountains attract those who love challenges or who depend upon professional trekking and tourism for a living.
Upasana attended the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling, India, when she was 15 years old - Darjeeling at 6, 700 ft. is a lovely tea producing hill town. The Mountaineering Institute was a sort of army boot camp with scenery. Nepalese and Indian students in competitive groups of seven or eight were put through two months of endurance training, capped by an eleven day trek from Darjeeling to Sandakphu, taking them from the plains of India, up through the foothills, and on to the snow fields of the Himalayas to where Nepal, Sikkim and West Bengal meet. Students climbed an 11,930 ft. peak in Sikkim, underwent extensive “watermanship” training, and had to cross the Bhare Khola, a river of white water rapids. Back in Darjeeling, weary (but undaunted) students ended their mountaineering program with a race over an obstacle course that tested their rock climbing, net climbing and cross river traversing skills to the fullest. At age 17, Upasana, put herself to her highest test yet with an ascent to Mt. Everest Base Camp at 17,575 ft.
Back in Kathmandu, Upasana was observed swimming in the municipal pool and was approached to train and compete for Nepal in the 2001 Asian Games. But, the massacre of the Nepalese royal family by the Crown Prince brought political turmoil to the country and an end to that prospect.
After attending boarding school in Haryana, India, Upasana attended City University, London (Cass Business School), where she majored in finance. Of course, there was mountain climbing in England and Scotland. Work as a graduate trainee at a chartered accountancy firm in London and as a management trainee at Nepal Investment Bank, Kathmandu led to graduate studies at Baruch College and New York City.
Upasana sees a clear relationship between mountaineering training and business training. “Climbers are trained to be cautious, to be aware of changing environments, and to be able to realistically assess themselves.” Also, “climbers can find it hard to let go of a vision even if the circumstances are not right, and this leads to failure.” In business, sound decisions require an awareness of the business environment and an objective assessment of resources and risks. Success in mountaineering and business requires teamwork. As Upasana puts it, “no one ever climbed Everest alone.”
Upasana feels fortunate that her parents encouraged her to see the world. The consequence is that she has become her “own person,” but needs to navigate between Nepalese traditions and her expanding independence. Upasana points out the challenge of being expected to voice opinions in class when in Nepal women are expected to be reserved and not express opinions. Upasana is completing her MBA in finance and entrepreneurship in June 2010, and will seek optional practical training in the U.S. She is weighing returning to Nepal to develop a sustainable farming venture on family land and jobs for the local community. The 14,000 ft. peaks of the Colorado Rockies are somewhere in her future (an “easy climb,” she says). Completing special training for a higher ascent of Everest is an enduring objective.
Finally, could we expect otherwise from Baruch. When asked if she knew other students from Nepal, Upasana said the elevators were “buzzing in Nepalese!”