Johann Peiris’ sheer determination leads to successful Everest expedition

By Shannon Jayawardena

Johann Peiris’ sheer determination led to a successful Everest expedition as he became the second Sri Lankan to climb the mountain, reaching the peak of almost 8,850 metres at 5.50 a.m. on Tuesday (22 May). 

Due to a last minute crisis, and just 400 metres away from reaching the top, Peiris had to make the tough decision of turning back as his oxygen tank underwent a failure during his first attempt with partner Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala back in 2016. 

After a long period of training and preparation, he completed the climb that took approximately two months. Peiris was welcomed by his team, family, friends and well-wishers yesterday as he shared his courageous and inspiring story.

Peiris stressed on the fact that he had engaged in intensive training, and he already knew the areas that he had to strengthen. He had researched, trained and prepared himself both physically and mentally. 

“After I returned from my last expedition, for some time I had decided that I would never go back, but after around six months, I took the decision as a Sri Lankan to somehow make my dream come true by taking the Lankan flag to the highest point in the world,” said Pieris.

He stressed on the fact that he had to face several challenges during his second climb as well, experiencing near-death situations and even witnessing people die right before his very eyes, which he believes was the most difficult challenge during this entire process. The brave climber stated that he is very proud of himself for having surpassed all of these obstacles to achieve success.  

Pieris said: “Most people only think about the climb, whereas the descent is also equally, if not more, difficult. I received the support of a lot of people, and the general public helped me immensely with their positivity for me. I am thankful for everything. From day one, everyone has been a part of my journey and I am truly grateful.”

A total of 348 licences were issued during this climb out of which 50% had the chance to climb the mountain. Pieris’ team consisted of four members, out of which three climbed to the very top. 

“Because I had climbed the mountain earlier, I knew what challenges lay ahead of me and I prepared myself accordingly. However, I did forget how difficult the whole expedition was until I went there and began the journey.” Peiris emphasised on the difficulty of the descent saying: “Your body already has started reiterating from camp four and it starts shutting down as you haven’t had food in your system for about three days. Because of the lack of oxygen, your body starts shutting down. Hence, the process of coming down is actually harder. From the summit, which is camp four, all the way to camp two, it’s almost a 70-90° descent, and that is where you really need to be careful when coming down.”

The weather is monitored, and the mountain officials buy the reports from various weather companies, noted Peiris. While the original trip was planned to begin on 23 April, a change of weather that was detected to be a snow storm delayed the expedition. Yet, this did not burden his hopes as he was fully prepared with the mind-set of completing his second attempt. 

Peiris said: “I kept my focus. I knew what my challenge was and I knew that I was not doing this just for me. I was doing this for everybody else. I was doing this for the nation. So, I kept this in mind and was able to go on. You have to keep your focus and you have to keep going. I think that was the biggest challenge for me.”

“The day was absolutely beautiful when I began my climb. It was one of the most beautiful days they have had on the mountain for a long time, and I think it was just for me. I was so blessed to have that day. It was so clear and unbelievable. The day we came down, the weather changed and we couldn’t even get back to Kathmandu. It was so difficult and it took nearly three days. So, that shows that our timing was perfect and we were just there at the right time. I think God was on my side and he was really with me on this journey,” he added. 

Peiris was not only able to reach the very top of Mount Everest, but was also able to spend around 15 minutes there as there was no one there at the time he got to the peak. The weather was beautiful, there was no wind but it did take few minutes for reality to click in the moment for he was standing at the very top of the world, he shared. 

“I got emotional, of course, that I had actually done it this time and I am very proud of myself. We all have our boundaries in our lives. We all face our own mountains in whatever we do, but my message is that we shouldn’t give up. We need to chase our dreams and make them come true,” stressed Peiris.

Pix by Lasantha Kumara