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Jayanthi and Johann share their experience with the students
Jayanthi and Johann being welcomed to CA Sri Lanka by itsPresident Lasantha Wickremasinghe, Members of the Council
and Chief Executive Officer Aruna Alwis
By Shiran Illanperuma Sri Lanka’s Everest conquering duo JayanthiKuru- Utumpala and Johann Peiris on Monday inspired a new generation of record breakers with a leadership talk to a packed audience of young school students, detailing their trials and tribulations on the path to the world’s highest mountain. Kuru-Utumpala is the first Sri Lankan ever to have summited Mount Everest, while her climbing partner Peiris arrived 100 metres short of the summit before having to trek back to base due to an oxygen shortage that would have proved fatal had he chosen to climb further. Kuru-Utumpala and Peiris recanted their arduous journey from dream to planning to trekking the Himalayas’ most perilous peak to a captive audience of young students at the auditorium of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka. Relating their fantastic exploits to everyday life and challenges the duo emphasised the importance of self-confidence, teamwork to achieving everyday goals from the classroom to the mountaintop. “We all have our own mountains to climb,” said Kuru-Utumpala, “Yours may not be a literal mountain as it was in my case. It could be an exam or a job or any other dream you may harbour. The important thing is to believe in yourself and put your mind to climbing it.” Kuru-Utumpala, who is also actively involved in the field of women’s rights – beinga gender specialist at Care International Sri Lanka and working closely with the United Nations – emphasisedhow her parents’ liberal non-discriminatory attitude in raising her contributed to her accomplishments. “From a young age I had an impulse to be adventurous and climb everything in sight. My older brotherand I would spend our days climbing up trees or up to the rooftop. It wasn’t the most feminine behaviour but my parents never treated me different from my brother and that has given me the confidence to achieve things later in life,” she said. Peiris, who was forced to turn back mere metres away from the summit, emphasised that he had no regrets as the setback was beyond his control. “There is more to climbing Everest than reaching the top. We spent so many days travelling from base camp and circumstances forced me to turn back. It was the hardest decision of my life but at the end reaching the top was a very small part of the overall journey, which is what matters.” Peiris played down speculation over whether he would return to Everest to finish what he started, stating: “I feel like I have achieved what I set out to do but who knows how I’ll feel a year from now.” Nearly a month after their triumphant return from Everest, Kuru-Utumpala and Peiris told the audience that they would someday go back to mountaineering although they were still recovering from the steep toll the climb took on their bodies. “Both Johann and I lost about 10 kg by the time we go back down to Everest base camp,” said Kuru-Utumpala. Organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants Sri Lanka, Kuru-Utumpala and Peiris’ presentation was met with thundering applause from eager young students.
