00:06Shubrank Mukhiya fires off a message and gets to work.
00:10Some fake blood and bruises should do the trick.
00:13Shubrank isn't an actor, but a hiking instructor.
00:19This fix my makeup. I have some fake bruise here.
00:23This is a primary injury, this is a secondary injury.
00:26But because I have a head bruise and I was mountain biking,
00:29it was a high-speed impact, so they need to protect my spine.
00:33That's what we are checking for.
00:42Shubrank's performance is part of a training program
00:45for people wanting to learn the ins and outs of hiking in the Himalayas.
00:50Getting an injured person back to safety without calling for helicopter rescue
00:54is an important module in the program.
00:57The company Shubrank co-founded teaches people to administer first aid
01:01as well as how to camp simply using minimal resources.
01:06The goal is to teach sustainable hiking and trekking skills
01:09deep in the alpine forests of the Himalayas.
01:12We definitely receive a lot of heartwarming messages that this course
01:16also helped us bring lifestyle changes.
01:20We are more conscious about our choices now, about our footprint now.
01:24We just have to make not throwing litter on the track cool.
01:27Right now that's not cool.
01:28Right now just clicking pictures and postings on social media is cool.
01:31We just have to bring the shift that this is recreation, but there is also skill.
01:36And once that shift happens in the mindset,
01:39I don't think somebody would throw garbage on the trail.
01:42A survey of hikers and mountaineers worldwide
01:44showed that 99.7% of them encounter trash on each trip.
01:50Without support from porters, cooks and guides,
01:54this style of hiking teaches enthusiasts how to behave in the wild
01:57while keeping their impact on delicate forest ecosystems to a minimum.
02:03It takes much more than just the thought.
02:06You have to do the work.
02:07You have to learn the course.
02:08And because there's so many trails that you can do,
02:11it's not about just those famous, I did that, I did that.
02:14Like Manali is not just two or three trails.
02:16It's a full forest.
02:17And it enables you to go anywhere, anywhere you want,
02:22any trail you want.
02:23And even if you want, you can make your own new trails.
02:27Everybody has a thought of cleanliness, sustainability,
02:29but you have to take the step, you have to take the hard work
02:32to learn the skills.
02:34However, the vast majority of adventure tourism in the Himalayas
02:38is far from mindful about its impact on the environment.
02:42A handful of very popular trails draw large numbers of hikers,
02:46turning pristine alpine forests into busy walkways.
02:50The paths are littered with trash.
02:54With large groups of walkers now making it to remote parts of the mountains,
02:59the toxic after effects of human activity are encroaching even more into nature.
03:04It is a development local adventure guide Ravi Thakur has watched with growing trepidation.
03:14There is a lot of litter now, especially plastic waste.
03:18If you reach a campsite, you will find many toilet pits dug there.
03:22And they are often not built in a proper eco-friendly manner.
03:26Because of the heavy footfall on the trail,
03:29much of the human waste ends up flowing into our streams and water channels.
03:34The same water is then used by people living in the valleys below.
03:39And many people fall ill because of it.
03:46A large number of hiking and adventure enthusiasts come to the Himalayas
03:51from nearby urban areas like Delhi, eager to find respite from stress and pollution.
03:58But many, like this group of trail runners,
04:01are now becoming conscious of the impact of their hobby
04:04and are finding alternative ways to explore nature,
04:08keep fit and enjoy themselves.
04:12Today, they are out for a jog in Delhi's 784 acre Sanjaywan urban forest.
04:19They chart a route along well-trodden paths
04:22and also head into less explored parts of the forest.
04:28Not everyone can go to the mountains every weekend,
04:30so let's do the next best thing and take people to the real outdoors,
04:33which are the trails and forests around NCR.
04:35And we are blessed to have such a wide green cover around our city
04:40and some forests as close as 15 minutes from any point in South Delhi.
04:45A short flight or drive to the Himalayas in search of their next hike up the mountains
04:50has been replaced by a run or a hike through one of the many forests in and around the megacity
04:55itself.
04:57And one great side effect for the participants, it boosts their health.
05:02We try to create guidelines of what people can bring,
05:07what are the minimum gear requirements, safety aspects.
05:11So looking at all of that, we created our monthly meet structure
05:15where every month we meet in a different forest area of Delhi NCR.
05:20So that helps people see different forests.
05:22And literally, if you do one forest, you would come back to it after 18 to 24 months.
05:27It's that much variety of spaces that we have, so we are so blessed.
05:33They call their running approach, leave no trace.
05:39When we come to leave no trace, I mean our philosophy, our tenet is very simple.
05:44You leave an area just as you found it or better, right?
05:47So, if we find rappers, we pick them up.
05:50We make it a point, so none of our members litters on the trail.
05:54We don't leave anything behind, just our footprints.
05:56I think that is allowed.
05:58Leaving mountains and forests better than you found them.
06:02It's not a revolutionary idea, but if more people adopt it,
06:07the mountains can certainly breathe a sigh of relief.
06:11I'm going to be a new path, but if you don't have enough time that you could get through the
06:12Ephraim.
06:12If people don't want to ask, ask yourself a new path to your own way.
06:13You have a new path and your life playing together.
06:13You have a new path and I feel like you're new.
06:13If you don't have a new path and I'm on the path, then you can jump up with a new
06:14path.
06:14You can't be a new path.
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