In 2006, when the world was busy with wise cracks over French footballer Zinedine Zidane's head butt in the Football World Cup, veteran Pune climber Vikas Satarkar with Vaibhav Mehta (founder of sport climbing in India) was attempting to bolt a very difficult route in Plus Valley, Tamhini Ghat (Maharashtra), about 70 km from Pune.
Despite their best efforts, the route at Dnyaneshwari rock face wasn't completed and was consequently abandoned. A busy city life prevented him from returning to complete this unfinished business.
When the route was being bolted, pre-teen Tuhin Satarkar – Vikas Satarkar's son – watched from afar. "It was overwhelming for me. The climb the rockface all left a deep impact on me. It was then that I had decided that if this face is never climbed again, I will do it," says Tuhin.
Coming from a family of climbers, Tuhin enjoyed a home advantage (read: didn't have to go through engineering college). This lead him to take quick strides and conquer some commendable milestones.
He's 18 now, after having learnt enough and trained hard. Hungry to go big. After having scaled India's hardest route – Ganesh – and bolting new routes with world champion Kilian Fischubber, he's rearing for new challenges.
That's when he set his eyes on Tamhini Ghat. He went there to finish what his father started. A route where your next hold could be a loose rock. While he attempts to bolt this incomplete route, we capture him on film.
