10 Essential Questions: Ananth Maniam

Each week we bring you a personal story from one of our members. For our member profile this week we talked to....

Name: Ananth Maniam
Hometown: Born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Grew up in villages across Tamil Nadu.
Member Since: December 2016
Occupation: I work as a Data Scientist in a company called 'Amazon'.
Favorite Activities: I always loved being outdoors. I grew up as a farmer, climbing coconut trees for fun. Now that life has brought me to Seattle, I love scrambling, backpacking, peak bagging, trekking, and recently climbing. My favorite activity is trying to keep my ice cream frozen on trips.

10 Essentials: Questions

How did you get involved with The Mountaineers?

Back in India, I used to hike with a group called 'India Hikes' and did some treks across the Himalayas. Once I moved to Seattle, I learned about this organization called The Mountaineers. I wanted to go out often to learn and explore new places and cultures. With the 'Seattle Freeze' as a warning, I thought The Mountaineers would be my home in Seattle (it truly came to be one).

What motivates you to get outside with us?

I’ve been inspired to explore the outdoors and push my limits for many years. Here are few my main motivations:

• Growing up at sea level with no experience in mountain life, I booked my first trip to Kashmir to a trek across Great Lakes Himalayas. There were many challenges: language, race, size, age, etc. I wanted to prove to myself that everything can be overcome.
• When I moved to Seattle, my friends told me public transportation is not adequate for trail life. There are more challenges here as a non-familiar face in the mountains. 
• When I joined The Mountaineers, people used to ask me, "Have you ever climbed a mountain before?" or "Don't you feel cold in snow, since you come from a tropical place?" or "You don't have a car, how do you enjoy the mountains here?" I wanted to put all this to rest and enjoy the maximum time in the woods.
• I wanted to break stereotypes by inviting and showing ways for more people to enjoy the outdoors. I enjoy bringing diverse crowds into the mountains to share the awesome outdoors of the Pacific Northwest.

What's your favorite Mountaineers memory?

• My first unsuccessful scramble at Humpback taught me about group thinking.
• My first overnight winter scramble at Adams showed me group camaraderie.
• My first knock on the helmet for kicking steps for too long showed me the value of teamwork.
• All my carpool buddies showed me how lovely Mountaineers can be. 
• My first leader experience showed me what giving back to the community is all about. 
• My first appreciation from a fellow immigrant filled me with happiness.

Who/What inspires you?

I used to spend a lot of time at my grandparents' farms in India, doing farm labour, looking at distant mountains. My grandfather always motivated me to do something I liked. No one in my entire family, or even generations back, has ever climbed a mountain. I wanted to do something different.

When I landed my first job with a salary of 350$ a month in India, I started saving money. I even saved 50% of my salary for a year to buy a backpack. I saved for 2.5 years to go on a first trip from the southernmost part of India to the northernmost part of India. After my first trip, I invited my friends to go on trips with me. I would buy/lend my gear so they could explore. 

I grew up with the lessons to "always give what you have to others who don't have" and "always show things which others can't afford to see". These words inspire me to do something for people like me who would love to explore outside but can't do it on their own.

What does adventure mean to you?

Anyone experiencing anything out of their comfort zone is an adventure.  For example, me moving to Seattle is an adventure. Me being in the mountains is an adventure. But I would also say, how you handle the adventure and how you make a path for others to enjoy the same adventure is an adventure in itself.

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