The Other Side of Starting: DMETian Mountaineer Satyadeep Gupta's First TEDx Talk
- Team Dmet Club
- 21 hours ago
- 4 min read
"A ship is safest in the harbour—but that is not what it is built for."
With these opening words, DMETian mountaineer and marine engineer Satyadeep Gupta launched into his debut TEDx talk, taking the audience through a deeply personal, powerful, and poetic journey that spanned decades, continents, and some of the most treacherous peaks on the planet. This was not just a speech. It was an expedition in itself—navigating through fear, failure, self-doubt, and eventual triumph.
🎥 Watch the Full TEDx Talk Here:
In this blog, we bring you every part of that talk in detail—no edits, no omissions—just the raw, undiluted spirit of a man who dared to begin.
Story 1: The IIT Dream – Breaking the Barrier of Self-Belief (0:00–3:00)
Rewinding two decades, a young Satyadeep in April 2002 had just finished his Class 12 board exams. Despite scoring only 37% in his midterms, he declared to his friends and family that he would crack IIT. The responses were predictable:
“No one clears it from our town.”
“You’re not even the school topper.”
“Do something more realistic.”
But he persisted.
Driven by a mix of ego, stubbornness, and the desire to prove everyone wrong, he moved to Delhi and joined a coaching centre. Studying 15 hours a day, he shed 12 kg in a year, surviving on library books and short calls to his mother from a nearby phone booth.
In 2003, he cracked the IIT exam—becoming the first person from his school and town to do so.
"It doesn’t matter where you start. What matters is how you show up every single day.”
Story 2: Leaving the Sea – The Barrier of Security (3:00–7:00)
By 2007, Satyadeep had graduated from DMET and was living the "ideal life" as a marine engineer: global travel, stable job, decent income, married with two kids.
But something within him felt incomplete.
He started trekking as a hobby. One trek became many, and soon he was drawn into the technical depth of mountaineering. After completing advanced mountaineering courses in 2016, he faced six years of failure in summiting peaks.
His relentless pursuit led him to the death zone of Mt. Kanchenjunga (8,586 m) in 2022. This was his first success, but it came at a cost.
He passed the body of a fellow Indian climber just two days before summiting. It rattled him deeply.
"Sometimes, you have to block everything and keep going. But the memories never fade."
Story 3: Mount Annapurna – The Barrier of Not Quitting (7:00–12:00)
Annapurna (8,091 m) has a 32% death-to-summit ratio—one of the highest in the world.
Satyadeep not only decided to climb it, but also aimed to do so without supplemental oxygen.
At 7,600 m, his body began to shut down. He was just 500 m from the summit. His ego said "push," but the mountain sent warning signals.
He chose to turn back.
"There is a thin line between bravery and stupidity.”
This decision became the most powerful one of his life. It taught him the rarest lesson of all—sometimes, courage lies in retreat.
Story 4: Everest & Lhotse x2 – The Barrier of Mental Maturity (12:00–16:00)
Having summited other 8000ers, Everest was the ultimate dream. But Satyadeep wanted more. He aimed to summit both Everest (8,848 m) and Lhotse (8,516 m) twice in one season – something no one had ever done before.
He trained like never before—6 hours a day for over a year.
In May 2024, he reached Camp 4, 8000 m high, in the death zone. Just before his summit push, he suffered a stomach infection. Despite this, he summited Everest and Lhotse on consecutive days.
But dehydration struck. He collapsed at Camp 2.
Everyone told him to stay. That would have ended the project.
He composed himself and descended to base camp.
Then, he climbed both peaks again.
By the end, he had slept only 5 hours in 3 days, suffered extreme dehydration, and carried constant fear of not making it back.
"Going up is optional. Coming down is mandatory."
With this, he broke the Everest barrier and etched a world record.
Closing: The Hardest Barrier – To Start (16:00–18:00)
"The hardest thing I have ever done… was to start."
It wasn’t IIT. Not leaving a job. Not summiting Everest.
It was taking that first step.
"Most people don’t fail because they’re incapable. They fail because they never start."
We wait. We overthink. We hope for perfect timing. But life is not a spreadsheet.
"Life... is an expedition."
And as he closed his talk, Satyadeep reminded us all:
"Ships are safest at the harbour—but that’s not what they are built for."
About the Speaker
Satyadeep Gupta is a world record-holding mountaineer and a proud alumnus of MERI Kolkata (formerly DMET), Class of 2007. Hailing from Puranpur, Uttar Pradesh, he holds the record for the fastest ascent of Mt. Everest and is the first person in the world to summit both Mt. Everest (8,848 m) and Mt. Lhotse (8,516 m) twice in a single season.
Beyond his profession as a Marine Engineer, Satyadeep is passionate about extreme outdoor sports including skydiving, trail running, and rock climbing—interests rooted in his modest upbringing.
He trained at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi, completing both Basic and Advanced Mountaineering Courses with top grades. These experiences laid the foundation for his many expeditions, including summits of peaks exceeding 7,000 meters.
Among his most celebrated climbs are Mount Kanchenjunga (8,586 m) and Mount Makalu (8,463 m), achievements that make him only the second person from Uttar Pradesh to reach such altitudes.
In an extraordinary accomplishment, he also became the first Indian to traverse Everest and Lhotse in just 11 hours and 15 minutes, a feat that cements his legacy in global mountaineering history.
Visit his website at www.satyapro,com