Our Team

Col Rana is a man who has made India proud, notably in the outdoor adventure Industry in all the spheres of Earth: Air, Water, and Land. His perseverance and courage shine through in his short and direct speech.

Colonel Neeraj Rana was commissioned into the Indian Army’s Armoured Corps in 1989. He is an ardent mountaineer with 19 peaks to his tally, 14 of which he was Leader and twice as Deputy Leader, including three above 8000 m peaks: Mt. Everest, Kanchenjunga, and Mt Makalu. He specializes in paragliding and Para motors. Col Neeraj Rana represented India in the 2004 Pre-World Cup of Paragliding and served as a technical advisor for the Himachal Pradesh Government during the 2008 Pre-World Cup.

Served: Principal of all three Mountaineering Institutes in India

• Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, HMI- Darjeeling
• Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, ABVIMAS – Manali
• Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, NIM- Uttarkashi

Colonel Neeraj Rana’s Awards and Honors

• The world record for white water rafting from Manali to Pong Dam is 260 km in 3 and a half days.
• The only person to have flown a paraglider from a height of 6850 m, from Mt Makalu, the world’s fifth highest peak.
• National Geographic Channel honors ‘Mission Everest.’

Read more about Col. Neeraj Rana

Alan Ward is a UK-based International Mountain Leader and resident in South Wales. Alan has a wealth of knowledge and expertise. His teaching approach and eagerness to share information and talents are exceptional.

Nearing retirement, Alan has enjoyed many years of providing worldwide mountain and first aid training and guiding groups to the Himalayas, Morocco, Indonesia, Chile, and Peru, to name just a few of the over 70 exciting countries he has visited.

Alan Ward has a generous Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) attitude in that he freely devotes his time to training those in need of internationally accredited qualifications in destinations far from his home in Wales. In 2023, he graciously offered to conduct OSSM training through Ascent Descent Adventures.

Alan is a Lead Auditor for ISO 9001:2014

Alan’s website is www.alanmward.co.uk, where there is an interesting video about his trip to Ladakh with two disabled clients and interesting blog articles.

Helen Menhinick, a highly esteemed mountain leader and brand ambassador for Rohan clothing, is actively involved in leading expeditions through two renowned organizations, Bryn Walking and Bryn Walking for Women. Hailing from Wales, Helen’s upbringing in the picturesque landscapes of this region ignited her passion for the mountains. Her extensive qualifications serve as a testament to her dedication and expertise in the field.

With the prestigious Mountain Leader Award and Hill and Moorland Leader Award, Helen possesses the necessary skills and knowledge to navigate diverse terrains with confidence. Her Expedition Skills Module further enhances her ability to lead and manage challenging expeditions, ensuring the safety and well-being of her team. Helen’s proficiency is further reinforced by her Mountain Skills qualification, providing her with a comprehensive understanding of mountaineering techniques and best practices.

In terms of safety and first aid, Helen holds REC L2 Outdoor First Aid and REC L5 Travel and Expedition First Aid certifications. These qualifications equip her with the ability to respond promptly and effectively to emergencies that may arise during outdoor activities. Additionally, her expertise in off-site safety management, as recognized by the RGS Off-Site Safety Management qualification, ensures that she maintains a high standard of safety protocols for all her expeditions.

Helen’s commitment to continuous learning is evident through her NNAS Silver, Gold, and Tutor Awards, indicating her proficiency in navigation and orienteering. These qualifications enable her to guide and instruct others in the art of map reading and route planning, empowering them to explore the great outdoors with confidence.

Pankaj Lagwal is the founder of ADA (Ascent Descent Adventures), an outdoor adventure company with a focus on Alpinism and Mountain Education, and TG (True Growth) an initiative to promote outdoor experiential learning.

He grew up in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Pankaj Lagwal is a mountaineer, raft guide, avid biker, and photographer on a global scale. He has been climbing and rafting on the planet’s elevations since 1995. His quest for adventure took him across the Himalayas, the Patagonia Icecap (Chile), and the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia (USA). In May 2009, he was the official lead climber cameraman on the first Indo-Bangladeshi expedition to Mt. Makalu (8463 M, the world’s fifth-highest peak).

His specialty is an acute sense of detail. He conducted multiple reconnaissance trips, climbed many virgin peaks, and established new trekking trails and routes. Pankaj Lagwal is a Master’s degree in Philosophy and dropped out of a Ph.D. program due to his pragmatic approach.

As a result, his pragmatic and philosophical approaches balance each other out. He also traveled as a corporate and experiential educational program consultant for educational institutions in the United States, Chile, Mongolia, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, and Nepal.

Surender Mahant (Co-Founder) was born and raised in the heart of the Himalayan wilderness, Manali, Himachal Pradesh. Surender is a certified and experienced mountaineer, skier, and mountain biker. He has over 20 years of experience and is a patient and observant outdoorsman.

He makes a lot of offbeat mountain biking trips, treks, and hikes and is always looking for new routes in the nearby wilderness to suit everyone’s taste and time. He is a fantastic explorer and trek reconnaissance specialist, and he is one of us.

Surender Mahant owns a homestay in Kullu and Manali, and he enjoys the outdoors as much as agriculture and organic farming. He grows almost anything, from apples to passion fruit to breading bees, and he also gives classes on how to be self-sufficient by growing organic veg and fruits right in your kitchen garden.

When everyone else was worrying during the pandemic, he stayed calm and was busy cultivating fruits, veggies, and flowers and bringing children outdoors camping. A fantastic trainer who has the vision and evaluation skills to make the most use of your time and strength while maintaining control. A characteristic of an outdoor trainer.

Shashi Tomar Lagwal (Co-Founder) is among India’s few female certified mountain guides. A solo traveler who led multiple trekking and rafting expeditions in the Himalayas, successfully summit Draupadi ka Danda 5712m in the central Himalayas and BC Roy 5415m in the eastern Himalayas. Tomar was the first civilian on the Border Security Forces (BSF) rafting squad (Four Square White Water World Challenge). She has led motorbike trips to the world’s highest pass, Kardungla, Leh (5602m), and is India’s first and only female Bungee Jump Master. Shashi accomplished all of this through the drive and influence of her brother, ITBP Ex-commandant SD Sharma 1992-Everester, a Tenzing Norgay Awardee.

With dual Master’s degrees in Psychology and Business Management, and she was the formal recipient of the IA (International Award). Shashi Tomar Lagwal also oversaw counseling for the education industry, including IGNOU, the School of Aeronautics, Amity International, and others.

In 2011, Hawaii University (USA) welcomed her as a scholar for their Asia Pacific Leadership Program. She is also a certified child development and career counselor with a Tourism Management degree.

Justin Bower spent his childhood in the southeast trekking and rock climbing in the Appalachian Mountains. He began climbing seriously in 2007 with an alpine expedition to Washington’s Mt. Rainier. He got hooked on high alpine climbing after summiting Rainier. This set him on a new life path that would take him to many of the world’s finest mountain ranges.

Justin Bower is a senior guide who has scaled summits and cliffs in the Rockies, Cascades, Alaska Range, Tetons, Patagonian Andes, Indian Himalayas, and Alps. Multiple summits of Mt. Rainier, Grand Teton, Denali, Mt. Blanc Du Tacul, 40 days on the Northern Patagonia Ice Cap, and canyons in Moab have been accumulated.

“Mountains, I have come to learn, are bridges. Taking your body, mind, and being to places you would never go and to people you would never meet.”

– Justin Bower

Umesh Raina is a great mountaineer and skier from Manali. ID Sharma, Senior Mountain Climber, his father is a well-known mountaineer, and mountaineering runs in his blood.

He has climbed many peaks multiple times and can visualize every nook and cranny without a map or exactitude. He has climbed nearly all mountain peaks in and around Himachal Pradesh, many in Uttarakhand and Ladakh. When not on an official trip, Raina wanders in the wilderness for new unclimbed, unexplored regions. In the winter, he enjoys backcountry skiing or snowboarding.

Umesh Raina is a skillful and tough trainer with a great sense of humor. He led numerous climbing expeditions and search and rescue operations in and around Manali. When it comes to mountain and trek knowledge and information, you can rely on him.

According to local legend, he and a few ski buddies cheated death after a big snowstorm in the winter of 2008. He has his own epic Himalayan winter survival stories with other great skiers to share. Catch him for that!

Passang Sherpa is a professional mountain instructor who captivates his clients with pleasant discussions and fascinating adventure trip anecdotes. He has been working as a mountain guide in the Indian Himalayas for the last 24 years. He enjoys mountain biking and jeep safaris on Himalayan off-road trails. He was born and reared in Shimla, the state capital of Himachal Pradesh. Being a Buddhist, he is not a believer but is interested in learning more about religion, and for that reason, he has trekked most of the trails in Lahual Spiti and the Ladakh area in search of Buddhist temples and their legacy. He is well-versed in many aspects of Buddhist monasteries throughout the Himalayas.

If you are interested in Himalayan culture and tradition, Passang Sherpa is the guy to see. For the last 15 years, Passang Sherpa has been based in Dharamshala, the Dalai Lama’s hometown, and has led trek activities from there.

Mukesh Marwah is a binary architect who owns Pixel VJ. He is, however, an artist by nature, and he enjoys designing on canvas as much as digitally. From our perspective, his meditative working pace has yet to find a match. When he is outside, he has a different demeanor. When he returns from his adventures, he promptly transforms into business mode. He discovered his own thing in thein the outdoors with us in 2010, and he is now really devoted to mountain climbing and adventure.

Mukesh Marwah has worked with several well-known businesses, including The India Today Group, Network18 Group, Dainik Jagran, Top Chalks, The Delhi School of Communication, Social Roots, and many more. Our journey has begun together since the inception of Ascent Descent Adventures.

Neeraj Bhasin is a first-place winner of a handful of The Royal Commonwealth Awards, among other accolades. We met at a teenager’s summer camp in 2001 when Neeraj Bhasin produced and directed the first globally renowned documentary feature “My Friend Sue” which was making headlines in the news media. Since then, his adventurous side and our artistic side have been merging and giving life to both the adventure and cinema worlds.

For over two decades, he’ve worked for NIIT Ltd., Digital Talkies, Punj Lloyd, BBC, Honda, Jagori, CII, EY, Groz, and others. “If chance doesn’t knock, build a door!” is his favorite saying. Bhasin is also the founder of Heritage Commons and Ishan Talkie.

The PSA is shot visually and is a metaphor for growth, teamwork, and how to achieve a goal.  This PSA clip was shot in actual place with real people. This video was awarded at The Royal Common Wealth Society in London, United Kingdom.