New Delhi: At 52, Delhi-based entrepreneur and PR professional Kulpreet is turning a life-changing diagnosis into a reason to live more boldly and not less. Recently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Kulpreet begins her trek to Everest Base Camp in Nepal on September 20. For her, this is not just about reaching 5,364 metres. It is about proving to herself and to anyone watching that a diagnosis does not get the final word.
“When I was diagnosed with MS at 52, I realised life cannot always wait for the perfect moment. I decided that instead of asking what I may not be able to do, I would focus on what I still can. Everest became that challenge,” said Kulpreet.
*Everest — In a Saree*
Kulpreet will make the journey to Everest Base Camp wearing a saree — a deliberate choice, and a personal one. For her, the six yards of fabric are not a limitation on a mountain trail; they are a statement of identity, carried to one of the most demanding landscapes on earth.
She has registered with the India Book of Records for recognition as among the oldest Indian women to undertake the Everest Base Camp trek in a saree.
“It is an attempt that fuses two things rarely placed side by side: the quiet resilience of Indian tradition, and the physical extremity of high-altitude trekking,” Kulpreet added.
*Backed by Healthcare and Trekking Expertise*
Kulpreet’s expedition is supported by Aakash Healthcare as her healthcare partner, providing medical guidance and support through the journey, and Trek Yaari as her official trekking partner, guiding her through the Everest region.
Together, these partnerships ground an intensely personal mission in professional care, because determination, Kulpreet says, “still needs the right support system behind it”.
*A Climate Lens on the Journey*
Kulpreet, who is also “Thinker-in-Chief” at Impact Insights, a Delhi-based think tank working on climate action, peace building, and social equity, brings a policy lens to the trek. The Everest region is among the most visible frontlines of glacier retreat and climate change, and her journey is expected to draw attention to the fragility of these high-altitude ecosystems, alongside her message of resilience and ageing without limits.
*More Than a Mountain*
Kulpreet hopes her journey will push people, especially women over 50, to question the idea that adventure, ambition, and new beginnings come with an expiry date.
Her message is simple: “A diagnosis may change your plans. It does not have to decide the size of your life.”
The expedition will document her preparation, the climb, and the challenges along the way with the saree, and the record attempt, standing as defining moments of the journey.
Kulpreet is an entrepreneur, PR professional, and Thinker-in-Chief at Impact Insights, a Delhi-based think tank focused on climate action, peace building and social equity. Through her Everest Base Camp journey, she hopes to spark a larger conversation — about resilience, about women’s aspirations after 50, about living with uncertainty, and about the climate realities facing the mountains she is climbing.