Climbing Mount Everest is difficult enough. Doing it twice is extraordinary. Doing it while challenging deeply rooted assumptions about food, fitness and endurance? That's exactly what Mumbai-based mountaineer Kuntal Joisher has spent years doing.
A software engineer by profession and India's first vegan mountaineer by passion, Joisher has become one of the country's strongest voices for plant-based living. Speaking exclusively to The Free Press Journal at the Vegan India Conference 2026, he opened up about his vegan journey, his proudest Everest moment and why people's perceptions remain the steepest climb of all.
From Mumbai to veganism
Contrary to popular belief, Joisher didn't become vegan because of mountaineering. In fact, veganism came first. "I went vegan way before I started climbing mountains," he says. "I went vegan in 2002, so it's almost been 24 years that I've been a vegan, and the single reason that I went vegan is for the animals."
The decision came after learning about cruelty in the dairy and poultry industries. What began as a personal ethical choice would eventually shape every aspect of his life, including his expeditions to the world's highest peak.
The Everest summit that didn't feel complete
Joisher first summited Mount Everest in 2016 and became one of the first known vegans in the world to achieve the feat. But despite the historic milestone, something didn't sit right with him. "When I climbed Everest in 2016, I was wearing a jacket made from feathers," he recalls.
He goes on to explain the reality behind down jackets. "For one jacket, 15 ducks are slaughtered and their feathers are removed. And I was wearing that and claiming to be the first vegan in the world to climb Everest. So of course, I was not."
That realisation pushed him to do something unprecedented. "I collaborated with a company and we built the first ever jacket in the world without any animal feathers that could reach the top of Mount Everest."
In 2019, he returned to Everest and summited again. "This time, no animals in my food and no animals on my body," he says proudly. "Honestly, I was proud that no animals had to suffer or die for my dream to come true."
Fuelled by plants
Ask Joisher how he survives gruelling expeditions on a plant-based diet, and his answer is simple: plants are built for endurance. "When you are on longer expeditions, you require a lot of cardio endurance, and most endurance sports are driven by carbohydrates," he explains. "And if you know anything about nutrition, the plant-based world is filled with carbohydrates."
Recovery, he says, is another advantage. "Plants have the nutrients that allow me to recover very fast and repeat my workouts. Overall, a plant-based diet has honestly fuelled me to the top of Mount Everest."
'Yeh vegan hai, handicapped hai'
Despite his achievements, Joisher says the biggest misconception around vegan athletes still isn't protein. "The bigger one is that most of my co-mountaineers think, 'Arey yeh toh vegan hai, yeh toh most likely nahi chadh payega'," he says, adding, "They look at me and think, 'Yeh toh vegan hai, yeh toh already handicapped hai.' Because veganism they consider a big handicap."
For Joisher, the challenge isn't the mountain, it's changing mindsets. "It is people's mentality and attitude towards veganism that I have to constantly overcome," he says. "But now that I've done so many things, people know, 'Yeh kar lega.' And my hope is that they look at other vegans and say, 'If Kuntal can do it, so can I.'"
