ANKIT NAITHANI – Founder, Mountain Guide, Trip Leader
Wandering Boots Adventures is the brain child of Ankit Naithani – the founder, director, and the lead executor of the entire magnum opus.
He is an all rounder at WBA! Trip leading, to planning, to managing operations, to guiding the team, and interacting with trekkers, he is in many places at one time!
Anyone who knows Ankit will vouch for his discipline, hard work, and abundant passion for the outdoors – the mountains, the flora and fauna, the wildlife, jungle trails, summit climbs, life of locals…. the list is never-ending! With an innate and honest intention to share his passion among people, Ankit left his engineering job in Mumbai, took up courses (Basic and Advance Mountaineering Courses, Trip Leader Course, and Wilderness First Responder) and pursued with diligence, his dream of becoming a mountain guide and a trip leader.
His core passion lies in facilitating outdoor experiences, not limited to trekking and summit climbs, but also wildlife spotting, hosting guests, rock climbing, ice climbing, cultural experiences, philanthropic activities, and more!
With this dream and passion was born Wandering Boots Adventures in 2017. Years of discipline, hard work, and perseverance has now grown Wandering Boots Adventures from a single man army to a competent team striving to provide safe, unique, and exemplary outdoor experiences.
With the support of some of the best team mates, Wandering Boots Adventures and Ankit, have successfully completed summits and expeditions like – Stok Kangri, Friendship peak, Mentok Kangri 2, Patalsu Peak, Yunam Peak, among others!
SNEHA FURIA – Back-end Operations, Group Co-ordinator
Every trip and expedition requires meticulous planning, co-ordination, and back-end operations – enter Sneha Furia. Ankit ideates and Sneha co-executes. Taking enquiries, speaking with trekkers, group co-ordinating, managing logistics, and handling company operations, she’s the go to person for all the Behind the Scenes action! Born and raised in Mumbai, she now lives in Chandigarh, making weekend trips to the mountains to hike and explore new places!
AJIT SINGH – Technical Mountain Guide
Fondly and rightly called Chattan Singh, Ajit is our technical mountain guide, extremely skilled in mountaineering techniques. His clean rope work, attention to detail, focus and discipline is what sets him apart from most. With Chattan Singh on the mountain, rest assured you’re in competent hands. After having done his Basic Mountaineering Course he immediately started working in the outdoors. With more than 4 years to his experience, Ajit, originally form Uttarkashi, has to his experience peaks like Mentok Kangri, Friendship peak, and diverse terrains of Chadar trek, Trisul Base Camp, Goechala, and many more!
JASPAL SINGH (JOHN) – Local Guide, Trip Leader
Barely recognisable as Jaspal Singh, John, is our local guide and trip leader. Originally from the last village of India (on the border of India-Tibet/China), Mana, in Uttarakhand, John has gone places and explored varied regions and terrains in his many years in the outdoors, leading trips as a local guide. His explores have taken him from Singalila National Park in Sikkim to cold desert regions of Tsomoriri in Ladakh, to weathering snow storms at Trisul Base Camp, to traversing Pin Parvati Pass in Himachal Pradesh, to exploring new terrains in Kashmir. Travelling to all these places and many many more has given him immense experience and insight about the outdoors, which he loves to share with his trekkers on trips.
AVTAR RANA SINGH – Camp Manager, Local Guide
After a long day of trekking for hours, when the first sight of seeing the campsite gives you joy, we have Avtar to thank for that! Usually the last to leave a campsite, and the first to reach the next campsite, Avtar ensures the smooth running and functioning of each campsite. With a smile on his face, he makes one of the arduous tasks of any trip (campsite management) look like a cakewalk! Like his teammates, Avtar too has been all over the Himalayas – Goechala, Pin Parvati Pass, Mentok Kangri, Great Lakes of Kashmir, Trisul Base Camp – to name a few.
SONAM GOGIA – Trip Leader, Social Media Manager
Referred to as our Mountain Woman, Sonam Gogia is our Trek Leader providing outdoor experiences combined with experiential learning. She also manages Wandering Boots Adventures social media presence. Having moved from Bangalore to Manali, Sonam in her free time, explores the outdoors rock climbing, ice climbing and going for hikes. Trek leading for her is not limited to taking trekkers from point A to point D or E. She wants to bring people to the outdoors and create a space of learning from the nature and discovering self in the outdoors.
RAVI THAKUR – On-ground Operations, Local Guide (Manali)
Ravi Thakur has been associated with Wandering Boots Adventures since its inception! He ensures the seamless functioning and smooth running of our on ground operations for treks in Himachal Pradesh. He works relentlessly to provide logistical support and solutions to curate best outdoor experiences in the most of remote locations in the mountains!
LALAJI – Cook (Manali)
Lalaji’s association with Wandering Boots Adventures also dates back to its initial days! He’s the fixed cook for our treks heading out of Manali ensuring the team, trekkers, and staff are all well-fed with nourishing and scrumptious meals!
This entire team works with the most honest intentions towards one common goal – making the name “Wandering Boots Adventures” synonymous with the term “outdoors”.