Lucknow, Nov 3 (IANS): Virendra Sisodia, a former army officer, who recently conquered Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe, is now set to scale mount Aconcagua and Ojus del Salado, the highest peak of South America (22,837 feet) and the highest volcano on the earth in Chile (22,615 feet).

His expeditions will be backed by the Uttar Pradesh government.

A resident of Gomti Nagar in Lucknow, Sisodia is originally a native of Rajasthan.

The 30-year-old mountaineer is hoping to follow the footsteps of Nirmal Purja, the ace mountaineer, known for setting up a series of world records within a short span of time.

On his mission to Elbrus, Sisodia scaled a height of 18,510 feet over the inactive volcano which has a glacier on top.

Sisodia braved gusty winds which, at times, reached 70 km per hour at high altitude before making the final summit on October 13.

“The interesting part is on the lines of Nirmal Purja, I want to complete ascend and descend on the two mountains within a limited time period. On January 18, I will attempt summiting Ojus del Salado and on January 26, I am planning to be on the top of Aconcagua. I would promote UP tourism on the two tours,” Sisodia told reporters.

Sisodia’s father, an NSG commando, passed away during a special operation when he was 13 and lost his mother at the age of 21.

“I just want to keep going on and discover new things. Mountaineering is an expensive sport and I have been using my savings and earnings to fund my expeditions. Sponsorship by government agencies would surely help me and I would also do everything to fulfil my obligations to promote UP Tourism,” said Sisodia, who is a professional yoga and fitness trainer.

He completed training from the national institute of mountaineering, Uttarkashi, became a professional scuba diver and learned ‘Hatha Yoga’ to endure extreme conditions.

He also learnt meditation techniques to concentrate on his goals.