Our Team

Honorable Members of GGIM Advisory Board

President, Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF), New Delhi
Principal, Himalayan Institute of Mountaineering (HMI), Darjeeling
Director, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, (ABVIMAS), Manali
Brig. Ashok Abbey, High Altitude Warfare School, Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir
Shri. Anand Palande, President Giripremi, Pune
Smt. Ushaprabha Page, Founder President Giripremi, Pune
Shri. Khemraj Thakur, Manali

Board of Directors

Umesh Zirpe

Founder Director

Awarded by Shiv Chhatrapati Sports award, Umesh Zirpe is the leader of Giripremi's eight expeditions to 8000m mountains namely Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho-Oyu, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu, Kangchenjunga and Annapurna I. He derives over 40 years of experience in mountaineering.

Avinash Foujdar

Director

He is one of the core team members of Giripremi since 1986. His contribution to to expeditions like Mt. Satopanth, Mt. Shivaling, Mt. Everest is invaluable. His meticulousness and minute planing helps the team to achieve the desired goals.

Manish Sabade

Director

Having an immense enthusiasm for mountaineering sport, he has been a strong pillar in Giripremi and GGIM's every higher steps.

Chandan Chavan

Director

He is one of the seniormost members of Giripremi. He looks after all the administrative aspects of the institute.

Shripad Gokhale

Director

Shripad Gokhale is a senior trekker and looks after the financial matters of the institute.

Niranjan Palsule

Director

He is the chief orchestrate in conceptualizing GGIM and drafting the objectives of the institute.

Vijay Joshi

Director

Avid trekker, Vijay Joshi has been the strongest mentor to Giripremi's expeditions. He plays active role in promotion of institute across various sectors.

Operational Team

Bhushan Harshe

Head Operations

Bhushan is Giripremi's summitter of Mt. Everest in 2013, Mt. Kangchenjunga in 2019 and Mt. Annapurna I in 2021. He has completed his Masters in Instrumentation but having a passion for mountaineering, he has opted for this profession and derives experience of over 15 years.

Vivek Shivade

Head - Content and Syllabus Development

Vivek is a graduate in Metallurgical Engineering & Materials Science from IIT Bombay. But having a passion for mountaineering, he has stepped into this field. He has completed courses from NOLS, UIAA Ice Climbing in France, Basic, Advance courses in Mountaineering

Dr. Sumit Mandale

Field Instructor & Medical Officer

Dr. Sumit is one of the most experienced rock climbers in Giripremi. He derives immense knowledge of Sahyadri range. He has climbed numerous Himalaya mountains including Mt. Cho Oyu (world's 6th highest mountain) and Mt. Kangchenjunga (World's 3rd highest mountain) and Mt. Annapurna I (10th highest mountain).

Dinesh Kotkar

Senior Course Coordinator

Dinesh is a commerce graduate from Pune University. He has completed Basic, Advance, Search & Rescue courses in mountaineering. In 2015, he summitted a peak 5268, a virgin peak and in 2017, Mt. Kun (7077m ) in J&K.

Ankit Sohoni

Course Coordinator

Ankit is a Commerce Graduate and a passionate mountaineer. He has completed his Basic and Advance Mountaineering Courses. He is a summitter of Mt. Elbrus (Europe's Highest Mountain) in Russia (2019).

Siddharth Jadhav

Trainee Instructor

Siddharth is a passionate trekker and a budding mountaineer from GGIM. He has led numerous treks in Sahyadri. He has completed his Basic Mountaineering Course from HMI, Darjeeling.