As the world’s toughest assemble at HAWS…
…their first order of business is acclimatization
Because at 9000 feet, the air gets thinner.
There is less oxygen for the lungs.
It takes time – and science – to get the body accustomed.
HAWS has mastered it through a 6-day acclimatization protocol.
Day 1: A day of complete 
rest to give the body a fighting chance.
Day 2: A light walk, that 
would be child’s play, anywhere but here.
Day 3 & 4: A 3km walk to build
lung power over longer distances.
Day 5 & 6 : The men’s first brush with high-elevation climbs, with a 5km ascent up 1000m.
After we have carried out the initial acclimatization further altitude of 9000 ft.
Thereafter, we aim to build that endurance to a level
so that they are able to 
sustain the various tactical exercises
as also the technical training over the period of 9 weeks.
The men have been acclimatized.
The task of building Mountain Warriors begins.
A warm up session with an 8km run.
These men are cherry-picked from military units across the country…
At home, they’re the strongest, fastest & sharpest amongst their peers.
But it’s only as level as these rugged peaks will permit…
especially for those, who’ve never experienced such high altitudes before.
There will be 11 weeks of Mountain Warfare.
Divided into 7 weeks of Basic Course
And 4 weeks of Advanced Course.
It’s designed for troops, destined 
for high-altitude postings.
Each unit sends in a nucleus of 3 or 4 men, to become specialists at HAWS.
They aren’t here to conquer personal Everests…
But to return home, train & lead fellow-soldiers 
in high-altitude combat.
To hone them, are the instructors of HAWS
Many are heroes of high-altitude combat & rescue. 
They mentor this young brood…
To match them in skill, strength and bravery.
Men will need all three…
To face-off against the most 
grueling heights, they have ever encountered.
The Lone Tree.
Under its watchful eye, trainees make their first steep ascent.
Its name: a whimsical salute to the soldier’s resolve.
Countless landslides have failed to shake its steadfast commitment to this post.
But the Lone Tree is just a warm-up…
Up ahead are bigger adversaries…some, of mythic proportions.
Danny & Shinde Pass:
notoriously named after HAWS instructors,
who would banish trainees up its slopes…as the most extreme form of punishment.
“To think and to see the Shinde Pass once used to break my motivation.”
“Once we start going up, blood pressure is going to rise..shoulders are hurting.”
“The climb is like a person climbing twenty stairs that is the exact thing that happened to us.”
A razor-sharp rock face slices through the mountainside…
As if created to destroy men.
Its 70-degree incline rips each muscle, bone & ligament.
Later, this will be the biggest obstacle…
As men prove themselves in the Final Endurance Run.
Each day, the intensity mounts.
Distances get longer. Packs get heavier.
For many, it’s their first exposure to Himalayan altitudes…and the risk of hypoxia.
In hypoxia, oxygen is at a premium.
The body launches a mutiny. Lungs go into distress.
Blood pressure skyrockets.
Headaches & dizziness descend.
Hypoxia will be a constant shadow, 
chasing these aspiring mountain warriors…
And not all will last the full duration.
Of the 154 men selected…
38 have already dropped out for medical reasons…
Some of whom have been literally lifted out of the course.
Those who come out strong will climb heights far greater than this basic beginning.
