Last month, Mumbai-born Kuntal Joisher became the first known vegan to summit Mount Everest. The 36-year old reached the top after a 45-day expedition, during which he used vegan energy gels to sustain himself. Joisher attempted to become the first vegan to summit the mountain in April 2015 but became trapped in an avalanche after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal.

Joisher has been vegan for 14 years and uses animal-free alternatives to mountain climbing gear. “I climb as a vegan, and hopefully I will inspire a lot of people to go vegan, and that will probably save a lot of animals,” Joisher told VegNews in an interview.

As for fellow vegan mountain climber Maria Stydrom, who succumbed to altitude sickness in her attempt to summit Mount Everest, Joisher told news outlet The Indian Express, “Over 300 people have died trying to climb Everest, and all of them were meat-eaters, but something goes wrong with one vegan, and it’s the biggest news across the planet.”