Taking advantage of a low wind that opened a window of opportunity at about 2200 IST last night, a team of soldiers from the Indian and Nepalese armies climbed Mount Everest taking the South Col route, the same path taken 50 years ago by pioneers Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary.
The team had been waiting at South Col since May 19 for a chance to attempt the summit, getting weather updates from New Delhi. That chance finally came last night as the fierce wind dropped to a speed of just about 30kph and the sky began to clear.
In the dead of night, with the snowclad mountain silhouetted against the night sky, 14 members of the team, including seven Sherpas, made the final assault. The team leader, Colonel Ashok Abbey, based at Camp 2, and his deputy, Major Chandrashekhar Manda, at South Col, coordinated the final climb. And early on Thursday morning, as Everest was bathed in a golden glow, they stood atop the world's tallest peak.
The team members put up the Indian Tricolour and Nepal's national flag besides those of the Indian army, Nepalese army and the military regiments of the participants.
The triumphant team returned to base camp this evening, from where Major Manda called rediff.com to share the joy and tell the world about his team's success in conquering Everest almost 50 years to the day since Tenzing and Sir Edmund first reached the summit. The success, in Major Manda's own words:
"We started our expedition on March 12 from India and reached Kathmandu by road on March 16. We started trekking from there and reached the base camp on April 2. There we had our detailed coordination and planning. We set up four camps in between and on May 4 we reached South Col. It is 8100 metres above sea level, stunning, with real unpredictable weather and sharp winds.
"This morning seven members of the expedition and seven Sherpas made it to the top of Mount Everest. Three of them were from the Indian army and four from the Nepalese army. They started from South Col at 2200 last night and reached the peak at 0650 this morning.
(The Indian soldiers who reached the top were Major S S Shekhawat, Subedar C Angchuk Cherring, and Havildar Jagat Singh. The Nepalese soldiers were Captain Sunil Singh Rathore, Subedar Hari Bahadur Taang, Sergeant Lok Bahadur Thama and Lance Corporal Bhim Bahadur Bhujil. The seven Sherpas were Pemba Ringzin, Pasang Ringzin, Pemba Chhiri, Pemba Gayaltsen, Nima Sherpa, Pasang Rita and Lakpa Sherpa.)
"We were posed for the summit on the 19th, but the weather was really bad. At this kind of altitude, the weather takes its toll. Body degenerates fast and requires lots of fluid. The biggest hurdle was the weather and the tough scaling. At a lot of places we scaled vertical ice walls, with heavy winds blowing. Temperature usually went down up to 40°C on the glacier.
"On South Col the wind speed is so high and oxygen rare. So each member has to use oxygen masks and carry his own cylinder. Because of the heavy loads and small tents, which can accommodate four people, we were attempting the summit in small groups.
"Others, including team leader Colonel Ashok Abbey, will try after 24th if weather permits. As of now, no weather window is available. And, according to weather forecasts from New Delhi, the weather is getting bad hour after hour. There is overcast sky, heavy snowfall and rains. We will wait out until end of this month. If not, we will return.
"There were testing times too during our expedition. One of our members fell into a crevice. But other team members pulled him out.
"Ultimately when our team members reached the summit we forgot all those difficulties. It was a great moment of pride for the entire nation. It was our humble tribute to the adventure spirit of mankind."
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