Climbers scale Mt. Dhulagiri, Kanchenjunga

BY THAKUR PRASAD ACHARYA/CHANDRA PANDAK,Myagdi/Taplejung May 12: A team of 13 climbers, both Nepali and foreign, successfully reached the summit of Mt. Dhaulagiri (8,167 metres), located in Ward 4 of Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality in Myagdi district on Saturday. 

Additionally, 10 climbers, including five Nepalis, also successfully reached the summit of Mt. Kanchenjunga, Nepal’s second-highest and the world’s third-highest peak at 2:15 pm, Saturday.

According to Thaneshwar Guragai, General Manager of Seven Summit Treks, the team that ascended Mt. Dhaulagiri consisted of six foreign climbers and seven Nepali Sherpas. They reached the summit early Saturday morning under challenging conditions.

The ascent was led by rope-fixing leader Lakpa Sherpa, who along with the team of Sherpas and international climbers, handled rope fixing, ladder placement and other technical tasks critical to the summit.

The successful Nepali climbers included Lakpa Sherpa (rope-fixing leader), Taraman Tamang, Pasang Nurbu Sherpa, Najiwang Palzor Sherpa, Purba Kusang Sherpa, Pemdorje Sherpa and Pema Chumbi Sherpa. 

The foreign climbers who successfully reached the summit were Chung Han Lu, Dragon Klikovac, Afsaneh Hesami, Enja Karen Balacha and Mohammad Jashram Saychayi, Guragai stated. 

“We proudly announce that under the leadership of Lakpa Sherpa, also known as ‘Makalu Lakpa’, the team successfully reached the summit of Dhaulagiri despite extremely adverse weather conditions.” 

This was the first successful summit of Dhaulagiri in the current spring climbing season, he added.

The five Nepalis who summitted Mt. Kanchenjunga are Lakpa Temba Sherpa, Nima Dorchi Sherpa, Phur Sonam Sherpa, Gyalu Sherpa and Changba Sherpa. 

The foreign climbers included Flutura Ibrahimi from Kosovo, Adrian Michael Hess from the United Kingdom, Alireza Behpour and Seyed Mir Darja Hashemi from Iran and Saeed Almemari from the United Arab Emirates. 

The team began their summit push from Camp IV at 6:15 pm on May 9. Prior to that, a rope-fixing team from Elite Exped, composed of eight Sherpas, had secured the climbing route with fixed lines up to approximately 8,400 metres from base camp.

Guragai stated that this year, there has been strong participation on Kanchenjunga, with 70 climbers, both Nepali and international, receiving permits for the ascent. So far, 10 climbers have successfully reached the summit and others are preparing to make their attempt.

Guragai also said that six more foreign climbers are in the process of ascending Mt. Dhaulagiri, while a few had to return from base camp due to unfavourable weather.

According to Nepal’s Department of Tourism, a total of 15 foreign climbers, nine men and six women from two expedition teams, have received permits to climb Mt. Dhaulagiri this spring season.