Double amputee climber heads to Camp I for summit push on May 13

KATHMANDU: The world climbers, who have been waiting for a fair window to climb Mt Everest, are all set to begin their summit pushes in the world’s highest peak on May 13.

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, Managing Director at Imagine Treks, shared that a group of mountaineers including Xia Boyu, a double amputee climber from China, will be attempting to scale the mountain.

If weather did not play spoilsport on their expedition bids, they aimed to be the season’s first group of climbers attempting to reach to the Mt Everest summit on May 13, Sherpa told THT over phone from the base camp. “Boyu, 70, reached Camp I today and other members of the team will join him tomorrow,” he added.

It is Boyu’s fifth attempt on Mt Everest after he lost both his legs to frostbite in 1975 during his first attempt to reach the summit of Mt Everest when he abandoned his summit attempt after reaching above 8,000 m.

According to Pemba Dorje Sherpa, Managing Director at Sherpa Shepherds, his team will also try to scale the peak on May 13.  “A group of trained mountain guides who already established a climbing route up to the South Col (8,000 m) were on their way to Camp IV to try to fix ropes to the summit point at 8,848 m,” he said.

Lakpa Sherpa, Managing Director at Pioneer Adventure, also said that his team would also attempt to scale the peak in the second week of May. “The world climbers are making final preparations to head towards the summit of the world’s highest peak after their final acclimatisation rotations in the high camps,” he said. According to him, the rope fixing team plans to fix rope to balcony at 8,650 m on May 11 and to summit point the next day.

At least 347 members of 38 teams obtained climbing permits to attempt to climb Mt Everest while over 1,000 Nepali support staff would accompany world climbers in the Mt Everest region, liaison officer Gyanendra Shrestha said.