Major Bahuguna, the only Indian member of the International Everest Expedition, died under tragic circumstances on April 18. And ever since the news appeared of how he lost his life, while descending from the expedition’s third high-altitude camp pitched at 7000 metres, a big controversy has been going on as to whether his death could have been avoided with a little more care and alertness. Bahuguna was a veteran mountaineer who was also a member of the successful 1965 Indian expedition to Everest led by Commander Kohli. He was also a member of the successful Indian expedition to Nanda Devi earlier and, only last year, he led the Saser Kangri expedition with distinction. He was specially selected to join the International Himalayan Expedition and he was aspiring to fulfil the ambition of his life of getting to the top of Everest, a distinction which narrowly eluded him in 1965.
