Twenty-two climbers, including four from Telangana, will attempt to scale Mt. Everest in two groups over an estimated two-month duration.
Their expedition will start on April 3 and 7 respectively, said Shekhar Babu Bachinepally, founder and director of Transcend Adventures, on the sidelines of a press conference here on Monday.
The ‘International Mt Everest Expedition-2019’ project by the company will be led by Mr. Shekhar Babu. One team will climb the mountain from the Southeast Col route and another will take the North Col route. It takes around 10 to 12 days to reach the base camp.
Thereafter, depending on weather conditions there, they will have to cross four more camps, located at different heights, en route to the summit.
To establish four camps and climb, it takes approximately 45 to 50 days.
Hot to cold
Most of them will travel from high temperatures in plain lands to freezing temperatures which drop down to as low as minus 30 degrees C at Everest summit. “To acclimatise them to high altitude, cold temperatures and to the routes, the climbers will reach camp 1 and camp 2 which are at 7,500-metre altitude and return to the base camp. Thereafter, depending on weather and physical condition, we will head directly to the summit. Oxygen cylinders will be used to support breathing,” Mr. Shekhar Babu said.
Route hazards
Explaining the difference between North Col and South Col routes, he said, “The North side is technically difficult as compared to South Col, but chances of natural hazards are less. But one has to be technically and physically commanding.” Malavath Poorna, the youngest girl to reach the summit, took that route in 2014, he added.
Apart from four climbers from Telangana, the team includes eleven people from Maharashtra Tribal Development Department, and Nahida Manzoor from Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. Five women are also part of the team.
The cost of expedition comes to around ₹ 29 lakh per person. Climbers either spend the money from their pockets or rely on donors.
