A woman working as Additional Superintendent of Police in Adilabad of Telangana, G.R. Radhika, a member of the Koya tribe, Doodi Bhadraiah hailing from Kothapally of East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh, were among five persons who scaled Mount Everest on Friday morning.
Others who were part of the expedition were a Maharashtra cadre Indian Police Service officer, Suhail Sharma, Karnataka cadre Indian Forest Service officer S. Prabhakaran and a native of Tamil Nadu working in Dubai for Emerson Climate Technologies, Balan Sivaraman. Regrettably, an amputee from Maharashtra, Ashok Munne returned from the summit camp set up at a height of 8.500 meters. He could not claim the distinction because returned due to bad weather.
One-year trainingThe expedition led by the founder of the Bhongir Rock Climbing School in the district, Shekharbabu Bachenapally, comprised a doctor and eight Sherpas for logistic assistance till the summit camp. In a Facebook chat with The Hindu , Mr. Shekharbabu said the victory came after an arduous year-long training at the School.
Describing their adventure, he said the team had left for Nepal from Hyderabad on April 7 and after the paperwork that included getting a Chinese visa, flew to Lhasa on April 13. With the help of the Sherpas and the doctor, they trekked up to reach an altitude of 5,200 meters on April 18 and 19, coping with low oxygen levels and the cold weather conditions. April 20 saw them reaching the North Base Camp of Mount Everest and acclimatising themselves further, upto 6,200 metres. Then began the march towards the Advance Base Camp, on what is described as the ‘Miracle Highway’ on April 27.
Red letter dayMr. Shekharbabu said on May 3, they climbed a 500 metre high, ice wall and returned to the North Base Camp, after which ascended another 300 meters and came to the Advance Base Camp. May 19, saw them ascending on the last leg, the final climb and they scaled the world’s tallest peak on Friday morning.
