It is wiser to fail in achieving something rather than die, said Shekarbabu Bachinepally, seasoned mountaineer from the district, responding to the increasing number of deaths reported during Everest expedition and on other peaks in Himalayas during this season.
Indian mountaineer, Subhash Pal lost his life and two other companions went missing at 8,848 metre height, just a few metres before reaching the Summit of highest peak on Earth.
A member of Shekarbabu's 2016 expedition team, Ashok Munne, a single amputee from Nagpur, had to return from 8,500 metres without scaling the summit on his advice.
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The veteran mountaineer has a lot of experience guiding several teams to Mount Everest from the North Col side in the last decade.
In a chat with The Hindu , he said that Ashok Munne had developed frostbite by the time he had reached 8,500 meters.
“I immediately radioed him to come back, he said. The team’s medic confirmed that the metal component in Ashok Munne's prosthetic leg had caused the frostbite since the metal had the propensity to equalise the atmospheric temperature.
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Generally, mountaineers refuse to come back without scaling the peak, strong-willed as they are, after months of rigorous training and after spending a lot of time, effort and money.
However, Shekarbabu lauded Ashok Munne's decision and termed the move as sensible and taken in right spirit. “He will have another chance to conquer Everest in his life time, he said.
The Nepal Government had evacuated at least 40 mountaineers from South Side because they developed frostbite.
An Australian climber and a Dutch mountaineer also died this season during Everest expedition while descending. Another, Indian climber, Rajib Bhattacharya died on the descent from Mount Dhaulagiri, the world's fourth highest peak located in Himalayas in Nepal, just a week before.
Discussing about these deaths, Mr. Shekarbabu lauded Mr. Ashok Munne and said that trekking up to 8,500 m is no small thing for a man like him.