Bengaluru mountaineers carry Karnataka’s pride to top of Mount Everest

Bengaluru: Battling freezing winds, treacherous slopes and thinning oxygen levels, two mountaineeers from Bengaluru scripted history atop Mount Everest by unfurling the Karnataka Emblem at the world’s highest peak.

The duo -- Santhosh Devarajappa, 40 and Chinmayee Thrishulamurthy, 45, reached the summit of Everest at 12.10pm IST on May 21 after a demanding climb through the traditional and popular southeast ridge (South Col) route from Nepal.

At an altitude of 29,031 feet (8,848.86 metres), Everest remains one of the toughest challenges for mountaineers due to its extreme weather conditions, thin air and dangerous terrain. “The climbers battled several odds during the expedition before finally reaching the summit after 46 days of preparation, travel and ascent,” said S Srivatsa of the Karnataka Mountaineering Association (KMA), to which the duo belongs.

“They are now at the base camp and have to deacclimatise. They are expected to return to Kathmandu in a couple of days. They had planned to attempt Everest in Oct to align with the 60th anniversary of our association,” he said.

The expedition was flagged off by chief minister Siddaramaiah at Vidhana Soudha on March 9. The duo later left Bengaluru for Kathmandu on April 4 to begin the mission. The climbers also trained by scaling Lobuche East, a 20,075-ft peak in Nepal, on April 22 as part of their acclimatisation process.