KATHMANDU: Jangbu Sherpa, 37, scaled the Mount Everest to reach the summit on May 15, 2019, adding another feather to his cap of success as a renowned mountaineer.
This time, he hoisted the flags of both Nepal and Khabarhub – a digital media, an arm of Pavilion Media. As a summiteer of Sagarmatha popularly known as Mount Everest, this was Jangbu’s 16th successful attempt to stand with his team of other climbers called Indian Nationals Team.
“This is, in fact, an opportunity for me to hoist the flag of popular digital media Khabarhub atop the Everest,” he shared after returning to Kathmandu.
On May 15, Jangbu, a guide, and an instructor hoisted the flag as he reached the summit of the world’s highest mountain for the 16th time. The flag had been handed over to Sherpa by Chairman of Pavilion Media Group, Naresh Shrestha, on April 13. Sherpa had also carried five more flags of Khabarhub, which he put up at five camps, including the Everest Base Camp.
By now, he has gathered the wealth of experience of this adventurous sport called mountaineering and employs himself as guide and instructor for tourists who make an attempt to scale the world’s highest summit. Jangbu recalls his first climb to reach the top of the Mount Everest in 2003 when he was in the early twenties, after that reaching the top of the world and hoisting the flag of Nepal.
Not a year has passed without a climb to touch the top of Mt. Everest since then for him. He has been leading others who as tourists or adventure sports lover looking to reach the summit by teaching them skills of scaling the mountain.
Jangbu has reached the summit of Mt. Everest both from Khumbu region, the Nepalese side as well as from Chinese side for as many as six times during 2006 -2012, one scaling each year in his career of mountaineering as an ace summiteer.
The snow level in the Himalayas is highest in September, after the monsoon, and lowest in May prompting the tourists and adventure lovers to seek government permits for scaling Mt. Everest.
“Since the government is earning by showcasing mountaineering, it is expected of the government to look after the Sagarmatha area from its base camp to Hillary Step – the southeast ridge of the Mount Everest between the South Summit and the true Summit”, he cautions.
He, over the years, has seen how the Himalayas has become the victim of government apathy and gross mismanagement in absence of a full-proof policy to save the region more particularly the Mt. Everest.
Jangbu laments, “Unlike the Chinese side of Sagarmatha called Chomolungma, Nepalese side is beset with negligence, mismanagement, and aloofness looking away from obvious problems such as the absence of government officials and liaison officers at the base camp, among others.”
There are other weaknesses such as lack of medical facilities, rescue team and trainers for first time climbers, heavy rush and traffic on the route both ways due to improperly carved out path for scaling up and scaling down, littered trash and waste left over by climbers and so on. All these make the whole experience of climbing really bad as nauseating stench and abhorring sight of fast melting glaciers (due to climate change) among others leave the tourists frazzled, according to him.
The summit and upper slopes of Mount Everest have less amount of breathable oxygen — just one-third what it is at sea level. Jangbo says many of the climbers sometimes develop medical complications with or without oxygen cylinders with them. There are no alternative facilities there as the government has not placed any rescue team or copter facility to manage an unforeseen disaster.
All the climbers on the slopes of Sagarmatha undergo the problems of fetching food and drinking water. Ice is melted by heating before drinking the same. But, water so fetched is found polluted due to underlying trash and human waste including feces, urine, and mucus making the mountain enthusiasts physically sick and mentally depressed.
When will the Government of Nepal wake up to restore mountain environments and replenish the natural ecology of Sagarmatha? Dead bodies of climbers are being found buried under the snow along with a large quantity of the litter of past climbers — tons of trash such as tents, cans and water bottles and food packets.
Jangbu Sherpa shares that some of the climbers go mad and show signs of mental derangement as it takes minimum seven days in the entire process of ascending the peak of Mount Everest and descending down the foot at base camp.
In the entire process, climbers are required to stay at the base camp and then advance towards Camp 2, Camp 3 and Camp 4 before reaching the Hillary Step, Balcony and then the summit — top of the world.
Climbers face the challenges of staying awake in the night and keep on climbing even in adverse climatic conditions amidst biting high-speed wind. So much is the pressure built upon them that a few of them jump from there and commit suicide, other few lose their mental balance in the state of hopelessness and some die due to asphyxiation.
“There is no rescue team around provided by the Government of Nepal to meet with such exigencies”, says Jangbu. Moreover, liaison officers appointed by the government does not stay at base camp regularly to check the permits of climbers issued to them and outsiders without permits are found sneaking into the team to climb the mountains. Jangbu adds it is like a village fair — melee; everyone scrambling up to find a foothold to stay, survive and then proceed further for scaling.
“Let’s hope the government rises up to take note of all the problems and challenges that Mt. Everest is facing today and come out with blueprint to improve upon the alarming situation that has converted the Mount Everest as death-trap,” he adds.
Meanwhile, Pavilion Media and Khabarhub have feted Jangbu for scaling Mt Everest with the Khabarhub flag.
Naresh Shrestha, chairman of Khabarhub, honored Sherpa and congratulated him for hoisting Khabarhub’s flag atop Mt Everest amidst a ceremony at the Pavilion Hall.
Speaking at the felicitation ceremony sixteen-time Everest summiteer Jangbu said the world’s highest peak is melting day by day due to global warming. “Mt Everest is melting almost every day. The government has to take the initiative to save Everest immediately,” he said.
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