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Published : 21 May 2024, 10:58 AM
Two days after he conquered Mount Everest, Babar Ali has become the first Bangladeshi national to scale Lhotse, the fourth tallest mountain on Earth, and also the first Bangladeshi to climb two of the Himalayan peaks over the course of a single expedition.
At 5:50am Nepal local time (6:05am in Bangladesh) on Tuesday, Babar stood at the summit of Lhotse.
On Saturday, he had waved the Bangladesh flag on Everest, the tallest mountain in the world, and become the sixth Bangladeshi to make the perilous ascent.
Farhan Zaman, head coordinator of Babar’s Everest expedition, said, “With great joy I inform you that Babar Ali made history today, becoming the first Bangladeshi to reach the top of Mount Lhotse, the fourth-highest mountain in the world. He has flown the Bangladeshi flag at the summit.”
“On May 19, Babar reached the summit of Mount Everest. A new chapter in Bangladesh’s mountaineering history has begun today. This is the first time any Bangladeshi has scaled two mountain summits over 8,000 metres tall during the same expedition.”
Babar had come down from Everest and rested at Camp-4 before setting off for Lhotse on Monday night.
On Tuesday morning, he wrote on the Facebook page of his own organisation Vertical Dreamers, “Today, the three-day long wait is over. We can do it! It is possible for us too!”
“It is the first time the summit of Lhotse has been climbed by a child of Bangladesh and the first time one has climbed two 8,000m summits in the same expedition. May the nation rejoice for at least today. But let’s not forget that Babar has started his descent. The main celebration will begin once he reaches the base camp.”
Nishat Mazumder, another Bangladeshi who climbed Everest, congratulated Babar on Facebook, saying, “Brother Babar Ali has climbed two 8,000 metre peaks in one go. You have set a new benchmark for us. Lots and lots of love to you. May you reach the base camp safely.”
Farhan Zaman, the leader of the expedition, confirmed Babar’s ascent with information from Bodha Raj Bhandari, owner of Snowy Horizon and the director of the expedition and Dharma Tamang at the base camp.
“After reaching the Lhotse summit, Babar sent news by radio to the base camp. Officials at the base camp conveyed the happy news to us,” Zaman said.
Babar’s Sherpa companion Bir Bahadur Tamang accompanied him on the climb to Lhotse, as he did during the Everest ascent.
Five Bangladeshi climbers had previously conquered Mount Everest. But this is the first time anyone has climbed another peak after Everest in the same expedition. In mountaineering terms, this is called a 'double-header'.
The five Bangladeshis had conquered Everest from 2010 to 2013. Mountaineers Musa Ibrahim, MA Muhit (who climbed it twice), Nishat Mazumder, Wasfia Nazreen and Mohammed Khaled Hossain have scaled Mount Everest.
At a media briefing, Vertical Dreamers said, “Mountaineer Babar Ali has once again created an outpouring of happiness after two days by flying the Bangladeshi flag on the top of Mount Lhotse, the world's fourth highest mountain at 27,940 feet.”
“This is the first time a Bangladeshi mountaineer has touched the summit of Mount Lhotse. Babar Ali had left the country in early April with plans to climb both Mount Lhotse and Mount Everest."
Babar Ali has started a new chapter in the mountaineering history of Bangladesh by touching the summit of these two eight-thousanders (Everest and Lhotse) in one go, Vertical Dreamers said.
