KOLKATA: Arijit Dey, a Kolkata based civil engineer, has achieved a rare feat after he made it to the summit of Mount Manaslu (8,163 meter) — the eighth highest mountain in the world without a Sherpa on Sunday evening. On Tuesday, Dey claimed that he made it to the summit without supplemental oxygen. Dey is also the first climber from Bengal to have made it to the “true summit” of Mount Manaslu after the controversy over the summit surfaced and a new summit was demarcated for the mountain.
“He has reached the summit by 6 pm on Sunday and came down to camp III by night. He did not have any Sherpa and carried his stuff himself. This is definitely a rare feat,” said Da Dendi Sherpa, owner of Glacier Himalaya Treks & Expeditions. “Dey called me after he reached camp III. He had planned to reach the summit without supplemental oxygen, but I am not sure if he managed to do that,” he added. Da Dendi Sherpa, who helped Dey in getting necessary permission for the climb, has made it to the Manaslu summit 12 times so far.
According to Satyarup Siddhanta, a Guinness record holder for being the youngest to have climbed seven summits and seven volcanic summits, climbing without a Sherpa on any 8,000 meter plus peaks is an achievement in itself. “Apart from sharing the load one has to carry, sherpas are most useful when weather starts getting truant. Even if one is climbing along the established routes, he needs a support system for any eventuality,” he said.
Piyali Basak, who has attempted a number of peaks without supplemental oxygen, felt that any peak at 8,000 meter plus altitude can become dangerous with adverse weather conditions. “Manaslu is quite avalanche prone and that makes it difficult for anyone who tries to scale it without oxygen. We still don’t know if he had used oxygen or not, but definitely it was a credible attempt. He reached the summit by 6pm and climbing down at night could also have been dangerous,” she said.
“Dey is also the first Bengali who has reached the true summit of Manaslu after the controversy broke,” Siddhanta said. A number of summiteers have earlier claimed that many climbers have stopped short of the “true” or real summit while climbing Manaslu. The summit accreditation was changed last year after celebrated climber Mingma Gyalje Sherpa climbed the “true summit”– the point a few meters higher than what was traditionally considered a summit. The highest point came to the surface after photographer and blogger Jackson Groves captured several images using drones. That prompted hundreds of climbers to reattempt Mt Manaslu and reach the true summit.
“Dey is likely to reach the base camp by Monday night. We are hoping for a safe comeback,” De Dandi Sherpa said.
“He has reached the summit by 6 pm on Sunday and came down to camp III by night. He did not have any Sherpa and carried his stuff himself. This is definitely a rare feat,” said Da Dendi Sherpa, owner of Glacier Himalaya Treks & Expeditions. “Dey called me after he reached camp III. He had planned to reach the summit without supplemental oxygen, but I am not sure if he managed to do that,” he added. Da Dendi Sherpa, who helped Dey in getting necessary permission for the climb, has made it to the Manaslu summit 12 times so far.
According to Satyarup Siddhanta, a Guinness record holder for being the youngest to have climbed seven summits and seven volcanic summits, climbing without a Sherpa on any 8,000 meter plus peaks is an achievement in itself. “Apart from sharing the load one has to carry, sherpas are most useful when weather starts getting truant. Even if one is climbing along the established routes, he needs a support system for any eventuality,” he said.
Piyali Basak, who has attempted a number of peaks without supplemental oxygen, felt that any peak at 8,000 meter plus altitude can become dangerous with adverse weather conditions. “Manaslu is quite avalanche prone and that makes it difficult for anyone who tries to scale it without oxygen. We still don’t know if he had used oxygen or not, but definitely it was a credible attempt. He reached the summit by 6pm and climbing down at night could also have been dangerous,” she said.
“Dey is also the first Bengali who has reached the true summit of Manaslu after the controversy broke,” Siddhanta said. A number of summiteers have earlier claimed that many climbers have stopped short of the “true” or real summit while climbing Manaslu. The summit accreditation was changed last year after celebrated climber Mingma Gyalje Sherpa climbed the “true summit”– the point a few meters higher than what was traditionally considered a summit. The highest point came to the surface after photographer and blogger Jackson Groves captured several images using drones. That prompted hundreds of climbers to reattempt Mt Manaslu and reach the true summit.
“Dey is likely to reach the base camp by Monday night. We are hoping for a safe comeback,” De Dandi Sherpa said.
