AN 18-member expedition team, including a member of the Bahrain Royal family, is all set to test the limits of endurance and creativity in the Himalayas.
Fifteen members of the Bahrain Royal Guard team and three Britons have arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal as they gear up to conquer Mount Lobuche and Mount Manaslu in the coming months.
They also hope to scale the world’s highest peak – Mt Everest – next year.
Training
The men will join hands with veteran sherpas led by Mingma Sherpa, the first Nepalese to summit 14 mountains that exceed 8,000 metres, including Mount Everest in 2004.
The veteran climber, in an exclusive interview with the GDN, spoke about the challenges facing the team and the training it will undergo in the coming months.
“The Bahrain team has arrived safely and is under quarantine in a hotel as part of Covid-19 procedures in Nepal,” said Mr Sherpa.
“It includes a royal family member, and this is the first time we have such a high dignitary joining us to climb the mountains.”
Mr Sherpa is the chairman of Seven Summit Treks that is managing the high-profile Bahrain expedition in autumn.
Nepal closed its borders in March and grounded international flights ahead of the busy spring season, shattering the local tourism sector. It re-opened its mountains – including Everest – in late July ahead of the autumn climbing season and in anticipation of international flights resuming in mid-August.
However, due to a rise in virus infections, flights continue to be grounded.
The Nepalese government, however, gave special permission to Bahrain’s team to climb the 8,163m (26,781-feet) Manaslu and the 6,119m Lobuche.
“It’s a privilege to be in Nepal, the Bahrain team would like to thank everyone for a truly Nepali welcome,” the Bahrain Everest team posted on its Twitter account yesterday.
“We will be isolating for the next week, but look forward to the challenges ahead.”
The teams will first hike through knee-deep snow to climb Lobuche and then Manaslu.
“After the quarantine ends, the teams are ready and they can climb Lobuche in the coming weeks with about 22 Sherpas, including myself,” said Mr Sherpa.
“We will then proceed to scale Manaslu, the eighth highest mountain in the world, with about 50 sherpas.”
Mr Sherpa added it would take about two weeks for the teams to conquer Manaslu and a further 15 days for Lobuche.
To prepare themselves for the ultimate Mt Everest test, the Royal Guard team aims to complete two additional climbs.
Mr Sherpa said teams will have to tackle low oxygen levels and sub-zero temperatures.
“I think the Bahrain expedition team is fit and ready to conquer the two peaks.
“We Sherpas are excited to be part of this journey and would like to see more teams from the Gulf countries taking part in such trips in the Himalayas.”
He said the team will make a final push to the summit of the mighty Everest in April and May next year.
“This will be the ultimate task and will take about two months and more than 100 Sherpa climbers will be part of the expedition.
“The Bahrain team is fully backed by Shaikh Nasser and we are looking forward to seeing the first Bahraini to climb Mount Everest.”
The GDN reported in April that a team of Royal Guard members were to be trained to climb Everest as well as provide food for the Sherpas isolated on the Himalayan mountain range with little access to supplies due to the pandemic.
Instructions
This followed instructions from His Majesty King Hamad’s representative for humanitarian work and youth affairs, National Security Adviser and Royal Guard Commander Major General Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
Tourism, which includes mountain climbing, is a main source of income for Nepal, home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains.
sandy@gdn.com.bh
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