Ghaziabad boy battles storms, scales Mt Everest

GHAZIABAD: High-altitude sickness had claimed the life of a mountaineer. Two others in his team from Russia and

Bulgaria

had decided to call off the expedition. But 21-year-old

Sagar Kasana

continued in the inclement weather.


Forty-six days later — on May 22 — the final-year student of Noida College of Physical Education had unfurled the Tricolour on Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world.

Sagar’s father Ajab Singh Kasana, a resident of Loni in Ghaziabad, said his son reached Kathmandu on April 4 and started the expedition two days later. He and his team reached the first base camp on May 3, trekking via Lukla, Fekdeag, Nemche Bazaar, Tyagbo Che Monastery, Dingboche and Laboche, his father said.

Other than Sagar, mountaineers Krick Wood from

Australia

, Alexander of Russia and Bulgarian Evan Tommo were in the team. They reached the third base camp on May 4, but had to wait for 18 days at the fourth camp as the weather was unfavourable. Mount Everest has been in

news

recently over “human traffic jams” along the route.

In Ghaziabad, Kasana said his son had to face severe snow storms as he went up and they damaged his equipment. The team lost Tommo to high-altitude sickness. “His death had lowered the morale of the team, but they decided to continue with their journey. A few days later, the two others — Wood and Alexander — decided to call off their expedition after reaching Lhotse. Sagar, however, continued with his journey and reached the summit on May 22.”

The 21-year-old student had earlier scaled Africa’s highest mountain,

Mount Kilimanjaro

, Mount Alburse in Europe and gone on expeditions in Leh-Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh.

When he is not on top of the world, Sagar is busy advocating cleanliness for the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation. He has even taken Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat campaign to various base camps in mountains. Sagar is expected to return to Ghaziabad on June 1. Residents of Shakalpura village in Loni, which is his hometown, are eagerly waiting to welcome Sagar, Kasana told TOI.