CG climber conquers Everest, survives deadly descent

Raipur: Chhattisgarh mountaineer Amita Shrivas created history by scaling Mount Everest, but the triumph quickly turned into a desperate survival battle after two members of her expedition died during the return journey and she herself had to be airlifted to a Kathmandu hospital with severe frostbite and high-altitude complications.

As news of her deteriorating condition emerged from Nepal, CM Vishnu Deo Sai said the state govt was extending all possible support to the mountaineer and had directed officials to remain in constant touch with the hospital treating her in Kathmandu.

Calling Amita’s summit “a proud moment for the entire state”, Sai said Chhattisgarh stood firmly with its daughter during her recovery.

The 29-year-old anganwadi worker turned climber from Janjgir-Champa district successfully reached the 8,848.86-metre summit on May 22.

But Everest’s most dangerous test often begins after the summit.

While descending through the oxygen-starved “death zone”, Amita’s expedition was hit by extreme exhaustion, freezing winds and rapidly deteriorating physical conditions. Two climbers in the team — Hyderabad-based Arun Tiwari and UK resident Sandeep Aare — died during the descent due to oxygen-related complications and fatigue, according to Amita.

Amita herself somehow managed to descend through camp-2 and reach Everest base camp by the night of May 23, but by then severe frostbite had affected two fingers of her left hand and her physical condition had sharply worsened.

She was evacuated by helicopter on Sunday for hospitalization, where doctors said she was suffering from severe frostbite and high-altitude stress caused by prolonged exposure to sub-zero temperatures and icy winds near the summit ridge.

Her Everest journey had begun nearly two months earlier.

After leaving Chhattisgarh in April, she travelled to Nepal’s capital Kathmandu before flying to Lukla, often described as one of the world’s most dangerous airports because of its tiny high-altitude runway carved into the mountains.

Officials in touch with the organizers and coaches said that Amita undertook the grueling trek to Everest Base Camp, crossing high-altitude settlements such as Namche Bazaar and Tengboche over nearly nine days to acclimatise herself to thinning oxygen levels.

Then came weeks of brutal preparation.

Amita spent nearly a month repeatedly climbing and descending between Camp-1, Camp-2 and Camp-3 to prepare her body for Everest’s extreme conditions. During these acclimatisation rotations, she repeatedly crossed the deadly Khumbu Icefall — a constantly shifting maze of ice towers, crevasses and collapsing glaciers considered among the most dangerous sections of the Everest route.