Babar Ali successfully conquered Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world, on Sunday (May 19) and raised the Bangladeshi flag for the fifth time in the highest peak.
Babar from Chattogram, a doctor and a prolific climber by profession, reached the height 8:30am local time (8:45am Bangladesh time) on Sunday.
He has become the fifth Bangladeshi mountain climber who conquered the turret and the first Bangladeshi to achieve this feat in the last 11 years. He also summited 11 of the world’s highest peaks in the Himalayas since 2014.
His mountaineering club, Vertical Dreamers, also disclosed the achievement through a post on Facebook.
The post read, “Mother Nature has temporarily placed Babar on her peak with the grace of the Creator and the prayers of millions of well-wishers. The base camp manager and outfit owner confirmed this information to us a while back.”
Regarding his current position, the post noted, “Babar is now on his way down to camp No 4. It will take time to get pictures as it is not possible to communicate with him in the death zone.”
Starting his adventure on April 1 this time, he reached the Everest base camp on April 10, reads a press release issued by his organisation, Vertical Dreamers.
To acclimatise to the extreme conditions, Babar went up to Everest Camp II on April 26 and then returned to the base, sitting tight for the right weather to begin the real journey.
His journey to the peak finally began on May 14, reaching Camp II later in the day, then Camp III yesterday, and Camp IV early today.
Babar climbed the rest of the way to the peak, known as the Death Zone, during the early light, becoming the latest Bangladeshi to summit Everest.
Turning his focus, Babar now looks to create history, setting his course towards Mount Lhotse, the fourth-highest peak in the world. Succeeding at this goal would make him the first Bangladeshi to summit this peak.
Bangladeshis who successfully scaled Everest earlier:
MA Mohit achieved this feat twice, on May 21, 2011, and May 20, 2012.
Nishat Majumder, the first Bangladeshi woman to conquer Everest, reached the summit in 2012.
Wasfia Nazreen followed as the second Bangladeshi woman to do so on May 26, 2012.
In 2013, Sajal Khaled also scaled Everest but tragically died during his descent.