On the occasion of 50 years of diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and Nepal, a team of Bangladeshi and Nepalese mountaineers was the first to climb the Dolma Khang summit on 2 November. The 20,774-foot Himalayan peak, located in the Rolwaling mountain range of Gaurishankar municipality of Nepal's Dolakha district, was conquered by a team including four Bangladeshi
A Nepalese team became the first to summit K2 in the winter here’s why it matters
On Jan. 16, the 8,611-meter summit of K2 heard the sounds of something it had never heard before during the winter months. The sound of humans on the peak in mid-January was just as unprecedented as the lyrics they were singing the Nepalese national anthem.
Two expeditions of Nepalese climbers, 10 in total, reached the notorious summit of K2 just after 5 p.m. local time in Pakistan’s Karakoram range. Their summit success represents a major victory in mountaineering, as they are not only the first team to reach K2 in winter, but are also a Nepalese team claiming their long-overdue recognition.
Nims told
Rock and Ice in a Skype interview about the first winter ascent of K2, “It was for Nepal. We were trying to show the world that we could make the impossible possible.” By Michael Levy | January 29th, 2021
Nirmal “Nims” Purja before his winter attack on K2 on January 5, 2021. Photo: Nimsdai / Red Bull Content Pool.
“Namaste,” says the voice on the other end of the line as the Skype call begins. The mellow timbre and softness catch me a bit off guard. I half expected Nirmal “Nims” Purja to have a stern, stentorian voice befitting his UK Special Forces background.
Jan. 23, 2021
K2, the second highest mountain in the world.Credit.De Agostini, via Getty Images
It’s not often that a team of climbers attempts K2, the “Savage Mountain,” in winter.
Before this season, the world’s second-highest mountain, first climbed in 1954, had been tried only six times in the coldest months. Each effort ended in failure. Even so, last month two expeditions of Nepali climbers converged on the Godwin Austen Glacier in a remote corner of Pakistan to attempt the feat.
Neither of the groups was there to guide wealthy Western clients to the top and then take back seats to their accomplishments, as Nepalis in general and ethnic Sherpa in particular often do as the hired help. They were climbing for themselves. Both teams made it together to the 28,251-foot summit last Saturday, making a statement of teamwork and selflessness for Indigenous Himalayan climbers.