Kolkata: Three climbers from Bengal have successfully reached the summit of Mount Everest in the past two days. Among them, Shuvam Chatterjee also conquered Mount Lhotse the day after his Everest ascent, while Lakshmikanta Mandal achieved the feat for the second time. The third climber was Munmun Ghosh.
Shuvam Chatterjee's Dual Summit
Chatterjee, a businessman from Hind Motor, reached the Everest peak at 2:15 pm on Wednesday. He began his ascent from Camp IV around 11 pm on Tuesday. He said, "The weather was fine and we were going at a good pace. I set a target of climbing both Mount Everest and Mount Lhotse in six hours, which is the world record set by Mingma Dorchi Sherpa. I have been training for this over the past several years."
However, he faced challenges due to heavy traffic on the mountain. "There was huge traffic this time, and our team had to slow down because of the slow pace of climbers ahead. Many climbers needed support even to pull their carabineers. It was very unfortunate. When we reached the Hillary Step area, we had to wait for nearly 2.5 hours. The wind and snow showers continued to challenge our endurance," Chatterjee explained.
He descended to Camp IV at 11 pm on Wednesday, rested for five hours, and then set out for Mount Lhotse. "We made it to the summit of Mount Lhotse at 4:15 pm on Thursday. On both climbs, high wind and snow showers were the biggest hurdles," he said. At 30, Chatterjee is the youngest from Bengal to have summited both Mount Everest and Mount Lhotse during the same expedition.
Munmun Ghosh's Achievement
Munmun Ghosh, a constable with the Border Security Force (BSF) and a resident of Garia, reached the Everest summit at 8 am on Thursday. Her instructor at the National Cadet Corps (NCC), Mita Dhar, said, "A student of Murlidhar Girls College, Munmun was trained at the NCC under me. I spotted her interest in climbing and encouraged her for advanced courses. Later, she joined BSF and started going on expeditions."
The BSF posted on its official Facebook handle: "The BSF's first all-women mountaineering team, comprising Constable Kouser Fatima from Ladakh, Constable Munmun Ghosh from Bengal, Constable Rabeka Singh from Uttarakhand, and Constable Tsering Chorol from Kargil, successfully summited Mt Everest. Celebrating the BSF Diamond Jubilee Year, the Mahila Seema Praharis carried the spirit of 'Vande Mataram' to the top of the world."
Lakshmikanta Mandal's Second Summit
West Bengal Police constable Lakshmikanta Mandal reached the Everest summit at 7:40 am on Thursday. Debraj Dutta, an Everest summiteer, noted, "He is the second Bengali to have made it to the Everest summit twice. Earlier, Satyabrata Dam achieved this in 2004 and 2013."
