Babar Ali, the first Bangladeshi national to climb Ama Dablam peak in the Himalayas, has now successfully summited Mount Everest. He is the first mountaineer from Chattogram to achieve this feat and the sixth Bangladeshi overall to reach the world’s highest peak.
“Babar hoisted the Bangladeshi flag at Everest’s peak around 8:30 am local time in Nepal. This marks the first time a Bangladeshi has reached Everest in 11 years,” stated Farhan Zaman, the chief coordinator of Babar Ali’s expedition.
From 2010 to 2013, five other Bangladeshis reached Everest’s summit: Musa Ibrahim, MA Muhith, Nishat Majumdar, Wasfia Nazreen, and Md Khaled Hossain. Muhith has climbed the mountain twice.
Babar, a physician from Chattogram, plans to start another expedition to Lhotse after his Everest climb. He shared details of his journey during a press briefing on March 30 in Chattogram and departed for Nepal on April 1. He reached Lukla from Kathmandu on April 4 and started trekking, arriving at the Everest Base Camp on April 10.
“The key factor in an Everest expedition is acclimatizing to the altitude through practice climbs. However, the mountaineers’ group in Nepal couldn’t find a path even after waiting several days,” explained Farhan Zaman. “As a result, Babar chose an alternative route. He summited the 20,075-foot-high Lobuche East Mountain on April 16, then returned to base camp. When the route to the summit opened, he moved to Camp 2 from the base on April 26, completing the acclimatization phase.”
On May 14, Babar set out to achieve his dream, said Farhan. He reached Camp 2 at 21,300 feet on the first day, spent two nights there, then moved to Camp 3 at 24,500 feet on May 17, and Camp 4 on May 18.
“The upper part of the 26,000-foot-high Camp 4 is known as the death zone. Babar resumed his ascent at midnight on May 19, hoisting the Bangladeshi flag at the 29,031-foot-high peak of Mount Everest just as the first rays of the sun hit it.”
Babar’s expedition is not yet over. Farhan mentioned that Babar intends to climb Lhotse, the world’s fourth-highest mountain. He will start this journey after descending to Camp 4 on Sunday and aims to reach Lhotse’s peak on Monday morning, weather permitting.
No Bangladeshi has climbed Lhotse – standing at 29,740 feet – so far. If successful, Babar will be the first Bangladeshi to climb both Everest and Lhotse in the same expedition.
The expedition was organized by Snowy Horizon in Nepal and Vertical Dreamers, a mountaineering organization. Babar was accompanied by his long-time friend and guide Bir Bahadur Tamang.
“Babar’s success is not just his achievement alone; it brings pride to the entire nation. It will inspire the youth in the country to dream big and strive to achieve it. Many contributed to turning this dream expedition into a reality. We thank them all,” said Farhan.
Since the emergence of Vertical Dreamers in 2014, Babar has undertaken several mountain expeditions with his colleagues. He hails from Burishchar in Chattogram’s Hathazari. His parents are Leyakat Ali and Lutfunnahar Begum.
Babar worked as a public health officer for a time but later resigned due to difficulties in obtaining leave for his mountain expeditions.
The total cost of Babar’s expedition was Tk 4.5 million, with the main sponsor being Visual Knitwear Limited. Other sponsors included Everest Pharmaceuticals Limited, Dhaka Divers Club, Beacon Pharmaceuticals, Blue J, Chandrabindu Publications, Giri, and Vertical Dreamers. Several social and sports organizations and individuals also contributed to raising public funds for the expedition.