Plea to declare names for Everest expedition

TT, Gangtok, Feb. 22: A 12-member group of mountaineers who took part in a selection test for a Mount Everest climb conducted by Sikkim government has decided to request the chief minister to announce the names of six persons chosen for the expedition to the tallest peak.

As part of the pre-Everest expedition test, the 12 mountaineers, including four women, had successfully scaled Mt Tinchenkhang (6,010 metre) in West Sikkim in October last year. Along with them, a six-member selection team also climbed the peak.

One of the mountaineers aspiring to scale Mount Everest said the expedition was conducted by the Sikkim department of tourism and civil aviation and supervised by the Indian Himalayan Centre for Adventure and Eco-Tourism based at Namchi, South Sikkim.

The government has allocated a budget of Rs 1.48 crore for the selection process and the expedition to the Everest.

"The names of six persons selected for the Everest climb were supposed to be announced on November 18 last year. We have decided to write to the chief minister and the chief secretary on the delay in finalising the names of the mountaineers. We are also trying for an appointment with the chief minister," one of the 12 mountaineers said today.

The government has said two of the six climbers to be selected will be women.

The secretary of the tourism and civil aviation department, Chewang Zangpo, said the names of the six mountaineers had already been submitted to his department.

"The department has already received the names of the selected mountaineers. We will soon announce the names. We were busy with other engagements and that is why the names couldn't be announced," he said.

Another mountaineer said: "March-April is the best season to climb Mount Everest. If the department had already finalised the names, it would have been much easier to book the best Sherpas for the expedition. If the government is planning to organise the expedition after the monsoon, there is more risk involved in the climb. Ninety per cent of mountaineers fail to summit Everest in the post-monsoon expeditions and it would be a sheer waste of government funds."