SEPANG – “We have been conquering Mount Everest, but this year, Everest beats us,” said national solo climber T Ravichandran tearfully as he recalled his experience with the late Lt Col Awang Askandar Ampuan Yaacub and disabled climber Muhammad Hawari Hashim, who was reported missing.
Awang Askandar, 56, was confirmed dead on Friday (May 19) after falling during his climb to the peak of Mount Everest while Hawari, 33, was feared lost in the Mt Everest area when descending from Camp Four after reaching the peak of the world’s highest mountain at 8,848m.
“This year is the second time we met in the mission to conquer Mount Everest. This time, I was in front of them, and I also faced tough challenges of extreme weather during my descent from Mount Everest,” he told reporters at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, here today, upon arrival from the 2023 Himalayan Sports Everest-Lhotse Expedition.
According to Ravichandran, on May 17, he managed to reach the top of Mount Everest and waved the Jalur Gemilang and sponsor’s flag on the mountain before descending from Mount Everest on May 18 to conquer Mount Lhotse (the fourth highest mountain in the world at a height of 8,516m) but he had to be rescued and taken to Kathmandu for treatment due to frostbite on a finger.
For Ravichandran, 58, his mission with the Himalayan Sports Everest-Lhotse Expedition 2023 was to set a record as the first Malaysian climber to conquer the summit of Mount Lhotse after raising the flag at the peak of Mount Everest within 24 hours.
This was the fourth time Ravichandran successfully scaled Mount Everest.
Regarding the fate of the two Malaysian climbers, Ravichandran said: “I do not know what happened to Awang Askandar and Hawari, who also faced a difficult time. I don’t know what happened to them”.
Hawari was with a group of climbers who scaled to the top of Everest together with Awang Askandar, who was also the Kedah Civil Defence Force director in the Malaysian Everest 2023 mission.
According to Ravichandran, even though he was on a different team from the late Awang Askandar and Hawari, they often met at Everest Base Camp to rest and drink together.
“Climbers are usually friendly, not to mention that there were only five Malaysians, so we are very close like a family, regardless of race, religion and age. On the day heading to the top of Everest, Hawari was with me from Tent 1 to Tent 2. He is a great guy, even though he is mute and deaf but every time we meet, we always start with a hug and tap each other’s head,” he said with tears in his eyes.
Ravichandran prayed that Hawari could be found even though the search mission was quite challenging due to the weather.
He said this incident had a deep impact on his mental health, but he hoped the younger generation would not be afraid of the world of climbing, which is always full of challenges and risks.
“Everest beats us this year... last year, we returned with pride, but this year is different because of the loss of lives, so far we have recorded 10 people including Awang Askandar compared to three people last year. This year’s wounds are quite deep mentally,” he said.
According to Ravichandran, every mistake and defeat experienced by Malaysian Everest climbers needs to be reviewed, including weather, technical and training factors to reduce the risk in the mission to conquer the highest mountain in the world.
“People always think that only funds are important, but it is not, because many aspects need to be managed precisely to reduce risk. We have to take the initiative seriously and not underestimate the risk when it comes to the mission to conquer Mount Everest,” he said. – Bernama, May 21, 2023
