Following on from the Bahrain Everest team’s successful ascent of Mount Manaslu (8163m) in October 2020, the team is now heading back to Nepal to begin their attempt at climbing the highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest (8848m).
The team, consisting of sixteen climbers from the Royal Guard has been in training for over two years to prepare for the climb. Leading the expedition will be Seven Summits Treks, a Nepalese climbing company considered to be one of the best climbing companies in the world. The guides and the staff from Seven Summits were key to the team’s success on Mount Manaslu in October.
During the last trip to Nepal, the team was welcomed and hosted by the village of Samaguan in the Gorkha District of Nepal. Samaguan is located in a very remote area of Nepal and is only accessible by foot or helicopter, with a trip from the capital Kathmandu to the village taking around three weeks. It was during this last visit that the local leaders very kindly decided to name one of the mountains to the North of the village as the ‘Royal Bahrain Peak’ in honour of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
In order to repay this very kind gesture, the Commander of the Royal Guard and National Security advisor, Major General, His Highness Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa has asked the Government to provide 1000 COVID – 19 vaccinations to the village which the team will deliver on their arrival for Everest expedition. The delivery will be supported by Seven Summits and their rescue helicopter to ensure that the vaccines are delivered as quickly and as safely as possible.
The Climb.
The entire Everest expedition will take approximately 79 days, with the team not expected back in Bahrain till the beginning of June. This is due to the requirement for the team to ‘acclimatise’ to the altitude difference over a number of controlled elevation gains.
The plan is for the team to spend a few days in Kathmandu checking their equipment and getting the initial briefings from the Seven Summits team. Once this has happened and the team has finished their period of isolation, they will set out to deliver the vaccines to the village of Samaguan. They will also use the visit to climb the newly named ‘Royal Bahrain Peaks’ and hopefully plant a Bahrain National Flag on the summit.
Once this initial phase is completed, the team will fly by helicopter across to the Khumbu Valley where they will begin the gradual climb up to Everest Basecamp. Once there, the team will conduct revision of ice climbing techniques and practice crevasse crossing drills.
It is at this stage that actual ascent of Mount Everest begins. This will see the team climb up through a number of staged ascents through camps one to four (each at ever greater altitudes up the mountain). This is where the guides from Seven Summits make the decision on when the team will push to the summit. This decision is based on each climbers level of acclimatisation, an assessment of the weather, and in conjunction with other teams to make sure there are not too many climbers stuck on the narrower parts of the summit route which would put the climbers in a perilous situation.
The hope is that by late May all of the Bahrain Everest team will have touched the summit of Mount Everest and that the national flag of the Kingdom of Bahrain is flown from the very ‘top of the world’!