KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) – A team of ten Nepalese climbers who became the first of the world’s second highest peak during the harsh winter season welcomed a hero on Tuesday when they returned home to Nepal.
Mountaineers, supporters, friends and family lined up at Kathmandu Airport to greet the climbers with wreaths and cheers as a police band played tunes. They were then driven around the city with open trucks.
“As a team we feel really proud; we feel really honored. I think we have sent a very clear message to the world, if we do not unite anything is impossible, so everyone here is happy, “said Nirmal Purja, one of the team members who also holds the record for the fastest climbing of the 14 highest peaks in the world.
The winter climb is another achievement for Nepalese climbers who worked for decades as porters and guides for foreign mountaineers, but now set their own records and lead expeditions on the highest peaks.
“This expedition has raised the status of Nepalese climbers to a new high, which is an achievement for all mountaineers. It shows that there is nothing we can not achieve if we try,” said Mingma Sherpa, who led the expedition. arranged, said.
K2 is the most prominent peak on the Pakistani side of the Himalayan range and is only second in the height of Mount Everest. K2 remained the last peak above 8,000 meters (26,240 feet) in the world that still had to be climbed in the winter.
The Nepalese team made sure that all ten members reached the top at the same time.
“All ten of us worked together on the same level. We have all taken great risks for our lives. We felt that it should be justice for every team member, ”said Purja.