Eleven of them had started on the journey. only eight came back. Debraj Dutta is one of the survivors of the Everest expedition earlier this year that took three lives.
The 35-year-old intrepid mountaineer from Behala, who still bears battle scars in the form of frost bites on his cheeks, shared memories of his journey with residents of FE Block at a felicitation arranged for him in the block’s community hall. The tale he shared was one full of as much pride at standing on the highest point of the planet as poignancy at losing team members.
“When the 11 of us used to chat at the base camp, we used to joke that we were a football team. Such a sizeable contingent aiming for an Everest summit together would be a matter of pride for Bengal,” Dutta said.
He and Pradeep Sahoo were the first in their group to conquer the peak. “At 10.40am on May 19, I stood on top of the world, the moment I had dreamt of for three years. In my excitement, I even took some steps down North Col, the China side of Mt. Everest, by mistake.”
Among the flags he planted on the summit, there was one rather dear to his heart — the green and maroon one of Mohun Bagan, which might well be a first in the football club’s history.
But his voice becomes sombre as he recalls learning about the disappearance of teammates on his way down. “I had even met Pareshda (Chandra Nath) and Gautamda (Ghosh) near the yellow band (that circles the summit pyramid like a gold ring and is formed of rock rich in dolomite) near Camp 3.”
Nath, Ghosh, Subhas Pal and Sunita Hazra would go missing soon after. Only Hazra could be rescued later and brought back.
But mention of the tragedy did not rob the audience members of the thrill of retracing the steps of a successful Everest climb with Dutta as he put on a slide presentation.
The long wait
Dutta has been planning to climb Everest since 2014. “But that year, 16 sherpas died in an avalanche on May 18. All expeditions were cancelled and I had to come back from the base camp. The next year, on April 25, an earthquake struck Nepal and 19 climbers died. Then too I was at the base camp and stayed back to help with relief operations.
After two aborted attempts, this year, he had to loan half his expedition cost. “This despite the Nepal government forfeiting their royalty of Rs 10 lakh. So instead of Rs 18 lakh, I had to pay Rs 8 lakh,” he said.
“This year, the number of climbers was less. Few came with new permits. Most had old permits like me,” he said.
He already had climbed four 7,000m-plus peaks, including what he described as the first-ever ascent of Mt Plateau (7287m) as a member of The Himalayan Club in 2013 and Mt Mamostong Kangri- I (7516m), the fifth highest peak of India, in 2010.
Such experience comes handy when deciding at which point to give up a climb.
“A climber can carry three cylinders, each carrying 3.5kg of liquid oxygen. Each lasts six hours if used at 4 litres per minute. So 18 hours is all one gets to climb up and come back. The average time taken from South Col to reach the summit is 10-12 hours while the descent takes another six hours. Those who miscalculate or ignore the calculation on the way up in the grip of summit fever, jeopardise their chances of a safe return as their oxyygen supply falls short,” Dutta points out. If the ascent takes more time, one must know when to give up the climb and save one’s life.
Among the audience members, who broke into applause when Dutta’s picture on the summit was shown on the screen, some sought to be photographed with him after his talk while others had myriad questions to ask.
