The news of the virus reaching the Himalayas and overwhelming the whole of Nepal is a blow for M Magendran and N Mohanadas, the first Malaysians to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1997.
Their plans to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their feat in 2022 are now uncertain.
“If the pandemic is about to stay for a while with no signs of recovery, then we might just call off our plan to travel to Kathmandu and find other means to celebrate our anniversary,” Magendran told Bernama.
The duo had initially planned to celebrate the silver jubilee together with fellow Malaysians at the Everest Base Camp (EBC) on May 23, 2022 to coincide with the anniversary of the day they reached the mountain’s summit.
Magendran, the first Malaysian to step on the majestic Mount Everest peak, 15 minutes before his teammate Mohanadas on May 23, 1997, said preparations for the silver jubilee celebrations were initiated last year.
Some event management companies had shown interest in the activity by making it a youth-centric programme.
Magendran said the initial plan was to take at least 50 Malaysians to Nepal, with some tracking up to EBC and the rest putting up at the capital city Kathmandu.
However, even if the pandemic ends before then, it is still doubtful whether their plan will take off.
“Even if the global pandemic ends by this year, we will still find it difficult to get access to sponsorships to celebrate our anniversary as the parties concerned need time to build back what they have lost,” said the 57-year-old, who is now the principal of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Taman Sri Muda, Shah Alam, Selangor.
The international media has reported a Covid-19 outbreak on Mount Everest that has infected at least 100 climbers and support team members, the first comprehensive estimate of the extent of the infection amid Nepalese officials downplaying the news that it has spread to the world’s highest peak.
In April, a Norwegian climber became the first to test positive at the EBC. He was evacuated by helicopter to Kathmandu, where he was treated before returning home.
The report added that after shutting last year’s climbing season due to Covid-19, Nepalese authorities had eased quarantine rules this year in an effort to woo back foreign adventurers and have issued climbing permits to more than 400 people, a new record.
Magendran added getting vaccinated is also crucial in getting on with the programme in Nepal.
Meanwhile, Mohanadas concurred with Magendran saying they might delay or call off the entire celebration if the pandemic worsens.
“In conjunction with the silver jubilee, we had plans to organise a 16-day expedition to EBC in Nepal to commemorate the celebration, starting from May 14 until May 29, 2022, reaching EBC on the summit day on May 23.
“But this depends on the international travel restrictions and the opening of borders by the respective governments,” he said, adding vaccination is important for climbers as a preventive measure to avoid the risk of being exposed to the deadly virus.
He said Nepal depends mostly on overseas tourist arrivals and mountaineering clients. Despite challenges imposed by the pandemic, it has issued 408 permits this year as no mountaineering was allowed last year.
Reminiscing his moments during the Everest expedition back in 1997, Mohanadas said he was elated with the kind gesture of Muhyiddin Yassin, who was the then youth and sports minister in 1997, when he flew all the way to Kathmandu just to greet the entire expedition team members who had just returned from the mountain.
As for Magendran, it was a memorable experience for him and his fellow team members returning to Malaysia on the same flight with Muhyiddin after completing their expedition.
“He hosted a victory dinner for us in Kathmandu and later a flight was arranged by the trekking agency to give him and the rest of the team members an aerial view of the mountain,” he said of the current Malaysian prime minister.