Arunachalee mountaineers Kishon Tekseng and Taka Tamut scale Mt Everest without sherpas

Mountaineers Kishon Tekseng and Taka Tamut from Arunachal Pradesh have created history as they successfully climbed the Mt Everest without the help of any sherpas, a state government official said on Monday.

The two mountaineers--Tekseng and Taka scaled the world's highest peak on May 24. They reached the peak at 9 am and unfurled the national tricolor atop it, state Sports and Youth Affairs joint director Ramesh Lingi said.

"Both the climbers have inked a new record with this heroic climbing of the Mt Everest. They did not use supplementary oxygen till camp four (26000ft)," Lingi said.

It took the two a gruelling 13-hour non-stop climb from camp four (south column) known as Death Zone, he said.

Tekseng hails from Yingkiong in Upper Siang district and Tamut from Jomlo Mongku in Siang district. Ten days before, Muri Linggi of Roing became the seventh Arunachalee to achieve the feat. 

Most mountaineers take the help of sherpas to climb the Mt Everest. But the duo decided to risk it on their own after one of their sherpas received a head injury while climbing at camp three. The Sherpa was airlifted to Kathmandu in a critical condition and underwent head surgery.
        
The two climbers reached camp four with the help of one Sherpa, but the man fell ill due to high altitude sickness which prevented him to proceed further. The two then set out on the last leg on their own. They had had been trained in mountaineering in different national institutes over the past four years and had scaled Mt Stok Kangri (20,187 ft) of Ladakh as pre-Everest expedition.

The other Arunachalee climbers who scaled the highest peak include Tapi Mra (2009), Tine Mena (2011), Anshu Jamsenpa (2011), Nima Lama (2011), Kalden Paljor (2011)and Tame Bagang (2013).

(With inputs from agencies)