Three climbers from the Pune-based mountaineering organisation Giripremi successfully summited Mount Everest, the world's highest peak, in the early hours of Thursday via the traditional South Col route from Nepal, expedition leader Umesh Zirpe announced on Thursday.
This achievement marks Giripremi's third successful Everest expedition, following earlier successes in 2012 and 2013. The summit team comprised Vivek Shivade, Mihir Jadhav, and Akhil Katkar, supported by Sherpa climbers Lakpa Sherpa, Urgen Sherpa, and Lakpa Tenji Sherpa.
Expedition Details
The team departed from Pune on April 2 and spent nearly eight weeks in the Everest region undergoing a structured acclimatisation process. This included climbing Lobuche East Peak and multiple rotations up to Camp 2 on Everest. Their final summit push began on Sunday.
Zirpe, who has led 18 mountaineers to the Everest summit across several expeditions, stated that the climbers endured more than 10 hours of continuous effort in the "Death Zone", the extreme altitude above 8,000 metres where oxygen levels are critically low. He noted that this year's summit window was unusually narrow due to persistent jet stream activity over the mountain, making navigation and timing particularly challenging.
Challenges and Teamwork
"Despite these difficulties, the team succeeded through discipline, patience, mental resilience, and effective teamwork. Favourable weather during the final phase also played a crucial role," Zirpe said.
Zirpe also mentioned that team member Nikunj Shah made the prudent decision to turn back from just below Camp 4 due to health concerns during the summit push.
