Expedition To Annapurna: Weather Challenges On First Day Of Climb

POKHARA (Nepal), April 29 (Bernama) -- The Annapurna Expedition Challenge 2017 team faced sudden heavy rain and temperatures reaching 22 degrees Celsius on the first day on their climb. However, with the preparations made, the participants succeeded in overcoming the obstacles and safely reached Jhinudanda, the base camp for the first day of the climb, which took around six hours. Earlier, the climbers, comprising 62 media practitioners, as well as officers and personnel of the Fire and Rescue Department began their expedition from Siwai (1,300m above sea level), at 11am local time. The heavy rain and thunder in Aufue Danda around 2pm local time resulted in the group having to seek shelter for more than an hour before they continued with their climb. According to lead climber Mohd Fakrhrul Munir Mohd Isa, among the most frequent obstacles faced by climbers who wanted to go to the Annapurna Base Camp, Nepal, was the weather. “The weather is unpredictable. Thus, we have reminded the participants to make necessary arrangements before beginning their climb, which include preparing jackets and raincoats,” he said. Due to the climate, several of the climbers had reportedly fallen sick, with some showing symptoms of ‘Acute Mountain Sickness’. On the second day of the expedition on Saturday, the group will head towards Bamboo (2,400m above sea level) and the climb of eight hours is expected to be more arduous. Mohd Fakrhrul said, on that route, the participants would have to climb many straight steps that would involve a distance of 15km. “Tomorrow (Saturday), the temperature is expected to drop between 15 and 10 degrees Celsius. This condition will indeed test the participants mental and physical endurance,” he added. --BERNAMA