Guwahati

Scaling Mt Everest is every mountaineer’s dream. However only a few manage to fulfill it.Also, the achievement comes at a very high cost of mental and physical strength. So challenging is the task that many breathe their last climbing the treacherous terrains while others survive after the near-death experiences.

Assam’s Everester Hedayet Ali also had his near death moment. On the way to Everest he felt he was dead and the images of his near and dear ones flashed in his mind. He faced the situation at the most difficult part of the climb - at the Hillary Step. He removed his oxygen mask to drink water only to find he was gasping for air.

By the time he drank water, the oxygen valve of the mask got frozen and flow of oxygen was blocked. After struggling to breathe and panicking, Ali says he managed to calm down and sort out the issue with the help of a Sherpa.

Having reached Kathmandu in Nepal, Ali posted a long message on social media informing about his sound health condition and quick recovery where he also mentions about the situation at Hillary Step.

“With any adventure, you will have some unexpected situations. My tense moment was when I took out my Oxygen mask on the summit day before Hillary stepped for drinking water, the Oxygen valve was frozen and blocked and I could not breathe, I got nervous and thought I will be here forever, the image of my wife and children flash on my mine but with God grace, I was able to calm down, access the issue and able to resolve it with the help of Sherpa,” Ali has posted.

Ali Hedayet thanking the institutions that supported him in cli,bning the Everest

The Hillary Step is a nearly vertical rock face with a height of around 12 metres (40 feet) located near the summit of Mount Everest, about 8,790 metres (28,839 feet) above sea level. Located on the southeast ridge, halfway between the South Summit and the true summit, the Hillary Step is the most technically difficult part of the typical Nepal-side Everest climb and the last real challenge before reaching the top of the peak. The rock face was destroyed by the Nepal earthquake in 2015.

“Thanks to all my family and friends for your love, support, and blessing. With God's grace, everything went as per plan, no injury, recovering well, and back to Kathmandu,” he started the post informing about his health.

“Everest became a dream after joining a trekking expedition in the Indian Himalayan state of Sikkim at the age of fifteen. I started preparing for Everest after becoming a father of three children at the age of forty-two.

“Initially, I was nervous and felt crazy but at the same time, I was not willing to give up without giving it a try. Fast forward after nine years of preparation, lots of God's blessing, love, and support of family and friends, my wildest dream unfold into reality. “Thank God, for keeping me safe and healthy and also giving me the opportunity to experience and ponder one of your creations,” he mentioned in the post about the background of his quest to scale the highest peak of the world.

Ali had scaled Mount Everest on May 12 as a US national. He was part of an 11-member international expedition team. Ali reached the summit of the highest peak of the world from the Nepal side around 7.30 am. The team comprised two other Indian summiteers -- Jatin Ramsinh Chaudhary and Prakriti Varshney.

Also Read: Assam mountaineer Hedayet Ali summits Mt Everest

Ali, who hails from Dampur village in Hajo in Kamrup district of central Assam and is a software engineer at California in USA, is likely to visit Assam before departing for the US. He took technical advice from Assam Everester Henry David Ingty and Assam Mountaineering Association before the ascent.