The adventurer duo ascending Mount Everest which is a 3 month ordeal in itself
KATHMANDU, FEB 29 -
“Without adventure, you are not feeling the real life,” says 28-year-old Sano Babu Sunuwar, one of the winners of the People’s Choice Adventurers of the Year 2012, along with Lakpa Tsheri Sherpa, 37, presented by National Geographic on Tuesday.
As a part of their three-month quest for the ‘Ultimate Descent Summit to Sea’ that began in April last year, the Nepali duo garnered maximum votes of around 72,000 for climbing Everest, paragliding down and paddling to the Bay of Bengal in two months. This is the first attempt ever made in the world to accomplish the descent from the world’s highest summit to the Indian Ocean.
Sunuwar, a professional kayaker and Sherpa, a mountaineering guide and also known as ‘Mountain Climber Yeti’, climbed the world’ highest peak on May 21, 2011. The duo then launched a tandem paraglider from the summit and set a new world record of 8,865 metres for free flight.
“It was not easy to paraglide along the world’s highest peak due to low air pressure and strong winds. But, we successfully completed the first cross country descent of 5,000 metres in the Khumbu region,” Sunuwar said. On June 27, 2011, Babu and Lakpa reached the Bay of Bengal, the final destination of their trip, after traversing more than 500 km of waterways along the Koshi river.
National Geographic said on its website that the duo successfully completed the daring adventure inspite of the borrowed gear and limited budget and no corporate or social media campaigns.
The duo also plans to support the local communities. “As a way of giving back, we would also like to set up a scholarship fund and support schools in our remote regions.”
Here is the link for great pictures and a read from the National Geographic site itself:
Source: The Kathmandu Post
This proves that Adventure doesn’t need to be rich man’s game but is actually driven by passion regardless of money factor!