Twenty-six-year-old Mahfooz Ilahi Hajam, a resident of the Kulgam district in Jammu and Kashmir and civilian instructor at the Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering and Winter Sports (JIM&WS) in Aru (Pahalgam), has successfully scaled the worlds highest peak, Mount Everest.
Mahfooz’s father is a barber and belongs to a middle-class family from the Kujjar area of South Kashmir’s Kulgam district.
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Mahfooz said, “At 6.20 am on June 1, I scaled Mount Everest [8,849 meters], the highest peak in the world.” He also added, “I started the journey with my team on June 1 and got stuck for ten days due to heavy winds on Mount Everest.”
Speaking to a TV channel, Mehfooz said, “Youths of Kashmir should choose adventure sports as we have lots of potential here for it.”
Colonel Thapa, currently the principal at JIMWS Pahalgam and an ace climber who has scaled Mount Everest twice, led the expedition.
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The first person who recorded his efforts to reach Everest was a British mountaineer. After Nepal prohibited the entry of foreigners, the British made several attempts on the North ridge route from the Tibetan side.
The mountain has fascinated many climbers and experienced mountaineers. Everest presents danger such as altitude sickness, wind, weather, and significant hazards from rockslide and the Khumbu Icefall.