Measuring Mount Everest: a proud Nepali on his dangerous mission to the top of the world
- The first survey to measure the mountain by a Nepalese team was joined by China after Xi Jinping visited Nepal last year
- Government surveyor Khim Lal Gautam climbed Mount Everest to measure its height, losing a toe to frostbite in the process
On reaching the peak of Mount Everest, climbers usually pose for photographs, fly their country’s flag, or just gaze at the majestic Himalayas.
Khim Lal Gautam, a surveyor who works for Nepal’s government, did not have much time to appreciate the view when he reached the top of the world last year. He and the four members of his team got straight down to work when they set foot on the peak in the early hours of May 22. Despite thin air and temperatures dropping to minus 43 degrees Celsius, they fixed radar and navigation devices, changed batteries and gathered data to measure the height of the world’s tallest mountain.
The process cost Gautam a toe from frostbite, while Rabin Karki, another surveyor, faced death after running out of oxygen just below the south summit, at 8,600 metres.
“There was nobody there when we reached the top, but more than 100 people came and went while we were doing our work,” Gautam says.
The mission mattered for the team as it enables Nepal to declare the height of Mount Everest for the first time in the country’s history. That means Nepal, home to Mount Everest, can finally resolve the long-running dispute over the exact height of the world’s tallest mountain.
