Beni-Thekur peak of Mount Annapurna, the tenth highest peak in the world at a height of 8,091 metres, saw 30 mountaineers on Saturday.
Among the summiteers were Sheikha Asma Al Thani, a member of the royal family of Qatar, and the team of Nirmal Purja, a Nepali-born UK resident and a famous mountaineer.
The climbers had reached the peak within a span of seven days.
“Qatari princess Al Thani reached the peak with Purja’s team at around 3 pm on Saturday,” said Tej Gurung, a local of Narchyang and chairman of Maurice Herzog Trail Management Committee.
Maurice André Raymond Herzog was a French mountaineer and the first person to set foot at the peak of Mount Annapurna in 1950.
According to Gurung, the team had descended to Camp 3 where the Nepali Army team has also reached for the mountain cleaning campaign.
“There were 10 individuals, including Nepalis and foreigners, who ascended the peak through Elite Trekking Company. Qatari princess Al Thani was in this group led by Purja,” said Gurung.
The team of Al Thani and Purja, who has climbed 14 peaks around the world at a height of over 8,000 metres, was followed by a team of six, including three Nepalis and three foreigners, from Seven Summit. Similarly, another team of 14, including six foreigners and eight Sherpas, from Emerging had reached the peak as well.
Meanwhile, Al Thani, who is also a record-setting Qatari athlete, has climbed over half-a-dozen mountains at the height of over 8,000 metres. Moreover, she had climbed the four tallest mountains – Mount Everest, K2, Kangchenjunga and Lhotse – in less than two months.
“Three other teams alongside the Nepali Army’s mountain cleaning team have reached Camp 3 to ascend the mountain,” said Gurung.
This climbing season, 54 individuals from eight groups had sought permission to climb Mt. Annapurna.
The remaining climbers are en-route to the peak, officials informed. – By Thakur Prasad Acharya TRN
