Omani who scaled Everest raises concern about global warming

Omani adventurer Khalid Sulaiman Al Siyabi, who just returned from Nepal after summiting the Mount Everest, said that the biggest threat to the universe is the rapid CO2 emission resulting in ice-melting of the Himalayan mountains in Nepal.

In an interview with Khaleej Times in the capital, Al Siyabi gave details of his death-defying expedition and rapidly growing global warming.

Many countries could be on natural disaster threat because of the ice-melting of Himalaya. “So far, we have learnt about ice-melting on mountains because of growing CO2 emissions but now I have experienced myself,” Al Siyabi said.

“I learnt a lot about eco-system and environment and we have to be very careful on what is happening around us. Global warming is really hitting us hard.

“I witnessed there a large amount of avalanches taking place around six to seven times a day,” Al Siyabi said.

“The ice is melting so fast, we need to think about it very seriously. We have to take initiatives for it and pay attention because whatever I have seen and experienced there, is precisely an eye-opener,” Al Siyabi said.

Al Siyabi defied all horrifying odds, hurdles and scaled Mount Everest, the highest mountain peak in the world at 8,848 metres above sea level.

In his two-month expedition to the highest peak of the Himalayan Mountain in Nepal, Al Siyabi witnessed a few people who were in other groups and determined to climb the Everest die in front of him.

He also found carcasses of some other expeditors who had tried to reach the highest point of the world earlier.

The climbing mission was delayed several times due to ice slips, fluctuating temperatures which at times touched minus 50 degrees Celsius, and strong winds reaching 80km per hour, Al Siyabi said.

It is not easy to summit, one has to take risk and fight against deadly odds, he said.

“There are 14 peaks in the world having the same height and I plan to scale up all of them in coming years particularly Summit-7 and Summit-14, are highest peaks in different countries.

“All of these peaks are in Nepal,” he said.

He stayed at Yas for a day while returning to Oman from Nepal after accomplishing his childhood dream expedition and obtaining the certificate on June 1, 2010 from Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, government of Nepal.

Al Siyabi started his mission with other 19 expeditors in his group from April 1, 2010 and summited Everest on May 23, 2010.

Then it took five days to come down from the peak, he said.

This year, 600 people from around the world tried to summit but only 220 expeditors summited the Everest, Al Siyabi said.

anwar@khaleejtimes.com