Mountaineer plans expedition to South Pole

“I am planning a solo expedition to the South Pole in the coming winter,” 17-year-old Arjun said. Besides, he plans to climb Mt Manaslu in autumn.

Vajpayee, a class 12 student, scaled the peak of the 8,516 metre Mt Lhotse, world’s fourth highest peak, on May 21. On May 22 last year, he had climbed the 8848-metre-high world’s tallest peak Mt Everest.

“Climbing Mt Lhotse was tougher and more challenging than climbing the Mt Everest. I had to climb steep rocky mountain as snow and rocks were falling down from above, which was very risky,” he said.

As the road was also narrow it was very difficult to climb, he added.Incidentally, Vajpayee is the youngest person in the world to climb Mt Lhotse. “I saw beautiful view from the top of Mt Lhotse including Mt Everest and Mt Manaslu,” he said, adding that it was a 360 degree beautiful panoramic view.

Besides, Arjun urged the government of India to give priority to adventure sports like mountaineering.

“I encourage younger people to take up this venture and explore the beauty of nature,” he said, adding India has lots of potentiality in the field of mountaineering. Arjun is departing for Delhi on Saturday along with his parents, who had come to Kathmandu to receive him.