57-Year-Old Ravichandran Becomes 1st Malaysian To Conquer World's 2nd Highest Summit
Ravichandran Tharumalingam made it up Mount K2 in Pakistan only two months after just summiting Mount Everest.
57-year-old mountaineer Ravichandran Tharumalingam has just become the first Malaysian to ever set foot on the summit of Mount K2 in Karakoram, Pakistan – the second highest mountain in the world
Image via Ravichandran Everest (Facebook)
Ravichandran, fondly known as Ravi Everest, successfully made it up the 8,611m peak at 10.50am last Friday, 22 July
According to New Straits Times, he was with five other world-class climbers and accompanied by five local sherpas, who guided them up the mountain.
Second in height only to Nepal's Mount Everest (which is 8,849m tall), Mount K2 is well-known among international mountaineers as the more challenging and dangerous trek due to its remote location and more severe weather conditions.
The daunting climb takes explorers between 45 and 60 days to complete.
Image via Ravichandran Everest (Facebook)
Hailing from Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan, Ravi said he is dedicating his success as his Hari Kebangsaan gift to Malaysia
"Love for the country, living in peace and harmony, these are the keys to unity instilled in me that proved to be a source of strength for me in facing the difficulties throughout the climb," he told Bernama on Sunday, 24 July.
"Thanks also to my wife... you are the pillar of strength to my success. Not forgetting the prayers of my family, friends, sponsors, and Malaysians that inspired me to reach the summit," he said.
"This is my gift to the people of Malaysia. Merdeka!"
Image via Ravichandran Everest (Facebook)
Ravi is known for scaling Mount Everest three times in his lifetime – the first time being in 2006, and then again in 2007 and 2022
He has also notably conquered Argentina's Mount Aconcagua (6,961m), Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895m), and Russia's Mount Elbrus (5,642m).
However, climbing the tallest peaks in the world does not come without life-threatening situations.
The experienced climber had to get eight of his fingertips amputated due to frostbite (four fingers of both his left and right hands) during his expedition up Mount Everest in 2007.
Image via Ravichandran Everest (Facebook)
Despite the severed fingers, the 57-year-old has continued to climb
"It is not impossible to rise again after falling," he told reporters after his Mount K2 expedition.
In fact, he had made his triumphant return to Mount Everest for the first time since his injury on 12 May this year, only a month before setting off to Mount K2.
According to his Facebook page, Ravi is also already preparing to climb Mount Everest again for the fourth time next year.
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