Bangladeshi mountaineers conquer Mount Cho Oyo

Mountaineers MA Muhit, third from right, and Tareq Onu, third from left, who conquered the Mount Cho Oyo, the world's sixth highest peak, pose for photograph with the guests at a press conference at the National Press Club in the city yesterday. On their left are Prof Zillur Rahman Siddiqui and Enam Ul Haque and on their right are Prof Syed Manzoorul Islam and GQ Chowdhury. Photo: STAR

MA Muhit has done something that no Bangladeshi had ever dared to.
The 39-year-old has scaled Mount Cho Oyo, the world's sixth highest peak, which stands tall at 26,906 feet (8,201 metres) twice the height of the Bijoy Tajingdong, Bangladesh's highest peak.
Mount Cho Oyo is a peak of the central Himalayan Mountains on the Nepal-China border, which lies about 20km west of the Mount Everest.
“It was an amazing feeling to have reached the summit especially seeing the Mount Everest from the peak [of Cho Oyo] I felt like being on the top of the world,” he said at a press conference at the National Press Club in the city yesterday.
“Our training and preparation has paid off and for all the support I am really grateful to the teachers, friends, family and sponsors,” he said.
The attempt began a month ago. Sponsored by Transcom Beverages Ltd, the team of two mountaineers -- MA Muhit and Tareq Onu of Bangla Mountaineering & Trekking Club passed through the cities of Jangmu, Nialam and Tingri to reach the base camp, middle camp and the advanced camp.
Tareq Onu stayed at the advance camp (18,700 feet) while team leader MA Muhit continued his trek to the top of the Cho Oyo. He reached the peak on September 27 at 8:45pm Nepal time and raised the flag of Bangladesh on the top of the world's sixth highest peak.
“Watching the monolithic Mount Everest on the distance, I had a feeling that this is the closest you can get to the moon on feet," said the mountaineer who works at a private firm as a marketing manager.
Sharing his experience, Muhit's fellow mountaineer Tareq Onu said they had to see the Lama in Tibet. The Buddhist monk gave his blessing and said, “young Bangladeshi people… I pray for you… no bad weather… no avalanche…”
“But that did little to help us in our journey,” he mockingly added.
“No matter how beautiful and stunning the landscapes seem from the photographs, the dangers and perils were unthinkable where each step could be your last if it is not carefully taken,” said Tareq.
“Our next target is Mount Everest. We want to put our flag on the world's highest peak by next year,” he said.
Speaking as a special guest, noted litterateur Prof Syed Manzoorul Islam termed the achievement a symbolic victory of the country.
However, he lamented the lack of government help in such activities.
He called on the government to put more focus on these extreme sports and help the young adventurers bring more glory for Bangladesh.
Founder of Bangla Mountaineering & Trekking Club Enam Ul Haque said the government should play a proactive role in training and preparing mountaineers.
“With the help of the government, we can send two mountaineers instead of one, which would make a huge difference,” he said.
Noted educationalist Prof Zillur Rahman Siddique termed the achievement a victory for the Bangladeshi youth and said, "I am sure youngsters would be inspired by these achievements and more mountaineers would come out of the younger generation."
Transcom Beverages Executive Director GQ Chowdhury promised all-out support for future endeavours of the club.