At around 7:00 pm local time (1:00 am GMT and 6:50 am in Nepal), mountaineer Warner Rojas made all people in Costa Rica proud as he reached the summit of Mount Everest with his Jagged Globe expedition team. Mr. Rojas is the first Tico to climb Mount Everest, altitude 8,864 meters.

Mr. Rojas and his Jagged Globe team have been climbing Mount Everest since April. They reached Everest Base Camp on April 7^th, Camp 1 on April 20^th, and Camp 2 four days later. They did not get to Camp 3 until May 7^th. It was at this camp that Mr. Rojas surpassed his previous mountaineering record of Mount Aconcagua in Chile.

After a series of setbacks, mishaps and delays, Mr. Rojas was ready to take on the final leg of the ascent. Last week, however, the Jagged Globe expedition was forced to evacuate Sherpa guide Pem Chirri, who was injured when a block of ice fell on him. Pem Chirri has since been discharged from the hospital and is now getting around on crutches.

Climate change has had a clear impact on Everest expeditions. Climbing landmarks like the perilous Khumbu icefall have melted, and the winds seem to be stronger than ever. When two climbers perished near the summit last Saturday, The Costa Rica Star quoted the comments of Tilak Ram Pandey, Liaison Officer, Department of Mountaineering at the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation in Nepal:

“It takes nearly 5 to 7 hours to summit in normal days but the climbers are struggling for up to 15 hours this time. Some five teams have cancelled their summit plans. Nearly 25 teams have deferred their attempts to May 25/26 due to unfavorable weather.”

Mr. Rojas and his team left Camp 4 over twelve hours ago, when they were at 7,950 meters. They made great progress over the last two days, and they enjoyed favorable temperatures, albeit the windy conditions preventing them from making a faster ascent.

Mr. Rojas is currently resting near the summit and dreaming of coming back to Costa Rica. Congratulations.

Source: Jagged Globe and Teletica