In a ground-breaking endeavour, two mountaineers from Bangladesh, Salehin Arshady and Imran Khan, are embarking on a historic mission to complete the prestigious Snow Leopard Challenge.
The duo will leave Dhaka on Thursday and are scheduled to reach the Basecamp of Peak Lenin on August 5, 2023. After the acclimatization rotation, they are expected to reach the summit of Peak Lenin by August 22, 2023, says a press release issued on Wednesday.
The Snow Leopard Challenge is a mountaineering grand slam feat that involves scaling the five highest peaks of the Pamir and Tien Shan mountain ranges, all of which are higher than 7,000 metres (23,000 feet).
These iconic summits, located in Central Asia, are renowned for their formidable heights and extreme conditions. The Snow Leopard peaks include Ismoil Somoni Peak which is 24,590 feet, (7,500m), Jengish Chokusu 24,406 feet (7,439m), Ibn Sina Peak Or Peak Lenin 23,406 feet (7,134m), Peak Korzhenevskaya 23,310 feet (7,100m), and Khan Tengri 22,999 feet (7,010m).
This expedition will mark the very first attempt by Bangladeshi climbers to scale these formidable heights.
If successful, they would be the very first to complete this challenge from South Asia.
They will undertake three separate expeditions to climb these five peaks. Upon completion, they will be among the very few climbers in the world to complete this challenge.
Peak Ibn Sina aka Peak Lenin (23,406 feet) in the Pamir Mountains, often referred to as the "Roof of the World", will be the first objective of this illustrious project.
Speaking about the upcoming expedition, Salehin Arshady expressed his enthusiasm, saying: "This journey is not only about our personal achievement but also about representing Bangladesh on an international platform. We want to demonstrate that the people of Bangladesh can overcome any challenge, no matter how difficult, with determination and dedication."
Imran Khan added: "We are thrilled and honoured to be the first Bangladeshi team attempting to complete this challenge. I hope we can make our country proud and bring home the snow leopard award."
The climbers will be self-sufficient and planning to complete the challenge in pure alpine style, which means they won't use any support like mountain guides or porters during the expedition.
About the climbers
Salehin Arshady and Imran Khan are two passionate mountaineer duo hailing from Bangladesh. Last year, the energetic duo climbed 04 Himalayan peaks in just 10 days, which was a National record.
Now they are all set to create history as the first Bangladeshi team attempting to complete the prestigious Snow Leopard Challenge.
Audree, a not-for-profit organization that works to promote outdoor adventure sports in Bangladesh, is organizing this mountaineering project.
The Quest, Travelers of Bangladesh (ToB), Climb4Earth, Peak69, Bio Areca Ltd., Moin Foundation, Everest Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and Prothom Alo are supporting this project. The Daily Star, and Jamuna Television are media partners of this expedition.
The climbing duo appeals to everyone to support and be a part of this historic expedition for Bangladesh.