Nepal’s Gopal Shrestha Becomes First HIV Infected Climber to Conquer Mt Everest
A former national football player Shrestha was successful in his second attempt to climb the Everest. In 2015 his first attempt was abandoned from the Everest Base Camp due to the infamous Nepal earthquake.
56-year-old Gopal Shrestha from Pokhara in Nepal has become the first HIV infected climber to conquer the world’s highest peak, the Mount Everest.
Shrestha, a resident of Ratnachowk in Pokhara reached the summit on Wednesday morning. Gyanendra Shrestha, Liason officer at the Everest Base Camp has confirmed the feat and said, “The 56-year-old, who is a resident of Ratnachowk in Pokhara, set his feet on the summit of the 8,848-metre-tall mountain today at 8:15 am”.
A former national football player Shrestha was successful in his second attempt to climb the Everest. In 2015 his first attempt was abandoned from the Everest Base Camp due to the infamous Nepal earthquake.
The latest ascend of Gopal Shrestha is a part of his ‘Step-Up Campaign: Second Phase Everest Expedition’, through which he plans to raise awareness in the society and his country about AIDS and also to provide quality education to the children affected with HIV.
A record-holder mountaineer led the team, where Shrestha attempted the summit, culminating into a world record in itself. Phurba Tenzing Sherpa associated with Dreamers Destination Treks and Expedition Pvt Ltd, which arranges the summits for the climbers, informed, “an eight-time Everest summiteer, Dakipa Sherpa, guided Shrestha to the Everest”, locally known as Sagarmatha.
So far, Gopal Shrestha who contracted the disease some 25 years ago through syringe injection has successfully crossed Virgin Peak/ Khang Karpo (6,646 m) in 2016, climbed Island Peak (6,189 m) in 2014 and Thorong La Pass (5,417m) in 2013.
Now, with the successful ascent of the Mt Everest, Shrestha has set an example that HIV-infected people could accomplish any challenge in their lives and they could perform any tasks irrespective of how risky, difficult or challenging they may be.
After this success, Shrestha now has become a beacon of hope for not only 31,020 HIV/AIDS-infected people in Nepal according to the estimates of the National Centre for AIDS and STD Control (NCASC) but also to about 36.4 million people living with HIV in the world, as per World Health Organisation as of 2017.