Breaking an 11-year hiatus: Who is Babar Ali, the man who conquered Mt Everest?

Humans possess an indomitable spirit that drives them to conquer seemingly impossible challenges. 

One such challenge was conquering Mount Everest, the highest peak above sea level. And for centuries, reaching its summit has been a dream for many.

However, this dream became a reality on May 29, 1953, when New Zealand's Ed Hillary and Darjeeling's Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first known humans to stand on the highest point on Earth.

For Bangladeshi mountaineers, however, the journey to Mount Everest began much later, in the early 21st century. 

Between 2010 and 2013, five Bangladeshis successfully summited Mount Everest six times. 

However, after this initial success, a long hiatus followed, with no successful Bangladeshi expeditions to the "Third Pole" of the world.

This hiatus finally ended after 11 years, on the morning of May 19, Sunday, when Babar Ali proudly raised the red and green flag of Bangladesh.

He reached the top of Mount Everest at 8:30am local time in Nepal. 

Babar Ali holding a flag of Bangladesh. Photo: Facebook/Babar Ali

Farhan Zaman, the chief coordinator of the expedition, confirmed the news, citing information from the Base Camp team.

But the question remains: who exactly is Babar Ali, the sixth Bangladeshi to conquer Mount Everest?

Although mainly known for various adventurous activities, Babar is a doctor by profession. 

He is the second son of Liakat Ali and Lutfunnahar Begum from the Burishchar area of Hathazari, Chittagong. 

Babar completed his Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) as a student of the 51st batch at Chittagong Medical College.

Although he worked as a public health officer for a while, he left the job due to being denied leave for a previous expedition

He is a former medical officer with Emerging Infections at icddr,b. He was also the former medical officer at IOM - UN Migration. 

Babar’s Mount Everest conquest 

Babar’s journey began on April 1. After completing the preparatory work, three days later, he flew from Kathmandu to Lukla, one of the most dangerous airports in the world. 

Babar reached Everest Base Camp on April 10 on the path of hundreds of legendary mountaineers. 

After this, Babar's dream journey started from the base camp at midnight on April 14. 

On the first day, he went straight to Camp-2, which is situated at an altitude of 21,300 feet.

According to the plan, after spending two nights there, Babar reached Camp-3 on May 18 at an altitude of 24,500 feet and came to Camp 4 on May 19. 

The upper part of this camp, at an altitude of 26,000 feet, is called the “Death Zone.”

Finally, on midnight of May 18, Babar's journey started again, and with the first rays of the morning, the flag of Bangladesh was hoisted on the top of Mount Everest, 29031 feet high.

His other achievements

Apart from being a doctor, Babar has many other achievements in several sectors.

In 2023, Babar Ali became the first Bangladeshi to complete India's longest highway cycling route, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, which is 4,000km.

In previous years, he completed several cross-country cycling trips, such as Bhomra-Tamabil in 2022, Haluaghat-Kuakata in 2021, Teknaf-Tentulia and Akhaura-Mujibnagar in 2017.

Babar Ali. Photo: Collected

In 2019, he walked for 64 consecutive days across all 64 districts of Bangladesh, spreading the message to boycott single-use plastic. 

He has also participated in numerous marathon events and completed the “DIWA Certified Scuba Diving” course in 2021.

Babar undertook kayaking trips from Kaptai to Rangamati and back in 2019, and from Kaptai to Bilaichhari and back in 2017.

He authored two books, “Paye Paye 64 Jela” and “Cycle-er Sawari', both published by Chandrabindu Publications. 

Additionally, he translated “Mallory and Everest” from Audrey Publishing. 

He regularly writes adventure stories for various reputed magazines. 

Future adventures 

With his successful Everest climb, Babar now aims to conquer Mount Lhotse, the fourth-highest mountain in the world. 

If he succeeds, he will be the first Bangladeshi to summit Lhotse and the first to climb two 8,000-meter peaks in a single expedition, marking a new milestone in Bangladeshi mountaineering.