RIP Top Indian mountaineer Malli Mastan Babu

RIP Top Indian mountaineer Malli Mastan Babu

Malli Mastan Babu, one of India’s top mountaineers, who had gone missing after he went on a climb up the high mountains between Argentina and Chile, has been found dead, according to Times Now.

Mastan Babu’s friend Satyam Bheemarasetti, speaking to Times Now, confirmed the death of the top mountaqineer.

An announcement on Facebook page ‘Rescue Malli Mastan Babu’ created by his friends and well wishers read “Mountains retained its favourite child.. R.I.P Malli Mastan Babu.”

Malli, who was regarded as the fastest ” 7 summiteer” in the world, that is, fastest to climb summits in all seven continents, went missing on March 24th.

Helicopter teams from Argentina and Chile were searching the Andes mountains for missing Indian mountaineer Malli Mastan Babu, the government said on Friday.

According to his sister, Dr Malli Dorasanamma, Malli went with his friends to climb the Ceros mountains. He apparently began his ascent from the Argentina side and was dropped off at the base camp on 24th March. “It appears that from the base camp he set off alone. The rain worsened after he left. He was supposed to return on the 24th, but did not. The area gets a lot of rains and floods.”

In 2006, Babu had famously scaled seven summits of the world in 172 days.

Around 90 per cent of Malli Mastan Babu’s expeditions have been solo. Groups are considered safer for such expeditions, even in communities of bikers and trekkers, because the members have each other’s backs. When Mr Babu was not going solo, it meant that he was leading a group of people. He himself had admitted that scaling the Himalayas had been tough. He was even injured during the expedition.

Babu carried a Garmin GPS, but he never uses it as he is well-versed with the terrains of the mountains. In fact, the rescue teams even called up the Garmin CEO for help with tracking him. But they were informed that the equipment only received and did not transmit. When Mr Babu was asked on a radio interview why he preferred to go on solo expeditions, he had said: “because it would be difficult for others to match my pace”.

Mr Babu hailed from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, and is an alumnus of IIM-Calcutta, IIT-Kharagpur, NIT Jamshedpur and Sainik School, Korukonda. He had left home on December 16 for his trek in the Andes Mountains, which straddle the border between Argentina and Chile. The weather had turned bad soon after he had started his climb, and he had gone missing on March 24.

His achievements

7 Summits (climbing highest peaks in each of 7 continents)
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1st South Asian 7 summiter
Guinness World Record achiever for fastest 7 summiter (Jan-july,Oct 2006)

South America Mountaineering Achievements:
Summited the highest peaks in 9 countries out of the 12
Aconcagua 6962m – Summited three times (Only Indian to do so, leads commercial expeditions)
Ojos Del Salado 6893m (tallest volcanic summit of world, Only South Asian to summit, March 13, 2013)
Volcan Pissis 6793m (3rd highest peak of Andes, 1st South Asian to summit 27 Jan 2014)
Huascaran 6768m (Tallest peak of Peru, 1st south Asian to summit, Aug 2011)
Sajama 6542m (tallest peak of Bolivia, 1st South Asian to summit, Sep 2011)
Chimborazo 6310m (tallest peak of Ecuador, 1st Indian to do Oct 2011)
Pico Bolivar (tallest peak of Venezuela, 1st Indian to summit, May 2012)
Mt. Roraima (tallest peak of Guyana, 1st Indian to summit April 2012)
Cerro Treskandu 814m (tallest peak of Paraguay, 1st Indian to summit Mar 2012)
Cerro Catedral 514 (tallest peak of Urugay, 1st Indian)

7 Volcanic Summits (highest Volcanoes in each continent)
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Ojos Del Salado 6893m – Highest in the world as well as South America
Kilimanjaro 5895m – Africa (Only Indian to summit 8 times, leads commercial expeditions)
Elbrus 5642m – Russia, Europe(summited thrice, Only Indian, leads commercial expeditions)
Pico Orizaba 5636m – Mexico, N.America (Only Indian to summit, sep 2012)
Mt. Damavand 5610m – Iran, Asia (1st Indian)
2 more to go: Antarctica (Mt. Sidley) & Oceania (Mt Giluwe)

Andes peaks
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Incahuasi 6621 (Mar 2013) – Only Indian & South Asian to summit
San Francisco 6018m (Feb 2013) – Only Indian, South Asian ascent
Huayana Potosi 6088m (Bolivia) – Sep 3 2013 – Only Indian to summit
Illimani 6349m (Boliv) – Sep 6 2013