Everest Camps through the eye of a drone (photo story)

“How was the Everest trip?” I asked Manish Maharjan this question last year.

He had recently returned from climbing Mount Everest at the time. The scars created by the mountains were still visible on the face.

‘Everything else is OK, brother, the dream of flying a drone from the peak has not been realized,’ he said. We met on Kantipur Television’s ‘Imagine Nepal’ program.

It came to know that when he returned from the peak, his oxygen ran out. I’d experienced running out of oxygen on Mount Everest. However, in the news, he voiced his disappointment that he did not get to fly the drone before that.

He is not a person who has always flown drones. After finishing SLC, I enjoyed traveling a lot. Cycling is something I should have done. During that time, he visited numerous locations in West Nepal. I met a lot of new folks.

A brother named Ram Shakya, who was close and watching his trek, said, ‘You are wandering about like this, fly a drone.’ That brother used to cycle as well. I’ve never even met him. He works in another country. He also enjoys riding his bicycle. That brother provided him with funds to purchase his first drone.

That’s how the drone came to hand. Looking at things from the ground began from above. When he first flew off the roof of the home, he was taken aback. ‘The place where your home is like this,’ he realizes, looking at it from a different perspective.

That was in the year 2017. Drones were not as common at the time as they are now.

His fascination in drones grew stronger. He met new individuals through his work, his enthusiasm, and his work combined with his passion. Similarly, when he went riding in Pokhara and saw the photos he took, people told him, ‘Do it professionally, man.’

He unknowingly became a professional drone flyer.

They used to travel to the customary location first, so it wasn’t a big deal. It’s challenging now since we travel to so many national parks. The drone permit is also problematic. Many people claim that it is tough in comparison to other countries. Drone operators continue to get bogged down in paperwork as a result of the government’s adoption of an antiquated system for monitoring by taking flight logs.

He was also active in social work while flying drones. At the same time, he met Chhewang Sherpa through social work. Chhewang intends to film a documentary about the widows of Sherpas who died while climbing Himal. He also became a member of it. Through this endeavor, he flew a drone on Mount Everest for the first time.

Everest passed the test. It is unusual to operate a drone at such altitude. The air different there. The drone crashed for the first time in Dingboche.

I discovered how beautiful Mount Everest is up close when flying the drone. Many things start to look different when you look at the mountain from 500 meters above the ground.

He was on Mount Everest’s seventh summit. Then a plan to ascend Mount Everest was discovered. He flew the drone from Camp Four at 8000 meters, despite the fact that he couldn’t fly from the peak.

He traveled this time as a photographer for the Seventh Summit rather than to climb the mountain.

He traveled to Camp 2 to assist for the Seventh Summit. The drone took off from there.

It’s clear that he’ll enjoy piloting the drone. Even if you wear the goggles, you will feel as though you are close. He utilizes it even when he needs to gaze forward. He once attempted but failed to locate a lost climber on Manaslu.

On Everest, he believes that time moves swiftly. At 6 p.m., everyone goes to bed. And it takes time to get to the nearby location.

This year, his photographs became popular. His images of the base camp got popular after the prominent Nepali page ‘Routine of Nepal Bandha’ published them. It has to do with his drone photos. Photographs taken from a distance. But this time, when he arrived, he observed many different aspects of Everest. Many Sherpas were killed. Climbers were also in greater numbers than previously. One person was rescued from Camp 4, which is quite unusual. This year’s rope-fixing team was also damaged.

He believes that Everest should be seen from both far and close. Even if you are overjoyed to see the images from the other side, you should consider not concealing the many events that occurred there. Sad doesn’t seem to mind drones. However, it should be viewed beyond the celebration.

You should consider these photographs to be beautiful, but you should not be certain.

Photos:- Manish Maharjan©

-Suraj Subedi/MK