Babar Ali (mountaineer)

Babar Ali is a physician by profession.^[8] He was born, raised and educated in Chittagong. Babar is the second child of Leyakat Ali and Lutfunnahar Begum of Burishchar area of Hathazari, Chittagong.^[9] He was born on 16 October 1990.^[10]

Babar passed his HSC from Ispahani Public School and College, Chittagong. He received his MBBS degree from Chittagong Medical College.^[11] He worked for IOM for a long time. Later, he worked as a public health officer in ICDDRB.^[12]

Babar started his mountaineering journey in 2010.^[13] He has climbed various peaks of the Himalayas since 2014. In 2017, he completed basic mountaineering training from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering.^[10]

On October 24, 2022, Babar Ali ascended from Camp 1 to Camp 2, reaching an altitude of 6,100 meters. Camp 2 is situated on the Yellow Tower. While Camp 3 occupies a relatively flat area compared to the camps following the base camp, many climbers deem it unsafe for overnight stays due to an accident in 2006. Consequently, Babar Ali commenced his summit push from Camp 2. On October 25, 2022, at 9:03 AM Nepal time, he successfully summited Ama Dablam, a mountain standing at 22,349 feet (6,812 meters), thereby becoming the first individual from Bangladesh to achieve this feat.^[14][15]

On May 19, at 08:35 Bangladesh Standard Time, Babar Ali reached the summit and remained there for 1 hour and 10 minutes. During his descent, a snowstorm struck, forcing Ali to endure hazardous conditions for 2.5 hours before safely surviving the ordeal.^[3]

On May 21, 2024, Babar Ali summited Lhotse, the world's fourth-highest peak, at 5:50 am Nepal Standard Time (6:05 am Bangladesh Standard Time), following his successful ascent of Mount Everest on May 19, 2024. This marked the first time a Bangladeshi climber had conquered Lhotse and the first instance of a Bangladeshi mountaineer scaling two eight-thousander peaks in a single expedition (double-header).^[16][17]