One of the photos posted by Dinesh Rathod of the climb. Photo / Facebook
One of the photos posted by Dinesh Rathod of the climb. Photo / Facebook
An Indian couple who claimed to have climbed Everest last month have been accused of lying and even doctoring photographs of themselves to appear at the summit in a bitter row between feuding mountaineers.
Dinesh and Tarakeshwari Rathod, both 30, had been widely lauded for their achievement on May 23, when images showed them proudly unfurl the banner of the Pune police force, where they both work as constables, atop the world's highest peak.
At an emotional press conference shortly after their trip, the couple paid tribute to three less fortunate Indian climbers who had perished on the same slopes that week, and told reporters that they had for years put off having a child until achieving their dream of successfully defeating Everest.
But according to a group of rival alpinists also from India's Maharashtra state, holes quickly appeared in the Rathods' story.
They claim that the pair superimposed images of themselves taken lower down Everest or even inside a studio onto photographs of the summit, and posted these on Facebook.
Satyarup Siddhanta, another mountaineer, last night pointed out on Facebook that an image ostensibly showing Mrs Rathod holding an Indian flag atop the summit published on the website of their Nepalese tour company Makalu Adventures appeared to be a crudely photoshopped version of one of his own images.
A photo posted by Dinesh Rathod, which he said showed his wife, Tarakeshwari, at the summit of Everest Photo / Makalu Adventures
An image posted by Satyarup Siddhanta from his own climb. Photo / Facebook
The couple appear to be wearing different coloured climbing gear in different photographs of their alleged ascent, the group added, asking in a written dossier sent out to journalists: "Is it possible to change your costume or shoes and still not have frostbite? What does it indicate?"
Although they do not dispute the couple were at Base Camp, the group has also alleged - citing other climbers who were present - that the pair did not arrive there until early May, too late to acclimatise for a summit attempt.
"It is 100 per cent false, total fiction," said veteran climber Surendra Shelke, the group's leader, last night.
One of the photos posted by Dinesh Rathod on his Facebook page. Photo / Facebook
The Pune police department where the two work has now launched an internal investigation into the allegations.
However Makalu Adventures insisted that there was no doubt of the couple's achievement, and put the claims down to rivalries between the groups.
One of the photos posted by Dinesh. Photo / Facebook
Mr Shelke, who hails from the same city of Pune where Mr Rathod works and refers to the couple as former "students" of his, has previously accused them of fabricating achievements.
He alleges they did the same on an expedition he organised to climb Australia's 10 tallest peaks in 2014.
Mohan Lamsal, president of Makalu, said: "After these complaints, I have asked our Sherpas more than 100 times. They always said we climbed to the top together, there is no doubt sir."
"We have to trust our Sherpas. There has been no hanky-panky here."
The climb has been verified by the Nepalese government, who carried out a detailed inspection of the couple's accounts and images taken on the expedition, he said.
Another of the photos of Dinesh, in which he appears to be wearing different coloured climbing gear. Photo / Facebook
Mr Lamsal also insisted it is commonplace for climbers to switch into heavier climbing gear when they reach Camp 2 or 3, and the start of much harsher conditions.
He added that media reports erroneously referring to the Rathods as India's first couple to summit Everest may have provoked anger among rival groups, as another - Pandeep and Chetana Sahoo - had managed the climb just days earlier. He insisted that the false claim did not come from the Rathods.
Rishi Bhandari, another Nepal-based climber who organised the Sahoos' expedition, agreed that his clients had summited first, but said that such intense and competitive rivalries over climbing achievements were not unknown among Indian mountaineers.
"There is type of argument comes particularly between Indian people, they want to dominate each other. It is not good," he said. "In Nepal we respect the people who climb mountains. We respect each other. But in India, if a rival does something good, they will feel upstaged.
"I don't know what to think."
Mount Everest. Photo / iStock
At a glance: Mount Everest record breakers
• 1953: Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit for the first time.
• 1963: Willie Unsoeld and Tom Hornbein summited via Everest's West Ridge in 1963 one of the most difficult routes possible.
• 1975: Junko Tabei, from Japan, became the first woman to reach the summit.
• 1978: Reinhold Messner in 1978 became the first to climb Everest without oxygen.
• 1990: Peter Hillary, son of Edmund Hillary, scaled the peak making the pair the first ever father and son combination to climb the mountain.
• 2006: Lhakpa Sherpa climbs Everest for the sixth time, making her the world's most successful female Everest climber.
• 2010: 13-year-old Jordan Romero became the youngest to summit the mountain. The previous record was held by 15 year old Ming Kipa of Nepal.
• 2012: Churim Sherpa completed back-to-back climbs in 2012 and is the first to climb the summit twice in the same climbing season.
• 2013: Aunima "Sonu" Sinha became the first female amputee to climb the mountain. She lost one of her legs below the knee after a train accident in India
• 2013: Yuichiro Miura became the oldest person ever to reach the summit at the age of 80. Ten years earlier, he became the first septuagenarian do the same and was the first person to ski down the mountain aged 37.
