Bhutan is all set for its first-ever international Snowman Race which is touted to be one of the high-altitude ultra-marathons. The event is geared to being on October 13 and will conclude on 17 in the Land of Thunderbolt.
The event will witness 25 athletes of which nine are hailing from Bhutan, who will compete across five days to cover a distance of 203 kilometres as they travel across an oxygen-sparse average of 14,800 ft. The race will start from Gasa Dzong and will finish at Chamkhar, Bumthang.
According to the official website, the snowman race follows a historic high-altitude trekking trail of Snowman Trek which has been estimated to be completed in 20 days and has been conquered by fewer people than Mt Everest.
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The race has been inspired by the prescient wisdom of the Bhutan King on the conservation of natural and cultural heritage. “It aspires to bring the world’s attention to climate change, one of the defining issues of our time, and its impacts, particularly on the lives of people living in fragile mountain ecosystems,” stated the release.
The Snowman Race secretariat announced the race in celebration of the Bhutan King’s 40th birthday as a part of holding the Bhutan Climate Action Conclave and aspires to complement the objectives of the race. “Both inspired by the Vision of His Majesty The Druk Gyalpo to protect the natural environment and to preserve the living and unique cultures of remote communities,” mentioned by snowmanrace.org.
Focusing on the climatic impact on Bhutan, the country is carbon negative which is a net carbon sink and yet the glaciers which feed rivers, irrigate agricultural lands of over 60 per cent of farmers and power its hydropower plants are melting rapidly.
The website stated that recent studies have shown that glaciers of the Himalayas are melting faster than in the 20th century and have no snow replacement taking place. Two-thirds of the glaciers are predicted to be gone by the turn of the century if not reverse or halt the rising global temperature.
The race challenges not only the athletes but also the world leaders and global community to take bold and transformative actions that will avert the climate change happening around the world.
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