Bhutan all set to host first-ever Snowman Race; all you need to know

Bhutan is geared up to launch the first-ever international Snowman Race, touted to be one of the world’s toughest and high-altitude ultra-marathons. Spanning five days from October 13 to 17, it will witness twenty-five of the world’s top extreme runners attempting one of the most remote and challenging footraces in the eastern Himalayas.
The trekking route runs through 203 km (126 miles) of Himalayan wilderness with an average elevation of over 14,000 ft and multiple peaks summiting 17,946 ft. According to the official website, this is a horic route which takes up to 20 days to complete and has been conquered fewer people than Mount Everest.
It will bring the focus on climate change (Source: snowmanrace.org)
“The Snowman Race draws inspiration from the prescient wisdom of His Majesty the 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,” snowmanrace.org stated further.

Putting the focus on climate change, the entire area through which the Snowman Race takes place “offers perfect snapshots of the effects of climate change– which are evident here in the receding glaciers”.
“The Snowman Race challenges at once, the greatest athletes of our time, as well as world leaders and the global community to take bold and transformative actions that will avert the greatest crisis humanity has ever faced.”
The conclave will also provide a platform to the frontline communities who are the direct witnesses to the impact of climate change.
The website cited recent studies which have shown that glaciers of the Himalayas are melting twice faster as in the 20th century and have no snow replacement taking place. “Two-thirds of the glaciers are predicted to be gone the turn of the century if we cannot reverse or halt the rising global temperature.”
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