<img width="640" height="438" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131140/636cf1eb9c7e80680e09d8d5jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Many public health specialists in Nepal have been heaving a sigh of relief that the infection graph for the second wave is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/covid-19-numbers-slightly-down-in-nepal/">starting to flatten</a>, but with reports of black fungus, third wave and new variants there is no respite.Everything that India has suffered since March has repeated itself in Nepal on a smaller scale. The  black fungus outbreak could be a microcosm of the post-second wave world, of  ‘epidemics within a pandemic’ as opportunistic infections and new Covid-19 waves prey on collapsed health systems.    In theory, Nepal should not have a strong flare-up like India because we have fewer risk characteristics, says epidemiologist Lhamo Yangchen Sherpa. “Covid is communicable so it spreads regardless of demographic factors, but black fungus is rarely contagious and selective.” she says. “India’s population has a higher proportion of elderly, diabetics and immunocompromised people than us, and these are the groups most vulnerable to black fungus,” she says.Indeed, there were reports in India of black fungus even pre-Covid, with 140 cases per million, which was the highest in the world. It currently has 12,000 cases and 300 deaths from the fungus that mostly affects Covid patients on ventilators and survivors on long-term steroid treatment.But for all we know, the infection may already spreading in Nepal, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/in-nepal-virus-climbs-from-plains-to-mountains/">starting from the Tarai and moving up</a> just like the Covid second wave. The ‘black fungus’ mucormycosis is found abundantly in the soil, and thrives on steroid overuse, especially on Covid patients with diabetes and other ailments. Cleared out easily by a healthy body, mucormycosis latches on to patients whose immune systems are compromised. “Covid treatment is a double-edged sword, it suppresses the virus-induced hyperimmune response but also raises blood sugar levels and weakens infection-fighting ability, making conditions perfect for mucormycosis,” explains Sherpa.The Health Ministry  announced in its daily briefing on Thursday that there were  6,825 new confirmed Covid-19 cases-- up from Wednesday's tally of 5,316--with 5,904 recovering. This brings the total number of active cases to 576,936, with 101,839 in isolation . Of the 1,444 in hospital ICUs, 398 are on ventilator support. Those in ICUs and ventilators face a double whammy as hospitals treat them with steroids and desperately reuse uncleaned humidifiers and discarded oxygen cylinders. According to the Health Ministry, 10 to 12 patients with black fungus have been detected so far, but there may be more.Covid survivors who needed critical ICU treatment and are continuing with steroids are left more susceptible to black fungus infection anytime. Nepal’s first recorded fatality from black fungus was a 60-year-old patient in Lumbini Provincial Hospital recently recovered from Covid.“Black fungus infection has been spotted even in those recovered from Covid for the past six weeks or more,” say Khemraj Bhusal a consultant physician at Greencity Hospital. But as stable survivors are sent home they become potential<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-covid-19-impact-worse-than-official-figures/"> blind spots in black fungus tallies.</a>Hospitals in the frontlines can ill-afford to meet new shadow caseloads. Diagnosing mucormycosis infection early requires biopsies, sample examinations and even follow-up CT scans, requiring specialised personnel and advanced equipment that most district hospitals in Nepal do not have.  <figure><img width="640" height="441" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131140/636cf1ed9c7e80680e09d8d6jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>TU Teaching Hospital is one of the few facilities equipped to sample and test black fungus</figcaption></figure>While manageable if caught on time, the invasive nature of the disease is difficult to treat. In the most common rhinocerebral variety, the fungi eats through subcutaneous tissue and leaves behind characteristic black lesions on the septum and oral cavity. Infected tissues must be removed and eyes even sacrificed to save the brain from lethal infection. If left untreated, the infection has a mortality rate of 50%.   Treatment in such cases involves multiple organs, thus requiring teams of microbiologists, internal medicine specialists, intensivist neurologists, ophthalmologists, dentists and surgeons. But with civil service exams for doctors in limbo for years, rural hospitals lack the specialists necessary to deal with severe cases.Similar to the pandemic at large, life-saving shots against mucormycosis infection <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/aid-pours-into-nepal-but-where-be-vaccines/">are in short supply.</a>“Liposomal amphotericin B is an effective treatment, but fungal infections are normally so rare that antifungal production, and therefore supply, is low,” says Associate Professor of Microbiology at Tribhuvan University Megha Raj Banjara. Amphotericin treatment is extensive, with as many as 60 to 100 vials of injections needed across 4-6 weeks depending on infection severity. In the event of an outbreak, huge stockpiles are needed. Treatment is also costly, with one-day therapy costing upwards of Rs50,000.  <figure><img width="500" height="284" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131140/636cf1f09c7e80680e09d8d7jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>India has acted quick, importing 200,000 vials of AmBisome amphotericin B from American pharma company Gilead Sciences</figcaption></figure>Meanwhile, alternative medications like posaconazole and isavuconazole have toxic side effects, are also expensive and less effective. Imports of amphotericin are the only solution, but as with the pandemic, prospects do not look encouraging. India has already <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/govt-imposes-restrictions-on-export-of-amphotericin-b-injections/articleshow/83141538.cms" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/govt-imposes-restrictions-on-export-of-amphotericin-b-injections/articleshow/83141538.cms&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622790971413000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHfCYV-2Ni2HvdjXZzhn1JDrfiduQ">imposed restrictions on amphotericin B export</a>, itself shipping in 200,000 vials from Gilead Sciences in the US, with reports of hoarding and price gouging. Despite warning signs, there has been no appeal for amphotericin shipments from the Nepal government. If that ws not enough to worry about, India is seeing signs of an early third wave, with <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/maharashtra-preps-for-3rd-wave-as-covid-hits-8-000-children-in-1-district-2452564" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/maharashtra-preps-for-3rd-wave-as-covid-hits-8-000-children-in-1-district-2452564&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622790971413000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF8kNzDFxj6SwwwJkab1rJ7ZWoPLA">8,000 children infected</a> in a single district in Maharashtra state. With low vaccine penetration in the under-18 cohort, children in Nepal could be next, just like the first two waves.Meanwhile, 1,350,000 Nepalis above age 55 are set to miss timely booster doses as there is no possibility of securing Covishield shipments from India, according to Chief of Family Welfare Division of the Health Ministry Taranath Pokhrel. He said Nepal is trying to procure the Oxford AstraZeneca from other countries for this cohort, but so far there are no firm deals.The third wave is set to hit India around July, giving Nepal about a month and half to rush vaccine doses for its vulnerable age groups.  Till then, Nepalis will be left once more to fend for themselves. Aggressive self-medication and quack remedies such as cow dung baths are rampant, leaving Covid patients at increased risk of co-infections like black fungus.  “Patients are able to buy medicines without prescriptions from lax pharmacies.” says Sherpa. “Covid patients should avoid self-medication and only medicate under the strict supervision of health professionals or risk being exposed to secondary infections.”Simple changes can mitigate black fungus. Hospitals should routinely change humidifier water for ventilated patients and avoid sharing oxygen tubes and masks, says Binita Sharma, Chief Medical Director of Netra Jyoti Sangh. She says those with symptoms should immediately get checked up.To prevent future Covid-19 waves, experts say high-disruption strategies are needed at a time when <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/as-covid-19-crests-nepal-eases-restrictions/">lockdowns are being relaxed.</a> Ultimately, it<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/vaccines-are-the-only-solution/"> will be vaccines</a> and they are needed before the third wave.

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Learning to live with Covid

<img width="640" height="438" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b910a9c7e80680e06f0c6jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Many public health specialists in Nepal have been heaving a sigh of relief that the infection graph for the second wave is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/covid-19-numbers-slightly-down-in-nepal/">starting to flatten</a>, but with reports of black fungus, third wave and new variants there is no respite.Everything that India has suffered since March has repeated itself in Nepal on a smaller scale. The  black fungus outbreak could be a microcosm of the post-second wave world, of  ‘epidemics within a pandemic’ as opportunistic infections and new Covid-19 waves prey on collapsed health systems.    In theory, Nepal should not have a strong flare-up like India because we have fewer risk characteristics, says epidemiologist Lhamo Yangchen Sherpa. “Covid is communicable so it spreads regardless of demographic factors, but black fungus is rarely contagious and selective.” she says. “India’s population has a higher proportion of elderly, diabetics and immunocompromised people than us, and these are the groups most vulnerable to black fungus,” she says.Indeed, there were reports in India of black fungus even pre-Covid, with 140 cases per million, which was the highest in the world. It currently has 12,000 cases and 300 deaths from the fungus that mostly affects Covid patients on ventilators and survivors on long-term steroid treatment.But for all we know, the infection may already spreading in Nepal, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/in-nepal-virus-climbs-from-plains-to-mountains/">starting from the Tarai and moving up</a> just like the Covid second wave. The ‘black fungus’ mucormycosis is found abundantly in the soil, and thrives on steroid overuse, especially on Covid patients with diabetes and other ailments. Cleared out easily by a healthy body, mucormycosis latches on to patients whose immune systems are compromised. “Covid treatment is a double-edged sword, it suppresses the virus-induced hyperimmune response but also raises blood sugar levels and weakens infection-fighting ability, making conditions perfect for mucormycosis,” explains Sherpa.The Health Ministry  announced in its daily briefing on Thursday that there were  6,825 new confirmed Covid-19 cases-- up from Wednesday's tally of 5,316--with 5,904 recovering. This brings the total number of active cases to 576,936, with 101,839 in isolation . Of the 1,444 in hospital ICUs, 398 are on ventilator support. Those in ICUs and ventilators face a double whammy as hospitals treat them with steroids and desperately reuse uncleaned humidifiers and discarded oxygen cylinders. According to the Health Ministry, 10 to 12 patients with black fungus have been detected so far, but there may be more.Covid survivors who needed critical ICU treatment and are continuing with steroids are left more susceptible to black fungus infection anytime. Nepal’s first recorded fatality from black fungus was a 60-year-old patient in Lumbini Provincial Hospital recently recovered from Covid.“Black fungus infection has been spotted even in those recovered from Covid for the past six weeks or more,” say Khemraj Bhusal a consultant physician at Greencity Hospital. But as stable survivors are sent home they become potential<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-covid-19-impact-worse-than-official-figures/"> blind spots in black fungus tallies.</a>Hospitals in the frontlines can ill-afford to meet new shadow caseloads. Diagnosing mucormycosis infection early requires biopsies, sample examinations and even follow-up CT scans, requiring specialised personnel and advanced equipment that most district hospitals in Nepal do not have.  <figure><img width="640" height="441" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b910d9c7e80680e06f0c7jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>TU Teaching Hospital is one of the few facilities equipped to sample and test black fungus</figcaption></figure>While manageable if caught on time, the invasive nature of the disease is difficult to treat. In the most common rhinocerebral variety, the fungi eats through subcutaneous tissue and leaves behind characteristic black lesions on the septum and oral cavity. Infected tissues must be removed and eyes even sacrificed to save the brain from lethal infection. If left untreated, the infection has a mortality rate of 50%.   Treatment in such cases involves multiple organs, thus requiring teams of microbiologists, internal medicine specialists, intensivist neurologists, ophthalmologists, dentists and surgeons. But with civil service exams for doctors in limbo for years, rural hospitals lack the specialists necessary to deal with severe cases.Similar to the pandemic at large, life-saving shots against mucormycosis infection <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/aid-pours-into-nepal-but-where-be-vaccines/">are in short supply.</a>“Liposomal amphotericin B is an effective treatment, but fungal infections are normally so rare that antifungal production, and therefore supply, is low,” says Associate Professor of Microbiology at Tribhuvan University Megha Raj Banjara. Amphotericin treatment is extensive, with as many as 60 to 100 vials of injections needed across 4-6 weeks depending on infection severity. In the event of an outbreak, huge stockpiles are needed. Treatment is also costly, with one-day therapy costing upwards of Rs50,000.  <figure><img width="500" height="284" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b910f9c7e80680e06f0c8jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>India has acted quick, importing 200,000 vials of AmBisome amphotericin B from American pharma company Gilead Sciences</figcaption></figure>Meanwhile, alternative medications like posaconazole and isavuconazole have toxic side effects, are also expensive and less effective. Imports of amphotericin are the only solution, but as with the pandemic, prospects do not look encouraging. India has already <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/govt-imposes-restrictions-on-export-of-amphotericin-b-injections/articleshow/83141538.cms" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/govt-imposes-restrictions-on-export-of-amphotericin-b-injections/articleshow/83141538.cms&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622790971413000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHfCYV-2Ni2HvdjXZzhn1JDrfiduQ">imposed restrictions on amphotericin B export</a>, itself shipping in 200,000 vials from Gilead Sciences in the US, with reports of hoarding and price gouging. Despite warning signs, there has been no appeal for amphotericin shipments from the Nepal government. If that ws not enough to worry about, India is seeing signs of an early third wave, with <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/maharashtra-preps-for-3rd-wave-as-covid-hits-8-000-children-in-1-district-2452564" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/maharashtra-preps-for-3rd-wave-as-covid-hits-8-000-children-in-1-district-2452564&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622790971413000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF8kNzDFxj6SwwwJkab1rJ7ZWoPLA">8,000 children infected</a> in a single district in Maharashtra state. With low vaccine penetration in the under-18 cohort, children in Nepal could be next, just like the first two waves.Meanwhile, 1,350,000 Nepalis above age 55 are set to miss timely booster doses as there is no possibility of securing Covishield shipments from India, according to Chief of Family Welfare Division of the Health Ministry Taranath Pokhrel. He said Nepal is trying to procure the Oxford AstraZeneca from other countries for this cohort, but so far there are no firm deals.The third wave is set to hit India around July, giving Nepal about a month and half to rush vaccine doses for its vulnerable age groups.  Till then, Nepalis will be left once more to fend for themselves. Aggressive self-medication and quack remedies such as cow dung baths are rampant, leaving Covid patients at increased risk of co-infections like black fungus.  “Patients are able to buy medicines without prescriptions from lax pharmacies.” says Sherpa. “Covid patients should avoid self-medication and only medicate under the strict supervision of health professionals or risk being exposed to secondary infections.”Simple changes can mitigate black fungus. Hospitals should routinely change humidifier water for ventilated patients and avoid sharing oxygen tubes and masks, says Binita Sharma, Chief Medical Director of Netra Jyoti Sangh. She says those with symptoms should immediately get checked up.To prevent future Covid-19 waves, experts say high-disruption strategies are needed at a time when <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/as-covid-19-crests-nepal-eases-restrictions/">lockdowns are being relaxed.</a> Ultimately, it<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/vaccines-are-the-only-solution/"> will be vaccines</a> and they are needed before the third wave.

Fenerbahçe Beko won the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague finals in Abu Dhabi, held 23-25 May, defeating Monaco 81-70 in the final. Olympiacos, who defeated Panathinaikos 97-93, finished the series in third place. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the final match, Nigel Hayes-Davis from Fenerbahçe Beko, received a prize of 1,000,000 Miles&amp;Smiles from Turkish Airlines’ Chief Commercial Officer Ahmet Olmuştur. The carrier has been the title sponsor of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, a top tier tournament, since 2010.

Turkish Basketball

While Nepal was hosting the Sagarmatha Sambaad international climate conference in Kathmandu this month, on Mt Everest it was pretty much business as usual.&nbsp; The signs of climate breakdown are all there: a river now runs through Base Camp in summer, the Khumbu Icefall is more unstable, and there are more &nbsp;frequent avalanches. When expeditions arrived in March, the mountains were bare: it had not snowed since September, but then blizzards dumped unseasonal snow in May. And despite climate worries, such is the pull of Himalayan mountaineering that the Everest Industry showed no signs of slowdown. More than 600 international climbers and their Nepali guides had made it to the summit of the world’s highest mountain. At one point there were an estimated 2,000 people in the tent city on the Khumbu Glacier. All the ropes and ladders on the Icefall came down on Thursday, marking the official end of the spring climbing season, and just in time to avoid a monsoon cyclone approaching from the Bay of Bengal. It has been an action-packed season. One factor could be that Everest fees will go up from September: each foreign climber needs to pay a $15,000 royalty, up from the present $11,000. The cost for a Nepali climber on the South Col route will also go up: from Rs75,000 to Rs150,000.&nbsp; The fee to climb Everest in autumn is $7,500 (up from $5,500), but most climbers still prefer spring. Winter permit fee (December-February) is only $3,750 per person and the mountain is now also open for monsoon (June-August) climbs, when the fee is ever lower at $2,750. The revised rule also makes it mandatory for every two climbers on an 8,000m peak to hire one Nepali mountain guide.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025053004050_67f856fe52714e4bdcf21ae7d45c6f18c82117b9d0a5f73ed1efa04c96de1046.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2025053004050_67f856fe52714e4bdcf21ae7d45c6f18c82117b9d0a5f73ed1efa04c96de1046" data-rendition-name="original" width="931" height="732" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry graph 1"> </figure>  In addition, climbers also have to pay for porters and guides, equipment, Base Camp costs, Ice Fall and fixed rope team fees, so climbing Everest does not come cheap. But such is the draw of climbing the world’s highest peak that some say the increased fees will not diminish the crowds next year. The government has tried to spread expeditions out to other seasons and other 8,000ers, but with not much success. Earlier this year, Nepal unilaterally increased the number of 8,000m peaks to 14 by adding six more sub-summits to broaden the choice for climbers. Added were: Yalung Kang (8,505m), Yalung Kang West (8,077m) &nbsp;Kangchenjunga Central (8,473m), Kangchenjunga South (8,476m), Lhotse Middle (8,410m) and Lhotse Shar (8,400m).&nbsp; The announcement could go against the accepted topographic criteria that a stand alone peak has to be at least 300m higher than an adjoining prominence, and at more than 3km isolation from it. The UIAA (Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme) still recognises only 14 mountains as eight-thousanders, and only eight of those are in Nepal, or on the border with China. Nepal’s revised mountaineering regulations also increased the insurance coverage of high-altitude workers to protect porters and high altitude guides who usually take more risks on the mountains. Rescue teams and clean-up campaigners to collect trash and remove bodies of dead climbers up to Camp IV of Mt Everest do not need permits.&nbsp; The Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee is now using drones to fly down trash in 20kg sacks. Each climber is also required to bring down at least 6kg of waste and not just their own, but this rule is erratically enforced. With five fatalities on Everest and Lhotse, Spring 2025 had a historically low death toll. Another five climbers died on Annapurna, Kangchenjunga and Makalu.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025053004050_38681de22f0fefb6faa12b01755566d09c5064d0ff84e12ccc7b5d68ea9ba38a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025053004050_38681de22f0fefb6faa12b01755566d09c5064d0ff84e12ccc7b5d68ea9ba38a" data-rendition-name="original" width="665" height="740" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest industry graph 2"> </figure>  Journalist Ben Ayers who ran the Everest Live social media channel from Everest Base Camp with daily updates credited the low death rate to dramatic rescues of climbers from the ‘Death Zone’ by their Nepali guides and longline helievacs — the visuals all uploaded on YouTube.&nbsp; “Ironically, this perception of safety is bringing more and more inexperienced climbers to the mountain, and they need more rescues,” Ayers said in one of his dispatches.&nbsp; American expedition chronicler and summiteer Alan Arnette suspects there is a lot of under-reporting given that the jet stream and storms were lashing Everest even till late in the season. He told us: “I heard a lot about frostbite and rescues that were not made public. It’s become practically impossible to cover the details on Everest. All the teams report nice news, and they don’t talk about bad stuff to avoid hurting businesses.” Although trash on Nepal’s mountains makes headlines, what does not receive as much attention is the climate impact of so many expeditions. The Sagarmatha Sambaad conference sidestepped this issue, which is ironic given that the impact of climate breakdown is most evident on Himalayan peaks and their glaciers.&nbsp; <h2>Need for Speed</h2> The big stories this year have been about speed-running from their home cities to the top of Everest. Ukrainian entrepreneur Andrew Ushakov flew out of JFK on 15 May at 10:15AM Nepal time, and was on the summit 3 days, 23 hours, and 7 minutes later on 19 May at 9:22AM.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250601080640_1c5cc6fc991307861768f07037ed9d30930fb20f35dbb57dc31c9a92a9e1a885.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250601080640_1c5cc6fc991307861768f07037ed9d30930fb20f35dbb57dc31c9a92a9e1a885" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="1800" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry"> <figcaption>Andrew Ushakov at the summt. Photo: ELITE EXPED</figcaption> </figure>  “I could never find the time for the traditional 40-50 days of acclimatisation,” Ushakov explained matter-of-factly. His ‘Everest Sea-to-Summit’ climb was possible because he spent 400 hours in hypoxic sleep tents over the past four years in New York. However, Ushakov did use ropes already fixed, hired four Nepali guides, helicoptered to Base Camp, and used much more oxygen than an average climber. And after the climb, Ushakov was arrested at Kathmandu airport for being in possession of $20,000 of undeclared cash and spent a night in jail and fined $60,000.&nbsp; The other speedsters were Garth Miller, Alastair Cairns, Anthony Stazicker, and Kev Godlington, all former British Army commandos. They left London and summited five days later on 21 May, and flew right back. They also used hypoxic tents to simulate the thin air high on Everest.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250601080644_90c8dd5cc07b4b43f2989b1dc0c0650ab80f10ebb06680c25a6909c519957bd8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250601080644_90c8dd5cc07b4b43f2989b1dc0c0650ab80f10ebb06680c25a6909c519957bd8" data-rendition-name="original" width="810" height="668" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry "> <figcaption>All four members of the Furtenbach team at the summit. Photo: Sandro Gromen-Hayes</figcaption> </figure>  But more controversial was their use of xenon gas therapy in a German hospital to ramp up the production of oxygen-carrying haemoglobins in their blood. Xenon is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency for being performance enhancing in sports. Expedition leader Lukas Furtenbach said this rule does not apply to mountaineering, as it is not a regulated sport like swimming. Nepal has no rules about xenon, but the Department of Tourism said it was launching an ‘investigation’ to decide on future policy since it is difficult to ban xenon, but allow oxygen. The controversy has also divided the mountaineering community, with some climbers saying they just want to maximise their chances of survival. Spending less time on the mountain could make climbing safer by reducing avalanche risk. It would also mean less trash on the mountains, but it would reduce the income of Nepal’s expedition industry. It is also unclear how much of the success was due to xenon therapy and whether the ex-special forces were already in good physical shape.&nbsp; The need for speed hides the fact that climbing in the Himalaya is dangerous business, and climbers cannot sprint to the top just by huffing xenon. But ultra-fast climbs could be charged more, and the revenue generated can be used to establish state-of-the-art rescue operations, and increase pay and insurance for guides. Two other speed chasers this season were Swiss-Ecuadorian Karl Egloff and American Tyler Andrews, both on Everest without oxygen. Andrews choppered to Base Camp to catch a weather window, but turned back from 8,500m due to high winds. Heavy snow and wind also forced Egloff to descend from 7,000m. Slow and steady climbers like Anja Blacha from Germany did make it to the summit without oxygen, while Kami Rita Sherpa broke his own record with his 31st Everest summit as he led a 26-strong Indian Army group. There were 468 permits issued for foreign climbers from 48 expeditions to Everest this spring. Nepal’s other eight-thousanders together had only 17 expeditions. Nepal has more than 1,000 peaks above 6,000m, and has opened only 476 of them for climbing.&nbsp;

The Everest Industry

While Nepal marked <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mt-everest-pvt-ltd">Mt Everest</a> Day on 29 May, on the other side of the planet in the US state of Colorado dozens of Nepalis who have climbed the world’s highest peak multiple times were busy working as chefs and Uber drivers. Among them is Nima Doma Sherpa, who climbed Mt Everest in 2019 after her husband Tshering Wangchu was among 16 crushed by an avalanche on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/on-thin-ice-in-the-khumbu">the Khumbu Icefall</a> five years earlier. A large serac broke off the West Shoulder of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-everest-industry">Mt Everest </a>and fell directly on a group of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/more-porters-sick-on-everest-trail">porters and guides</a> making their way up the Icefall at 5,800m. Their bodies were flown by helicopter to Khumjung where Tshering Wangchu was born. He was excited about climbing Mt Everest for the first time.&nbsp; In Khumjung, Nima Doma felt like her own life had also ended. This was the kind of news Sherpa wives, mothers and sisters dreaded every <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/peak-climbing-season-2025-s4abrxny">mountaineering season</a>. She stayed home for more than two years grieving, but ultimately gathered up all her emotional strength to take care of her 6-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter. Nima had grown up in Khumjung hearing <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/stories-of-nepal-s-summiteers">tales of adventure on the mountains </a>from their father, Ang Chubi Sherpa who had climbed Everest in 1993. He used to bring her and her sisters and brother European chocolates after every expedition, and used to tell them that the chocolate bars grew on the mountains. “It was only after we got older did we realise that he told us that chocolates grew in the mountains so we would not worry about him putting himself in harm's way,” Nima Doma recalled with a faraway look at her home in Boulder this week. Nima went to the school that <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/commemorating-edmund-hillary-in-nepal,4145">Edmund Hillary</a> opened in Khumjung till Grade 8, and then dropped out to help in the kitchen and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">tend yaks</a>. She was married off to Tshering Wangchu, who was also a high altitude guide. When Tshering went on expeditions, Nima also started working as a porter from Namche to Base Camp. It was perhaps her father’s tales of mountains of chocolates that had always attracted her to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/knowing-our-mountains-43v4iyvo">the peaks</a>. After her husband was killed ten years ago this month, being a widow with children was not easy for Nima Doma. But she was not alone: there were at least 200 single mothers in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/khumbu-since-1950-jaww4qn0">the Khumbu</a>, and 20 of them just in Khumjung whose husbands had been killed in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/tragic-start-to-himalayan-spring-nepal,3695">mountaineering accidents</a>. Some were not even 20 years old, and had children growing up without fathers. But there were also women in the 50s whose husbands had been killed in the 1980s. Nima found sponsors for her children’s education, and moved to Kathmandu. In the capital, Sherpa widows used to meet to help each other. Some of them had joined the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) training for rock and ice climbing. “I decided that it was no use sitting home and crying anymore, after meeting other single mothers I felt less alone,” remembers Nima, who joined the Juniper Foundation and enrolled in an NMA training camp in Manang. There she climbed Chulu East (6,584m) and met Furadiki Sherpa, whose rope-fixing husband had also been <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/on-mt-everest-s-70th-records-and-fatalities">killed on Everest</a> in 2013. They set themselves the goal of climbing Everest one day, and started a fund-raising drive.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250530090544_621be0724b9182c8e3594b2c562a71ec32ac01d985a71d0cf31646de9d51e15a.png" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250530090544_621be0724b9182c8e3594b2c562a71ec32ac01d985a71d0cf31646de9d51e15a" data-rendition-name="original" width="2678" height="1274" loading="lazy" alt="Everest summiteers find new life in the US"> </figure>  “We decided we had to overcome society’s stigma of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/widows-personal-happiness-comes-last-in-face-of-social-financial-hardships,1855">widowhood</a> and prove that <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/remembering-junko-tabei">women could also climb mountains</a>,” Nima said, adding that she was inspired by Nepal’s first woman Everest summiteer Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, who died during her descent in 1993. Nima Doma and Furdiki climbed the technically-difficult Ama Dablam (6,812m) and then arrived at Everest Base Camp in April 2019 as part of their Two Widows Expedition with the motto, ‘So Can We’. While climbing up the Icefall Nima passed the spot where her husband had been killed. It was a jumble of constantly-shifting ice blocks bigger than houses. She closed her eyes and said a prayer. “I remember thinking, this is so difficult and dangerous. This is what my husband had to do to support our family,” Nima Doma said. “I was determined to fulfil my husband’s dream of climbing Chomolungma, and to prove to ourselves that we two women could do it.” It was 23 May 2019 when <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/world/two-sherpa-widows-scale-everest-and-smash-stigma-idUSKCN1SU0MV/" target="_blank">Nima and Furdiki stepped on the summit</a> and looked over into Tibet, and down at Tengboche Monastery to the south.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250530090544_6b822582b5d88ba5e972db084f184690b40653c6efd9901b2dd082ffba2a263b.png" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="20250530090544_6b822582b5d88ba5e972db084f184690b40653c6efd9901b2dd082ffba2a263b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2700" height="1522" loading="lazy" alt="Everest summiteers find new life in the US"> </figure>  Nima Doma hugged Furdiki, took off her mask and wept. But for the first time in five years, it was not from grief but relief — relief for being free of all the sadness and sacrifices and for fulfilling her husband’s dream. They had found <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/life-after-death">life after death</a>. “I felt this immense joy to be on top of the world, it was indescribable,” Nima Doma said, “I have wept only twice in my life. Once when my husband died, and once there on top of Everest.” The tears had frozen on Nima Doma’s cheeks, as she and Furdiki headed back down the mountain.

Everest summiteers find new life in the US

At the edge of the dense forest overlooking Bhaktapur, the sound of chirping birds and the wind rustling through the trees have been replaced by the growl of dozens of bulldozers. This Kakrabari Community Forest behind Suryabinayak shrine was c<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/reviving-nepals-community-forestry-success-story">arefully protected and managed </a>by the local Tamang community for centuries. Today, heavy earthmovers claw noisily at the slope, opening it up like a big red wound. With little land left in the densely populated city, developers are venturing further afield to the valley’s rim and forcibly taking over forests that <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-unsung-heroes-of-conservation">local communities </a>have depended on for fodder, firewood and to protect their watershed.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250530180528_acd2eb20a4839a83f3a15b4c8587dbf82c5b96534f2184043edeaf0f5165145f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250530180528_acd2eb20a4839a83f3a15b4c8587dbf82c5b96534f2184043edeaf0f5165145f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="562" loading="lazy" alt="Plotting to plunder NT"> </figure>  This project of Nic Vujicic Housing Company in Suryabinayak’s Kakrabari Bhanjyang is just the latest and most blatant example of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/who-now-owns-nepals-forests">encroachment of forests </a>by real estate developers in collusion with local government officials. “One day, they just came and bulldozed my house,” says Shanta Lama of Ghising Danda, whose family has been living in a tent since March. “Company workers gathered my belongings, deposited them in this tent and demolished my house.” Unlike some of her neighbours, Lama refused to give up her home, but stood no chance against the heavy machines and strongmen mobilised by the company.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250530180528_ff88453001e3dc521406bda7b6cb06b9e5b70d6821e67251b92257e60e72232a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250530180528_ff88453001e3dc521406bda7b6cb06b9e5b70d6821e67251b92257e60e72232a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="562" loading="lazy" alt="Plotting to plunder NT"> <figcaption>Shanta Lama of Ghising Danda whose house was bulldozed last month. She and her family are now living in makeshift huts nearby.</figcaption> </figure>  Adds Shanta: “I have not signed any document of agreement, the company keeps telling me that they will settle the paperwork later.” Her neighbour Bal Bahadur Tamang, says a<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/ordinary-nepalis-extraordinary-sacrifice"> bulldozer razed his house</a> while he was out grazing goats in the forest. He recalls: “My wife shouted to the neighbours for help, but no one heard her.” &nbsp; The company used strongarm tactics to try to force Bal Bahadur to sign away his small plot at the edge of the forest that the housing company needed. The family refused, so the property was simply taken over. “Many families have been forcibly evicted from their homes and moved elsewhere to make way for the new housing colony,” says Bal Bahadur. But such is the fear of the young vigilantes employed by the company, that they are afraid to speak out.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250530180528_b7d1a94af95a0b17703f61397d65fe879c4c9b3b02681706b9104114a5c4e5cd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250530180528_b7d1a94af95a0b17703f61397d65fe879c4c9b3b02681706b9104114a5c4e5cd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="562" loading="lazy" alt="Plotting to plunder NT"> <figcaption>Many families this one have been forcibly evicted, and do not want to speak openly because of the fear of vigilantes. </figcaption> </figure>  But there appears to be a generational divide among the local community in Ghising Danda. Many <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/no-country-for-young-men">young men have migrated</a> to the city or abroad, but those that remain have been promised jobs and a piece of land by the company, and support the project.&nbsp; For centuries, Suryabinayak communities have tended to the land, and the land has tended to them. The protected trees provide them with livelihood,<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/multipronged-response-to-nepal-s-multi-hazards"> prevent landslides</a> on the slopes above and recharge ground water so the springs do not go dry. But this historic connection was severed in January when the excavators arrived to chop down trees and dig up the hill, razing 1.1 hectares of the community forest and surrounding settlements.&nbsp; Much of the forest is now gone, and recent rains have washed the red mud down the mountain like a bleeding gash. On a recent visit excavators were levelling the slope.&nbsp; Nic Vujicic Housing is owned by Purna Bahadur Limbu, Prabin Kusma and Dillidhwaj Baraili. It had parcelled 14.6 hectares in the neighbouring Palanse village three years ago, and was even awarded by the municipality for the project.&nbsp; Now, the company is clearing 27 hectares of private property and community forest in Ghising Danda without a planning permit either from the municipality or the Kathmandu Valley Development Authority (KVDA).&nbsp; In fact, its application has been pending at the Authority since last October. The company has dangled a lollipop by promising 21 out of the 451 private plots to the government.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250530180528_08bcc863a21fd35364086877e1f8152d6c470b5fcd4fd650c555577a824c77c6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20250530180528_08bcc863a21fd35364086877e1f8152d6c470b5fcd4fd650c555577a824c77c6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="562" loading="lazy" alt="Plotting to plunder NT"> </figure>  Nepal’s 2015 Basic Standards for the Development of Settlements, and Urban Planning and Building Construction by-laws stipulate that land transactions, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepali-building-bridges-in-tasmania">construction projects</a>, and housing development via land consolidation require approval from either the KVDA or local government.&nbsp; Projects involving land up to 0.1 hectares require permission from the local level, and those of up to 2.5 hectares require approval from the district authorities, and plans exceeding that area need a permit from the KVDA.&nbsp; Nic Vujicic Housing’s director Dillidhwaj Baraili, is a member of the Federation of Nepalese Industries and Entrepreneurs (FENIE), and close to the ruling UML party.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250530180528_2016ffcd828fda3535798e7534067519e9c346e64371866c9a61c571ce70b1b4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20250530180528_2016ffcd828fda3535798e7534067519e9c346e64371866c9a61c571ce70b1b4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="562" loading="lazy" alt="Plotting to plunder NT"> </figure>  While the company did consult with locals, conduct an EIA, tested soil quality, and conducted a hydrological study of the area, these were perfunctory and incomplete for a proper permit application. The approval of<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/mind-the-gap-6liiyw5w"> private landowners </a>and the municipality as well as project details were missing.&nbsp; The company had excavated half of Ghising Danda without permission when the local community started raising questions. Only then did it seek permission from the ward, which directed it to apply for a planning permit from the Suryabinayak Municipality.&nbsp; “We are yet to verify whether all the documents submitted by the company are in order, which is why the application is still pending,” Rajendra Prasad Nepal, the municipality’s information officer, told Nepali Times.&nbsp; But the lack of a permit does not seem to deter company director Dillidhwaj Baraili, who uses convoluted semantics to justify using excavators on private and community land. &nbsp; “It is the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-s-unreal-real-estate-prices">plotting of the land</a> that requires approval from the KVDA, we do not need permission from local authorities to operate heavy machinery on the project site,” Baraili told us. However, Ward 9 Chair Bhagwan Khatri says no such permission to use excavators and bulldozers have been given without first obtaining a planning permit. “The housing project is illegal because it has moved forward without a planning permit,” says KVDA’s District Commissioner for Bhaktapur, Safal Shrestha. When the bulldozers started felling trees in the community forest in March, a joint task force of four local guthi put up a resistance, and demanded that the housing company ensure that there would be no mudslide danger downslope <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/before-the-next-monsoon">during the monsoon</a>.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250531030528_44bd6a61a1c81d07ee19e790a51929a9fd13c1db2da7ede2b7ef4d99b8c6c32a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="20250531030528_44bd6a61a1c81d07ee19e790a51929a9fd13c1db2da7ede2b7ef4d99b8c6c32a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="562" loading="lazy" alt="Plotting to plunder NT"> <figcaption>Dozens of heavy earthmovers were at work at this site one morning earlier this month. With an early monsoon, residents fear mud slides.</figcaption> </figure>  It also wanted the company to make sure the flow of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/the-heat-beneath-our-feet">water in springs</a> were not affected, and to set up a boundary along the community forest to prevent further encroachment. It also demanded compensation to displaced homeowners.&nbsp; But Nic Vujicic Housing paid no heed, and sent in excavators. Last month, the Kakrabari Community Forest Users Struggle Committee wrote to the Bhaktapur District Administration Office, Suryabinayak Municipality, and the Division forest Office to halt the project. In response, the housing company put out a press release accusing residents of spreading rumours, but the statement presented contradicting information about the status of its planning permit at various levels of the government. &nbsp; It has taken a month for the local government to even send an inspection team to the site. But the team concluded that the forest had been encroached upon and asked the housing company to halt its activities immediately.&nbsp; The company refused to comply, and on 9 May the Police was sent to shut down the project. Baraili maintains the forest was levelled with the consent of all four Guthi as well as Ram Krishna Tamang of the Kakrabari Community Forest User group. Tamang told us he has given no such go-ahead.&nbsp; “How could we have permitted the operation of construction machinery in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/safeguarding-the-soul-of-sal">community forest </a>when the Nepal government itself does not allow the destruction of public property?” adds Tamang. Because of the controversy, the company is now trying to use a carrot and stick approach by placating the local community, while also intimidating those who speak out. “Even though we had obtained permission, perhaps we should have not started using our heavy machinery yet,” Baraili admitted. However, the company is trying to silence dissenters in the community with threats. The company has deployed local youth who have been promised jobs to convince and cajole outspoken community members in Ghising Danda. &nbsp; One of them is Chewang Tamang, who says jobs are more important, and lashes out at locals for being “anti-development”. He says: “There is no point sitting around complaining that a few trees have been cut. The only people who are opposed to this project are those who do not want this place to develop.” &nbsp; <div class="embed-block"><div><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2F6TRxyQjbo50%3Fsi%3DjMRyrgfB9tTX8pP8&key=87ca3314a9fa775b5c3a7726100694b0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer *; clipboard-write *; encrypted-media *; gyroscope *; picture-in-picture *; web-share *;"></iframe></div></div></div>

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The Everest Industry

Everest summiteers find new life in the US

Plotting to plunder