<figure><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f129c7e80680e0af446jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Mountaineering legend Reinhold Messner in Kathmandu this week. Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>At age 77, after having pushed the limits of what a human being can physically achieve, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=3251#.Yck5sC8RqLc" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D3251%23.Yck5sC8RqLc&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1640666337895000&amp;usg=AOvVaw37oxnuMsF1Cvg5h_XDEbr9">Reinhold Messner</a> looks back at a life lived at the edge of life and death, and turns philosophical about the art of mountaineering. Messner started climbing in the Dolomites when he was five. On his first Himalayan climb in 1970, he lost his brother and seven of his toes on Nanga Parbat. In 1978 he climbed the mountain again solo, and became the first person with Peter Habeler to <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/climbing-everests-last-three-hundred-meter-without-oxygen,1817" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/climbing-everests-last-three-hundred-meter-without-oxygen,1817&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1640666337895000&amp;usg=AOvVaw35gc9hWKFSjo8YFFTMj48F">summit Mt Everest without bottled oxygen</a>. In 1980, he came back to Everest and solo-ed it too. He went on to climb all of the world’s fourteen 8,000m peaks in 1986. “We go to places we could die, but not die. Traditional mountaineering is the art of not dying,” says Messner, who has just got off a flight from Europe on yet another trip to Nepal that was delayed by the pandemic.People used to fear mountains, they did not approach dangerous places. It was only after the industrial revolution that early British climbers started exploring the Alps and ‘alpinism’ was born to <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=3249#.Yckz1i8RqLc" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D3249%23.Yckz1i8RqLc&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1640666337895000&amp;usg=AOvVaw16ilz_PNAQ-j-ZuMQ2HSR-">test the limits of human skill and endurance.</a>“Mountains are infinite in comparison to our lives,” the Tyrolean climber says. “Up on a mountain we are forced to contemplate eternity. Climbing is a useless activity, as absurd as life itself.” <figure><img width="1028" height="713" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f159c7e80680e0af447jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Messner has nothing but praise for Nirmal (Nims) Purja, the Nepali climber whose <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nims-purja-does-it/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nims-purja-does-it/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1640666337895000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2kEvjlTRBQfHD1C_gZ1ifd">ascents of all 14 of the world’s eight-thousanders</a> within seven months was featured in a popular Netflix documentary this month.  “I needed 16 years to climb all 14 peaks without oxygen,” says Messner, repeating what he said in the Netflix film. “For this, I give Nirmal great respect, he did it in such a short time. And after this, he <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/all-nepali-winter-first-on-k2/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/all-nepali-winter-first-on-k2/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1640666337895000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2fV04bVS-2V4FI6fHPcjLg">went back to K2</a> and became the first to climb it in winter. He is not just chatting, he is doing.” Messner worked with Purja to finish his latest book which is out in German, and defends the Nepali climber’s use of helicopters and oxygen for his climbs saying technology had made it possible to fly from one base camp to the other. And Purja’s team was also fixing ropes for others, carrying its own oxygen.  Messner is also glad that Nepalis are finally getting credit for helping western climbers attain the world’s highest peaks – starting with Gurkha porters on Nanga Parbat in 1895, and later with Sherpa guides. “Now, Sherpas and Gurkhas are no longer support staff, they organise expeditions around the world,” says Messner. “I am very happy that after 100 years the Sherpa have the economic possibility to organise their own expeditions.”https://youtu.be/EZBvVMaNYAIMessner then turns to his pet peeve: how <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=3249#.Yckz1i8RqLc" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D3249%23.Yckz1i8RqLc&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1640666337895000&amp;usg=AOvVaw16ilz_PNAQ-j-ZuMQ2HSR-">alpinism has turned into tourism</a> as hundreds of clients jumar up on fixed ropes to the top of Mt Everest. Indoor climbing walls in gyms also do not cut it for him.“Traditional mountaineering is the art of surviving where you can die, if you take away the possibility of danger, then it is not alpinism,” says Messner with messianic zeal during an interview in Kathmandu with Nepali Times. “Organising a safe infrastructure where someone takes you up and down a mountain is tourism.”Nepal’s economy has now come to be dependent on these large expeditions, aside from the revenue that Nepal collects every year from hefty climbing royalty. A switch to alpine style climbing would mean fewer jobs for expedition support staff.But Messner is a purist when it comes to mountaineering, and besides smaller lighter teams scaling peaks would be less damaging to the environment. He takes the message of pure alpine style climbing around the world through lectures, setting up a string of museums, as well as more films, including the latest semi-autobiographical White Out.   <figure><img width="3095" height="2098" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f179c7e80680e0af448jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Messner faced criticism for abandoning his brother on Nanga Parbat in 1970, but has often defended himself saying people at sea level should not be passing judgement about decisions of survival at 8,000m. He has made 31 expeditions in his lifetime to eight-thousand metre peaks, 18 of them successful. He dabbled in politics and was a member of the European Parliament for five years before deciding that he did not want to be a professional politician.During this visit to Nepal, Messner will inspect the new Sherpa Himal Museum that he helped build near Namche, adding to other mountain museums he has set up around the world. On Sunday, Messner and <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=3761#.Yck6ry8RqLc" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D3761%23.Yck6ry8RqLc&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1640666337895000&amp;usg=AOvVaw39PivMRXCHqH8lSYi4itec">Karna Shakya</a> inaugurated a new high-rise wing of the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19686#.Yck63i8RqLc" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D19686%23.Yck63i8RqLc&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1640666337895000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3edUbHwnR-WPHeH1NRWgk_">Kathmandu Guest House</a> in Thamel, where he has always stayed since his first visit.  <img width="1618" height="1869" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f1b9c7e80680e0af449jpeg.jpg" alt="">We ask Messner why he is so impressed with Nims Purja, when he has been scathing about the young German climber Jost Kolbach who is attempting Mt Everest solo in winter up the west ridge this season. “It is all PR. He has said he has only has 1% chance, if that is so he should stay in the Alps, do smaller things successfully, or climb the challenging six or seven thousanders first.”About this year’s controversy about climbers on the fore-summit of Manaslu, Messner says it is clear which is the true peak, and remembers bringing down a piton in 1972 from an earlier Japanese expedition to the 8,163m summit as proof. But it is less clear which is the true peak on long ridges like Annapurna I, he adds.Messner has also been ridiculed about his belief in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/sorting-through-history-for-the-yeti/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the yeti</a>. He clarified: “The yeti is logically a bear. It is a legend that is 1,000 years old that came with the migration of Sherpas, and describes a partly-white bear, and early British journalists 120 years ago  spread rumours about the snowman.”  Messner says <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/covid-climate-crises-hit-everest-region/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the climate crisis</a> is changing monsoon patterns and the jet stream which is making climbing in the Himalaya more dangerous. He says the whole system is out of balance due to industrialisation, cars and fossil fuels and consumerism. Messner is now helping to give back to the people of the mountains around the world where has climbed all his life, rebuilding hospitals and schools, and supporting students. He says, “After climbing the mountains, I came later to also understand the people, and I am thankful that I can give back to this country with tourism promotion. I owe my climbing success to Nepal."

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What next for Reinhold Messner?

<figure><img width="640" height="480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111128/636cd3089c7e80680e08f946jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Sonu Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks on the top of K2 on 16 January at 5pm. Photo: Seven Summit Treks</figcaption></figure>While their political leaders back home in Kathmandu fought tooth-and-nail for power, ten Nepali climbers from different expeditions decided to work together last week to achieve the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/all-nepali-winter-first-on-k2/">first-ever winter ascent of the last 8,000m peak</a>.In a remarkable show of solidarity, ten exhausted Nepali mountaineers waited 10m below the summit for everyone to catch up, and then took the final steps together to the top of K2, singing Nepal’s national anthem in unison.  This unique demonstration of unity put the leaders of Nepal’s ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) and other political parties to shame for wasting nearly three years in an endless power struggle that has paralysed governance.Immersed in rancorous name-calling, none of Nepal’s political leaders (except the RPP’s Kamal Thapa) has found it necessary to mention or congratulate the climbers for their record-breaking climb that has been praised by the mountaineering community worldwide. <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Ffb.watch%2F3de6cPZqPR%2F&amp;width=500&amp;show_text=false&amp;appId=975519809274828&amp;height=626" width="500" height="626" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe> The winter ascent of the 8,611m high mountain on the Pakistan-China border had been attempted many times in the past 30 years, and the successful climb by the Nepalis has been hailed as a singular mountaineering achievement.Nepal’s high altitude guides have assisted many international expeditions on K2 and other mountains in Nepal to get to the top, this time they united their effort to set a world record and demonstrate that anything is possible when Nepalis work together.The ten Nepalis from three different expeditions were Nirmal Purja, Gelje Sherpa, Mingma David Sherpa, Mingma G, Sona Sherpa, Mingma Tenzi Sherpa, Pem Chhiri Sherpa, Dawa Temba Sherpa, Kili Pemba Sherpa and Dawa Tenjing Sherpa. Despite unrelenting wind and cold, with temperature dipping to -70Celsius, the Nepalis decided not to go individually for the record, but collectively claim the achievement on behalf of Nepal. <figure><img width="1440" height="1800" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111128/636cd3099c7e80680e08f947jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Nims Purja on the summit of K2 on 16 January. He reached the top with other Nepalis, but did not use supplemental oxygen. Photo: NIMS PURJA/FACEBOOK</figcaption></figure>Nima Purja, who set <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nims-purja-does-it/">his own record in 2019</a> by climbing the world’s 14 eight thousanders in a record-smashing six months and six days, was back on K2 to repeat the climb in winter. After descending to Base camp, he disclosed that he had climbed without the use of supplemental oxygen – which makes the feat even more remarkable.“I took a calculated risk this time and I pressed on without supplementary O2. My self confidence, knowing my body’s strength, capability and my experience from climbing the 14 x 8000ers enabled me to keep up with the rest of the team members and yet lead,” Purja wrote on Facebook, laying to rest criticism from some that climbing with oxygen was not fair.He added: “There are many cases, where climbers have claimed no O2 summits but followed our trail that we blazed and used the ropes and lines that we had fixed. Some of which are widely known within the inner climbing community. What is classified as fair means?”  <img width="640" height="623" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111128/636cd30c9c7e80680e08f948jpeg.jpg" alt="">Another member of the summit team, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/climbermingma">Mingma G</a> is also said he was climbing without using bottled oxygen. K2 is regarded as even more difficult to climb than Mt Everest because of the need for technical climbing in the ‘death zone’ above 8,000m. And winter expeditions face the additional challenge of hurricane force winds and blizzards.In an interview from his Base Camp tent on Monday, Purja told the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-55710125">BBC</a>: “It was super cold and every step we climbed was an effort… just 10m before the summit the whole team stop together and sang the national anthem of Nepal... the team members were quite emotional as well as myself, to make this impossible possible.” But K2 did claim a life this winter – that of Catalan climber Sergi Mingote who fell into a crevasse while descending from Camp I on the same day that the Nepalis were on top.This winter’s K2 climb has been hailed in the international mountaineering community as a major milestone. Mountaineering chronicler <a href="https://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2021/01/16/winter-k2-update-first-winter-k2-summit/?fbclid=IwAR2QJkW8QHwe-oyg_n0zfC7vcK-8IvDWB1Tb20PPQ5YKYE4XmLtENqjBzps">Alan Arnette, who has climbed Everest and K2, wrote on his blog</a>: ‘There have been questions why this Nepali national team was able to accomplish what world-class teams since 1987 have not. My opinion is that they worked as a unified team to get the camps and fixed line in early, they got lucky with the weather, especially in December and early January and on the summit push, they were able to stay healthy and avoid the objective dangers of avalanche and rockfall, they had a strong support team … and they were determined to show the world that Nepali climbers were amongst the best.’ <img width="640" height="512" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111128/636cd30f9c7e80680e08f949jpeg.jpg" alt="">Canadian author of mountaineering books, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bernadette.mcdonald.5">Bernadette McDonald</a>, said the Nepali team had written an important chapter in the history of high-altitude winter climbing. She added in a Facebook post: ‘This remarkable Nepali success is the result of many things: their strength, their abilities in the mountains, their motivation, their willingness to suffer, an amazing weather window and an outstanding collaboration between multiple teams. They formed one unstoppable team, one that paused only once, when they stopped 10 metres below the summit to ensure that all ten members reached the top together. Brotherhood of the Rope!’ McDonald, who is updating her most recent book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Winter-8000-Climbing-Highest-Mountains/dp/1680512927">Winter 8000</a> with the Nepali success on K2, added: ‘It’s hard to imagine a more perfect group of climbers to make the first winter ascent of K2, climbers who have been the backbone of so many successful ascents in the Himalaya, but have rarely reaped the glory.’ Nims Purja used to be in the British special forces, and unfurled a banner with the British and Nepali flags at the summit at 5PM on 16 January. He said: “What kept everyone going was that everybody wanted this to their bone to make the Nepali climbing community proud. It was that mutual support between each other that kept us successful.”

Nepalis on K2 make the impossible possible

<figure><img width="1279" height="959" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111128/636cd2b39c7e80680e08f92bjpeg.jpg" alt="Nepali mountaineer at the K2 summit"/><figcaption>First photo of the Nepalis on the summit of K2 at 5pm on 16 January. Sona Sherpa on the top with the conical shadow of the mountain behind him. Photo: SEVEN SUMMIT TREKS</figcaption></figure>Nepali high altitude guides used to assist mountaineers from other countries make record-breaking climbs of the world’s highest peaks, but on 16 January an all-Nepali team set its own record with the first ever winter ascent of K2.Altogether ten Nepali mountaineers from three different expeditions made it to the summit of the world’s second highest mountain located in Pakistan — the last of the 14 peaks in the world above 8,000m high that was yet to be climbed in winter.The Nepalis had decided not to take individual credit for the climb, but claim the achievement on behalf of Nepal. The group stopped 10m below the top, and took the final steps together to be on the top simultaneously. <figure><img width="1080" height="810" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111128/636cd2b69c7e80680e08f92cjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Photo posted by Mingma Gelje Sherpa of the Bottleneck, the last serious obstacle before the summit. Photo: Mingma G Sherpa</figcaption></figure>The climbers on top on Saturday were Nirmal Purja, Gelje Sherpa, Mingma David Sherpa, Mingma G, Sona Sherpa, Mingma Tenzi Sherpa, Pem Chhiri Sherpa, Dawa Temba Sherpa, Kili Pemba Sherpa, and Dawa Tenjing Sherpa. They were originally from three different teams, but came together to share the glory for Nepal, singing the national anthem as they took the final steps to the summit together."A very special moment. We are proud to have been a part of history for humankind and to show that collaboration, teamwork and positive mental attitude can push limits to what we feel might be possible," wrote Purja, on Facebook.Mingma Gyalje Sherpa wrote on social media just before the final push: “We have made Nepal and Nepal’s climbing community proud,”   <figure><img width="640" height="727" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111128/636cd2b89c7e80680e08f92djpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Nims Purja and Seven Summit Treks announce via Twitter of their successful ascent. It's the first ever ascent of the world's second highest peak K2. At 8,611m, K2 is regarded as being more difficult than Mt Everest because of the highly technical nature of the climbing required near the summit.</figcaption></figure><img width="629" height="1024" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111128/636cd2bb9c7e80680e08f92ejpeg.jpg" alt="">The Nepali climbers on K2 are from an all-Nepali expedition led by Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, Nims Purja’s team, and a Seven Summit Treks group.Ten climbers from Nepal left Camp 4 at 1AM on Saturday, and negotiated the dangerous Bottleneck couloir, and made the traverse, fixing ropes as they went and got to the top before 5PM on Saturday. However, because of the late hour that they got to the summit, the descent down ice slopes in the dark, cold and wind has been challenging for the exhausted climbers."Unfortunately, we lost Sergi. Best climber and very good friend of us," wrote Chhang Dawa Sherpa on social media. Spanish Climber, Sergi Mingote, fell into a crevasse suddenly while descending from C1 to Basecamp, which is supposed to be a relatively less dangerous strip. He had been attempting to climb all 14 highest peaks without supplementary oxygen within 1000 days, when he had been forced to abandon expeditions due to Covid outbreak, last year. At 8,611m, K2 is regarded as being more difficult than Mt Everest because of the highly technical nature of the climbing required near the summit. In winter, with temperature plunging to below -40 Celsius and the 200km/h jet stream blowing full blast near the summit, the ascent was regarded as impossible.  <figure><img width="1166" height="1362" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111128/636cd2be9c7e80680e08f92fjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>K2 at 8,611 is lower than Mt Everest, but much more difficult to climb, especially in winter. It was the last of the 14 eight-thousand metre peaks that have not been climbed in winter. Photo: Pakistan Tourism</figcaption></figure>The expeditions this year have been battling extreme cold and high winds that last week blew away tents and equipment stored at Camp 2 for the summit push. After that, the Nepali expeditions decided to work together and claim the success collectively for their country. The climbers were all trying to use Saturday’s weather window with relatively less wind and sunny skies before a westerly front moves in and the winds pick up again from Sunday. K2 is so dangerous that one in every four who have attempted to climb it have died in the attempt. Ever since its first ascent in 1954 by an Italian team, 367 mountaineers have reached the summit before today, with 87 fatalities.  The Icelandic climber <a href="https://www.facebook.com/johnsnorri/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.facebook.com/johnsnorri/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1610885744118000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFPTPY3j2FnRufj_8KpbgZaHGhrgw">John Snorri Sigurjonsson</a> is also on the mountain with Pakistani climber <a href="https://www.facebook.com/muhammadalisadpara/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.facebook.com/muhammadalisadpara/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1610885744118000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG32y0whOeFh30tNPcxunxrpW51nA">Muhammad Ali Sadpara</a> and his son. <figure><img width="1918" height="1088" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111128/636cd2c09c7e80680e08f930jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Nims Purja at the summit of K2 in 2019 when he climbed all the world's 14 highest peaks in six months. He went back on the mountain to make the winter ascent. Photo: Nims Purja / Facebook</figcaption></figure>The ex-Gurkha commando, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nims-purja-does-it/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nims-purja-does-it/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1610885744118000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHAppL_kP59lv5KU-4KTLj1HwgePg">Nims Purja,</a> smashed the previous world mountaineering record by climbing the world’s 14 highest mountains in 6 months and 6 days when the previous record was 7 years 10 months 6 days. He was on K2 last summer, but returned to the mountain to make the same ascent in winter and reportedly planned to fly down from the summit in a paraglider.  In his book, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/alpine-style-in-the-himalaya/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/alpine-style-in-the-himalaya/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1610885744118000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF8Xcu-i9HmiWtM0pyFI94tTBACzg">Beyond Possible,</a> Purja has written that he wanted to prove that Nepali climbers were as good as Western ones, and wondered if his feat would have got more publicity if he had been a European. He wrote: ‘Even though I was technically a British citizen, my nationality had positioned me under the radar of almost everyone. It is highly likely that if I’d been a climber from America, Great Britain or France, then every outlet in the world would have noticed the effort.’

All-Nepali winter first on K2

Chronic winter drought and decades of unmanaged forest biomass have turned wildfires into a systemic risk for Nepal. We need to re-learn to convert fire fuel in forests into fertilizer for crops.&nbsp; On 11 January, a huge forest fire spread rapidly from China into the forests of Sindhupalchok, 40km northeast of Kathmandu. The newly-opened Tatopani border checkpoint was closed. Smoke from the fire spread across central Nepal, blocking the sun.&nbsp; The fire burnt itself out within a few days, but the border stayed closed for longer. Such wildfires were once rare in mid-winter, and traditionally peaked between March and May as temperatures rose ahead of pre-monsoon showers. What is unsettling is not just the early onset of the fires, but also their scale. This shift is not accidental, the pattern has been unfolding over years due to winter drought, weakening post-monsoon moisture, and the accumulation of dry forest biomass as Nepal’s forest area doubled in the past 30 years.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026022009024_5f4a84bb389f9b56f4fa47d4f694adcd464eb13b192d184af0f1eb20efdfeebf.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2026022009024_5f4a84bb389f9b56f4fa47d4f694adcd464eb13b192d184af0f1eb20efdfeebf" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1055" loading="lazy" alt="Wildfire season NT"> <figcaption>A NASA FIRMS image of Nepal with red dots signifying fires in February 2025.</figcaption> </figure>  Together, these factors have made forests tinder dry in spring, just waiting for a spark. Nepal has experienced winter drought in eight of the past ten years (this winter was an exception). Winter rain and snow at higher elevations play a decisive role in maintaining surface moisture, recharging shallow aquifers, and keeping forest floors damp enough to resist ignition. When winter rains fail, forests dry out months earlier than usual. Satellite-based assessments show a steep decline in surface moisture across the middle mountains of Nepal, particularly in areas with dense forest cover but limited undergrowth management. Springs that once flowed year-round are now seasonal.&nbsp; More than half of the springs in the mid-hills have either dried up or show significantly reduced discharge, a trend closely linked to declining soil moisture and disrupted recharge zones. Dry soil does not just threaten water security — it helps the vegetation ignite. FUEL WITHOUT FUNCTION For decades, Nepal’s forests have been accumulating dry leaf litter, fallen branches, shrubs, and deadwood. Historically, this biomass was not considered waste because rural households regularly collected leaf litter for livestock bedding, which was later composted and returned to farms as fertilizer.&nbsp; Forest floors were therefore relatively clean while the mulch fertilized farms. That relationship has steadily eroded due to outmigration, changes in livestock systems, restrictions on access to community forests, and the growing availability of chemical fertilisers.&nbsp; Community forests across the country today are thick with dry twigs, branches and leaves — a highly combustible carpet. When prolonged drought dries this biomass, even a small spark from a herder’s intentional fire, a cigarette, or lightning strike can trigger massive fires.&nbsp; Under such conditions, the question is no longer whether fires will occur, but how intense and widespread they will be. Forest fires are often framed as an environmental issue concerning trees and wildlife. In reality, their impact extends far beyond forest boundaries.&nbsp; Smoke travels faster and further than flames. Fine particulate matter, especially harmful PM2.5, spreads across countries. In recent fire seasons, air quality monitors in Kathmandu have recorded air quality levels several times higher than WHO guidelines. The smoke adds to Kathmandu’s own pollution and lingers for days.&nbsp; Flights are cancelled or delayed in cities like Pokhara, and poor visibility blocks mountain views affecting tourism. Health facilities report spikes in respiratory complaints, particularly among children and the elderly. Just as wildfires have multi-sectoral causes, the impact of forest fires go beyond forests. One critical dimension remains largely invisible: the soil. The fires cause silent damage beneath the ash, and the emergency does not end when the flames subside. Beneath the surface, soil suffers long-term damage. Organic matter burns away, beneficial microorganisms die. The soil structure weakens, reducing the land’s ability to absorb and retain water. The scorched earth is more prone to erosion, increasing the risk of floods and landslides once the rains return.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026022009028_cc54ff056b2cac8b789cfd4d11afef9eaf943368e47b99aabd57c7b63b776cf2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2026022009028_cc54ff056b2cac8b789cfd4d11afef9eaf943368e47b99aabd57c7b63b776cf2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1717" height="2143" loading="lazy" alt="Wildfire season NT"> <figcaption>Wildfire risk map based on the validated Random Forest model (a) Overall reclassified wildfire risk map of Nepal, (b) District level wildfire risk, and (c) Municipality wildfire risk map.</figcaption> </figure>  In many of Nepal’s agricultural areas, soil organic matter levels are already below 2% -- lower than what is needed for resilient and productive farming. Repeated fires push these levels even lower, undermining soil fertility and forcing farmers to rely more heavily on chemical fertilisers, unleashing a vicious cycle of higher costs and food insecurity.&nbsp; Climate breakdown is often cited as the primary culprit, and rightly so. Rising temperatures and erratic rainfall have intensified fire risk. But fires in Nepal are increasingly the result of human intervention.&nbsp; The response of all three levels of government remains too little, and too reactive. Each year, resources are mobilised to extinguish fires once they have already spread. Far less attention is paid to managing the fuel load within forest undergrowth that makes such fires inevitable.&nbsp; Meanwhile, forestry and agriculture policies are not coordinated, missing opportunities to address shared challenges. Forest fires are not natural disasters, but predictable outcomes of governance choices. National plans and climate pledges set an ambitious target of raising soil organic matter to 4%. The science behind this goal is solid. Higher organic matter improves water retention, stabilises yields, reduces fertiliser dependence, and enhances long-term food security. What remains unclear is the pathway.&nbsp; Where will the organic inputs come from? How will they be processed and applied safely at scale? Without practical answers, the 4% target risks remaining aspirational rather than achievable. Forest undergrowth can be turned into fuel and fertiliser. Biochar is produced by heating organic biomass in a low-oxygen environment, converting it into a stable form of carbon that can be added to soil.&nbsp; When properly produced and applied, it improves soil structure, enhances water and nutrient retention, supports microbial activity, and locks carbon into the ground for decades. In Nepal biochar addresses two interconnected problems: reducing the accumulation of combustible biomass in forests, lowering fire risk, while simultaneously rebuilding depleted soils. In doing so, it restores the broken link between forest management and agriculture.&nbsp; Done well, biochar is not merely an environmental intervention. It is an economic one, with potential to create local employment, reduce farmers’ input costs, and support climate-smart agriculture. But biochar propagation depends on improved governance. If promoted as isolated pilots or short-term projects, it will fail. What is needed is institutional clarity: standards for production and safety, quality control mechanisms, farmer extension services, and coordination across local, provincial, and federal levels.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026022009028_e6e2218f38fae5b1fe81d9f99078fe01f58d04b4b3b2c41447f017c3f838a1d4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2026022009028_e6e2218f38fae5b1fe81d9f99078fe01f58d04b4b3b2c41447f017c3f838a1d4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1536" height="2048" loading="lazy" alt="Wildfire season NT"> <figcaption>Freshly prepared biochar under control tempature (350-600°C).</figcaption> </figure>  Community forest user groups could manage biomass collection. Local governments then support safe, decentralised production units. Agricultural extension services guide farmers on application, linked to soil testing and monitoring. Such an approach would reduce fire risk, improve soil health, and generate rural livelihoods.&nbsp; Poorly produced biochar or contaminated feedstock can harm soils and human health. Without training, standards, and oversight, good intentions can backfire. Nepal needs to move beyond fire-fighting to fire prevention and confront the structural causes that make them a growing risk. It is not just a technical choice – it is one that demands political will from newly-elected leaders after March. &nbsp;&nbsp; Ngamindra Dahal is a hydrometeorologist with the Nepal Water Conservation Foundation specialising on climate and water management issues.&nbsp;

RED ALERT: Get ready for the wildfire season

Early on Monday morning, a bus from Pokhara to Kathmandu plunged off the highway in Dhading killing 19 passengers. Two weeks ago, another bus fell into the Tama Kosi in Manthali, killing 12. A few days before that a bus crash in Baitadi killed 13 people.&nbsp; In just the month before Nepal's election, more than 50 people have been killed in road traffic accidents. Most of these cannot be called 'accidents'. They are a direct result of poorly maintained highways and lack of enforcement of traffic discipline. Political parties in Nepal have rolled out their election manifestos, and voters are once again presented with a flood of promises. Page after page, these documents list megawatts and microcredit, highways and airports, jobs and investment. In these manifestos, growth is quantified, projects itemised, revenue forecast — and there are even threats to beat up contractors who do not finish their jobs. But when everything is declared a priority the stale promises are empty. The voter is left confused as to where the party’s loyalties really lie. Will any of these plans and pledges actually ever materialise and help Nepalis live longer, safer, healthier lives? The main job of any accountable government is to protect its citizens, not so much from foreign enemies but from domestic mismanagement. And this means the most basic test the new government should be made to pass is whether it can ensure basic well-being and protection for all its people. The problems of safety, health, and survival remain unresolved for most Nepalis, and are quietly eroding their lives. In the past year alone, the country’s <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/roadkill">roads and highways claimed more than 2,300</a> lives. An estimated 41,000 Nepalis die each year directly because of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-is-invisible-is-more-dangerous">air pollution</a>, and their <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/air-pollution-killing-season-starts-early">lifespans are lessened by 3.4 years</a>.&nbsp; <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/poor-health">Non-communicable diseases</a> now account for well over half of total deaths in the country. And even where survival has improved, deprivation remains. Chronic malnutrition continues to haunt communities in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/mass-migration-from-muktikot">Nepal’s western mountains</a> despite progress in maternal and child health.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260223130240_4f4ef83a31c3c4ae36ecdffb33a355e2fa3de9e98244b840a895af2d95c35ac0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20260223130240_4f4ef83a31c3c4ae36ecdffb33a355e2fa3de9e98244b840a895af2d95c35ac0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1024" height="683" loading="lazy" alt="A life-first manifesto for Nepal NT"> </figure>  These are the lived realities of most Nepalis, and it is here that development can deliver its most immediate returns. A rising GDP, in and of itself, does not make roads safer, clean polluted air, or provide enough nutrition to children. Such outcomes demand intentional, granular policies that confront the specific, everyday problems shaping people’s lives.&nbsp; Macroeconomic growth, trade and investment are important, but these alone cannot guarantee improvements health and safety. The word ‘growth’, after all, is also synonymous with malignancy. Economic progress and human protection are correlated only when governance deliberately links them. Impact on life is the unit in which ordinary Nepalis calculate progress. What is needed, then, is a governing philosophy measurable in these same terms: a ‘life-first’ standard where every policy, budget, and reform can be understood and judged by its impact on protecting and extending human life. Such a ‘life-first’ approach would scrutinise three aspects of every policy. First, whether the policy prevents loss of life. A death is termed preventable if better, more coordinated response systems and regulations could have avoided it (vaccines, drugs, road safety, clean drinking water). A newly built six-lane highway <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/highway-accidents-are-no-accident-in-nepal">can be a death trap</a> due to poor design or lax enforcement of safety rules. If neonatal deaths continue in a district despite hospitals being present, or if malnutrition claims lives in predominantly agricultural regions, they too are failures. Preventable deaths also cluster where accountability is less direct. Just last year, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/suicides-a-pandemic-within-a-pandemic">Nepal recorded 6,866 suicides</a>, with nearly 20 lives lost every day, yet these deaths fail to prompt any serious examination of governance. The same holds for fatalities linked to domestic or communal violence, alcohol and substance misuse, or ‘natural’ disasters, which register as ‘tragedies without remedy’ rather than as outcomes policy can influence. But when avoidable loss of life recurs at scale, isolated incidents become patterns, and patterns reveal systemic neglect. Saving lives, however, is only the first step, and what matters just as much is the quality of years lived. Nepal’s life expectancy now stands at 71 years, yet many citizens spend years in avoidable disability, untreated chronic illness, or mental distress. A life- first government must ask not only whether people live, but whether they thrive. Are citizens able to pursue education, work, and family life without fear of preventable harm? Do communities have access to clean air and water, nutritious food, and basic healthcare? Can a teenager anywhere in Nepal imagine a future not foreclosed by premature marriage, or untreated depression?  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260223130240_157d72b80b82a07699b6bffbb30036b86f0f767a5674cc3db3d5c20343442940.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20260223130240_157d72b80b82a07699b6bffbb30036b86f0f767a5674cc3db3d5c20343442940" data-rendition-name="original" width="2529" height="1427" loading="lazy" alt="A life-first manifesto for Nepal NT"> </figure>  Thriving requires policies that prevent suffering and promote well-being in addition to ensuring survival.&nbsp; Finally, governance must consider graceful aging. Elderly Nepalis should not be left to navigate disease, poverty, or isolation alone. Social systems, healthcare, and community support must enable their continued participation and dignified well-being. Adopting this three-layered standard would gradually reorient how success of any new government is defined. Transportation would be judged by fatalities reduced on the roads. Electricity generation would be measured by whether households can switch from firewood dependence to smoke-free electric stoves.&nbsp; Increase in annual rice harvest must translate into better nutrition, reducing the prevalence of chronic diseases like diabetes. Accountability must follow problems rather than stop at Singha Darbar. Only then will politicians and bureaucrats eventually recognise that their work converges on the same human endpoint. Critics will argue that economies are complex, trade-offs are inevitable, and that governance cannot be reduced to a single metric.But, as Acemoglu and Robinson show in their book <a href="https://ia801506.us.archive.org/27/items/WhyNationsFailTheOriginsODaronAcemoglu/Why-Nations-Fail_-The-Origins-o-Daron-Acemoglu.pdf">Why Nations Fail</a>, the key difference between prosperity and poverty lies in inclusive institutions that empower citizens and create broad incentives for well-being.&nbsp; Extractive institutions concentrate power and wealth in the hands of a few while keeping the majority trapped in neglect. Nepal’s governance has remained a striking example of extraction. If lawmakers in the new Parliament continue to resist changes that would save and improve the lives of ordinary citizens, the same systemic rot will persist for generations to come. A life-first mentality can cut through this inertia by clarifying the moral centre of governance and reminding policymakers that behind every policy failure lies human cost. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/epicentre-of-hunger">Every mother in Bajura</a> with a child going hungry at night, every farmer in the Madhes unable to afford medical care, and every family that has lost <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/saving-kidneys-to-save-nepal">a migrant son to kidney failure</a> understands the true <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/dirty-dangerous-difficult-and-dehydrating">value of a life saved</a>. Life is the one metric that transcends ideology, ethnicity, and region. Centering governance on this single, focused metric, can shift an election from a contest of rhetoric to a contest of evidence. Which party ensured access to safe water and basic healthcare? Which made work at home and abroad safer and less exploitative. Which measurably extended healthy years of life for ordinary citizens? Health is wealth. By improving the healthy lifespan of citizens economic prosperity would follow naturally. A ‘life-first’ governance model would therefore compel Nepal to address the underlying structural failures across all sectors, rather than merely alleviating their symptoms. The GenZ protest that toppled the government last September was, at its core, a demand for accountability and a rejection of politics as usual. But as the country edges closer to the polls, that clarity has started to dissipate. Parties are now echoing the language of reform, but the public discourse remains dominated by promises that feel disconnected from Nepal’s most immediate and basic priorities. Every preventable death, every hungry child, and every neglected elder becomes a direct failure of governance and a moral debt the state must answer for. It is how we can make sure we keep the next government in check. The writers are Nepali GenZ students of biomedical engineering at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Nepal’s life or death election

Who is accountable for teacher-student relationships?

Party flags and banners wave from electric poles, houses and e-rickshaws are festooned with posters. Madhes Province is in the grip of election fever, and in a tour through four of its districts, there is the sense that any efforts by mainstream political parties at reforms have come too little too late. Among the banners, the sky blue of the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/new-vs-new-in-nepal"> RSP is more prominent </a>here this time, and the rallying cry across the country for new and improved leadership is echoed on the ground. “For the people around here, whatever these old leaders are saying has become just noise,” says a lassi shop operator in Janakpur, waving a dismissive hand at flags with the NC’s tree symbol across the street. In Janakpur, UML nominee Raghubir Mahaseth was barred from canvassing door-to-door. Campaign posters of the mainstream parties have been torn from walls and replaced with RSP posters.&nbsp; In Inarwari village of Rautahat in the Madhes heartland, local elected officials whose parties have been merged into the Nepali Communist Party hope to retain enough supporters this election. But not many residents say they would vote for its candidate. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026022005024_a793e3a19cbd536fde50708c4a41b8b0d39a4716c6973feddad889097b655641.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2026022005024_a793e3a19cbd536fde50708c4a41b8b0d39a4716c6973feddad889097b655641" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Battleground Tarai NT"> <figcaption>Photos: SHRISTI KARKI</figcaption> </figure>  A first-time voter in Sarlahi’s Haripur is home on a semester break from medical school in Kathmandu, and is waiting excitedly for 5 March. “You can’t really say out loud whom you’re voting for around here,” he says, as he mimes ringing a bell. “It is time for someone new to be in-charge." In the highway town of Bardibas, an elderly teashop owner says that all she hears are calls for घण्टी, the RSP’s bell symbol. “After all, bells are rung in the house of gods,” she says. “It seems like the right choice.” The RSP wave sweeping the nation after the GenZ movement is seen in Madhes, and the PR ballots might reflect that, notes political analyst Tula Narayan Shah.&nbsp; “But the socio-cultural networks, organisational setup, and legacy of democratic movement of traditional parties might still give them a fighting chance on the first past the post ballot,” he says. &nbsp;“The door-to-door campaign style of candidates has always been more prominent in Madhes than elsewhere.”&nbsp; Villages like Dhankaul in Sarlahi-4 where <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/grand-split-in-nepal-s-grand-old-party">Gagan Thapa</a> of the Nepali Congress (NC) is running against incumbent Amresh Singh, is an NC stronghold. Singh won the election here twice before in 2013 and 2017 when he was an NC leader, and still had goodwill among NC voters when he ran and won as an independent during the 2022 election. “I voted for him twice before when he was in the NC, but he did not do anything for this or other villages. Once he is elected, he has not set foot here,” says Rajiv Yadav, a voter in Dhanakul. “The RSP will get more votes here than last time, but Gagan is sure to win. This village will vote for him.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026022005024_26691bb5a37edf705cc197a632d0bf032f984079a838d31bcd943bc0b9c97ff3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2026022005024_26691bb5a37edf705cc197a632d0bf032f984079a838d31bcd943bc0b9c97ff3" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Battleground Tarai NT"> </figure>  Madhes is in the spotlight this election because two prime ministerial candidates have focused their attention in the region. Balen Shah began his campaign in Janakpur (main picture, left) in January as a ‘Son of Madhes’, and Gagan Thapa chose Sarlahi-4 as his constituency over Kathmandu-4, from where he has been elected since 2013.&nbsp; The Madhes has always been the battleground for Nepal’s electoral politics, and candidates from here, like Krishna Prasad Bhattarai from Parsa, Pushpa Kamal Dahal from Siraha, Jhala Nath Khanal from Sarlahi, and Madhav Kumar Nepal from Rautahat, have all been prime ministers. Despite electing politicians to high office in Kathmandu, districts of Madhes have consistently ranked low in development and service delivery indicators, especially in basic healthcare and education. Socio-economic inequalities stemming from a lack of opportunities has also meant that Madhes districts have the highest rate of out-migration in the country.&nbsp; What is different this time is that the people of the province have a Madhesi prime ministerial candidate who will represent them in national politics, and the main competition ultimately will be between the NC and RSP prime ministerial candidates. Interestingly, voters seem to be looking beyond Madhes-based parties who have historically campaigned on identity and federalism.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026022005024_1b5c1134fb02ded72a12221200918df584b0cd003139bb2be44951efe9a65bf1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2026022005024_1b5c1134fb02ded72a12221200918df584b0cd003139bb2be44951efe9a65bf1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Battleground Tarai NT"> </figure>  “Leaders of Madhes parties have glorified their struggle for votes but failed to perform on good governance at local and provincial levels,” explains Tula Narayan Shah. “Now, Balen has become a PM candidate as a face of the region, and as someone who will deliver based on his work as Kathmandu mayor.” If the RSP wins, it will be governing in the absence of provincial leadership that would play a crucial mediatory role between Kathmandu and local units. On Wednesday, RSP’s Madhes province chair Mamta Sharma resigned from the party and joined the NC. There is also some underlying tension between RSP cadre loyal to Balen Shah and Rabi Lamichhane. “It is not prudent to predict who will win the election and whether parties will deliver on promises,” says Tula Narayan Shah. “But win or lose, there is little basis at this time to believe that the RSP will be committed to making the federal system and provinces more functional.” Voters here in the heart of the federalism movement, however, are willing to give the RSP the benefit of the doubt. &nbsp;Resident Brahma Dev in Janakpur told us: &nbsp;“The RSP, like parties that came before them, deserve a chance to prove their leadership in the next five years. If they do not deliver, we can always vote them out next time.”&nbsp; On Wednesday, NC leaders unveiled the party’s 10-point election manifesto at a large rally in Janakpur (main picture, right). Gagan Thapa began by addressing a cheering crowd in Maithili, and said the NC was reformed, adding:&nbsp; “The GenZ did not reject us, they told us to change our ways.” Also on Wednesday 800km away at the other end of the country in Dhangadi, Balen Shah, in a speech that lasted just three minutes, he said: “Don’t vote for us, give us work to do.”&nbsp;