This has been a season of new records on Nepal’s Himalayan peaks, with more than 1,000 mountaineers attempting 25 peaks. Mt Everest alone has more than half those climbers, exceeding the pre-pandemic peak in 2019. High winds and early pre-monsoon blizzards are expected to hit the mountain this week, and climbers are scrambling to the summit before the season officially closes on 1 June. So far this year, at least 10 climbers have died on Mt Everest alone, but many records have also been broken, including some multiple times on successive days. Kami Rita Sherpa summited Mt Everest twice in one season, taking his total to 28 times. Kami Rita is once again ahead of Pasang Dawa Sherpa who had tied his record of climbing 27 times only 24 hours previously.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230523150540_a3ec9f5f2680fa993f71e5257a10a5a98b20d151185ac41a755e6af3e93c60a5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20230523150540_a3ec9f5f2680fa993f71e5257a10a5a98b20d151185ac41a755e6af3e93c60a5" data-rendition-name="original" width="1293" height="709" loading="lazy" alt="Kami Rita SHerpa"><figcaption>Kami Rita Sherpa</figcaption></figure>  More than 500 people have summited Mt Everest this season, and that is another record, but the climbers have spread themselves out to prevent a repeat of the notorious traffic jams that gave Himalayan climbing a bad reputation in 2018. This year is the 99th anniversary of the disappearance of Mallory and Irvine on the north ridge of Everest in 1924, and the 60th year of the first traverse of the world’s highest mountain up the West Ridge and down the South Col route by Tom Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld of the 1963 Mt Everest expedition. Hornbein died earlier this month, only 16 days shy of the 60th anniversary of the historic climb. With the record numbers of climbers, there has also been the problem of waste. Although a Nepal Army expedition his season cleaned up some of the trash left by previous years’ expeditions, it represented a small proportion of the garbage. The Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) requires each expedition group to deposit $4,000 which is refunded if everyone brings back at least 8kg of garbage even though an average climber leaves behind much more. “I believe that climbers who spend five to six weeks on an expedition produce more waste than that,” says Billi Bierling of the Himalayan Database. Human waste from Base Camp is supposed to be carried to a landfill in Gorakshep lower down the valley. Plans are underway to build a biogas plant generating methane gas from waste to heat base camp. Besides the race for records by Kami Rita and Pasang Dawa Sherpa, there were other records. Kilian Jornet, a Spanish ultra-runner who summited Everest twice in a week without supplemental oxygen in 2017, is back on Lhotse trying out a non-standard different route. The gender gap is closing on Mt Everest with more and more women attempting to summit each season. Nearly 7,000 different climbers have summited Mt Everest, and out of them 822 were women. Only nine of them have reached the top without bottled oxygen, compared to 154 men. This season, several women are attempting to climb Everest without supplemental oxygen. Among them is Nepali Dabuti Sherpa and if she succeeds, will be the first Nepali woman to have achieved this on the 45th anniversary of the first Everest ascent without bottled oxygen by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler in 1978. Another climber who made history this year was Hari Budha Magar, a double above-the-knee amputee who lost both of his legs in Afghanistan. After being discharged from the British Gurkha, Hari had been training to climb Mt Everest since 2017 with special gear. Magar is a climate champion and is raising funds 100 times more than the height of Mt Everest (£884,900) for charities that helped rehabilitate him.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230523150540_44bb6ef305565b0ab5af3439c20e2efc5f7ef3239eb39dffab0f9cf0f52a9ded.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20230523150540_44bb6ef305565b0ab5af3439c20e2efc5f7ef3239eb39dffab0f9cf0f52a9ded" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="854" loading="lazy" alt="Hari Budha Magar"></figure>  Other notable climbs included Naila Kiani’s summit which made her the first Pakistani woman to get on top of five highest mountains, and compatriot Sajid Ali Sadpara, who was the first Pakistani to climb Everest without oxygen and plans to climb the remaining seven eight-thousanders. Vietnamese climber Nguyên Thi Thanh Nhā became the first Vietnamese woman to reach the Everest summit, and Xu Zhuoyuan, 16, became the youngest Chinese female climber to get to the top of the world’s highest mountain. Both climbs were made from the Nepal side, since there is only one national Chinese expedition from the north. There have been 10 deaths on Mt Everest from icefall collapse, exhaustion and high altitude cerebral edema. Although there have been seasons with more deaths (avalanches in 2014 and 2015 killed a total of 34 climbers) the average is four fatalities per season. Annapurna 1 recorded fatalities early in the season. An avalanche forced climbers off higher camps, three of them were reported missing, one Indian climber was miraculously rescued from a crevasse after three days. And Noel Hanna, a renowned Irish mountaineer died at Camp 4 the night after he summited the world’s tenth highest mountain. Several mountaineers who had reached the top were airlifted from high camps raising questions from purists whether theirs could be really called a ‘summit’. Mountaineers Jonathan Lamy from France and Pakistani Naila Kiani were caught in the middle of that debate. The Himalayan Database has introduced a new category of summits that indicates whether a climb was ‘aviation assisted’. On 3 May, Norwegian Kristen Harila, atop Cho Oyu, became the fastest woman to climb all 14 eight thousanders in a year. She had planned to break Nims Purja’s record of summiting all 14 peaks in six months and six days, but could not get a Chinese visa last autumn for Cho Oyu and Shishapangma. Harila now aims to climb all 8,000 mountains again, this time in four months, and is re-climbing the mountains all over again, summiting Lhotse and Everest in a record eight hours on Monday. Counting Shishapangma on 26 April and Cho Oyu on 3 May, Kristen has begun her 2023 ‘14 Peaks’ attempt in less than 6 months. She has already completed 4/14 peaks, climbing Makalu on 13 May and Kanchenjunga on 18 May in under 22 days. Her website allows her followers to track her rapidly progressing journey with an online GPS. “Since Nims (Nirmal Purja) climbed the 14 8,000ers in record time, there has been a shift in mountaineering,” says Billi Bierling talking about the athleticism and speed which is now sought in the high Himalayas. Harila’s record surpassed her female predecessors’ by years, one of them Austrian mountaineer Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner who took 14 years to ascend all 14 8,000 peaks. Harila has climbed expedition style, while Kaltnebrunner is a true alpinist who climbs without supplementary oxygen and Sherpa and helicopter support. Alpine style climbing is what Polish climber Votyek Kurtyka describes as "meeting the mountain one-on-one" and is gradually being displaced by commercial military-style assaults on mountains. Experts say the style of climbing is more important than record-setting. With commercial expeditions, there were also reports of theft of oxygen cylinders, climbing equipment and food at higher camps, including the South Col this season. But there are still less-publicised alpine style climbs, including a new route on Kabru South (7,318m) by a team of Slovak and Solvenian climbers who got to the top of this side peak of Kangchenjunga without oxygen, Sherpas and setting up tent camps. On Dhaulagiri 1 Bartek Ziemski from Poland became the first person to complete a full ski descent of Dhaulagiri, the world’s seventh highest. Two Russian climbers also skied down Mt Everest, but it is not clear where they started and where they stopped. High winds are battering the mountains ahead of this week’s storms, and there will be many at base camps following the progress of the last summit teams.

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On Mt Everest’s 70th, records and fatalities

Kami Rita Sherpa broke his own record last week when he climbed the world’s highest mountain for the 27th time, keeping ahead of compatriot Pasang Dawa Sherpa who had tied his 26th climb earlier this season. Kami Rita <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/i-can-do-it-25-times">has been climbing Mt Everest </a>every year since the first time he helped an international expedition get to the summit in 1994, sometimes reaching the top twice in the same season. The only years he could not climb were in 2014 and 2015 because of deadly avalanches, and in 2020 due to the pandemic. But Kami Rita says with characteristic understatement that for him it has never been about the record. It is just another job that requires him to guide expeditions to the top, and it is a job he does well. “Had I been chasing records, I could have summited many more times,” says Kami Rita, who has turned back several times from near the summit because he had to rescue foreign climbers, or blizzards. “I have seen first hand how unpredictable and unforgiving the mountain can be.’ Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-the-ice-is-gone-we-are-done">“If the ice is gone, we are done”</a>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230521040552_8387b98b50704cf7ed76007be3d6e6ad3b27c6ade00288923033cf6dd3670434.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20230521040552_8387b98b50704cf7ed76007be3d6e6ad3b27c6ade00288923033cf6dd3670434" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1354" loading="lazy" alt="Kami Rita Sherpa NT"> </figure>  He was at Base Camp in 2014 preparing for a live telecast with his brother for a National Geographic expedition when an avalanche slammed into the Khumbu Icefall, killing 16 Sherpas, many of whom he knew.&nbsp; A year later, 19 climbers and Sherpas lost their lives when an <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/big-drops-in-Everest-bookings-affect-livelihoods-of-Nepali-high-altitude-guides,2048">avalanche triggered by the 2015 earthquake</a> destroyed Base Camp. Then the Covid-19 pandemic halted all expeditions, depriving many guides and porters of income. Throughout all this, Kami Rita has remained in Nepal, declining job offers from overseas. “For me, there is nothing more meaningful than serving my community and people,” he says matter-of-factly. "The younger generation is aware of the dangers and some have given up working on the mountains. But if we Sherpas were not here, there would be no mountaineering.” Many, including previous summit record holders like Apa Sherpa, have migrated abroad. A new generation of Sherpas are now scientists, climatologists, businessmen, or airline pilots, and their success has been made possible because of the sacrifices of their parents. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/from-the-nepali-press/khumbu-wants-its-share">Khumbu wants its share</a>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230521040552_c0c351ab9fe199499a4698b6f56a9cee2fdfa61b825593ece63bfe72aa2c5ffb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20230521040552_c0c351ab9fe199499a4698b6f56a9cee2fdfa61b825593ece63bfe72aa2c5ffb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Kami Rita Sherpa NT"> </figure>  For Kami Rita, it looks like his family’s involvement in mountaineering may end with him. His son Lhakpa Tenzing is studying tourism as an undergrad and has no desire to follow in his father’s footsteps. His daughter Pasang Dolma is pursuing a computer science degree. “I worked hard all my life so they got a good education, even though mountaineering is an unpredictable business with seasonal income,” he says. “I have made sure that they have opportunities I never got.” <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/where-have-all-the-guides-gone">Expedition guides </a>are now increasingly being replaced by ethnic groups from lower valleys, as younger Sherpas move on to other jobs. Kami Rita says younger Nepalis from other ethnicities should have access to rock and ice climbing training so that they can take over.&nbsp; Born and raised in the Khumbu, Kami Rita attended school in Thame, one of many established by New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary, who along with Tenzing Norgay became the first to climb Mt Everest 70 years ago. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/letters-from-everest-base-camp-1-vfqcer0e">Letters from Everest Base Camp 1</a>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230521040552_41b36f9ee594f1ec5ecdfce673d21472c3a32738085784d5f1c1f088d01d0e33.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20230521040552_41b36f9ee594f1ec5ecdfce673d21472c3a32738085784d5f1c1f088d01d0e33" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Kami Rita Sherpa NT"> <figcaption>Kami Rita with his family.</figcaption> </figure>  Kami Rita’s own father went to Darjeeling with Tenzing Norgay, and one of his two brothers Lhakpa Rita Sherpa was a climbing guide himself before he went on to become the first Nepali to climb the Seven Summits. Mountains was all that his family knew, so it was no surprise that Kami Rita followed in their footsteps. “I wasn’t able to get much of an education, and working for expeditions would earn me much more money,” says Kami Rita, who became a porter at just 12. His only regret is that the Nepal government has never really helped the Sherpas of Khumbu. He cites the example of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/everest-trail-repaired-during-pandemic">Ang Rita Sherpa</a> who climbed Everest 10 times without oxygen but never got the support due to him. “If someone like Ang Rita does not get respect, what hope is there for the rest of us?” says Kami Rita. “The sad truth is that we have always thought of the nation first, but the nation has not shown us the same consideration.” Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/why-are-sherpas-always-happy">Why are Sherpas always happy?</a>, Tom Robertson

“Without Sherpas, there is no mountaineering”

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131124/637233919c7e80680e0c48ebjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1787" height="1334"/><figcaption>Climate change has been melting the ice even high on Mt Everest, exposing rock and making it more difficult to climb. Photo: DAMIEN FRANÇOIS / NEPALI TIMES ARCHIVE.</figcaption></figure>Climbing Mt Everest at 8,848.86m is on many people’s bucket list. Even just reaching Base Camp in northeastern Nepal, at 5,364m, is a difficult trek. But for Kami Rita Sherpa climbing Everest has been a routine for over two decades, sometimes twice or even three times a year.Born in Thame in a side valley of Khumbu district, he started working as a porter for trekking companies when he was just 12.Now 52, Kami Rita climbed Mount Everest for the first time in 1994 when he was just 24. This year, Kami Rita reached the summit for the 26th time, a new world record.On a sunny monsoon morning in July, he spoke to The Third Pole in a café in Kathmandu. The rainy season is when Mt Everest is closed for climbing, and Kami Rita had a bit of leisure time between the spring and autumn climbing seasons.The Nepal government <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61828753">reportedly wants to move Everest Base Camp</a> to a lower elevation, because of risks associated with climate change. The Khumbu Glacier on which the camp is located is melting, with a river running through the ice. There is also a waste disposal problem in spring, with 1,500 climbers camped out for at least two months. But as Kami Rita explains, the plan is not supported by all. Excerpts of interview:<figure><figcaption>"Moving base camp will create chaos," says Kami Rita Sherpa. Photo: RAMESH BHUSHAL</figcaption></figure>What is your opinion about the government’s plan to move Everest Base Camp?There is no valid reason to move it. Do you think climate change has impacted just Base Camp? What about the other camps on the Everest route? Where will you shift them? If you say climate change has impacted Base Camp, then don’t you think the other camps have also become riskier due to rapid melting of the ice?Moving Base Camp will create chaos. The camps were established on the basis of the availability of a suitable and safe place, identified through experience and practicality. If you move Base Camp lower, say to the village of Gorak Shep at around 5,150m, then it will just be a stopover to the current base camp, as it’s nearly impossible to hike from the moved Base Camp to Camp I at 6,150m. And you can’t stay anywhere in between, as there isn’t any suitable spot except the current base camp. It will be just an added camp, not an alternative.But the government says it’s becoming more dangerous, and that the decision would create a safer environment for climbers and support staff.I don’t really think Base Camp has become unsafe or less safe. I think it’s the safest point to camp for preparation before heading up and there isn’t a place nearby that’s more suitable. If you move down a little, it’s even more dangerous. Currently, Base Camp is on the edge of the Khumbu Glacier, and moving it down a bit will take you near the foot of Pumori mountain. That’s the place where an avalanche occurred during the <a href="https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/livelihoods/over-750-killed-in-himalayan-earthquake/">2015 earthquake</a> and killed scores of climbers and Sherpas.If you move it further down to Gorak Shep where a flat area is available, which is over three kilometres to the south, then how would you provide water? There is no water source nearby and you must walk for an hour or so to get some water from the ice. Currently, Base Camp has meltwater from glaciers, and even when there is no meltwater, we can cut out the ice and melt it to drink. It would be nearly impossible to carry out expeditions at lower levels so far from glaciers unless there is a continuous supply of water. It’s about feeding over 1,500 people for over two months including climbers, porters and support staff, and we need a large amount of water every day.The Everest climbing route from Camp I to IV is on the Khumbu Glacier. Studies have shown that the <a href="https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/energy/almost-all-everest-glaciers-may-disappear-by-end-of-century/">glacier has been shrinking</a> due to rapid melting resulting from global warming. How has this affected climbing?Rapid melting exposes more of the rock face on mountains and it’s harder to climb rock than ice-covered terrain. It also increases the chances of rockfalls that could cause serious injury or even death. I have noticed more exposed rock, and the length of rock that has to be climbed has increased in the past two decades. Between Camp III and Camp IV, there used to be about 50m of rock when I started to climb Everest, but now it’s over 70m.Likewise, the Geneva Spur on the Lhotse Face at 7,300m has more rock as well. Between Camp IV and The Balcony near the summit, there is a vertical face that used to about 100m of rock to climb, but now it’s about 130m. The rock face on the Hillary Step is also taller than it used to be.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131124/637233959c7e80680e0c48ecjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1399" height="741"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>What other changes have you seen on Everest since you started climbing?There are lots of changes. I can say that the amount of ice on Everest is less than when I climbed for the first time in 1994. Ice is melting at a faster rate and this change is moving higher up, but the bigger problem is that the timings of rain and snow has become irregular. In 1994 and the following expeditions for some years, there would be no water at Base Camp at the beginning of climbing in late April. The Glacier was all ice. We used to crack the ice and then melt it to drink. But now there is a stream of water running through Base Camp, and there are melt pools even at Camp II. This year in April, we got water in Camp II. Now I feel like Camp II is the new Base Camp.If shifting Base Camp is not a good idea, what do you think the government should do to ensure that climbing Everest in Nepal is safe?I think if a decision is made to move Base Camp, more expeditions will just move over to the north side in China. It’s already expensive and challenging to climb Everest from the Nepal side. The Tibet side in China has a lot of facilities and it’s easier to climb from the northern side rather than the southern one. China has electricity and roads right up to the Base Camp on the Rongbuk Glacier. You can go up to 6,500m on yaks. Why would someone come to the Nepal side if you prolong their stay without reason by creating a longer route?Instead of moving Base Camp, the government could spend money on providing electricity at the camp, so that we can reduce the use of gas to cook food. [The use of gas canisters by climbing expeditions <a href="https://everestchronicle.com/base-camp-diary-how-climbing-everest-have-changed-over-time/">has been suggested</a> as a factor in the warming of the area.] One expedition uses three gas canisters per day, and there are about 50 expeditions a year. One expedition takes around two-and-a-half months from Kathmandu and back, and most of the stay will be in Base Camp. You can reduce the use of gas if you provide electricity.Secondly, the government can spend money on providing folding toilets to all expeditions so that we don’t have to carry them every time, and they can charge for the usage. They could invest in providing more reliable weather information and focus on clean-up campaigns [of rubbish left by climbers] along the trail up to the summit.Just doing things to make a news headline won’t solve any problem. There are many more things that could be done to create a safer climbing environment and save the mountains, but an easy fix, like moving Base Camp down, is just a waste of time.What is your message to the world, which has responded very slowly to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, causing snow and ice in the mountains to melt faster?The mountains are not just ours. It’s not just Sherpas who would be impacted, or Nepal that would lose revenue from tourism if the snow and ice melts. It’s the source of water for billions of people. It’s the heritage of the world. If it’s gone, we are done. I think the only way to keep our mountains white is to reduce emissions from factories, planes and vehicles.I remember the Dalai Lama saying that one day we will die because there won’t be water to drink. I feel like that will happen some day soon. I would urge the global community to think about it seriously and act immediately. I can’t do much as a climber, except inform people about the situation out there.I just want to say that the ice on the mountains is vanishing. That’s my information based on experience and it’s up to you to make a decision.This article first appeared on <a href="https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/climate/moving-everest-base-camp-a-ridiculous-decision-says-record-holder-climber/">The Third Pole</a>.

“If the ice is gone, we are done”

<figure><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107101156/6368d6759c7e80680e031486jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Pic: Gopen Rai</figcaption></figure>Kami Rita Sherpa (pictured above) broke the previous record by climbing Mt Everest for the 22nd time this week.“The country needs the record, but not the man who makes the record,” Kami Rita Sherpa said on 28 March in Kathmandu before he set off to climb Mt Everest.True to his word, the 48-year-old from Thame village of Solukhumbu summitted the world’s highest mountain for the 22nd time on the morning of 16 May. And as the person who has climbed Mt Everest the most number of times, he has made international headlines.Kami Rita is a guide at Seven Summit Treks, and had started climbing from Camp 5 with nine Chinese climbers on Tuesday night, and reached the top on Wednesday morning. Before this, Appa Sherpa and Phurba Tasi Sherpa had jointly held the world record, with an impressive 21 times each on top of Everest. Appa and Phurba Tasi have repeatedly said that they will probably not climb again.Kami Rita is a humble man, and often said he was not hungry for fame. “Many Sherpas have made records. Ang Rita Sherpa made a world record by climbing Everest 10 times without oxygen. But what is the point of such records?” he asks.However, Ang Chhiring Sherpa, former president of Nepal Mountaineers Association, says Kami Rita has made Nepal proud and he should be recognised.“Now it is the country’s responsibility to figure out how to appreciate such a person,” said Ang Chirring Sherpa.Kami Rita started mountaineering in 1992, and first summitted Mt Everest in 1998 as a guide. In 2009, 2010, and 2013, he climbed Mt Everest three times in a single season. His brother Lhakpa Rita Sherpa has also climbed Mt Everest 17 times.Kami Rita, who had studied up to Grade 4 in Thame Primary School, lives in a rented apartment at Bouddha. His son studies in Class 12 while his daughter has just completed high school.Worried about the safety of Sherpas who work in mountaineering, Kami Rita does not want his children to follow his footsteps. He says: “The government only cares about royalty from the mountains, it does not care about our future. We have to support our family from what we earn every season. Who will take care of our family if something happens to us?”He says there may soon be no Sherpas willing to guide alpinists up the mountains. Meanwhile, Kami Rita continues to climb. His friends encourage him to get to the top for the 30th time. But he says: “I think I will make it 25 times.”Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/new-records-oxygen-failure-on-everest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New records, oxygen failure on Everest</a>

“I can do it 25 times”

<img width="1500" height="1122" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107101156/6368d66f9c7e80680e031484jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>It is that time of the year again when all eyes are on top of the world, with mountaineers and Sherpa guides making their final push to the summit of the world’s highest mountain.More than 160 mountaineers have already scaled Mt Everest this season, and many more are on their way up to the top.Liaison Officer Tilak Ram Pandey told Nepali Times from the Base Camp on Thursday that weather has improved and the climbing window is expected to remain open until 23 May.“We have already seen some interesting new records, but we hope for some more,” he said.Wednesday turned out to be the big day with two Sherpas breaking their own records and setting new ones. A Chinese double amputee, Xiya Boyu, also amazed the world by successfully scaling Mt Everest. On Thursday, Italian astronaut Maurizio Cheli successfully ascended the Mt Everest at 05:45 AM. He is the first European to have flown in space and climbed the highest mountain on earth.Kami Rita Sherpa (pictured right), 48, set a new world record for the most Mt Everest summits by reaching the top for the 22nd time. Lhakpa Sherpa, 44, also set the new world record for the most Everest climbs by a woman. She summitted for the ninth time from the north side.Read also: "<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/i-can-do-it-25-times/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I can do it 25 times</a>"Mingma Sherpa of Seven Summits Trekking said: “Kami Rita is the new legend, the new Appa Sherpa.” <img width="640" height="570" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107101156/6368d6739c7e80680e031485jpeg.jpg" alt="">While Lhakpa Sherpa was climbing to break her own record on Wednesday morning, other climbers were dealing with oxygen failures. Some 26 climbers had to descend to fix their oxygen regulators. Some Sherpa guides gave their oxygen regulators to their clients, risking their own lives.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/outside-in/shooting-ourselves-in-the-foot/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shooting ourselves in the foot</a>, Ted AtkinsAlan Arnette, a mountaineer, posted on his blog that everyone was safe but it was a rare emergency – something he witnessed for the first time in the last 16 seasons. At least 10 of 39 oxygen bottle regulators had failed, making several teams give up their climbs. He confirmed the cylinders were supplied by Summit Oxygen (SO), and it seemed to be a bad manufacturing batch.Meanwhile, Lam Babu Sherpa died on Everest, making him the second guide to die this season. Another Sherpa died on Makalu last week.Altogether 865 climbers have attempted or are attempting 22 Himalayan peaks in Nepal this spring season, creating employment for 1,200 high-altitude guides and many thousands of porters. Of them, 346 mountaineers and most of the porters are on Mt Everest. There are 15 Nepali women, including a female journalists’ group, hoping to make it to the summit.There is also an expedition that hopes to replicate NASA’s famous twin study that compared astronaut Scott Kelly’s body functions with his earthbound identical twin brother, by examining genetic changes in two American climbers climbing Everest this season while their twin brothers are at sea level.

New records, oxygen failure on Everest

Nepal’s only international aviation gateway, at Kathmandu airport, will cut night-time operation hours to allow construction of taxiways, and airlines have been told to curtail flights. This is expected to lead to more than normal chaos during the height of peak autumn and spring tourist seasons at an airport that is congested even at the best of times. The airport will close from 10PM to 8AM from 8 November-31 March 2025. The taxiways will now connect to the thresholds at both ends of the runway, making the airport more efficient in handling higher frequencies of landings and takeoffs. The parallel taxiway extension will allow international flights to land every 4 minutes instead of the current every 7 minutes. At present planes have to wait to land until a plane taking off backtracks along the runway.&nbsp; Kathmandu is Nepal’s only airport with international operations, and it has only one runway that is only one way in from the south over the mountains. With the taxiway improvement, the airport will be able to handle 42 aircraft landings and takeoffs per hour — double the current capacity.&nbsp; The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has been trying to entice international airlines to also start flying to and from the other two international airports at Pokhara and Bhairawa (Lumbini) by slashing landing and handling charges. But so far only Nepal Airlines operates a weekly flight to Bhairawa from Kuala Lumpur.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241018161016_046569e53d1d66cd445cc66c697c0ef724810aec9f54bdf827481e3cd6b80c32.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241018161016_046569e53d1d66cd445cc66c697c0ef724810aec9f54bdf827481e3cd6b80c32" data-rendition-name="original" width="2356" height="1134" loading="lazy" alt="Kathmandu airport expansion"> <figcaption>Kathmandu Airport Expansion plan with extension of taxiways to the thresholds of runways 02 and 20 that will limit airport operations from 8 November 2024 - 31 March 2025. Areas in blue are existing structures, including the international terminal which in future will be the domestic airport, and the new international terminal near the north end of the runway,</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241018121028_6e17cc2ee87c1b02d78cb54905825b7aa15299b7a00f5eddb01a59579ab85c1a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241018121028_6e17cc2ee87c1b02d78cb54905825b7aa15299b7a00f5eddb01a59579ab85c1a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1353" height="1328" loading="lazy" alt="Kathmandu airport NT"> </figure>  CAAN has reportedly told international airlines to cut their flight frequency to Kathmandu citing the shorter operation hours and has told budget airlines to shift some of their flights to Pokhara or Bhairawa, or face cuts. Many airlines currently operate regular flights to and from Kathmandu between 10PM and 8AM: Air Arabia to Sharjah, Fly Dubai to Dubai, Jazeera Airways to Kuwait, Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong, Singapore Airlines, several Nepal Airlines flights, and one of four daily flights by Qatar Airways to Doha. Jazeera Airways, FlyDubai, and Thai AirAsia have applied and got permission from CAAN to begin regular flights to Bhairawa’s Gautam Buddha International Airport. Starting 9 November, FlyDubai will start making a stopover in Bhairawa before flying on to Kathmandu. Immigration, customs and security are all fully functional in Bhairawa. In Kathmandu, the next phase of the airport upgrade includes converting the current international terminal for domestic operations, the construction of a new international terminal where the domestic departure area is now, as well as moving the hangars and the Nepal Army Air Wing to the eastern side of the runway. The apron area will also double its parking space for widebody jets. This is part of a Airport Capacity Enhancement Project that was initially funded through a $80 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the entire masterplan is expected to cost $800 million. This project is the latest upgrade to Nepal’s only international airport since it saw its first flight in 1949. The current international and domestic terminals are too small to handle the current annual traffic volume of 8.5 million passengers a year that is growing at 20% a year.

Kathmandu airport to cut flight hours

As Kathmandu becomes more congested and polluted, and with remote online work becoming the norm, many professional Nepalis are planning to retire in Pokhara, or move there.&nbsp; With its stunning mountain panorama, balmy winters and proximity to a profusion of wilderness areas, builders are responding to this demand with new townhouses, housing development and apartments. One such block of flats is the 10-storey <a href="https://sungavaapartment.com/">Sungava Apartment</a> located at Phulbari above the Seti River, near the point where it flows into and under Pokhara. The imposing structure near Manipal Hospital is almost complete, and on a recent visit the site was strewn with huge boulders unearthed while digging the foundation.&nbsp; The Seti brought down these boulders during a gigantic flood that geologists estimate happened 800 years ago when a chunk of Annapurna IV broke off and ploughed into the glacier below. Today, Sungava (means ‘orchid’) sits safely on a high terrace, 100m above the blue-green Seti and commands a view of Dhaulagiri, Annapurna South, Machapuchre, Annapurna III and IV.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024102411104_5f8fc736c86ea3c08d7bef43bb727081d3cc1a2caa55ae2b441717e6044de7e9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024102411104_5f8fc736c86ea3c08d7bef43bb727081d3cc1a2caa55ae2b441717e6044de7e9" data-rendition-name="original" width="2016" height="1512" loading="lazy" alt="High living below the Himalaya NT"> </figure>  The soil here is conglomerate that has solidified like concrete, and the boulders were extracted by heavy earthmovers. It is intriguing to think that these metamorphic rocks as big as cars, rounded by glacial grinding, were once a part of a much higher Annapurna IV. Even for those with little interest in geology, Sungava is an ideal place to contemplate the tectonic forces that pushed these peaks into the sky to be sculpted into delicate shapes by wind, snow, earthquake and avalanche over millions of years. The view of the Himalayan panorama from Sungava’s many balconies are breathtaking when not obscured by clouds, or the haze that drifts in from across the southern border. On most days, just watching the towering pyramid of Machapuchre (Tamu name: कतासुँ क्लिको) play hide and seek with the clouds is mesmerising. There are rocks aplenty at Phulbari, and it is probably the flowers that grew along the flat terraces e that gave the place its flowery name. The boulders will hopefully be turned into a rock garden while landscaping. An nearby restaurant complex is making the best use of the stones in its design, using flat rocks as outdoor benches and tables. Sungava was designed by the husband-wife architect team of Deepak Sherchan and Jyoti Joshi of <a href="https://thedarkmermaidamarbshrestha.blogspot.com/2013/12/creative-builders-collaborative-cbc.html">Creative Builders Collaborative (CBC)</a>, which also built Heritage Plaza, Indreni Apartment and numerous other projects in Nepal. Sadbhavana retains CBC’s trademark Newari-style masonry and here it borrows from the orange brickwork of the old town of Pokhara, integrating it with modern design elements. A few of those heritage houses are still standing in Ganesh Tole and Ram Krishna Tole in Pokhara’s old quarter.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024102411108_5eb64a4885961b6d30781cefeb1e8a313da313ac5227c7a66b60f0c7d48d6fab.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2024102411108_5eb64a4885961b6d30781cefeb1e8a313da313ac5227c7a66b60f0c7d48d6fab" data-rendition-name="original" width="1362" height="595" loading="lazy" alt="High living below the Himalaya NT"> </figure>  About 400m from the apartment past a bend on the river, and down below three tiers of terraces in the canyon is a suspension bridge. Below it, the Seti is still swollen with post-monsoon flow as it tumbles away in a hurry to head down south.&nbsp; Back at the apartment, it is quiet, far away from the hubbub of Lakeside a 15 minute drive away, and in the lap of greenery. There are 52 units at Sungava and it already has a close-knit prospective community of professionals, including doctors, publishers, engineers, and businesspeople from the renewable energy and IT sectors.&nbsp; Some residents say they opted for a second home in Pokhara to make it a ‘base camp’ to explore the Annapurnas with its many hiking trails made newly accessible with new roads. With the NRN citizenship law, overseas Nepalis can now also buy the flats. &nbsp; The floor plans include options for north and south-facing 3-bedroom apartments with verandas, and the facility has underground parking has EV charging, heated pool, sauna and gym. There are still some unsold apartments with panoramic views of the mountains and one can imagine oneself at the kitchen with its huge window, humming a ditty while preparing breakfast: “खाना पकाउँ हिमाल हेरेर...”

High living below the Himalaya

When the United Nations held its Summit of the Future at its headquarters in New York in September, many world leaders, including Nepal’s Prime Minister K P Oli, highlighted the effect of climate breakdown in increasing the frequency and intensity of natural disasters. What did not get as much attention was the long term impact of the climate crisis on food production. In fact, heat stress, weather extremes and the consequences on rain-fed agriculture is already being felt worldwide, undermining the chances of the <a href="https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/">UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)</a> being met by 2030.&nbsp; The SDG’s 17 targets commit countries like Nepal to reduce poverty and inequality, end malnutrition, protect the natural environment, and ensure that citizens all enjoy health, justice and prosperity without leaving anyone behind.&nbsp; However, besides the impact of climate breakdown on agricultural production, in Nepal the area under cultivation is impacted by urban expansion, falling productivity and the need for expensive inputs like fertiliser and pesticides.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_626413c5baf4dae407ac9579231b41daeb51510aa636b75aeb7489d94cca6a62.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241019041052_626413c5baf4dae407ac9579231b41daeb51510aa636b75aeb7489d94cca6a62" data-rendition-name="original" width="999" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>Kathmandu's urban sprawl is eating into its fertile cultivable lands. Photo: TAYLOR MASON</figcaption> </figure>  Now, a new study led by Nepali researcher Prajal Pradhan at the University of Groningen in The Netherlands looks at how urban agriculture may offer a solution to falling food production and meeting SDG targets. The researchers evaluated 1,450 publications exploring the contributions of urban agriculture with both positive and negative effects, and published their findings in the journal Cells Report Sustainability. Urban agriculture can help achieve 17 SDGs, positively influencing 81 targets. However, it could also undermine 51 goals.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-vanishing-land">The vanishing land</a>, Taylor Mason “Urban agriculture offers immense potential for sustainable development, but realising this potential depends crucially on adopting practices that minimise its adverse effects while maximising its benefits,” Pradhan explains. Urban agriculture can substantially enhance urban food security, provide employment to the urban poor, serve as ground water recharge in built-up areas, and preserve open spaces that can serve as safe havens during disasters like earthquakes. However, it also presents problems like the potential health risks from contamination and the need for expensive inputs. &nbsp; “Urban agriculture plays a definitive role in advancing the SDGs, but achieving this requires tailored, context-specific solutions that address the unique challenges of different regions,” says Yuanchao Hu of Wuhan University in China and who is a researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. “But it needs equitable access and rigorous management of environmental risks.”&nbsp; Rapid urbanisation is eating into Nepal’s most fertile agricultural land, which means farming in remaining open spaces inside cities can be a viable alternative, especially as food prices rise.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_7b7c9413086226fbdc630d45acf772cfa1ced77a8970b9056ec5ec7e5226fdf8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241019041052_7b7c9413086226fbdc630d45acf772cfa1ced77a8970b9056ec5ec7e5226fdf8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="999" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>A vegetable patch in between new houses in Thimi. Photo: TAYLOR MASON</figcaption> </figure>  “The conversion of Nepal’s most fertile land into cities is a severe problem,” Pradhan told Nepali Times. “Crop cultivation, horticulture, agroforestry, beekeeping, livestock rearing, or aquaculture can all be farming activities within and around cities.”&nbsp; The study makes recommendations for sustainable practices that build on the positive aspects of urban agriculture while mitigating the downsides, thereby promoting more resilient cities in future. Research shows that urban agriculture has been helping many countries attain SDG targets by enhancing food security and biodiversity while helping education and preservation of open spaces.&nbsp; Indeed, many farmers from the hinterland who have settled in Kathmandu Valley or other urban areas of the country have been practicing urban agriculture, leasing neighbourhood patches or cultivating roof gardens both out of necessity because of inflation and falling income to grow their own food, and also as a fulfilling hobby. Saurav Dhakal, a sustainability advocate with Story Cycle and now research fellow at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, says there are socio-economic and environmental benefits of urban agriculture. “It provides benefits to all urban dwellers, regardless of their income status,” says Dhakal, “families get fresh food, and there are many other benefits like water retention, heat regulation and biodiversity. These are all public goods, so special government incentives may be needed.” It is not unusual to see vegetable patches and even paddy fields within inner city Kathmandu where an older generation of farmers are using available fertile land and <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/rooftop-gardens-kathmandu,1415">roof gardens to produce fresh, nutritious food </a>to reduce their dependence on food items that have to be bought after being trucked in from large distances.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024101905100_1291ce98dbbb8caed8702ac4b1d469b3e13016d7ecaaf3bfd5f91c974d3c0c77.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2024101905100_1291ce98dbbb8caed8702ac4b1d469b3e13016d7ecaaf3bfd5f91c974d3c0c77" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="999" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>An older generation of farmers are using any available fertile land to continue farming but it is getting more and more difficult. Photo: TAYLOR MASON </figcaption> </figure>  Nepal’s urban population grew rapidly from only 3.6% in 1991 to 25% today. There is large outmigration from the mountains to peri-urban areas of the Tarai, to Kathmandu Valley and Pokhara, with many young men then moving abroad for work. Kathmandu Valley’s population has swelled to nearly 3 million, and is growing at 6.5% a year. Dilip Shrestha, 71, used to work for Nepal Food Corporation, so he knew firsthand about inflation, shortages and vegetables with pesticide residue. So, when he designed his new house in Kathmandu, he built a spacious roof where he grows cucumber, ginger, garlic, coriander, onions, tomatoes, chili, beans, okra, pumpkin and lettuce. His family eats healthier, and he has reduced dependence on the market.&nbsp; The co-author of the Cell Reports Sustainability journal article, Daya Raj Subedi who is a PhD candidate at Beijing Forestry University, says urban agriculture also promotes inclusion and psycho-social wellbeing.&nbsp; He says, “A crucial finding of the study is the identification of opportunities and challenges associated with urban agriculture, it can promote sustainable transformation of society.” In Banepa, 55-year-old Bijaya Manandhar in her lifetime has watched the fertile farms of her neighbourhood that used to supply vegetables to Kathmandu, now completely built up with no open space left. The pandemic lockdown prompted her to turn to the family’s <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/rooftop-agriculture-on-the-roof-of-the-world">ancestral livelihood by growing food</a> not on terrace farms, but on the roof terrace. Manandhar is now a part of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/rooftop-agriculture-on-the-roof-of-the-world%5C%5C">कौसी खेती र करेसाबारी क्रान्ती</a> (Rooftop Farming and Garden Revolution) which has an online membership of 52,000, and awards annual prizes to women who excel in urban agriculture.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_7257f5def8f823f35a799fa6f6825e153f2ffa406ac11325d4fe74049b79e96d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20241019041052_7257f5def8f823f35a799fa6f6825e153f2ffa406ac11325d4fe74049b79e96d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="736" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>Rooftop farming is gaining popularity as a form of urban agriculture. </figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_beff1a4494ce896dd8fd383ee1f518e5448bcf7ea8bb138255391c7bcb9769ed.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20241019041052_beff1a4494ce896dd8fd383ee1f518e5448bcf7ea8bb138255391c7bcb9769ed" data-rendition-name="original" width="4000" height="3000" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> </figure>  Pradhan says the challenge now is to upscale such examples of successful urban agricultural practices so they support Neal’s efforts to meet SDG targets. He adds, “Crop cultivation around cities can be protected by land use plans and regulations. Promoting community-based agriculture, including rooftop gardens, requires community engagement and public-private partnerships across the food value chain.”&nbsp; Such support would accelerate the popularity of existing rooftop farming and community gardens in Kathmandu Valley, or kitchen garden initiatives in Pokhara, and building on traditional farming practices that are preserved and integrated into urban settings like in Bhaktapur and Banepa. In Lalitpur, the Women Entrepreneurship Facilitation Center promotes urban farming enhancing both sustainability and empowerment.&nbsp; Another co-author of the report, Yuanchao Hu from China says followup research of the team will aim to identify good practices in local urban agriculture practices. He adds, “There are examples of urban agriculture that optimise sustainability, ensuring that it remains a viable solution for cities globally while countries try to meet SDG targets.” Prajal Pradhan, Daya Raj Subedi, Kshitij Dahal, Yuanchao Hu, Prakriti Gurung, Sijal Pokharel, Sagar Kafle, Biplav Khatri, Sudeeksha Basyal, Monika Gurung, and Aruna Joshi. Urban Agriculture matters for sustainable development. Cell Reports Sustainability, 1:100217, 2024. [DOI: 10.1016/j.crsus.2024.100217] Prajal Pradhan (<a href="mailto:p.pradhan@rug.nl">p.pradhan@rug.nl</a>) This article is brought to you by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank">Nepali Times</a>, in collaboration with <a href="https://inpsjapan.com/en/" target="_blank">INPS Japan</a> and <a href="https://sgi-peace.org/" target="_blank">Soka Gakkai International</a>, in consultative status with UN ECOSOC.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758" data-rendition-name="original" width="680" height="103" loading="lazy" alt="SDG logo"> </figure>

Back to the land in the cities

The 700-year-old Lakshmi Narasingha temple in Bhaktapur houses a rare half-lion and half-human incarnation of Lord Vishnu carrying the Goddess Lakshmi. The temple was destroyed in the 1934 mega earthquake that killed 10,000 people and destroyed many monuments in Kathmandu Valley. It was rebuilt by a German project in the 1980s, but as a single-storey structure instead of its original two-tier pagoda design.&nbsp; With new findings from in-depth research, Bhaktapur municipality began re-restoring the temple in 2021, preserving its original architecture.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_2fae38cce543ad7b1f6de632feb3e212e08ed1acedd747830e949d7b8e878f18.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241017131016_2fae38cce543ad7b1f6de632feb3e212e08ed1acedd747830e949d7b8e878f18" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “Our temples and heritage sites hold deep meaning. It is disheartening to witness how often they lose their original elements, whether by design or accident,” explains Kumar Chawal of the Consumer Committee of Bhaktapur. “There is a need to preserve our architecture and protect its historical value for future generations. Otherwise, we risk losing a vital part of our identity.” The Laksmi Narsingha restoration is similar to the Bhai Dega temple in Patan Darbar Square which also collapsed in 1934, but was rebuilt with a Moghul-style dome by the Rana government at the time. Only two months before the 2015 earthquake, heritage conservationists had started to rebuild Bhai Dega as the original three-tier based on early photographs. But priorities shifted when four other temples in the square were brought down by the 7.8M earthquake on 25 April 2015.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_697ea707d9ad163be5de5f2efbf5b70d3cab771adcc22f0fae6bf937c6cb0130.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241017131016_697ea707d9ad163be5de5f2efbf5b70d3cab771adcc22f0fae6bf937c6cb0130" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  This showed how damage to monuments in Kathmandu Valley spanned from one earthquake to the next. Bhai Dega restoration remains half-complete to this day because money for its restoration ran out.&nbsp; Whereas Bhai Dega restoration was done by the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust with grants from western embassies and international foundations, in Bhaktapur it is the municipality itself that allocated the Rs30.7 million needed to restore the Lakshmi Narasingha temple. The expected date of completion is early 2025. The municipality and local communities are focusing on two main aspects: preserving the past and promoting localisation. The restoration team has designed a blueprint for the temple by using historical photographs and insights from older generations.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_182882fdc393c99e70d1d0490319e415229563666c4934e3a582426ebf00ca30.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241017131016_182882fdc393c99e70d1d0490319e415229563666c4934e3a582426ebf00ca30" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="560" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “At first, the Lakshmi Narasingha temple had only one entrance, but during the demolition process, we uncovered the foundations of four doors. Now, we are restoring all of them. This is an example of how our ancient structures have changed over time, often without our knowledge,” says Chawal. “Constructing temples is not like building houses. They carry historical and spiritual values, which is why they hold a special place in our hearts,” he adds. By replicating ancient design elements and rebuilding the temple as accurately as possible to its original form, the team has stayed true to Bhaktapur’s soul. But the restoration also revived ancient techniques that were in danger of being forgotten, generating employment for woodcarvers, masons, and contractors. The community of Bhaktapur’s Gahiti neighbourhood near the famous Nyatapola Temple has also set aside specific days for locals to volunteer in the reconstruction work. This has encouraged young people to take pride in ownership of their heritage. Families have also supported the effort by donating funds for bells, the temple pinnacle, and other structural features to the temple.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_db850ec0c084cdbe54f65bee92dad2ad8122d20fd60ec87ec086fbb9d2f72bd6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241017131016_db850ec0c084cdbe54f65bee92dad2ad8122d20fd60ec87ec086fbb9d2f72bd6" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “I feel at peace knowing I have contributed my sweat to restoring this temple,” said one volunteer. “It is our duty to preserve our temples and heritage. The Nyatapola area will look magical once this temple is completed.” Community mobilisation is a long-standing tradition in Bhaktapur. In the past, locals have actively participated in the restoration of other temples in the city, such as Bhairav and Nyatapola fostering a strong sense of ownership. This collective engagement has not only been crucial in preserving the city's historical monuments but also in strengthening the bond between local communities and their heritage, says officials at the municipality. While securing funding is essential, and the municipality showed it values heritage conservation, the Lakshmi Narasingha restoration is proof that active involvement and sense of responsibility of the local community is as important, if not more. Local involvement also means that the monuments will be cared for into the future, When locals take ownership of these efforts, the restored monuments are not only protected in the present but are also cared for in the future.

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