For the Sherpa people who live below Mt Everest, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/margins/songs-from-chomolungma">Chomolungma </a>means ‘mother god’. And as a young girl growing up below it, Lhakpa Sherpa gazed up at the mountain with awe and reverence.&nbsp; <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/pasang-lhamu-sherpa-the-film">Pasang Lhamu Sherpa</a> was the first Nepali woman to reach the summit in 1993, but she died on the way down. Lhakpa remembers the funeral in Kathmandu, and says she sensed Pasang Lhamu’s soul enter her at the cremation.&nbsp; Since then, Lhakpa holds the <a href="https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/most-ascents-of-mt-everest-by-a-woman#:~:text=At%20the%20age%20of%2048,at%206.15%20a.m.%20local%20time.">Guiness World Record</a> for having climbed Mt Everest ten times, the most by any woman anywhere, and breaking her own record several times. Lhakpa Sherpa seeks Chomolungma’s blessings and forgiveness before and after every climb. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-nims-purja">The rise and fall of Nims Purja</a>, Pradnya Pradhan “I respect the mountain like my mom,” she says in the new Netflix documentary Mountain Queen: Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa.&nbsp; The film is as much about Lhakpa’s skill and stamina as a high altitude climber, as about her courage to stand up to an abusive husband and the strength to raise three children as a single mother working in a Whole Foods Market in the US state of Connecticut. &nbsp; Directed by Lucy Walker who excels in documenting real life characters, the 104 minute film provides viewers with an intimate glimpse of Lhakpa’s home, conversations with her daughters, and some spectacular footage of her climbing in Everest’s Death Zone. Walker removes layer upon layer of Lhakpa’s life to introduce us to the real person that she is.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240910120952_549f2ebdc425038deb78854480449122da0890957389aa86b6a612bf91d33ec3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20240910120952_549f2ebdc425038deb78854480449122da0890957389aa86b6a612bf91d33ec3" data-rendition-name="original" width="450" height="630" loading="lazy" alt="Mountain Queen Lhakpa Sherpa NT2"> </figure>  As a girl Lhakpa was a headstrong girl, and says her mother used to call her “too tough, too tall and very, very bossy” – and that is exactly how she comes across in the film. But behind the toughness and cheerful smile, Lhakpa is a soft-hearted person who has been in search of love and healing all her life. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/on-screen-mountains">On-screen mountains</a>, Sahina Shrestha Lhakpa was a social misfit, but found her true calling in mountaineering. She started out as a porter carrying up to 100kg on her back -- double her body weight. She had to pretend to be a boy since women did not get jobs with expeditions back then. Then, she was promoted to be a kitchen boy, cooking for the climbers in base camps.&nbsp; She needed money to climb but nobody at the time was sponsoring a woman. A chance meeting with King Birendra and Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala got her the sponsorship she needed in 2000 to lead an all-women Nepali Everest expedition. She reached the top for the first time, the only climber from her group to do so. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/streaming-the-himalaya-on-film">Streaming the Himalaya on film</a>, Pinki Sris Rana Her goal achieved, that should have been it. But Lhakpa was hopelessly hooked to the thrill of climbing. She met the Romanian-American mountaineer George Dijmarescu who encouraged her not to just be a porter, and join him in climbing Everest from the Tibet side.&nbsp; For the next several years the two became climbing partners, the ultimate power couple in Himalayan mountaineering. She emigrated to the United States and gave birth to daughters Sunny and Shiny. It was not long before Dijmarescu showed his true self, and Lahkpa was trapped in an abusive marriage in a foreign land. As a girl child in Nepal, she was never sent to school and had no other job except climbing. The fairytale had ended. She was featured in a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/31/sports/lhakpa-sherpa-everest.html">New York Times</a> report, training for her 10th ascent of Mt Everest carrying boxes of vegetables and fruits at Whole Foods. In Mountain Queen, Walker directs a highly personalised profile of Nepal’s &nbsp;almost-forgotten mountaineering legend, digging up her troubles and triumphs with sensitivity and care. Walker does more than tell the story of perseverance and resilience that go hand-in-hand with climbing, she also tells the story of a matriarch who has to be strong for her family. &nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/why-we-climb-mountains">Why we climb mountains</a>, Damien Francois After her 10th Everest ascent, sponsors line up to fund an expedition to even more challenging K2, which Lhakpa climbed last year. Pasang Lhamu’s soul burns brightly in Lhakpa Sherpa, and she sums up her own journey: “I’ll give my life to the mountains, keep climbing until the day I die.” Mountain Queen: Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa Directed by Lucy Walker Netflix, 2024 104 minutes&nbsp;

Pinki Sris Rana

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Daughter of Chomolungma

“She’s gone” the choked voice of her daughter on the call from Auckland said it all. “Please can you tell her friends in Nepal?” As I caught my breath and gazed at the cloud-shrouded Annapurna peaks beyond the balcony, it dawned on me that a great lady had departed. Lady June Hillary died on 1 June 2024 surrounded by her daughters, grandchildren and great grandchildren in the Auckland care home overlooking the green fields and leafy avenues of Cornwall Park. A tireless friend of Nepal, June was a supportive wife to Sir Edmund Hillary and played a significant role in his life and work. In her own right, she served for decades as Nepal Honorary Consul-General to New Zealand and was patron of the New Zealand Nepal Society, promoting cultural understanding and ensuring that Nepal's rich heritage and traditions were celebrated and appreciated in New Zealand. She chaired the Himalayan Trust New Zealand for several years after Sir Ed’s death, 16 years ago.&nbsp; Dinesh Khadka, the current Honorary Consul-General in Auckland wrote: “Lady Hillary was an exceptional individual whose contributions to Nepal and the Nepalese community in New Zealand were immeasurable." The Himalayan Trust New Zealand farewelled her on social media: "June was involved in the Himalayan Trust since its beginnings through her friendship with Ed and Louise. She had a deep fondness for the Himalaya and the people of Nepal.”&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240605070652_b1aee69338867a35c7b1045c01784d1a0ff5e398eea3038f5405601c6893d5cb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20240605070652_b1aee69338867a35c7b1045c01784d1a0ff5e398eea3038f5405601c6893d5cb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Lady June Hillary NT"> <figcaption>Photo courtesy of Susan Hayman</figcaption> </figure>  As lamps were lit and pujas planned throughout the mountains, Himalayan Trust Nepal posted: “Lady June Hillary made significant contributions to the humanitarian initiatives to support the people of Nepal throughout her life. She was a very good friend of the Sherpas. Her dedication and compassion touched countless lives and will continue to inspire us all.” Effortlessly stylish in her trademark navy and flowing scarfs, never a hair dared escape her elegant silver chignon, even on remote trekking trails. From their home in Remuera Auckland, she accompanied Sir Ed on his punishing schedule of global public appearances, event openings and Himalayan Trust appeals. Perhaps most of all she will be remembered for her dogged dedication to the wellbeing of Sir Edmund Hillary, a great man in both stature and accomplishments who had been felled by the double disaster of losing his wife Louise and youngest daughter Belinda in the Kathmandu plane crash in 1975.&nbsp; June is credited with lifting her husband out of the devastation and deep withdrawal that followed this tragedy, Sir Ed’s saviour, his "steadfast support system". &nbsp;“June enlivened Ed's last decades, or maybe even more accurately she kept him alive after the accident,“ wrote Australian filmmaker Michael Dillon, who spent many months with the Hillarys.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240605070656_449daafceb96e7b336baf2a75e5e445cb329e78c153b10372226afed37ec9d41.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20240605070656_449daafceb96e7b336baf2a75e5e445cb329e78c153b10372226afed37ec9d41" data-rendition-name="original" width="778" height="1128" loading="lazy" alt="Lady June Hillary NT"> <figcaption>Sir Ed and June Hillary, Richard Blum, Elizabeth Hawley at the consecration of Thyangboche monastery 1993.</figcaption> </figure>  Raised a catholic in post-war Wellington, June was first married to Peter Mulgrew with whom she had two daughters, Robyn and Susan. A close friend of Sir Ed, Peter was a dashing figure, a mountaineer and yachtsman, who had both feet amputated after a climbing accident on Makalu. The foursome were close friends, travelled together and helped during the early years of the Himalayan Trust. In 1979, Peter was killed in the Mount Erebus air disaster, a sightseeing flight lost over the Antarctic on which he was the celebrity commentator, ironically as a stand-in for Sir Ed. It was perhaps inevitable after these catastrophes that Sir Ed and June found strength and solace in each other. At Sir Ed’s side, June accompanied him to New Delhi during his four-year stint as New Zealand High Commissioner from 1985 – her unwed status regularised as his Official Companion. They only married after their return to New Zealand in 1989. It was during his frequent visits to Nepal as Ambassador that I first got to know June. I loved her caring tenacity, her feisty humour and especially her acerbic wit. June’s fierce and gallant commitment to Sir Ed’s best interests were not always well understood or appreciated, but we knew Sir Ed could not manage without her.&nbsp; Sir Ed was a towering figure, but Lady June was equally staunch at his side, discrete, always there, ever watchful. No stranger to controversy, newspaper reports of which she did not approve would be dismissed as “wrapping for tomorrow’s fish and chips” with an unhappy shrug. But as a grounded Kiwi, she deftly navigated the privilege and pitfalls of being married to a national hero and “the greatest New Zealander”. After a fundraising dinner in San Francisco, June twinkled: “Quite fun, being seated between Warren Beatty and HH the Dalai Lama.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240605070656_a52200f895b5fc8d7116243c1aabd64b5664abf3785236a961b5b56856218e27.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20240605070656_a52200f895b5fc8d7116243c1aabd64b5664abf3785236a961b5b56856218e27" data-rendition-name="original" width="600" height="450" loading="lazy" alt="Lady June Hillary NT"> <figcaption>Sir Edmund Hillary and Lady June Hillary. Lady June deftly navigated the balance of public and private life with Sir Ed. Photo: LISA CHOEGYAL</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240605070656_f3f4d1e77fb4911ad911eefd18f78d02a9dc06d1838f3717fc0121952db86aef.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20240605070656_f3f4d1e77fb4911ad911eefd18f78d02a9dc06d1838f3717fc0121952db86aef" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="844" loading="lazy" alt="Lady June Hillary NT"> <figcaption>Lady June with Sir Edmund Hillary, King Charles III and Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand.</figcaption> </figure>  As Jim Edward’s guests at Tiger Tops they joined us to present Elephant Polo trophies and party at New Year’s Eve in Chitwan between diplomatic duties and philanthropic trips to the Khumbu. Together they opened Tiger Mountain Pokhara Lodge in 1998, and June returned to celebrate our 10-year anniversary. The 50 year anniversary of the first Sagarmatha summit, 29 May 2003, was a hot day in the splendid British Embassy residence gardens. Live broadcasts anchored by TVNZ presenter Mark Sainsbury linked the Sherpa dancing and celebrity interviews with events in New Zealand. Ang Dooly was there to celebrate and remember Mingma Norbu, Kanchha, Pertemba, Lhakpa Norbu, Ang Rita and many others. As the sun beat down and guests sipped drinks, June passed the phone to Sir Ed and he spoke to his son Peter on Everest. I suggested perhaps they would like a break and a shower. “We’re not like that” June laughed it off, always the trooper. “We’ll just carry on.”&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024060702060_ff8c84dd4383c443e7920bddb3aecf683ff41234a3001c92350426870fb65f0b.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2024060702060_ff8c84dd4383c443e7920bddb3aecf683ff41234a3001c92350426870fb65f0b" data-rendition-name="original" width="640" height="391" loading="lazy" alt="Lady June Hillary"> <figcaption>Lady June in Nepal in 1961.</figcaption> </figure>  At Sir Edmund Hillary’s state funeral in January 2008, a visibly shaken Lady June sat swathed in black beside Prime Minister Helen Clark as the service was broadcast around the world. The iconic image of her touching the casket in farewell was entirely spontaneous, she told me afterwards. June had thought Sir Ed was being discharged from hospital, “but instead, he died that morning.” It was a moment she frequently recalled. Forever linked with Sagarmatha and the Sherpas, Lady June’s death comes just days after the 71st anniversary of Sir Edmund's historic first summit of Mount Everest with Tenzing Norgay, and a week before the centenary of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine’s disappearance high on the northern ridges of Everest in 1924.&nbsp; But Lady June Hillary deserves her own accolades and recognition, independent of the Burra Sahib. A “classic lady,” she is remembered as “wonderfully funny, with a tremendous sense of style” and her own special brand of purpose and destiny. It was an honour to have known her.&nbsp;

Lisa Choegyal

Lady June Hillary 1931 - 2024

Five-time Everest summiter and climate activist David Breashears died on 14 March at his home in Massachusetts in the United States, aged 68. Breashears shot the IMAX film Everest about the 1996 tragedy when eight climbers were killed, and also <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z01ve9gV4y8" target="_blank">co-produced the movie Everest</a> in 2015 starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Josh Brolin about the 1996 deaths. While shooting another documentary in 2015, he had to be rescued by helicopter from Camp I when an avalanche triggered by the earthquake killed 19 people at Base Camp. <div class="embed-block"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/z01ve9gV4y8?si=MvVVH0MERMdK_qia" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></div> Breashears specialised in repeat photography of old images of the Alps and the Himalaya to visually document the impact of climate breakdown, and through his group GlacierWorks took part in the multimedia <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/living-through-the-himalayan-thaw" target="_blank">Climate+Change exhibition</a> in Kathmandu in 2014. The exhibition had Breashear’s before and after photography of Himalayan glaciers, comparing pictures taken in 1921 by George Mallory of the Rongbuk Glacier on the north side of Mt Everest to show how much it had shrunk by 2009.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240316030312_6d5b0461ee77deda302ea6f97ed3da6ab23f94cfdc326c863a2a59c894139a2d.png" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20240316030312_6d5b0461ee77deda302ea6f97ed3da6ab23f94cfdc326c863a2a59c894139a2d" data-rendition-name="original" width="998" height="976" loading="lazy" alt="david bearshears"> </figure>  Breashears was worried what the Himalaya would look like in 100 years, and <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/interview/What-will,423" target="_blank">told Nepali Times in an interview</a> ten years ago: ‘Those of us who have climbed Everest for the past 33 years have seen the changes taking place under our own feet. Now our crampons scrape and scratch across hundreds of feet of exposed rock and the snow arête that Hillary climbed no longer exists. The route is entirely on rock.’&nbsp; Himalayan glaciers are <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/here-today-gone-tomorrow" target="_blank">retreating and shrinking</a> much faster than what was forecast ten years ago, and just as Breashears predicted garbage and bodies of dead climbers are being <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nepali-times-buzz/climbing,424" target="_blank">exposed by thawing ice</a> high on the mountains. In the spring climbing season, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMKRC7oZhpY&amp;t=51s" target="_blank">a river now runs through Everest Base Camp</a>. <div class="embed-block"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iMKRC7oZhpY?si=qi36WvBaA8Texx1U" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></div> <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nepali-times-buzz/climate-change-exhibition-icimod,1248" target="_blank">Reviewing the Climate+Change</a> exhibition at the Nepal Art Council in 2014, Nepali Times wrote: ‘It was the top floor, with <a href="http://nepalitimes.com/page/living-through-the-himalayan-thaw" target="_blank">GlacierWorks</a>’ sweeping Himalayan vistas … which really brought home the reality of climate change in Nepal – a veritable Damocles’ Sword if there was one.’ In a brief statement to <a href="https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/everest/david-breashears-dies/" target="_blank">Outside Magazine</a>, Breashear’s family said: ‘It is with tremendous sadness that we share the news of David Breashears’ untimely passing. David was a beloved brother, uncle, father, friend, and colleague and a caring, impassioned advocate of adventure, exploration, and the health of our planet.’ The statement added: ‘What fulfilled him the most – where he’d want his legacy to lie – is his non-profit organization, GlacierWorks, which he founded in 2007 to highlight the Himalayan glaciers through art, science, and adventure. He used his climbing and photography experience to create unique records revealing the dramatic effects of climate change on the mountain range.’ Breashears once said in a Reddit interview: "Nepal is my favourite place on earth."

Climber-activist David Breashears, 68

In his short 35-year life, only 10 years of which he spent guiding Himalayan mountaineering expeditions, Tenjen Sherpa was known for his stamina and humility. Unlike most of Nepal’s famous Sherpa climbers, Tenjen was not from the Khumbu region below Mt Everest, but from the foothills of Mt Makalu, the world’s fifth highest mountain. He herded yaks and farmed potatoes on the steep terraces of the village of Walung, where he was born in 1988, the seventh of eight brothers. He never went to school, but attended a monastery and was therefore known by the nickname ‘Mantare Lama’, after the lucky number seven. Tenjen quickly mastered the methods of technical climbing at high altitude, and was much sought after by international expeditions to fix ropes to summits. For most Nepali climbing guides, this is a nameless and largely thankless job, while the foreigners they help to the summit get most of the attention and fame.&nbsp; But that did not bother Tenjen too much. He was not the complaining type, and the expeditions earned him money. But Tenjen also represented a new breed of Nepalis for whom climbing was not just a job, but an adventure he enjoyed and excelled at. Earlier this year, he completed climbs of 14 peaks above 8,000m in just 92 days helping Norwegian mountaineer Kristin Harila also accomplish the feat. They beat the previous 14-peak record set by Nepali-British climber Nims Purja for climbing the world’s highest peaks in the shortest time.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231121071136_b266a0133e4de4a95aaa824f53ad3ca0dd46386da7088ae76ee9cc5947d8ed5c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20231121071136_b266a0133e4de4a95aaa824f53ad3ca0dd46386da7088ae76ee9cc5947d8ed5c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="628" loading="lazy" alt="Tenjen and Harila"> </figure>  Perhaps even more remarkable than the record was the tale of Tenjen Sherpa’s struggle. He was married off when he was just 13. His father abandoned his family, and Tenjen had to help his mother take care of his siblings, as well as his wife and their own two sons.&nbsp; Financial hardship forced Tenjen to leave the village and seek his fortune elsewhere. Because he lacked schooling, there were only two options: migrate to India or work as a porter for climbing expeditions.&nbsp; Even as a child, Tenjen had seen expeditions to Makalu camp near his village and admired their climbing gear, flashy clothing and the money that some of his neighbours earned from being guides.&nbsp; Tenjen was inspired by the famous Sherpa guides he worked with, and was determined to become a high-altitude guide himself. He knew it was a risky job, but it paid well.&nbsp; Tenjen found a job with Seven Summit Treks, one of the new Nepali-run mountaineering outfitters that have been taking over the Himalayan climbing business from foreign companies in recent years. It is led by Mingma Sherpa, also from the Makalu region, and himself an accomplished mountaineer who has also climbed all 14 eight-thousanders.&nbsp; Mingma sent Tenjen with an expedition to Makalu in 2014, and despite having no prior experience at high altitude he reached the South Summit. Tenjen learnt fast to fix ropes, wear crampons, use bottled oxygen, and belay fellow climbers on steep sections.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231121071136_4b05955b11e8a5c3aa4d5fbdf06328a8589ecb3c10b8d97c264182fef9ae65e2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20231121071136_4b05955b11e8a5c3aa4d5fbdf06328a8589ecb3c10b8d97c264182fef9ae65e2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1948" height="2355" loading="lazy" alt="Tenjen Sherpa"> </figure>  In 2016, Tenjen was sent as part of a rope-fixing team to Mt Dhaulagiri and reached the top of the world’s seventh-highest mountain. Tenjen never looked back after that, successfully summiting every peak he attempted.&nbsp; By July 2023, he had climbed 35 of the world’s highest mountains, many of them multiple times. He had helped Harila become the first woman to summit all 14 eight-thousanders after climbing Cho Oyu in May this year. After the monsoon, he was on Mt Shishapangma in China, guiding the American climber Gina Marie Rzucidlo who was competing with compatriot Anna Gutu to become the first female American to climb all 14 eight-thousanders, both had completed 13 peaks and had only one left. Rzucidlo had hired Tenjen at the last moment although he was not with her expedition company because he had proven to be a fast climber with Harila. On 7 October, at around 12:30PM a slab of avalanche swept away Gutu and her guide Mingmar Sherpa at an altitude of 7,600 meters. A few hours later, Tenjen and Gina were also hit by an avalanche at 8,000m on the north face of Shishapangma. Their bodies were never found. For Tenjen’s family, this was an added tragedy. Two of his brothers, Norbu and Phurba who were also climbers, had died earlier. Phurba died on Everest in the spring 2023, while Norbu died during the Covid-19 pandemic. Three of his other brothers had died at an early age. Tenjen’s eldest brother is the only one remaining in Walung, farming the family terraces. The youngest brother, Pas Dawa also works as a climbing guide. “I don't know whether to continue this job or quit," Pas Dawa told us in Kathmandu during a break between expeditions. "We cannot take care of our families if we do not work on the mountains, but it is a job that we could never return from."

Tenjen Sherpa, a tribute

<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."

Kunda Dixit

What next for Reinhold Messner?

<figure><img width="1598" height="1138" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181144/636be6e29c7e80680e0877cajpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Most Nepal-holics know the names of Toni Hagen, Edmund Hillary, Boris, Father Moran, Liz Hawley and Jimmy Roberts ... all notable foreigners who, with love and dedication, have unselfishly contributed to the development and betterment of Nepal. But the general public may not have heard of <a style="font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=9296#.X842ay8RoWo" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D9296%23.X842ay8RoWo&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607438385491000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEENjM1t1dILqYeUvakqHGCKVkQ5A">Doug Scott</a> who, like Herman Buhl, Walter Bonatti and Reinhold Messner, was a mountaineering legend in his own lifetime. He now joins the list of 'great givers to Nepal'. He made numerous first and ground-breaking ascents in the UK, big wall climbs on Baffin Island and in the US, plus explorations like the pioneering 1965 trip to the Tibesti mountains in northern Chad. In the Himalaya and Karakoram, he added 30 first ascents during 40 expeditions. He was the champion of purist <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=10379#.X842WC8RoWo" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D10379%23.X842WC8RoWo&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607438385492000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGMKd3QCl886RBhqnrGBFDqemeOIg">Alpine style climbing</a> -- using no Sherpa support, no fixed ropes, no oxygen ... climbing or attempting virtually only unclimbed mountains, or new routes on established peaks.Doug (Keith) Scott was born in 1940 and died at home in UK on Monday 7 December. He was harder and bolder than those who had gone before him on epic climbs of Everest, Kangchenjunga, Shivling, Nanga Parbat, The Ogre (where he broke both ankles and had to crawl for days to reach Base Camp). The list of climbs is longer than a Welsh railway station's name, and led to numerous honours and titles. None of which he sought, but his favourite was the Piolet d'Or Lifetime Achievement, the Oscar of Mountaineering. The style and  boldness of his climbs were praised for being nothing short of ‘visionary’.His most legendary climb was the first ascent of the Southwest Face of Mt Everest in 1975, not the ‘tourist route’ up the South Col, but hugely technical face of the world’s highest mountain. He did use oxygen on this climb, but his cylinder ran out as he and Dougal Haston reached the higher point on earth. The sun was going down, so they spent the night just under the summit: no oxygen, no tent, no mats, no sleeping bags, no stove - and descended safely the next day.   <figure><img width="2000" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181144/636be6e69c7e80680e0877cbjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Dougal Haston during the first ascent of the southwest face of Mt Everest in 1975. Photo: Doug Scott</figcaption></figure>After Everest, many other peaks followed: the difficult southwest face of Xixapangma, Shivling (East Pillar) in India, Kussum Kanguru (North Summit) in Khumbu, Nuptse (North Face), and Kangchenjunga North Ridge in 1979 with Joe Tasker and Pete Boardman. The Kangchenjunga climb ranks among the great climbs in the Himalaya -- it was the first time one of the highest three mountains in the world was climbed Alipine Style without bottled oxygen. Doug Scott kept coming back to Nepal, not just to climb, but for his charity work with <a href="https://www.canepal.org.uk/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.canepal.org.uk/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607438385492000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFHWhnQWX5fIu5hl4wWcVWiC0kdoQ">CAN (Community Action Nepal)</a> a non-profit that has tried to raise the living standard of the people of the Himalaya from Pakistan to Nepal.In a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/how-to-restore-the-lure-of-everest/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/how-to-restore-the-lure-of-everest/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607438385492000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEwxs_krOaUgYa16JjmNUeVKMnchQ">column for Nepali Times last year</a>, he wrote: ‘I have been lured to Nepal many times, as much by the Himalayan landscape as to be with the mountain people. It is the people more than the mountains who bring visitors back to Nepal.’That column followed the infamous images of a ‘traffic jam’ on Everest, and Doug had his solution for it: to limit climbers and only allow those who had summited at least one 7,000m peak in Nepal. It looks like the Nepal government took his advice, and issued just such a directive in the pre-pandemic 2020 spring season. <img width="1362" height="764" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181144/636be6e89c7e80680e0877ccjpeg.jpg" alt="">Doug raised finances and installed 17 fresh water pipes in Askole (the last village before K2), so reducing infant mortality there by half. Today, CAN has 60 health posts in Nepal, with the aim to build seven more. Once done they will serve thousands of isolated villages with basic health care. Add education, porter and local community support and CAN is an inspirational force in mountain community development.  A friend said that Doug Scott was “the world’s most enthusiastic fund raiser.”  Another friend noted: “You meet Doug, you shake hands, he talks CAN, and you automatically contribute. I bought one of his £10 posters, and paid £200! Just because it was Doug.'A month or so before he passed Doug instigated 'Climb Everest' -- where people could climb their stairs at home, and raise funds for CAN. He himself donned his original Everest SW Face climbing gear (pictured above), and (probably against doctors wishes) climbed his own stairs for the last time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxCbkMr2SmY&amp;feature=emb_logoReinhold Messner and many other climbers followed his example, and raised thousands of pounds for CAN's work in Nepal. Doug passed away at his home in the Lake District at age 79, with his family around him. Heartfelt condolences to family and friends from the world of mountaineering.  <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/31-Nepali-children-lost-their-fathers,2184" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/31-Nepali-children-lost-their-fathers,2184&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607438385492000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHwy1QdN5stPAfdbXNF0nS7zP9rkQ">David Durkan </a> is a traveller, mountaineer and author of the book, Penguins on Everest. <a href="mailto:durkandavid@gmail.com">durkandavid@gmail.com</a>

Doug Scott: a giant among giants

<figure><img width="1598" height="1138" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191112/636bedec4b0ad905ca02ef13jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Most Nepal-holics know the names of Toni Hagen, Edmund Hillary, Boris, Father Moran, Liz Hawley and Jimmy Roberts ... all notable foreigners who, with love and dedication, have unselfishly contributed to the development and betterment of Nepal. But the general public may not have heard of <a style="font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=9296#.X842ay8RoWo" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D9296%23.X842ay8RoWo&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607438385491000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEENjM1t1dILqYeUvakqHGCKVkQ5A">Doug Scott</a> who, like Herman Buhl, Walter Bonatti and Reinhold Messner, was a mountaineering legend in his own lifetime. He now joins the list of 'great givers to Nepal'. He made numerous first and ground-breaking ascents in the UK, big wall climbs on Baffin Island and in the US, plus explorations like the pioneering 1965 trip to the Tibesti mountains in northern Chad. In the Himalaya and Karakoram, he added 30 first ascents during 40 expeditions. He was the champion of purist <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=10379#.X842WC8RoWo" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D10379%23.X842WC8RoWo&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607438385492000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGMKd3QCl886RBhqnrGBFDqemeOIg">Alpine style climbing</a> -- using no Sherpa support, no fixed ropes, no oxygen ... climbing or attempting virtually only unclimbed mountains, or new routes on established peaks.Doug (Keith) Scott was born in 1940 and died at home in UK on Monday 7 December. He was harder and bolder than those who had gone before him on epic climbs of Everest, Kangchenjunga, Shivling, Nanga Parbat, The Ogre (where he broke both ankles and had to crawl for days to reach Base Camp). The list of climbs is longer than a Welsh railway station's name, and led to numerous honours and titles. None of which he sought, but his favourite was the Piolet d'Or Lifetime Achievement, the Oscar of Mountaineering. The style and  boldness of his climbs were praised for being nothing short of ‘visionary’.His most legendary climb was the first ascent of the Southwest Face of Mt Everest in 1975, not the ‘tourist route’ up the South Col, but hugely technical face of the world’s highest mountain. He did use oxygen on this climb, but his cylinder ran out as he and Dougal Haston reached the higher point on earth. The sun was going down, so they spent the night just under the summit: no oxygen, no tent, no mats, no sleeping bags, no stove - and descended safely the next day.   <figure><img width="2000" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191112/636bedef4b0ad905ca02ef14jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Dougal Haston during the first ascent of the southwest face of Mt Everest in 1975. Photo: Doug Scott</figcaption></figure>After Everest, many other peaks followed: the difficult southwest face of Xixapangma, Shivling (East Pillar) in India, Kussum Kanguru (North Summit) in Khumbu, Nuptse (North Face), and Kangchenjunga North Ridge in 1979 with Joe Tasker and Pete Boardman. The Kangchenjunga climb ranks among the great climbs in the Himalaya -- it was the first time one of the highest three mountains in the world was climbed Alipine Style without bottled oxygen. Doug Scott kept coming back to Nepal, not just to climb, but for his charity work with <a href="https://www.canepal.org.uk/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.canepal.org.uk/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607438385492000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFHWhnQWX5fIu5hl4wWcVWiC0kdoQ">CAN (Community Action Nepal)</a> a non-profit that has tried to raise the living standard of the people of the Himalaya from Pakistan to Nepal.In a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/how-to-restore-the-lure-of-everest/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/how-to-restore-the-lure-of-everest/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607438385492000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEwxs_krOaUgYa16JjmNUeVKMnchQ">column for Nepali Times last year</a>, he wrote: ‘I have been lured to Nepal many times, as much by the Himalayan landscape as to be with the mountain people. It is the people more than the mountains who bring visitors back to Nepal.’That column followed the infamous images of a ‘traffic jam’ on Everest, and Doug had his solution for it: to limit climbers and only allow those who had summited at least one 7,000m peak in Nepal. It looks like the Nepal government took his advice, and issued just such a directive in the pre-pandemic 2020 spring season. <img width="1362" height="764" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191112/636bedf24b0ad905ca02ef15jpeg.jpg" alt="">Doug raised finances and installed 17 fresh water pipes in Askole (the last village before K2), so reducing infant mortality there by half. Today, CAN has 60 health posts in Nepal, with the aim to build seven more. Once done they will serve thousands of isolated villages with basic health care. Add education, porter and local community support and CAN is an inspirational force in mountain community development.  A friend said that Doug Scott was “the world’s most enthusiastic fund raiser.”  Another friend noted: “You meet Doug, you shake hands, he talks CAN, and you automatically contribute. I bought one of his £10 posters, and paid £200! Just because it was Doug.'A month or so before he passed Doug instigated 'Climb Everest' -- where people could climb their stairs at home, and raise funds for CAN. He himself donned his original Everest SW Face climbing gear (pictured above), and (probably against doctors wishes) climbed his own stairs for the last time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxCbkMr2SmY&amp;feature=emb_logoReinhold Messner and many other climbers followed his example, and raised thousands of pounds for CAN's work in Nepal. Doug passed away at his home in the Lake District at age 79, with his family around him. Heartfelt condolences to family and friends from the world of mountaineering.  <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/31-Nepali-children-lost-their-fathers,2184" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/31-Nepali-children-lost-their-fathers,2184&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607438385492000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHwy1QdN5stPAfdbXNF0nS7zP9rkQ">David Durkan </a> is a traveller, mountaineer and author of the book, Penguins on Everest. <a href="mailto:durkandavid@gmail.com">durkandavid@gmail.com</a>

<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”

<h2>Art of Freedom is a brilliant portrait of one of the purest alpinists of our time</h2> <figure><img width="768" height="432" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107101156/6368d6699c7e80680e031482jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Pic: Mateusz Skwarczek Agencja Gazeta</figcaption></figure>There was the rattle of pans and the hiss of a kerosene stove from the kitchen tent. Poking my head out of the sleeping bag, I saw the huge hulk of Makalu silhouetted against the dawn sky. It had snowed all night, the moon and some of the stars were still out. There in the semi-darkness, Voytek Kurtyka was hanging by one hand from a truck-sized boulder.It was the spring climbing season in 1981, and we were camped out on a moraine by the Barun during the march-in to Base Camp. Kurtyka was planning an alpine style ascent of Makalu’s unclimbed west face with his climbing partner Alex MacIntyre. The weather was bad and the face was impossible. The two returned in autumn, but they were defeated by a 500m rock overhang near the summit. Another Polish climber Jurek Kukucka made it to the top solo a few days later.Bernadette McDonald, the Canadian author of ten mountaineering books, chronicles the Makalu expeditions and other climbs by one of the greatest alpinists of all time, Poland’s Voytek Kurtyka, in her new book, Art of Freedom. Even though they were mountaineers of the same generation from the same country, Kukucka and Kurtyka’s approaches to climbing could not be more different.McDonald writes about how Makalu presaged the difference: ‘Jurek was focused on summits, and Voytek was obsessed with style.’ <img width="640" height="960" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107101156/6368d66c9c7e80680e031483jpeg.jpg" alt="">Kurtyka was a driven man, completely consumed by his climbing and an ardent opponent of militaristic expedition-style climbing of Himalayan peaks. Attaining the summit was not so important for the reclusive Kurtyka, what was important was how a climber got there.A year after Makalu, Reinhold Messner invited Kurtyka to join him on Cho Oyu. But when he got to Base Camp, Kurtyka found out the climb was ‘not going to be alpine style, but siege style’ with high altitude porters, ropes and fixed camps. Kurtyka tells McDonald he likes to climb ‘unleashed’. We read about the climber’s dislike for mountaineers who write in a ‘pretentious or self-aggrandizing style’. He adds: ‘I now see clearly that climbing is an Art. I also see that advertising is a poison, while self-advertising is the oldest disease in the human soul.’Read also<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/the-nepali-chronicles,2195" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Nepal Chronicles</a>, Kunda DixitIn the week when the assembly line jumar mass-conquests of Mt Everest is reaching its annual climax, these lines have special relevance. Art of Freedom takes us back to the purity of climbing that Kurtyka believed in like a religion – a style in which humans meet mountains one-on-one.Kurtyka’s approach to climbing is low-key, humble and almost Buddhist, a complete antithesis to the chest-thumbing, record-breaking race that it has become, especially on Everest. Naturally, Kurtyka is vehement about over-regulation by governments intent on turning climbing into an industrial enterprise. He is proud of his many illegal climbs.He tells McDonald: ‘Being illegal is part of a creative life. Restrictions are mostly imposed by the brutes of the world and they turn our lives into slavery. They ruin the sense of freedom. I am not a natural born hater, but sometimes I find it is my duty, I hate every kind of rule.’Read Also<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19191#.WvvqCLh-jjE" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mountains in Large Format,</a> Kanak Mani DixitAfter returning to Kathmandu from Makalu in 1981, Voytek and Alex would go bar-hopping in Thamel and come home after curfew. Because they did not want to wake up my parents, the two would climb up the drain pipes to the second floor ‘apline style’ with the dogs howling at the intruders.Kurtyka would have taken a dim view of the outrageous reaction by Nepal’s tourism ‘authorities’ to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/outside-in/shooting-ourselves-in-the-foot/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Willie Begenas and Matt Moniz skiing from Camp 3 to Camp 2 last week</a>. Or the new ‘rule’ decreed by the governors of mountaineering in Kathmandu to ban double amputees from climbing (since rescinded).The danger is always there, and Kurtyka is one of the few who lived to tell the tale of alpine style climbing of the big peaks. Kukucka died on Lhotse South Face, and MacIntyre on Annapurna South Face. In the book, Kurtyka tells McDonald why he thinks he survived: a combination of luck, an instinctive alertness to danger signals, or even ‘some idealistic notion of a reciprocal love between the mountain and him’.Bernadette Mcdonald’s book takes us into the soul of a spiritual climber who sees in mountaineering a manifestation of nature in its purest form, a creative drive he calls ‘Crea’. Art of Freedom is a brilliant portrait of one of the cleanest climbers of our time.Art of Freedom: The Life and Climbs of Voytek Kurtyka  by Bernadette McDonald Rocky Mountain Books, 2017 326 pages Hardcover $32

Voytek Kurtyka unleashed

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107101156/6368d65d9c7e80680e03147djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="699" height="699"/><figcaption>Willie's climbing partner Matt Moniz with skis on the Western Cwm of Mount Everest. Pic: Willie Benegas</figcaption></figure>Khumbu -- Never let the facts get in the way of a good story is a line which sure also lives in Nepal. So, I am not consulting actual facts for this report. It is  too difficult. My facts are as I see them and that makes them my facts. If feelings are hurt, these are the facts regardless of the cause.On Sunday a team of Nepali guides topped out on Mt Everest while fixing the route, securing it for others to follow. These men take the greatest risks, in the lead and are a great credit to their profession and to Nepal. A Chinese double amputee and 13 other climbers summitted Monday morning.Before we heard this good news there was the report that Willie Benegas was to be recalled from the mountain, fined and banned from Nepal. His crime was skiing the short distance from Camp 3 to Camp 2 on Mt Everest last week.I consider Willie and his brother Damien to be friends and, like myself, mountain professionals. I have known the brothers for well over a decade and have climbed with them. I met with my partner Dawa Steven in Asian Trekking before they left for the mountain this season. The brothers come to see what is new in the world of high altitude oxygen and give us their feedback from the previous season. They were the only people to do this and they do it to make Everest better and safer. Over the years I have trusted them to test new innovations because I trust their opinions, experience and passion.I first climbed on Mt Everest in 1988, and have led teams many times since then. I had never heard that you need a permit to ski on Everest, nor has anyone else I know. It just does not make sense. Skiing on any mountain is a perfectly accepted norm up and down, as accepted as wearing crampons.Skiing a crime? Seriously? It is clear that Willie also was unaware of his crime, and crime it must be if he is facing deportation. He posted the event on social media and told people he intended to do it. It is pretty difficult to smuggle a set of skis up a mountain. Surely his Liaison Officer would have seen this and made him aware?Lets take a quick look at the permits. First he bought a Nepal visa, then an Everest climbing permit of $11000, then a National Park permit in order to get to the place that he has bought an $11000 permit to get to. If he wants to make a video he needs to get a filming permit.So what else can the government do to make extra cash? We could then charge him a camping permit, taking photos permit, talking to media permit (this exists) wearing boots permit, using ropes permit?Do you know how this looks from the outside in, it looks like a very nasty, cheap, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/for-a-few-dollars-more/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">money grubbing</a> venture by the government. Willie immediately offered to pay the permit. No, not allowed. He was summoned to Kathmandu where he went at great personal expense by helicopter. We then hear that he is to be deported.Willie’s expedition was an attempt by <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/05/two-mountaineers-are-trying-recreate-nasa-s-twin-study-mount-everest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NASA</a> to replicate its experiment with twins in orbit, by tracking the physiological functions of the climbers’ twin brothers at sea level.The mountain community are enraged. Willie is possibly the most respected western professional in the industry. The guides and local people remember what the government cannot. Willie and his brother did great work during and after the 2015 earthquake. They have brought countless people and therefore money to the industry and Nepal. Now lets punish him, perhaps ruin his livelihood. For skiing!Yes, a crime has been committed and people should be punished, but was not Willie who committed it. The real crime here is the damage done to the industry and the name of Nepal. This bad press has of course reached every part of the world, and people are truly incensed.As the greater, true crime goes unpunished, Willie has already been punished before being found guilty. He lost vital time on the mountain needed for his acclimatisation and the costs of helicopters.Stop Press. This just in. There is no permit to ski on Everest. There exists a ‘heli ski permit’ where you exit a helicopter with the express intent to ski, but this is not possible on Everest as the only helicopters allowed at this height are for rescue and need a permit.All this damage for nothing when it could have been avoided, not made any press as Willie would actually have paid for a permit that did not exist. So the fine and the money grubbing efforts are all in vain.By the way, where was the paid-for Liaison Officer while all of this was happening. Just asking, in case he was not there where he was meant to be, where he was paid to be by Willie?If this was the case, then we have someone who we could punish, who really did commit a crime.Ted Atkins is a former RAF Chief Engineering Officer and works on mountaineering oxygen systems. He contributes this Outside In column for Nepali Times.

Shooting ourselves in the foot

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

Turkish Basketball

Thousands of Nepali students dreaming of an American education have been forced to look elsewhere as the Trump administration’s visa restrictions make their future uncertain.
The US was long considered a top destination for higher studies, making Nepal the 10th biggest country of origin for international students in America.&nbsp;
However, that number has seen a significant decline with the total for Nepali students now at 16,482. Some 8,000 Nepali students obtained no-objection certificates to study in the US from the Ministry of Education in the past year.&nbsp;
India, Australia, Canada, South Korea, United Kingdom and Japan are the other popular destinations for Nepali students. There are no clear numbers for Nepalis going to India, but a slight decline was noted this year after the deaths of two female students.
The US State Department has issued a circular to its embassies not to issue new visas to applicants until further notice. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the directive stated that the department planned to expand the screening of applicants' social media.&nbsp;
While new applicants are barred including those applying for visitor visas, students with scheduled interviews are allowed to proceed.
“Many of our students are affected by the new restrictions, but those who had applied for student visas earlier have got interview dates,” one Kathmandu-based college counsellor told us.
Meanwhile, even foreign students with spotless records already in the US have not been spared, as visa scrutiny intensifies under the new policy. In a move that underscores the growing sense of insecurity, many US colleges advised international students to carry their passports and documents at all times, even when traveling locally.
“Me and my friends did not go home this summer because we were not sure we would be allowed back, so we just went to Niagara Falls,” said a Nepali undergrad in Ohio, who like many interviewed for this report did not want her name used for fear of repercussion.
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Nepali students have adopted a cautious stance, with many choosing not to return home during summer vacation due to fear of visa revocations as well as travel bans. Meanwhile, over 7,000 Nepalis with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) will have to come back to Nepal by 5 August or face deportation. Thirty-seven were flown back to Kathmandu on Omni Air last week.
“The US is one of the most sought-after destinations for higher education, and the ban will definitely impact bright students,” says Narottam Aryal of the King’s College in Kathmandu.
Indeed, Nepali undergraduates admitted into Ivy League colleges for the 2025 academic year have been asked to look for alternatives. The entire Fulbright Foreign Scholarships Board resigned on Wednesday citing interference from the Trump administration on the selection of this year’s cohort. Some Nepali students already on Fulbright scholarships have noted disruptions, delays and even cancellation of stipends.&nbsp;
The student visa restrictions were initially just for foreign students admitted to Harvard University, but it was later extended to all Chinese students and now to all students. Universities like Columbia which actively recruit foreign students, face sharp enrolment declines, threatening their financial stability and diversity.
An Indian female PhD candidate at Columbia University had her visa revoked by the US State Department, and said she was targeted on the basis of her social media posts on Israeli military attacks in Gaza. Social media vetting of political activism has raised concerns about privacy and freedom of expression in a country where such rights were a given.
Many students have been informed via email that their visas have been revoked for getting speeding or parking tickets, but even others with no criminal record have been affected. The fear of deportation looms large amongst international students, including those from Nepal.&nbsp;
For most Nepalis who migrate to the US for education, the journey is a high-stakes investment. They come largely from middle-class families, often rely on a patchwork of scholarships, work-study programs, loans, or even the sale of family assets to afford fees.
Most Nepali students pursue STEM subjects which offer extended Optional Practical Training (OPT) periods that help fund their education. But with the US backsliding on education and humanitarian matters, countries like the UK and Canada are becoming more attractive despite their own recent stricter controls on student visas.&nbsp;
The UK universities saw a 63% rise in Nepali students’ admissions in 2024. Japan is another popular destination with 64,816 Nepali students enrolled as of 2024.
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Already, China, Hong Kong and Malaysia are poised to benefit from the increased scrutiny of US student visas. Several Hong Kong universities are offering unconditional admission to affected students, while Malaysian institutions are targeting previously US-bound Asian students. China and India have 330,000 and 280,000 students respectively in America, but the numbers for China have seen a sharp drop in the past year.
Elsewhere, branch campuses of American institutions such as NYU in Abu Dhabi, Georgetown in Dubai and Northwestern in Doha are getting more admission applications, and universities in the Gulf region are expanding infrastructure to accommodate those who would otherwise have gone to the US.&nbsp;
Even educational institutions in Nepal are hopeful that the US visa restrictions can be an opportunity to at least keep Nepali undergrads in Nepal, and also attract foreign students from the region.&nbsp;
“Many students might choose to complete their undergraduate degree here in Nepal and then move abroad for their Master’s degree later,” says Aryal of King’s College. “There was a need for quality higher education in Nepal anyway in terms of innovation and opportunities, so this could be the time to reduce our dependence on other countries.”
Nepal’s strategic position between India and China makes it sensitive to US policy shifts. India, a key ally, is also under US scrutiny for potential student travel restrictions. Chinese universities are already offering more scholarships to Nepali talent to capitalise on the US retreat.
American universities have challenged student visa restrictions in the courts. A federal court in Boston revoked the blanket ban on Harvard, and the State Department has ordered the resumption of processing student and exchange visitor visas.&nbsp;
Some are still hoping that President Trump will backtrack on the student visa restrictions, just like he has done with many of his more drastic executive orders.
Even so, the visa see-saw and longer-term uncertainties about living in the United States and its education system means students across the world are making alternative plans.
Says Aryal: “Policies of foreign countries change according to their needs, so excessive dependence was never a good idea. We should work to create different opportunities and choices of higher education within Nepal, so students are retained.” &nbsp;

America no longer prime destination for Nepali students

That winter day in January 1664 marked an exceptional event in the reign of King Pratap Malla of Kathmandu. It was 15 Paush 784 of the Nepal Sambat and for the first time, a historical event was being immortalised on canvas for generations to come.&nbsp; The occasion was the grand Tuladaan ceremony of the King’s youngest son Chakrabartendra Malla from his wife Anantapriya, an Indian princess from Cooch Behar in present-day Assam.&nbsp; During the ritual, the prince was weighed against gold, silver, pearls, and other precious stones, which were then offered to Goddess Taleju Bhavani, the guardian deity of the Malla dynasty.&nbsp; The 170 x120cm painting captures the time of King Pratap Malla in all its splendour and is more than a personal tribute to his son: it is a significant visual historical document. It was evidently completed five years later in 1669, and could be considered a photographic record, with retrospective recreation of the event by the unknown artist. A Tuladaan ceremony is performed to purify one’s karma, quell impending bad luck, or as an act of charity and devotion. Chakrabartendra Malla was not well, and the ritual was performed in hopes of restoring his health. King Pratap Malla had arranged for each of his sons to take turns ruling Kathmandu so they got administrative experience. But Chakrabartendra died just two days after assuming power in 1670 (790 NS). This painting is considered the earliest known example in which the composition is dominated by an architectural landscape: the Taleju Temple. Given the stylistic features such as side-profile facial depictions and the rendering of human forms, it is believed that the Nepali artist was trained by a Rajput master.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250615040624_ddad3bc27a327e3f9926c8473287e4f14b53081296c295049009f327a4d97051.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250615040624_ddad3bc27a327e3f9926c8473287e4f14b53081296c295049009f327a4d97051" data-rendition-name="original" width="3248" height="4395" loading="lazy" alt="Tuladaan NT"> </figure>  During that era, there were regular exchanges of artists between Northern India and Kathmandu Valley. The painting is also a melding of Nepali, Tibetan, Mughal, and Rajput art styles of the time. Pratap Malla could have been inspired by a painting of Mughal Emperor Jahangir’s Tuladaan ceremony for his son Khurram in 1607. The Mallas and Mughals shared cordial relations, which is reflected in the cultural influences seen in the art and attire of the period.&nbsp; The clothing of the Malla ruling class, in particular, features colourful tunics, turbans, and jewelry that display strong Rajput and Mughal stylistic elements. The musicians in the upper tier are also dressed in Indian-style clothing, while the ensemble on the lower steps wear local attire, notably without turbans. Their hairstyles also differ, with the lower group wearing their hair tied in a bun at the front. This national treasure is currently in storage at the Collège de France in Paris, and has never been publicly displayed. Nepal’s art scholars like Gautam Vajracharya, Pratap Aditya Pal and Anne Vergati have written about this iconic paubha in the past, but the only detailed study is from the perspective of music history by researcher Richard Widdess who had access to high resolution copies of the original.&nbsp; Widdess from the Department of Music at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London describes the paubha as the most significant and richly detailed documentation of music in Nepali art. He identifies distinct musical ensembles on the terraces of the temple, and remarkably most of them are actively used today. One of them reflects the Mughal naqqārakhāna model — a loud outdoor ensemble typically composed of kettledrums, trumpets, and cymbals, traditionally performed from the gateway of the emperor’s palace to announce his entrances and exits. The depiction of such an ensemble in the tulādāna painting is likely the earliest known representation of a complete naqqārakhāna in Nepal — considered the forerunner of the panche baja, the traditional Nepali ensemble. On the stepped pyramid base of the temple are two groups of musicians playing local instruments: dhimey, bhushya, and dha. They are unmistakably Newar musicians, wearing short skirts and short-sleeved tops, with bare heads and legs—clearly distinguished as local performers.&nbsp; Higher still on the temple pyramid are musicians of apparently higher status, positioned close to the king, and his courtiers, possibly professional court musicians from India, well-versed in rāga and tāla. A dāphā group is also clearly depicted, identifiable by their characteristic instruments.&nbsp; Dāphā bhajan is likely the oldest surviving tradition of Newar devotional singing, and this paubha is the oldest visual record of it. Pratap Malla himself is believed to have composed songs that continue to be performed by dāphā groups throughout Kathmandu till today.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025061211064_d67636730cdc0ec778c02494817aca0b99654f2950d0fae4b95499a61faf7ef3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025061211064_d67636730cdc0ec778c02494817aca0b99654f2950d0fae4b95499a61faf7ef3" data-rendition-name="original" width="596" height="768" loading="lazy" alt="Priceless paubha in Paris NT"> </figure>  The artist’s thorough attention to musical detail may be attributed to King Pratap Malla’s own deep interest in music. His inscriptions on this painting and elsewhere proclaim his mastery of all branches of knowledge, including music. He is also known as the author of dance dramas and poems, penning his name as Kavindra (king of poets). Some noteworthy elements of new art techniques stand out: for example, the roof of the temple is filled with realistically rendered white doves, pigeons, and crows. This is a rare feature in paubha, where animals and birds are stylised, mythological forms. This remarkably talented unknown artist has managed to also render an orthographic projection: the front and side view of Nepal’s first architectural paubha. The Taleju Temple, with its staggering multi-tiered structure and numerous steps and platforms, is masterfully translated into layers within the painting. This represents a significant artistic achievement of the time, especially considering that dimensional perspectives had not started in deity-based paubha.&nbsp; The artist has also made a meticulous effort to capture architectural details such as the toran (ornamental arch) and temple struts with impressive precision. There are flickering lamps along the steps and some people carrying what appear to be oil pots.&nbsp; It is a full moon night and the dark sky is adorned with all the gods and goddesses, who are depicted as blessing the ceremony while seated on stylised thangka clouds. There is a lot happening in this painting, with people engaged in various activities. The artist has also rendered a forest backdrop behind the temple, complete with deer, trees, and flowers. Could there have once been a royal garden behind the Taleju Temple?&nbsp; More details and clarity can only be achieved if we are able to view the original or a high-resolution scanned version of the artwork. Many countries proudly display art depicting historical events in their national museums with great reverence. France, for example, has The Coronation of Emperor Napoleon and Empress Joséphine by Jacques-Louis David (1808–1822), along with numerous paintings of the Napoleonic Wars. Many were commissioned by Napoleon himself for future generations to remember.&nbsp; For Nepal, the equivalent is the Tuladaan paubha which is a visual record capturing a historic moment involving one of Kathmandu’s greatest kings, on the very day the event took place. Sadly, we await the day when this masterpiece is displayed, shared in high resolution for detailed study, or more rightfully — repatriated to its homeland, where it truly belongs. &nbsp; Shaguni Singh Sakya is the Director of the Museum of Nepali Arts (MoNA) at Kathmandu Guest House in Thamel. <h2>Gods homeward bound</h2> The Nepal Heritage Recovery Campaign and Nepal’s Department of Archaeology are convening the first international conference on the Recovery of Cultural Heritage from 16-18 June in Patan. The conference will address urgent issues of theft, illicit trafficking, the campaign to repatriate looted cultural artifacts, and explore how the return of sacred antiquities contributes to justice, healing, and reconciliation for communities and nations affected by cultural loss. American art crime professor Erin L Thompson and Saubhagya Pradhananga of the Department of Archaeology will deliver the keynote. Meanwhile, author and Nepali Times publisher Kunda Dixit will lead a conversation on Illicit Trafficking: Public Opinion and Role of Media with Erin Thompson, Amr Al Azm, associate professor of Middle East History and Anthropology at Shawnee State University in Ohio, as well as Bradley J Gordon, a lawyer based in Phnom Penh. There will be sessions looking at repatriation perspectives from Cambodia, India, Vietnam, China and Poland, international frameworks for repatriation, emerging digital technologies in the repatriation of cultural heritage, cultural property agreements, museums as well as trends in the art market, and heritage diplomacy and the role of media.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025061211068_59cfccfa8f5d73bfe8b4c5811a7f53abc09ea04e8cb7c638933d62e5283efdf6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2025061211068_59cfccfa8f5d73bfe8b4c5811a7f53abc09ea04e8cb7c638933d62e5283efdf6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1080" height="1350" loading="lazy" alt="Heritage recovery NT"> </figure>  <h2> </h2> Some of the other highlights include James K. Reap, a professor in the Master of Historic Preservation Program at the University of Georgia who has a session on the US response to illicit trafficking. Art historian Lea Saint-Raymond is taking on “Gods at Auction: The Market for Himalayan Artefacts”, while lecturer of criminology at the University of Glasgow Emiline Smith is delving into transformative approaches to heritage ownership and repatriation. Helena Arose of Antiquities Coalition and Melina Antoniadis of NOSTOS Strategies that specialise on the return home of cultural heritage as well as Hao Liu of International Cultural Heritage Law at the School of Law at Shandong University are some of the others attending. The Nepal Heritage Recovery Campaign was set up in 2020 to develop a coordinated movement to reclaim Nepal’s stolen gods and goddesses, with an aim to ensure that recovered items are returned to their original shrines, niches or sanctums. Ahead of the conference opening organisers have arranged for a film screening of Loot &amp; Return: 4 Documentaries at YalaMaya Kendra in Patan Dhoka between 14-15 June. Following the conference is a multimedia exhibition titled Absent Gods: Nepal’s Lost Heritage from 31 July to 4 August at Patan Museum.

Priceless paubha in Paris

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