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| Kathmandu, Saturday March 29, 2003 Chaitra 15, 2059. |
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Security no problem for
trekking, says Rosie Swale Pope
Post Report
KATHMANDU, March 28 : She will take off for the
record-setting 85 days, 1,500 miles trek across the whole length of Nepal on March 31.
Rosie Swale Pope, 58, has embarked on many dangerous treks, but several high passes such
as Thorongla, Larke, Tashi Lapcha and Nara will pose a novel and formidable threat to her
determined feet.
"That is all I am concerned about right
now," says the extreme adventurer, dismissing suggestions of security problems that
might arise along the way. "I feel very safe and very happy. I’m doing it for a
great cause," says the daring grandmother of a 16 months old grandson.
Pawan Tuladhar, president of Dharma Adventures,
says that Nepal has always been safe for foreign trekkers. "In September 2002, when
insurgency was at its peak, Ken Berry did a solo trek along the
Jomsom-Pokhara-Mustang-Dhaulagiri-Jumla range. He had absolutely no problems,"
Tuladhar told The Kathmandu Post.
Tuladhar adds that security is no longer a
priority because peace is back in the country. "Prior to 1990, Nepal was regarded as
the safest tourist destination in this planet. The unfortunate incidents of the last seven
years reduced Nepal to not a quite safe place. But that was a special situation," he
says, adding in the case of Swale’s trip, the only concerns are other contingencies
such as health emergencies and shortage of supplies.
The funds generated through the trek is to use
for renovating the only hospital in Humla, that has a population of about 50,000 and
astoundingly no lab facilities and only one doctor.
Swale will be accompanied by three guides, a
medical staff, 10 porters and three supporting staff. That makes her well prepared for
other contingencies. And with that support, Swale hopes to understand Nepal’s rural
life. "The trek is not about making achievements. It is about gaining a deep
knowledge of this beautiful country," she says.
Swale will be warming her legs tomorrow by doing
‘The Golden Run’ that begins at 7:30 in the morning at the temple of Ajima in
Swoyambhu, then continues along the road past the Natural History Museum, past Bijeshwori,
Shobha Bhagawati, Chhetrapati, Bangemuda, Hanumanthan and Kasthamandap.
Renowned figures like Baikuntha Manandhar,
Gajaraj Joshi, Bhupendra Silwal, R.K. Verma, Shyam Raj Lawot, Pampha Kunwar, Shyam
Chitrakar, Madhu S. Rana, Sashi Subedi, Bhairab Shahi, Deep Shrestha, Sukmeet Gurung,
Dilip Rayamajhi, B.K. Malla, Kavita Bhattarai, Dr. Durga Pokhrel, Narayan Devi, Renchin
Yonjan, Ganesh Thapa and Robin Sharma will accompany her in the run.
Running is something that Swale took up as a
challenge. "I went to school when I was thirteen. I had very little time to improve
in sports," she says. "But then, I took to running as a challenge."
And that has proved quite valuable to many among
the needy as her steps have helped generate funds for various causes the world over. This
time, it is for the decrepit hospital in Humla, for which she hopes to find generous
sponsors. Anyone can be a part of Swale’s endeavour to walk an estimated total of
2,500,000 steps during the tour by contributing a rupee per hundred steps, that is Rs.
24,800 for the total trek.
Making a grand success of the trek will be one
grand proof of the return of peace in the country. "It is one world. There are no
boundaries. There is so much we can share through tourism. In Nepal, I feel like being in
heaven," she says. Opportunity granted, she would love to stay in Nepal for twenty
years.
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