NATIONAL 6 -(Spotlight Weekly)]

Records Come Tumbling Down

Nepalese mountaineers seek revenge on older record holding mountaineers

By AKSHAY SHARMA

Not content by owning the world's tallest mountain, Nepalese are bent on setting different records in its climb. Latest in the series of record-breaking spree, 34-year-old Sherpa from Solukhumbu district Babu Chhiri sped up the Everest in breath-taking 15 hours and 56 minutes in the early hours of Sunday morning (May 21).

Babu Chhiri ascended the 8848-m high Mount Everest in the record time starting from the base camp located at 5300 meters.

The world record holder for the longest stay in the Everest summit, Babu Chhiri now has added another feather in his crown. Last year Babu Chhiri had set a new record by staying for 21 hours atop the Sagarmatha.

That apart, Babu Chhiri now also equals another world record. He now stand beside such mountaineering legends as Ang Rita Sherpa and Appa Sherpa by managing the successful ascent of Everest for the tenth consecutive time.

Babu Chhiri Sherpa beat his own intentions of reaching the Summit in 16 hours by managing it in full four minutes less . The expedition was sponsored by " Gorkha Airlines ". By his latest feat, Babu Chhiri beat the record set by a fellow Sherpa last year. In October, 1998 Kaji Sherpa, 33, had conquered the summit in 20 hours 24 minutes.

Babu Chhiri has a knack in breaking records. In the spring of 1999 he climbed the Everest Summit from the Tibetan side and broke another record by climbing it twice in one season.

Babu Chhiri Sherpa is also planning to set another world record this season by reaching the summit 11 times without oxygen. The son of Lappa Sherpa and Pasi Sherpa of Takasindhu -7 ,Solukhumbu : Babu Chhiri Sherpa is the father of 6 girls. He plans to build a school in village from the prize money of breaking the records. He is to be greeted in style in both Lukla and Katmandu.

Meanwhile, 27-year-old Lhakpa Sherpa has become the second Nepalese woman to conquer Everest. The leader of an all women team called Nepalese Women Millennium Everest Expedition, Spring 2000, Sherpa reached the summit on May 18th. The expedition was sponsored by Sushma Koirala Memorial Trust. Before Lhakpa, Pasang Lhamu Sherpa had scaled the mountain top six years back. Unfortunately, Pasang died on her way down.

In a separate event Pemba Dolma Sherpa became the third Nepali woman to conquer Everest. She, however, became the first Nepalese woman, in May 19, to climb Everest from the Tibetan face of the Mountain. Pemba Sherpa was a part of the 12 member Swiss team who had acquired permit to climb Everest from its northern face.

Political boundaries have a lesser meaning than it does to the elder generation as compared to that of the new. But it's always the human's animal instinct that takes over. The desire of conquest , of wanting to be "sitting on top of the world".

NEPAL-INDIA RELATIONS
Warming Up

In the last five months, following the hijack of New Delhi-bound IC 814 from Kathmandu, the relations between Nepal and India was in a low ebb.

But after the visit of Foreign Minister Chakra Prasad Bastola to New Delhi and the subsequent Nepal visit by Indian foreign secretary Lalit Man Singh, the bilateral relation now seems have gotten over the brief hiatus.

Just two weeks after Bastola's visit, Indian foreign secretary Singh visited Nepal for secretary-level talks and discussed the different issues of bilateral interests with his Nepalese counterpart Narayan Shumshere Thapa.

Prior to his return, Singh expressed hopes that the brief period of misunderstanding between Nepal and India has ended after the secretary-level talks.

But whatever the officials say on the relationship between two countries, there are still many hitches on issues like Kalapani, border management, sharing of water resources and reviewing of 1950 treaty of peace and friendship.

Positive aspects of the recent time is that both countries are now in a mood to start the fresh negotiations to strengthen the friendly relations between them.

Indicating the improvement in relations, a number of Indian dignitaries are set to visit Nepal in coming weeks. Indian Principal Secretary Brajesh Mishra will be here on May 26.

The suspended flights of Indian Airlines is also set to resume from June 1, 2000 with Indian Civil Aviation Minister Sharad Yadav, himself, coming on the first flight.

Likewise, Indian Water Resource Secretary and Home Secretary will visit the country before the Indian Minister for External Affairs Jaswant Singh who is also in the list of visiting Indian dignitaries.

The exchange of visits will be capped by the impending visit by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala to India.