National 5 (Spotlight Weekly)

Heights Of Friendship

A joint army team of Nepal and India is attempting to reach the roof of the world

By SANJAYA DHAKAL

At a time when the Indian military has extended assistance to its Nepalese counterpart in the latter's campaign to counter insurgency by providing hardware, the two armies have decided to join hands for a more symbolic cause.

Coinciding with the golden jubilee celebrations of the first successful ascent of Mount Everest, a joint team of Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) and Indian Army will make an attempt to scale the 8,848-meter Mt. Everest as well as the 8,516-meter Mt. Lhotse. The joint army team will make their attempt in April.

Thakuri (left) and Abbey : Friendship expendition

The 34-member joint army team will be led by Surya Sen Thakuri, Lieutenant-Colonel of the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) and Ashok Abbey, Colonel of the Indian Army.

"The joint expedition will further strengthen the existing mutual friendship and ties between the two army," said Sarad Neupane, Brigadier-General of the RNA.

According to reports, this is the second time the two armies have attempted a joint expedition to scale a Nepalese mountain. Earlier in 1960, they had scaled the Mount Annapurna. However, there is a long history of sharing the experience in mountaineering training in each other's country.

The adventure channel National Geographic is supporting the joint expedition. Termed "Everest Se Takkar", the expedition will be shown live on the channel, it is reported.

The joint team will first fly to Lukla in the end of March and travel to the base camp from where they will divert to Everest and Lhotse. The expedition team includes four experienced Everesters - one in the RNA and three in the Indian Army.

General Pyara Jung Thapa, chief of Army Staff, RNA, handed over flags to the team leaders at a program in the capital last week.

The army team is bracing to conquer the mountain at a time when dozens of other teams would also be doing the same. Because of the golden jubilee celebrations of successful Everest ascent by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa in May 29, 1953, officials say there are quite a few teams seeking permission to scale it this year.

The government has also organized several programs to mark the celebration. It has invited all former Everesters for a gala event and in order to promote mountain tourism in Nepal.

The joint expedition by the RNA and the Indian Army will also add new chapter to the cooperation between the two. "This kind of joint expedition may seem to be an ordinary event but it goes a long way in instilling friendship and confidence among the two army. As India is our largest and closest neighbor, any move to strengthen the relations between the two army augurs well for the stability and peace in the region," said a senior army official.

Besides, the two army have unique tradition of recognizing each other's chief as the honorary generals of each other. Likewise, tens of thousands of Nepalese work as Gurkha soldiers in Indian regiments.

Moreover, as the event has been promoted by reputed international channel, it is expected to generate media hype about the mountaineering. Nepal is home to eight of the fourteen mountain that are above 8000 meters in height in the world. Mountains like Everest, Lhotse, Annapurna, Dhaulagiri and so on has been favorite among mountaineers all over the world.