National 6 (Spotlight Weekly)

Celebration of Cause

Amid the festivities, many records have been set on the world's tallest mountain

By KESHAB POUDEL

From the youngest climber to three members of same family reaching the summit and scaling the peak in 10 hours, some very remarkable new records have been set on during the golden jubilee celebrations of the first human ascent of Mt. Everest.

With the improvement in the weather, there is rush on the peak, as mountaineers from the Nepalese and Tibetan sides continued to scale highest peak of the world.

From street after street and towns to town, mountaineers from throughout the world are receiving a warm welcome in Kathmandu valley. The Everest base camp is celebrating with new records of mountaineers and the valley is witnessing various programs, including public felicitations.

Mountaineering : Season of new records

When Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa reached the top of mountain 50 years ago, nobody could have imagined that climbing Mt. Everest would be sports for fun of the local communities.

Sherpa mountaineers are setting record after record in climbing the mountains. Regardless of the difficulties and challenges posed by the peak, Nepalese sherpas seem to have developed the strength and techniques to reach te top of the world. This golden jubilee has set many records in the history of climbing. More than 50 people have already reached in the top of the world, including members of a joint team of the Nepalese and Indian armies.

Living in and around the Himalayas, the Sherpa community have shown that they possess the skill and strength to climb Mt. Everest several times over. British climbers recognized the prowess of the Sherpas about a century ago when they began their quest to conquer Everest. Over the decades, the community has demonstrated their almost supernatural physical strength by setting all kinds of record on the mountain.

Every mountaineer aspires to go to the top of world. For the Sherpas, they want to set new records. Within a span of days, two records of climbing the Mt.Everest the fastest were broken by Sherpas.

At a time when climbers and other enthusiast were celebrating the golden jubilee by organizing various programs, the country's political leaders did not seem to bother about the developments. Despite the political agitation launched by the country's major political parties, the celebrations drew widespread attention. The world's renowned mountaineers, including Edmund Hillary, Reinhold Messner and Junko Tabei, were in the capital for the festivities.

"If political leaders had some affection for the country and people, they would have postponed their agitation for at least a week and paved the way for Mt. Everest Golden Jubilee celebration," said a mountaineer. "Nepalese political leaders are proving to the world that they don't have no sense of national pride."