National 6 (Spotlight Weekly)

A Hope For The Tourism

After the Golden Jubilee Celebration of Mt Everest last year, NMA is preparing to emulate its success on Mt. Cho Oyu this year

By THAKUR AMGAI

Come October 16 and more than three dozen delegates from various countries across the globe will gather in the capital to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the first successful ascent of Mt. Cho Oyu.

Mt. Cho Oyu, 8,201 meters high, lies in the Khumbu region. It is the sixth highest peak in the world and the fifth highest in Nepal.

According to the information provided by the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), which has been assigned the task of managing the ceremony, an Austrian Expedition team led by Herbert Tichy including another Austrian mountaineer Sepp Jochler and a Nepali guide Pasang Dawa Lama had successfully ascended the mountain on October 19, 1954.

It is estimated that some 200 expedition teams have scaled the peak of the summit since then, most of them from the Tibetan side. There is no clear record of the number of summiteers (of Mt. Cho Oyu) with the NMA. Although the first successful ascent was from the Nepali side, most of the mountaineers have chosen to do so in subsequent years from the Tibetan side as it is easier to climb from that part. "It is easier to climb the Mt. Cho Oyu from the Tibetan side. So, most of the mountaineers prefer to climb from the Tibetan side," said an entrepreneur.

There are fourteen peaks above 8000 meters in the world out of which eight are in Nepal. Annapurna was the first mountain above 8000 meters that was successfully scaled. It was first conquered on June 3, 1950 by French expedition team including Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal.

The Nepal government decided to celebrate the golden jubilees of all the summits above 8000 meters in Nepal after the celebration of Mount Everest helped to uplift Nepal's image as a tourist destination last year.

"We had a very good response from tourists worldwide during and after the jubilee celebration of Everest last year," recalls a tourism entrepreneur. "Many people in the world knew about Nepal and it left a positive impact in the otherwise ailing industry. Participated by most of the renowned mountaineers, the event had received warm media attention worldwide. We are hoping that Cho Oyu celebration will also help in the publicity of Nepal in a positive way. "

The Golden Jubilee celebration, which will take place from 17 to 19 October, will include various programs in the capital and other tourism destinations of Nepal. The event will be participated by the surviving summiteers, their kins, media persons, among others. Likewise, programs highlighting Nepali cultural and natural heritage will also be held.