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A Celebration of 40 Years of The Nepal Mountaineering Association
Extracts from an
article first published in Nepal Parbat in 2013
1973 – 2015
Complied by Ian Wall
Role of Honour
Presidents of the Nepal
Mountaineering Association
Kumar Khadga Bikram Shah 1973 - 1990
Tek Chandra Pokhrel 1990 - 1992
Dawa Norbu Sherpa 1993 - 1997
Acting President Sonam Galbu Sherpa
1997 - 1999
Tashi Jangbu Sherpa 1999 - 2002
Ang Tshering Sherpa 2002 - 2005
Ang Tshering Sherpa 2005 - 2008
Government Task Force Intervention
2008 - 2009
Ang Tshering Sherpa was again
president for 6 months while a new Board Election was held
Zimba Zangbu Sherpa 2010 - 2013
Ang Tshering Sherpa 2013 – to date
The
Beginning
During the 1960s
expeditions travelling to Nepal had little choice when it came to enlisting the
help of established in-country agents. Only the 'Himalayan Society' was in a
position to offer advice and help, however, this was to be abolished before
1970. The focus then moved to a new association that would represent Nepali
climbers working on expeditions, many of whom were dying from the results of
altitude sickness and other mountain related illnesses but this
drew little interest and was disbanded without actually coming into
existence.
In 1969
Aleš Kunaver, leader of the Yugoslav Annapurna Expedition, concluded that as 'the classical period of Himalayan climbing
had ended and that the new wave of expeditions were focusing on the giant
Himalayan faces and many of the Sherpa people that had been underpinning
international expeditions would get left behind in the new technical era of big
face climbing without the development of new skills’. Aleš identified a
need for establishing a mountaineering school that could provide training.
The 1973
Italian Everest Expedition first established contact with the Himalayan Society
in the late 1960s but it soon became very obvious that there was a language
problem. Shambhu Tamang went to Italy to
learn the language and during his stay in the Aosta Valley (1969 and 1972) Tamang
developed an interest in mountaineering and made many ascents in the Alps with
his new friends and Chamonix guides. Tamang
later joined the Italian expedition as a climber, he also supported the idea of
an association that would foster the skill development and welfare of Nepali
climbers. Summiting Everest at the age of 16 years Shambhu Tamang became the
youngest Everest Summiteer, at that time, and in doing so unwittingly started
the trend of 'record setting'.
During the
Panchayat era it was impossible to establish any organisation without getting
royal approval. At the suggestion of Yalav Kant Silwal, who worked at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs,Tamang and Nityaman Singh went to visit Kuma Khadga
Bikram Shah who was, at that time, in Tarkeyghang, Helambu escorting Diplomats,
although not a mountaineer he was regarded as a good all round sportsman. By
1973 other people had shown an interest in developing an association for Nepali
mountaineers and subsequently a general meeting was called. The meeting was
supported by Government ministers along with senior members of the army and
police, these services were represented because in those days expedition
Liaison Officers were appointed from their ranks.
T.C. Pokhrel
had been chairman of the Nepal Association of Travel Agents (NATA) and had been
instrumental in establishing the Himalayan Rescue Association in 1973, thus he
was a contender for a position in any new organisation that was likely to be
formed. Eventually an ad-hoc committee was established chaired by Kuma Kandga Bikram
Shah with T.C. Pohkrel as Secretary, Nityaman Singh as Treasurer and Kazi Lama
and Shambhu Tamang as general members.
T.C. Pokhrel,
Tshering Tenzing Lama and Dr Harka Gurung are credited as being the main
influential characters behind defining the NMA's overall mission and in setting
the goals. This road map was then handed over to successive Presidents and
management teams all of whom have stamped their authority of approval on NMA
development and this has ultimately led to the realisation of those earlier
dreams coming to fruition.
Kuma Khadga Bikram Shah 1973 – 1990
The NMA came
into being on the 1st November 1973 with Kuma Khadga Bikrum Shah as the first
President, Tshering Tenzing Lama as First Vice President and T.C. Pokhrel as Second
Vice President. It is believed the
President played more of a 'figure head' role while much of the administration
and running of the NMA was left to the Board members. By 1977
Pokhrel was the secretary of NMA and president of HRA, TAAN was also established at that time
with all organisations being administered from the Trans Himalayan Tours,
Durbar Marg offices.
In 1978 Dr
Harka Gurung, Chairman at the Minister of Tourism, and the Government passed
over 18 peaks, under 7000 meters, to the NMA so that they could administer the
peak permits as a way of generating funds for the newly formed organization, these
later become known as the Trekking Peaks of Nepal, and are now identified as those
peaks on the 'B' list of trekking peaks, the peak permit was 250 US $ but, the
Garbage Deposit was not levied in those days.
After the
NMA became a member of the UIAA in 1979, the first mountaineering training
course was delivered in partnership with Aleš Kunaver and the Slovenian Alpine
Association at Mountaineering Training School at Manang. The present School
premises were completed in 1982 when the NMA entrusted the Ecole Nationale de
Ski et d' Alpinisme (ENSA) with the organisation of a second level of 'advanced
training courses' while three Nepali trainees were sent to Chamonix, France for
Diploma level mountaineering training; Padam Singh Galley, subsequently became
Nepal's first fully recognised Mountain Guide while Tashi Jangbu Sherpa and
Zimba Zangbu Sherpa went on to become future NMA presidents.
Manang was
initially chosen as it was a less developed area where the people knew little about
mountaineering, unlike in the Sherpa regions, but there are several mountains
in the area that were identified as suitable for training purposes and finally
the region is in the rain shadow thus providing reasonable weather during the
wet and traditionally ‘off’ season. After 1990, and due to both trainer and
trainee pressure, the venue changed to Langtang as it was easier to reach from
Kathmandu. The Mountaineering School at Manang has been pivotal in the NMA's
development of new courses and the raising of standards in line with
international training and qualifications. This has been complimented by the
fact that since 1992 two or three competent trainees have been invited to
Chamonix each summer for additional and complimentary training. In 1979
Shambhu Tamang, along with Sonam Gyalzen, became the first Nepali climbing
instructors to be involved in the training of young Nepali guides. Tamang and
Singh were part of the Karelung expedition which failed on that objective, but,
then made a successful ascent of Kwangde. Sadly Nityaman Singh died of AMS in
Lukla during his return to Kathmandu.
In 1981 the
NMA Board together with a 35 member NMA Council are credited with bringing the
Union of International Alpine Associations (UIAA) to Nepal where they held
their first convention outside of Europe. It is now acknowledged that this
event was to prove to be a major milestone in raising not only internal
interest in the mountains, but also an awareness of how the economic value of
the mountains of Nepal was increasing. As a result of this convention 'The
Kathmandu Declaration on Mountain Activities' was created; a code that is
accepted by mountaineers all over the world and is still recognised as a significant
event in the development of mountain related activities. In essence this
Declaration is aimed at promoting mutual international support, understanding, sharing
of knowledge and an ethical approach to the mountain environment, its people,
culture and religions across the world.
Dr Harka
Gurung is recognised as being the first and only native Nepali chronicling the
mountains and mountaineering in Nepal at that time. He is famously quoted as
saying "In Nepal, those who climb do not write and those who write do not
climb". At this time the NMA conceived the idea of establishing an
International Mountain Museum and anticipated that this would be built on land
provided by the government at Kakani. However, on the 4th August 1985 one
hundred ropanies of land was purchased in Pokhara by the NMA for 1,000,000 NRs.
this purchase was funded by the government.
In 1988 the
Tri Nations Everest Expedition took place with joint teams from China, Japan
and Nepal simultaneously reaching the top on the 5th May before traversing the
summit and descending down to the north and south cols respectively, subsequently
Norburu Yamada (Japanese), Lhakpa Nuru Sherpa (Nepalese) and Cerni Doji
(Chinese) had their summit ascent televised by Nippon TV which then transmitted
live coverage around the world. Shumbhu Tamang was deputy climbing leader.
Tek Chandra Pokhrel 1990 - 1992
It was from the
Trans Himalayan - NMA Office that Basanta Thapa was responsible for the issuing
of the NMA “BLUE BOOK” to a) Sirdar b) climbing Sherpa c) cook and d) mail
runner; this ‘licence’ is still being used today.
In 1990 the
NMA invited new members to broaden its appeal, many of these came from unlikely
quarters and it was believed this move was politically motivated.
Once the first
cluster of 'trekking peaks’ had been securely established as an income
generating initiative it was suggested that the NMA should look for a permanent
office so as to develop a central meeting point where mountain scholars could
meet with mountain climbers; to institutionalize the NMA. The administrative
work load was increasing and it was suggested that the NMA should consider a
full time Office Secretary, Nabin Man Singh was selected,s the
younger brother of Narsing Man Sing, the then Treasurer.
From the
Trans Himalayan Tours, the NMA’s office moved to Putali Sadak (Ramshah Path)
and then to Hattisar before the present premises
were located and subsequently purchased under the watchful eye of Santa Subba
who was Coordinator of the committee formed to oversee the purchase which was
concluded on 13 January 1992.
T.C. Pokhrel
resigned from the position of President before his term of office officially
finished as a result of internal tussles within the Board. Other office bearers
also tendered their resignations; this subsequently resulted in government
intervention. The Ministry of Tourism formed an ad-hoc committee and it
functioned during the interim period between Pokhrel’s resignation and Dawa
Sherpa’ election as president for a period of about one year.
Dawa Norbu Sherpa 1993 - 1997
At the time concern
was being raised over the amount of discarded equipment and other expedition
waste that was not only being tipped into glaciers, but that was also being discarded
at high altitude as well as at base camp sites. The NMA instigated a Mountain
Environment Cleaning Campaign. Many climbers participated in those early
projects, particularly those initiatives held to clean the higher camps on Everest.
This initiative is in fact still being carried out to this day by various
commercial as well as NGO organisations. The government originally helped the
NMA with the purchase of the land in Pokhara, but, with little sign of
development the Pokhara CDO contacted the NMA saying that the land, initially
intended as the site for a Tibetan Refugee development, would be reclaimed by
the Development Committee and used for the construction of a prison unless the
NMA was quick to develop it. After lengthy discussions the Executive Board
decided to modify the Museum plans intended for Kakani and to develop the
Pokhara site for the purpose. This was done not only to safeguard the site, but
also to safeguard NMA finances from possible political use as at that time
various political parties were looking for land on which to settle their
supporters.
The first
phase of the project started with the laying of the foundation stone by the
Honourable Minister for Tourism Mr Chakra Prasad Bastola on the 1st November 1995.
The proposed new building was designed to be dual purpose, that of a museum and
also of a exposition venue. This construction would be the biggest covered
multipurpose building in Nepal and would provide the opportunity to host
international events with vehicular access to the ground level and disabled and
light electric vehicle access to the upper level.
In the
spring of 1995, the NMA secured an additional 15 new trekking peaks from which
additional income could be generated thus bringing the total number of trekking
peaks in Nepal and under the jurisdiction of the NMA, to 33 and all requiring a
Peak Permit.
Tashi Jangbu Sherpa 1999 - 2002
The
International Mountain Museum project was kicked started but in America the
disaster of the Twin Towers had shaken the world and, closer to home, the
Insurgency and the Royal Massacre, had a devastating effect on domestic life,
both societies were reeling with shock and uncertainty. Many members felt that
the NMA was in danger of collapsing, the late President has passed away and
projects that had just started were in danger of remaining unfinished.
At this
time many UIGM member countries were opposed to Nepal being included as it was
not a skiing nation and did not have developed ski resorts or related
activities, an element of the scheme that was of upper most importance to the
international alpine membership at that time. However, Tashi Sherpa developed
the Nepali French relationship through the French Ambassador in Kathmandu and
with the French Government through his ENSA connections. The French were then agreeable
to supporting Nepal in joining the UIGM and worked hard to persuade other UIGM
member countries to look favourably on Nepal's application.
In
preparation for the high profile Museum opening a Souvenir Shop had been built
into the upper level. Once the majority of displays were ready a soft opening
was held on the 29th May 2002 at which the Honourable Minister for Culture,
Tourism and Civil Aviation, Mr Bal Bahadur KC, Ms Junko Tabei and Appa Sherpa
were present, Sudarsn Karki filmed the event.
The
celebrations associated with the first ascent of seven of Nepal's 8000 meter
peaks, Annapurna's anniversary had recently passed, were being discussed. This
would be a critical period in which everyone would be looking to Nepal, a
golden opportunity to make a lasting impression. It could also, if it failed,
do a considerable amount of damage to Nepal in the eyes of the rest of the
world, the pressure was mounting and the opportunities to get it all wrong were
great. The celebrations were to be funded from the NMA's Peak Permit account
and The Everest Marathon was born.
Ang Tshering Sherpa 2002-2008 and then for six months, post Task Force management 2010
Ang Tshering
Sherpa had also been an Executive Member and a 1st Vice President of the NMA. The
Right Honourable Prime Minister Mr Surya Bahadur Thapa officially opened the
International Mountain Museum on the 5th of February 2004. The total project
had cost over 100 million NRs which not only included the purchase of the land
and construction of the building but also the landscaping, assess road,
compound walls and the construction of the living museum. Today the Museum
completely covers its own operational costs.
A joint
Nepal-China expedition was organised to climb an unclimbed, peak of 5690m
situated on the border of the two countries to commemorate 50 years of their
diplomatic relationship the peak was officially named Nepal China Friendship
Peak to honour the occasion. On the
26th October 2006 five members from Nepal and two members from Japan
successfully summated Nangpai Gosum 7321m as part of the Japan - Nepal Joint
Expedition to celebrate 50 years of their diplomatic relations.
In 2002
the Nepal Mountain Instructors Association (NMIA) was formed, however, in 2005
the Nepal National Mountain Guides Association, in short the NNMGA was created
from the Nepal Mountain Instructors Association (NNMIA). It was this
organisation that was chosen by the UIAGM to become the future association of
guides that would be integrated into its ranks. After Japan, Nepal was the
second country in Asia to be accepted as a candidate member for the
International Federation of Mountain Guides Association (IFMGA).
Government Task Force Intervention 2008 - 2009
This was the
second intervention by the government, the first being at the time of Tek
Pokhrel’s resignation. By 2008 Nepal had experienced two years of post
political insurgency which had resulted in many different political factions
all sparing for recognition and power. This new 'flexing of political muscle'
split the NMA and in 2008 the general membership caused the NMA to be locked
down, the Executive Elections were disrupted; finally the Executive Board was
forced to resign. The government formed a Task Force, initially under the leadership
of Ang Tshering Sherpa but again this was beset by political problems. At this
point the government stepped in and formed a new Task Force under the
leadership of a government officer to run the NMA for approximately another 12
months. Ang Tshering Sherpa was reinstated and given the challenge of
organising and running the 2010 Executive Board elections and the Golden
Jubilee celebrations.
Golden Jubilee Celebrations 2010
In 2010 with all
the 8000m peaks climbed their golden jubilees were to be celebrated in great
style in Nepal, with the exception of Annapurna whose golden jubilee took place
prior to that period. The organisation of these celebrations were very complex
with dignitaries flying in from all around the world at a time when the
political situation in Nepal was far from stable. This event is today regarded
as one of the NMA's most significant achievements and a magnificent 'swan song'
on which Ang Tshering would end his term as NMA President (or so it was
thought). Ang Tshering also sits on the UIAA Mountain Protection Committee.
Zimba Zangbu Sherpa 2010 - 2013
Zimba Zangbu
Sherpa started his mountaineering career as a porter for Trans Himalayan Tours
and he was one of the first three Nepali mountaineers to be trained on the ENSA
course. In 2010 a Nepalese Bangladeshi Friendship Expedition made the first
successful ascent of Chekrigo 6257m when seven of the team consisted of
Nepali climbers with four of those being Nepali women.
In Tourism
Year 2011 he chaired the committee responsible for bringing the second UIAA
General Assembly to Nepal at the request of the NMA, 30 years after the first
convention took place. In very recent times the Petzl Foundation and the UIAA
have accepted the standards of guide training given by Nepalese instructors and
now all guide training in Nepal is provided by Nepalese trainers.
Ang Tshering Sherpa 2013 - date
Ang Tshering Sherpa was again elected to the post of President of the NMA in October 2013. During his first year he had to oversee the repercussions of the tragic Everest Avalanche during the 2014 spring season and then the Annapurna trekking incident in the autumn season of 2015.
Welfare
The welfare of
Nepali citizens involved in mountaineering was a cornerstone of the association
when it was formed in 1973. However, it was not until 1995 that the Welfare
Fund received official recognition when 15 Lakhs were donated into the fund by
the NMA, this has been added to annually and now stands at 50 Lakhs. In 2003
Shumbhu Tamang was provided with a bonus of 75,000 NRs for his contribution to
the Italian Everest Expedition and the fact that at that time he was the
youngest Everest summiteer, he returned this donation to the NMA to help
establish a second Welfare Fund. Initially
this scholarship was to allow children to progress to Class 10, however, this
has now been raised to cover education up to Class 12. In 2013 the first child
to receive this scholarship will graduate. So far 20 children have benefited
from this welfare fund.
Publications
In 1987 the
'Nepal Himal' first appeared under the editorial eye of Basanta Thapa. This was
superseded in 1992 by the 'Nepal Mountaineering Association News Bulletin'. The
News Bulletin was later named 'Nepal Parbat' the first
edition appeared in 2001. On
the 12th February 2006 the NMA E-newsletter was launched initiated by Mr Deebas
Birkram Shah, the first e-news appeared in March 2006.
Twenty-three Expedition Peaks and thirty-three Trekking Peaks
On the occasion
of the diamond jubilee of the ascent of Mt Everest on May 29, the Government of
Nepal opened 23 new peaks for expeditions. The 33 Trekking Peaks produce an annual
income of more than 5 crore NRs in the form of 500 S $
from the 'A' listed peaks and 350 US $ from the 'B' listed peaks for the NMA.
Membership
From humble
beginnings when the NMA could only boast 30 - 40 members by March 2013 this had
risen to 10 Institutional Members,
14 Honorary Members, 02 Life members, 910 Associate members, 828 General
Members, 1285 Sardar, 3743 Senior Support Climber, and 5667 Support Climbers.
It must be
remembered that an organisation such as the NMA cannot be run by Presidents
alone, there are a large number of other personnel involved some on a voluntary
basis and some as paid members of the administration team.
And so to the Future?
Many of the
people that have helped and contributed to this article have all expressed
concern over common themes within the NMA. With the
elections for a new NMA board not that far away is there likely to be any
changes in this situation? If there is, will it be for the better or for the
worse?
The
government has plans to extend the opening of 23 new peaks in Nepal for
mountaineering with the aim of creating new destinations. However, in view of
the remoteness of others areas apart from those tried and tested regions of
Everest, Langtang, Manaslu and Annapurna access will surely be a significant
hurdle for possible expeditions to overcome. New destinations will not get
developed unless there is a proven need, and to prove the need then there needs
to be good access. People, in general, who have the money don't have the time and
those with the flexibility of time don't always have the money.
The
mountains unite people from different walks of life, with different political
persuasions and different religions.
Friendships are made on the mountains and people give their lives to
help others, and in the case of many Nepali citizens, to help foreigners
achieve their goals for their own personal gratification.
Would it
now not be a prudent move to leave all differences, political or otherwise at
the door of the NMA so that all those who enjoy the sanctity of the majestic
Nepal Himalaya can exist in harmony for the love of the mountains and for the
camaraderie that they offer every man and woman whose lives are inextricably
linked through them and the NMA?
Acknowledgement
A great
deal of my research and ultimate guidance on the planning of this article was
based on earlier editions of Nepal Parbat, however the real support and
background history has been provided from several different sources and I
should like to acknowledge and thank all those people who have helped in the
compilation and the editing of this article, namely, Basanta Thapa, Tashi Jangbu Sherpa, Girdhari
Sharma, Ang Shumbu Tamang, T.C. Pohkrel, Tsering Sherpa, Zimba Zangbu Sherpa,
Deebas Birkram Shah, Jinesh Sindurakar and the present and past Board members,NMA office
staff in Kathmandu, Mr Bal Prasad Rai and his team in the International
Mountain Museum, Pokhara.
I conclude
by congratulating the NMA on reaching its 40th Anniversary and wishing it a
long, peaceful and productive future serving those Nepalese climbers and
mountaineers involved in working in one of the most beautiful mountain environments
in the world.
.
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