2014 Off the Wall Newsletter 4

 

Well, a big milestone for us, the Newsletter is a year old! The image used in this edition’ banner headline will be familiar to many of you, Langtang Ri and Langtang Lirung above a cloud filled Langtang Valley taken on the descent to Thurlo Shabru from Sing Gompa.

Everest - A Consideration for the Future

As a result of the altercations that took place on Everest during the spring season of 2013 and in an effort to manage some of the less desirable ‘record breakers’ and to monitor legitimate ascents of Everest the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has deployed security officials in a Tourism Office at Everest Base Camp operating from April 2014. The staff are checking on permits, liaison officers and expect briefings from expedition leaders if expedition members have the intention of setting some sort of record, they will also be able to help climbers in distress, clean the mountain and enforce climbing rules.

Also from April 2014 the Government authorities have instigated an intensive orientation program at EBC that those expedition personal wishing to summit Everest, both foreigners and Nepalese, will have to attend. It was also announced in the Himalayan Times on Sunday 2nd March 2014 that the Everest Peak Permit fees will be reduced from 25,000 US $ to 11,000 US $ per climber in January 2015, for Nepali climbers the Permit Fee will remain unchanged at 60,000 US $. Hard luck guys if you paid 25000 US $ for this season!

In 2013 it was recorded that Everest had 539 ascents from the Nepal side whilst from Tibet side it received 119 ascents, a total of 658 ascents spread over a weather window of 14 days but with the majority of ascents being made over 5 days and within a 6 hour time window per day. Simple maths would suggest that over 110 people were on the summit more or less at the same time, or at least within striking distance of the summit. Surely by reducing the peak permit this will increase the congestion at those familiar bottle-necks and will only reduce the true exhilarating mountaineering experience by those making the summit?

In a bid to increase Nepal's revenue the Cabinet is seeking permission to open an additional 104 peaks for climbing. Nepal's mountaineering revenue covers more than 4% of the GDP, (nearly 3 million US $ per year from Everest alone), the addition of the new peaks will increase the number of peaks open to mountaineering activities to 414 summits.

However, on the 5^th April it was announced that 56 expedition permits had been issued for this spring seasons, including 24 permits for Everest. Last year 112 permits in total were issued. A 50% reduction indicates, based on the previously mentioned figures above, a reduction of 50% of the mountaineering contribution to the GDP pot. Whether this reduction in expeditions is the result of an increase in insurance premiums, the Nepalese domestic flight safety record or some of the other causes that are raising concern for visiting Nepal is unknown, but surely addressing these issues will do more to increase visitor numbers than opening up additional peaks or reducing Everest fees.

This edition’s ‘Column of Interest’

This image puts fear into many an enemy; a Gurkha soldier charging towards them with an automatic weapon in one hand and a Khurkuri in the other.

In WW1 200,000 Gurkhas served in 33 battalions in the British army, they had 20,000 causalities, 2,000 won gallantry awards and 13 VC’s were awarded to native Nepalese Gurkhas.

In WW2 250,000 Gurkhas served in 42 Infantry battalions, 7,544 were killed, 1,441 were either posted dead or missing, 23,655 were wounded and 2,734 were awarded bravery medals.

Gurkhas have seen action in Burma, Borneo, Malaysia, North Africa, Afghanistan, Baluchistan, Mediterranean and Pacific countries, Palestine, Jerusalem, Hong Kong, Singapore, Persia, Iraq, India, Tunis and the Falklands. Many now form part of the UN peace keeping force around the world and they always carry their Khurkuri into service with them.

The Khurkuri functions as both an axe and a knife, designed for both chopping and stabbing in war situations. The blade width varies between 3 – 10cms and is, in section wedge shaped. With the balance across the fulcrum the khurkuri rests in a vertical position. The notch just in front of the handle is not for opening bottles as many people think, it is the ‘aum’, a religious Hindu symbol that is associated with Lord Shiva, the God of Destruction. The practical use for this is to cause the blood to drip off the knife before it reaches the handle which would make it slippery!

The scabbard also houses two smaller knives that have a different use, the sharper of the two, the ‘karda’ is a general purpose small knife, the blunt one, the ‘chakmak’ is used to start fires, a flint stone.

The scabbard or ‘dap’ is made from a two part wooden frame covered in buffalo hide. The older models

resembled a Nepali ‘Swiss’ army knife when a small leather pouch, the ‘khalti’ was used for carrying other small survival tools tweezers, other small knives, clippers and scissors.

Today, in Gurung, Magar, Rai, Limbu and Tamang households, a khurkuri will be found as a general purpose knife.

When pulling a khurhuri from its scabbard never grip the scabbard with the fingers totally enclosing the sheath, a sharp khurhuri has been known to slip between the two wooden halves of the scabbard slicing off fingers.

Declining water levels and raising concerns in the Kathmandu Valley

Kathmandu is increasingly facing huge problems with its fresh water supplies dwindling as a result of not only the drop in the valley’s water table but also from the rapid development of roads and housing which disrupts ancient man-made and natural water courses. Water tankers are on the increase but in many districts it is impossible for them to squeeze between the tightly packed houses.  

The famous book, ‘Tigers for Breakfast’ written by Michel Peissel, gives the reader an excellent insight into the life and times of Boris Lasnetvich, the infamous and legendary Russian ballet dancer who is credited with introducing Kathmandu and Nepal to the greater traveling public of the early 1960s. Boris was a great entrepreneur and the once owner of the legendary “Royal Hotel”, he was also an entertainer for the royalties and hosted many state functions including King Mahendra’s Coronation and Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Nepal in 1961. 

Many of the reported conversations featured in the book took place in the ornate 1905 Restaurant, situated next to the old ‘Royal Hotel’ and with its roots going back to the Rana times. Nearly all Rana Palaces at that time had water features, the water levels of which were naturally maintained by either the flow of water from the surrounding hills or from the seeping water table.

 

In a bid to maintain water supplies to these congested districts of the valley a task force was established in September 2010, to research and collect data on the present state and number of water spouts still in existence in the Kathmandu Valley. It is believed that many spouts have either been ‘captured’, have been destroyed or had their supply destroyed by local development. The stone water spouts are fast disappearing from Kathmandu Valley. 

 

There were initially 389 recorded stone spouts in the Kathmandu Valley. From those it is known that 45 spouts have already disappeared with further water spouts being under threat. On the other hand there is evidence that 43 others have been renovated and connected back into fresh water supplies, however, among all the stone spouts, only 186 are functioning as natural water sources heightening concern for those ‘disconnected’ areas

These water spouts not only provided drinking water but are used as communal washing and bathing facilities.

Nepali Women on top

Despite Nepal being home to Everest and eight of the highest mountains in the world, Nepali women have a very low participation rate in mountaineering in Nepal. Everest has had 3,842 ascents as recorded in the Ministry of Tourism, but, out of those only 21 were made by Nepalese woman. But that is changing!

 The first Nepalese woman to reach the summit of Everest on the 22^nd April 1993 was Pasang Lhamu Sherpa. Pasang Lhamu was born into a mountaineering family and had already summated Cho Oyu as several other mountains in Nepal. Bad weather closed in around the summit and sadly Pasang Lhamu died on the South Summit during her descent.

For achieving what no other Nepalese woman had achieved before her, Pasang Lhamu was posthumously honored by Nepal. She was the very first woman to be decorated with the "Nepal Tara (Star)" by His Majesty the King and the National Youth Foundation conferred the 1993-94 ‘Youth Excellence Award’ on her. Similarly, in order to commemorate her feat, a life-size statue of her was erected at Bouddha, a postage stamp was issued in her name and Jasamba Himal (7,315 m) in the Mahalangur Range was renamed Pasang Lhamu Peak; the Ministry of Agriculture named a special strain of wheat as Pasang Lhamu wheat; the Pasang Lhamu Memorial Hall was established in Jhapa district in east Nepal and the Kathmandu – Trishuli - Dunche road was named the Pasang Lhamu Highway.

On the 10^th May 1993 Dicky Dolma, a member of the Indo-Nepali Everest Expedition became the youngest woman to summit Everest aged 19 years. Initially Dicky Dolma was not interested in climbing but living in Palchan near the resort of Manali she developed her skiing skills and was in fact the national women’s ski champion for over a decade.

Today Dicky Dolma is an instructor of skiing and mountaineering at the Manali Institute. Dolma's career as a sportswoman has enabled her to travel far from her mountain home. As a champion skier, she went to New Zealand for an event in 1997 and to the Asian Winter Games in Korea in 1999. In India, she first won the Women's Slalom gold in the 1989 All-India Open Auli Ski Festival and has reigned supreme in the Giant Slalom, in the National Winter Games of 1991, 1996, 1998 and 2002. She was also the coach of the Indian team at the Junior Asian Games in Japan in 1995. 

In 2000 Pemba Doma Sherpa became the first Nepali woman to climb Everest from the North side and then in 2002 she summated from the Nepal, South side. 

Growing up in Namche Bazaar, Pemba was familiar with the international expeditions that would regularly pass through the village and she would often engage in conversation with the expedition members. She would get irritated when people would ask her what is was like being a Sherpa and always having to carry the loads for foreign expeditions; it was then that she decided to make a statement on behalf of both Nepali women and in particular Sherpanis. When I first moved to Nepal I stayed with Pemba, her husband Raj and daughter Lhami. Tragically Pemba Doma died on Lhotse in 2007. 

In 2000 Pemba and Raj established the ‘Save the Himalayan Kingdom’ charity with the main objective of helping the children of Nepal who come from very poor families, no matter what caste, to go to school. Pemba was awarded the Prasiddha Prabal Gorkha Dakshin Bahu medal by the late King Birendra for her contribution to climbing, her body was taken to Tengbouche Monastery where it was blessed by the high lama, a ritual reserved for only the most revered dignitaries.   

In 2008 a team of Nepali women became the most successful women’s expedition ever to summit Everest. They are also the first Nepali women from Brahmin, Gurung, Danwar and Chettri communities to have reached the top of the world.

Now Maya Gurung, Pujan Acharya, Pemna Diki Sherpa Nimdoma Sherpa, Chunu Shrestha, Aha Kumari Singh and Shailee Basnet, have their eyes set on the 7 Summits. With Everest already under their ‘harnesses’ the team have successfully summated the Mt Kosciuszko and Mt Elbrus respectively in 2010.  They reached the rooftop of Africa, Mt Kilimanjaro on March 2013, together with four African women highlighting the significance of girl education. In March this year they returned from a successful expedition to Aconcagua which they summated on the 23rd Feb, 2014, next Denali. 

Finally, Mt Vinson Massif in Antarctica in the coming winter. With ‘Together We Reach Higher’ as a motto they focus on education, empowerment and environment as the tools to attaining greater heights. During their tours the girls visit schools, engage in outdoor exchange with local women and environmental initiatives as well as tourism promotion. To learn more visit – www.sevensummitswomen.org

In a previous edition of our Newsletter we mentioned Chhurim Sherpa who climbed Everest twice in a week in 2013, because no other female climber had achieved that. Before Everest Chhurim had only two peaks to her name, Mera Peak (6,476m) and Island Peak (6,189m), she's since gone on to summit Ama Dablam (6,812m) and Kun peak (7,135m) in India. However, she's not finished with Everest as she wants ascend via the northern side, as well as to ascend Kanchenjunga, the mountain she could see daily from her home in   Taplejung. And then; the highest peak on every continent. Chhurim has recently been elected to the Executive Board of the NMA.

Now, in 2014 there are three Nepali women about to attempt K2. The climbers are no strangers to altitude with several ascents of 8000m peaks as well as lower more technical ascents to their names. The girls will head out of Kathmandu on the 15^th June 2014 returning on the 15^th September.

The main focus for the all female team is that of being the first Nepali female mountaineers to summit this Himalayan giant! A strong team fiercely dedicated to fighting climate change and enhancing sustainable development in the Himalaya. They are committed to serving the Himalayan communities that introduced them to the global world and helped them understand the causes for which they are climbing.

Dawa is an Ultra Marathon, high altitude long distance runner as well as being a mountaineer. In 2010 she finished 2^nd   in the female 350km Everest Sky race. Similarly, she also completed in the 350km Annapurna Mandala Trail. She is the first female Everest summiteers from Beding, Rolwaling District. She has achieved positions in the top five placing in the national climbing competitions and is the first Nepali female to complete the Climbing Rescue Ranger course at Mt. Rainier (USA). She is an athlete sponsored by Sherpa Adventure Gear and is now taking an Aspirant Guide Course organized by Nepal National Mountain Guide Association (NNMGA).

Ms. Maya Sherpa started her climbing career as a National Weight Lifter reached the finals several times. After the completion of basic and advanced climbing training courses organized by Nepalese Mountaineering Association (NMA), she started working as climbing guide. She then got involved in International Himalayan expeditions, Everest North and South, Lhotse, Cho Oyu,
Shishapangma, Baruntse, Pumori, Khan Tengri, Ama Dablam as well as several trekking peaks. She has summited Everest twice in 2006 and 2007.

2003 Gold Medal in Nepal National Weight Lifting Games and First Nepali woman to summit Ama Dablam 6812m. In 2004 she was the first Nepali woman on Pumori 7145m and the first Nepali woman on Cho Oyu 8201m. In 2006 she summated Everest by the South Col route and the in 2007 from the North side. In 2008 she made the first Nepali ascent Khan Tengri 7010m (Kirgizstan) and in 2009 the first Nepali woman to summit Baruntse 7125m

Pasang started climbing in 2001. After completing the NMA mountaineering training in Nepal, she went to Chamonix and gained the mountaineering diploma from ENSA. She has climbed Everest from the Tibet side and also  Yala Peak, Nangpai Gusung, Ama Dablam, and Putta Hiunculi. She is also the first women to climb the Nangpai Gosum, 7321 m and is the first Nepali female mountaineering instructor for the NMA. Today, in addition to working as a female mountaineering instructor in Nepal, she is guiding and teaching in Nepal and USA. She is also sponsored by Sherpa Adventure Gear. We wish them the very best of luck in their new challenge.

Roads

The roads saga continues, albeit at a snails’ pace. The main airport to Thamel road is just about finished but the out-lying districts are still under demolition and construction. Now work has begun on the ring road.

But now, for something different! Many of you will recognize and no doubt remember the top image, the chorten on the way to Millerapa from Timbu. Well this has all changed, there is now a reasonable road and a frequent bus service between Millerapa and Kathmandu, in fact I drove from my house to Millerapa in 3.5 hours last week.

Thankfully any damage the chorten sustained during road construction has been made good.

Exchange rate

The NRs is holding well against the pound as it is against the dollar. Over the last few weeks it has topped 160/- NRs to the pound but at the moment it is 156.22NRs with the dollar being worth 94.13NRs

Winter weather

Winter was relatively kind to us; we had heavy snow in the hills at the beginning of March which closed all the high passes. Even upper Gorkha had a fair dump with many groups being turned back at Larkya La, reportedly over a meter of snow at Samagoan.  Unfortunately this bad spell created more havoc with domestic flights. The first sound of this year’s cuckoo arrived on the 28^th March and the higher Rhododendrons are just coming into bloom.

At the moment we have typically spring type weather, blustery shower and squally storms preceded by strong winds, but we need the rain.

So it is official - Spring is here.

Trekking ideas

The Annapurna Circuit has come in for a fair amount of road development and for a time the beauty of the circuit was potentially lost. However, there has been a lot of trekking route development in the area over the last couple of years resulting in treks now visiting some many previously unexploited parts on the Annapurna range. I hope to be able to go for a look round this season and then provide a brief overview in the next Newsletter. These new treks will be a feature in our brochure for 2015 and of course on the website.

Also on our website

We’ve now up-loaded all of our previous newsletters, a few client comments and stories and some useful Trek Guide’ – a guide to trekking, daily routines, health issues and other important ‘on trek’ information is downloadable as is ‘Trekking in Nepal’ – a trekkers’ introduction to the country, its people, culture and political intrigue. 

and interesting links. The ‘

Well that’s about it for now so wishing you all a Happy Easter and, until the next edition of the Newsletter in August, enjoy Spring.

Not exactly the Easter Bunny, but this ‘lille fella’ is the next best thing!

Best

Ian nd Sarita