The government has planned to celebrate the Everest Day with much fanfare, though the uncertain politics has taken the front seat.
Saturday marks the 57 years of the first ascent of Mt Everest. The government has started celebrat ing May 29 as Interna tional Everest Day three years ago. This year too, the day is being celebrated with much gaiety.
The day starts with rally in the morning. The government is honouring Everest summiteers and the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation is giving away Sagarmatha and Tenjing-Hillary awards.
Veteran Everest climber Apa Sherpa will be appointed as SAARC Goodwill ambassador.
Similarly, an Everest marathon, rafting and sanitation campaigns will be organised and tourism entrepreneurs will take out rallies in several places to mark the day. It was Tenjing Norge Sherpa and Sir Edmond Hillary who became the first humans to make it to the top of the world on May 29, 1953, making Nepal popular all across the world.
Since then, around 4,000 mountaineers have scaled the highest peak.
Many records have been created and broken. The government had allowed 25 teams to climb Everest this year. Among them, some made records. Latest in the list of record-hold
ers is Jordon Romeo (13) of the US. He became the youngest to climb the world's tallest peak.
On May 22, veteran climber Apa Sherpa climbed Everest for a record 20 times, breaking his own record.
World cyclist Pushkar Shah, who travelled to 150 countries on bicycle, made it to the top of the world on May 17 and unfurled the flags of all the countries he visited to spread the message of peace and harmony.
Making another record in May is Ang Chhiring Sherpa. He scaled Everest on May 23 and bagged the title of climbing the tallest mountains of all seven continents within 50 days.
The media fraternity has also something to cheer with woman journalist Sailee Basnet scaling Everest. She is the first woman journalist from South Asia to climb the peak. Junko Tabei of Japan holds the record of being the first woman to climb Everest and Pasang Lhamu Sherpa is the first Nepali woman.
Rainhold Messner holds the record of climbing Everest without oxygen; Pemba Dorje Sherpa as fastest Ever est climber and Babu Chiri Sherpa for climbing it with artificial legs. Mt Everest is the most sought-after destination among 14 highest peaks above 8,000 meters around the world.
More than 30 per cent tourists come to Nepal for trekking and mountaineering. Tourism entrepreneurs say celebrating the Everest Day is a big boost to Nepal's mountaineering sector.
"The government's decision to hold golden jubilee celebrations of various mountains has increased morale of tourism entrepreneurs and this will certainly help make Nepal Tourism Year 2011 successful," says president of Nepal Mountaineering Association Aang Chiring Sherpa.
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