From now on, tourists will not be able to go on a walk on their own, the fee of 'TIMS' card has been increased

From now on, tourists will not be able to go on a walk on their own, the fee of 'TIMS' card has been increased

By Friendship World Trek   2:40 AM   No comments:

         

From now on, tourists will not be able to go on a walk on their own, the fee of 'TIMS' card has been increased

Kathmandu. The foreign tourists had purchased the tourist information management system 'TIMS' card distributed by the Nepal Tourism Board and were happily trekking alone.

From now on, the board has decided that no foreigner can go on a walk alone. On Thursday, the meeting of the Nepal Tourism Board decided that no foreigner will be allowed to roam freely. The board said that now when tourists go on a trek, they must take a trekking guide.

According to the vice president of the board, Chandra Rizal, the decision was taken by the board meeting that the tourists could not go on a voluntary walk after the increase in the number of tourists falling and getting injured while hiking alone, difficulties in rescue, loss and death of tourists. He said, "this decision will help in the rescue of injured and sick tourists who are lost and the tourists will be protected."

Nepal used to be infamous at the international level when tourists who went on their own initiative died and went missing. The decision of the board will be effective from April 1. Earlier, it was decided to close FIT (Free Individual Trekker) from October 1, 2022, but the board did not implement it.

However, after an agreement was reached between the Board, Trekking Agency Association of Nepal (TAN) and tourism workers for the implementation of this decision, the pressure on the Board to take this decision increased.

After the board's decision, foreign tourists visiting Nepal now have to travel through the company only. Also, the fee for the Tims card sold by the board has been increased. Tourists from SAARC countries have been paying 600 rupees for individual visits, which has been increased to 1000 rupees. Non-SAARC tourists will have to pay 2000 for the team fee when they come to visit Nepal individually.

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A Yeti Airlines plane has crashed in Pokhara.

A Yeti Airlines plane has crashed in Pokhara.

By Friendship World Trek   6:45 AM   No comments:

 Kathmandu, Jan 15: A Yeti Airlines plane has crashed in Pokhara. The Yeti Airlines ATR-72 plane crashed. The plane had flown for Pokhara from Kathmandu at 10.33 am today. 

Yeti Airlines spokesman Suman Bartaula said that two pilots, two air hostesses and 68 passengers were on board the ill-fated plane.    

Chief District Officer of Kaski, Tek Bahadur KC informed RSS that the hospital and ambulances have been alerted after information was received that a plane has crashed in the Seti river gorge.(RSS)  

  

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One dies, scores stranded as avalanche hits Mount Manaslu

One dies, scores stranded as avalanche hits Mount Manaslu

By Friendship World Trek   9:28 AM   No comments:

    One dies, scores stranded as avalanche hits Mount Manaslu

Bad weather hits rescue operations in the world’s eighth-highest mountain standing 8,163 meters.

Kathmandu: One person died in an avalanche that hit Mount Manaslu located in western Nepal on Monday morning.

Vice Chairman of Tsum Nubri Rural Municipality of Gorkha Laxmi Gurung said that the identification of the person killed in the avalanche that occurred between camps three and four is yet to be ascertained.

Although a helicopter was mobilized to rescue those stranded in the world’s eighth-highest mountain standing 8,163 meters, the rescue operation couldn’t be carried out owing to inclement weather. The exact number of those marooned in the mountain is yet to be known.

Gurung said that the details of the incident are awaited.

A total of 404 people from 38 expedition teams have been issued permits to climb the mountain this season.

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Naperville 18-year-old becomes youngest American woman to reach summit of Mount Everest

Naperville 18-year-old becomes youngest American woman to reach summit of Mount Everest

By Friendship World Trek   10:14 AM   No comments:

  Naperville 18-year-old becomes youngest American woman to reach summit of Mount Everest

•             Lucy Westlake did it.

•             The 18-year-old Naperville native became the youngest American woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, according to a post on the Instagram account of the expedition group she's climbing with.

•             The Xtreme Climbers group made "an official announcement" at about 7:30 p.m. Central time that Westlake "successfully stood on the summit of Mount Everest 8848.86m on 12.May.2022 at 5:36 am Nepali time."

•             Westlake's own Instagram account confirmed the summit.

•             After spending a couple of minutes "on the top of The World," Westlake and her sherpa, Mingma Chhiring, began the descent back to lower camp, expected to take four to five hours, the expedition group said.

•             Earlier Lucy's mother, Amy Westlake, posted on Lucy's Instagram account that Lucy left the lower camp more than nine hours earlier, starting at 8:15 p.m. Nepali time. So she climbed Everest through the night and arrived at the summit just after daybreak.

•             The expedition group posted an image of several people, carrying bright lights, making the final snow-covered climb to the Everest summit.

•             Reaching the highest point on the planet -- at an altitude of more than 29,000 feet -- is the latest goal achieved by Westlake, whose bigger plan is to complete the Explorers Grand Slam. That's a challenge to reach the North and South poles and climb the highest mountains in each of the seven continents, also known as the Seven Summits.

•             Westlake has ascended Denali in Alaska, Europe's Mount Elbrus, Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua in South America, and now Mount Everest in Asia. The remaining sites on the list are Mount Vinson in Antarctica, Carstensz Pyramid north of Australia and both poles.

•             Westlake had hoped to complete the Explorers Grand Slam by the time she entered college in the fall, but that won't happen because of expenses and COVID-19 restrictions that created roadblocks. Shortly after she returns home, Westlake will head to the University of Southern California, where she'll be on scholarship to compete in cross country and track and field.

•             Westlake, a recent Naperville North High School graduate, said she still aims to become the youngest adventurer to complete the Explorers Grand Slam, topping a Japanese woman who was 20 when she completed it in 2017.

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Kami Rita Sherpa climbs Everest for 26th time, breaks his own record

Kami Rita Sherpa climbs Everest for 26th time, breaks his own record

By Friendship World Trek   10:14 AM   No comments:

  Kami Rita Sherpa climbs Everest for 26th time, breaks his own record

A team of 11 Nepali high-altitude climbing guides reached the summit of Mt Everest on Saturday evening, making it the first expedition of the spring in the world’s tallest peak.

A team of 11 Nepali high-altitude climbing guides reached the summit of Mt Everest on Saturday evening, making it the first spring ascent of the world’s tallest peak this year.

Kami Rita Sherpa created history by climbing the 8,848.86 metre tall peak 26th time, 

Kami Rita reached the summit at 18:55 [local time] as the leader of the rope fixing team, along with 10 other climbing sherpas.

The other climbers are Sona Sherpa, Ngima Tashi Sherpa, Phurba Tsering Sherpa, Tenjing Gyaljen Sherpa, Lakpa Tenji Sherpa, Phurba Kusang Sherpa, Mingma Dandhu Sherpa, Pastenji Sherpa, Tareman Tamang and Phurba Chhotar.

Kami Rita had scaled Everest for the first time on May 13, 1994. He also holds the record of "most climbs over 8000m”, said Mingma Sherpa.

Between 1994 and 2022, Kami Rita has summited Everest 26 times, K2 and Lhotse one time each, Manaslu three times and Cho Oyu eight times.

This spring, the Department of Tourism has issued permits to 316 individuals.

Last spring, the department had issued a record 408 permits for Everest in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A climbing permit for Everest costs $11,000 for foreigners. But climbers end up spending between $40,000 and $90,000 to climb the mountain.

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The Record Setting Women of Everest. #10 for Lhakpa Sherpa and 18 year old American Lucy Westlake Summits at Sunrise

The Record Setting Women of Everest. #10 for Lhakpa Sherpa and 18 year old American Lucy Westlake Summits at Sunrise

By Friendship World Trek   10:14 AM   No comments:

  The Record Setting Women of Everest. #10 for Lhakpa Sherpa and 18 year old American Lucy Westlake Summits at Sunrise

With clear skies, low winds and warm temperatures, Lhakpa Sherpa just made her 10th ascent of Mount Everest, the most for any woman. Like her male counterpart Kami Rita Sherpa on 26 ascents, she just keeps breaking her own record.

And Lucy Westlake just became the youngest American woman to scale the peak, at just 18 years of age. An endurance athlete, triathlete and also the youngest woman to complete the U.S.’s 50 high points last year, it seems she may just be getting started.

She surpassed American Samantha Larson, who was also 18, who finished up with Everest on her way to becoming the youngest American woman to do all the 7 summits.

Melissa Arnot, with Dave Morton in Camp 1 on Makalu. Melissa holds the American record for most ascents of Everest by a woman, with 6. More impressively, her last one was done without oxygen up the North Ridge. Photo: Robert Anderson

And should you wonder who is the overall youngest woman? It was 13 year old Indian Malavath Purna who reached the summit on 25 May, 2014, admitting she didn’t even know it was a world record when she did it.

Also Indian, Santosh Yadav was the first woman to climb Everest twice, on her second ascent ascending the far more challenging and dangerous Kangshung Face in 1993, along the route I first led an expedition to in 1988 and climbed along with Paul Teare, Ed Webster and Stephen Venables.

The first woman to summit Everest of course was Junko Tabei, in 1975, who then went on to also be the first woman to ascend the Seven Summits, in 1992. At 4′ 9″ tall (145 cm.), it’s quite possible she may also hold the record for the most number of steps taken to reach the top?

The first woman to reach the top without oxygen was the indomitable New Zealander Lydia Bradey (right), in 1988, before going on to summit the mountain a further 5 times. More recently, in 2019, she guided Roxanne Vogel (left) on her international odyssey from San Francisco to the top of Everest in just 12 days. Photo: Mingma Sherpa

The fastest ascent on the South Side of Everest was made by Hong Kong Teacher Tsang Yin-Hung, in a shade under 26 hours. “When you aim high, expect high,” says the teacher, who said she was not looking to break the record, just challenge herself.

Should you fear there is just not enough time left in your life for Everest, Japanese woman Tamae Watanabe summited first at 63 years of age from the North side, then came back and did it again at 73 via the South Col, breaking her own record for the oldest woman to the top.

The Full Circle Everest team has three women members as well, Abby Dione, Rosemary Saal and Adina Scott. So while attempting to become the first all Black team to climb together, they could also be putting some of the first black women on top of the peak as well.

Sophia Danenberg on the summit in 2006, who like Samantha Larson, were happy to make the trip to New York to spend a night at the Ruben Museum for our Peak Experience, guiding and teaching young New Yorkers about ascending to the heights of Everest.

The first African-American and Black woman to climb Everest was Sophia Danenberg, ascending the South Col route in 2006. If Everest is the high point for many people, Sophia’s other accomplishments, if anything, put it in the pale of her continued accomplishments in business and in life.

This year, with her ascents of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri already completed in just 10 days of climbing, Norwegian Kristin Harila will soon be headed to Everest on her quest to break Nims Dai record and complete all the 8,000 meter peaks in a record setting 6 months – lets just hope the weather holds for her.

Kristin Harila – two of the the 8,000 meter peaks down, 12, including Everest to go.

And if anyone is opting to keep the noise down on Everest down and their carbon footprint a bit lower by forgoing the common helicopter ride back down the Khumbu, they can make an attempt at Lizzy Hawker’s record, for running from Everest Base Camp back to Kathmandu in just 63 hours – a record that holds across both men and woman.

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First in 45 years, 22 climbers make rare autumn ascent of Manaslu main summit

First in 45 years, 22 climbers make rare autumn ascent of Manaslu main summit

By Friendship World Trek   9:39 AM   No comments:

    First in 45 years, 22 climbers make rare autumn ascent of Manaslu main summit

The main peak is 8,163 metres high, and the mountaineering fraternity has lauded the climbers for making it to the ‘true summit’.

The team gathered at 8,100 metres, a place where people usually stop because they can’t climb to the true summit because of the tricky ridge and risk. The team then traversed down a little below and again climbed to the main summit, which is 8163 metres. Photo courtesy: Jackson Groves' Facebook page

Mountaineers have scaled the main summit of Mt Manaslu, the eighth highest mountain in the world, in autumn, accomplishing a feat not seen since 1976.

Led by Mingma Sherpa, better known as Mingma G, 14 Nepali and eight foreign climbers achieved the rare feat on September 27 for the first time in 45 years. The main peak is 8,163 metres high, and the mountaineering fraternity has called it the “true summit”.

“Many foreigners have been debating if Manaslu’s main summit can be climbed in the autumn season. On September 27, we proved it,” Mingma G told the Post over the phone.

“In fact, Mt Manaslu has been climbed every year, and even reaching the fore-summit, which is just below the main summit, is accepted as a successful ascent. The main summit is 6-7 metres higher than the fore-summit, and it has never been climbed since 1976,” he said.

                             Photo courtesy: Jackson Groves' Facebook page

As the last short section, a snow-covered rock outcrop, is very steep, climbers normally do not venture there during the autumn and winter.

“It’s like a sharp knife ridge which is daunting and dangerous. So climbers normally go up to the fore-summit and return,” said Mingma G, who was one of the members of the K2 winter ascent. K2, the world's second highest mountain in Pakistan, was climbed in winter for the first time in January.

“The new route was difficult, but we did it with perfection.”

The team started their summit push from Camp 4 at 3am on September 27, and reached the summit at 9:40am.

“I hope there will be no more fore-summits in the future. Top is always Top, no more ups, everything below you,” Mingma G wrote on his Facebook page. “It was not easy. The team gathered at 8,100 metres, a place where people usually stop because they can’t climb to the summit because of the tricky ridge and risk. Then, we traversed down a little below and again climbed to the main summit,” said Mingma G.

“We explored the new route. Hopefully, it will help climbers to follow the footstep.”

                                Photo courtesy: Jackson Groves' Facebook page

Tobias Pantel, who keeps a record of every technical climb on the Himalayan Database, posted on his Facebook page: “This is a big day for Himalayan mountaineering!”

The Himalayan Database, the expedition archives of American journalist Elizabeth Hawley, is a large digital and published record of mountaineering in the Nepal Himalayas since 1903. It has congratulated Mingma G and his team on reaching the “true summit” and the highest point of Manaslu in autumn 2021.

“This is the second time this point was reached during the autumn season, and the first time since 1976,” the Himalayan Database wrote on its Facebook page.

“As this is a significant day for Himalayan mountaineering and will have implications on how the Himalayan Database will report on Manaslu summits, the team will sit together to come up with a strategy on how to deal with future and past summits of the world’s eighth highest peak.”

The Manaslu summit has been marked by real confusion over what constitutes the true summit, and who historically and currently reached it, famed mountaineer Alan Arnette said in a blog post.

                                Photo courtesy: Mount Manaslu Facebook page

One of the climbers, photographer Jackson Groves, flew a drone near the summit and captured stills and footage of the historic summit.

“For Manaslu, the issue is the last few metres to the summit is across a heavily corniced snow ridge that is virtually impossible to place protections (ice screws, pitons, etc) to protect climbers from crossing it,” he said.

“So this year, Mingma, building on his winter K2 success, wanted to make a point. This time he proved he made his true summit with the help of drone pictures and videos he shot. Instead of crossing the corniced ridge, he is shown taking a drop-down route across a 70-degree face then climbing to what apparently is the true summit. It appears genuine,” he wrote.

“Then all the other climbers who claimed a summit this season without following his path will be noted as reaching the fore-summit.”

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