Dear Friends,
Namaste and greetings from
Nepal.
I am very pleased to let you know that our Eco Everest Expedition 2008,
in partnership with ICIMOD (International
Center
for Integrated Mountain Development) and UNEP (United Nations
Environment Programme), was very successful in creating widespread
awareness on global warming.
As you know the expedition was the brain-child of my son, Dawa
Steven who led the expedition.
He reached the summit of
Mt.
Everest
on 26 May. Earlier, he
climbed to the summit of
Mt.
Lhotse
(8516m) on 21 May. I wish to personally thank all the team members,
institutions, and well-wishers for their support.
Apa Sherpa broke his own record by ascending
Mt.
Everest
for the 18th time. Apa said
in an interview in Salt Lake City before coming to Kathmandu that his
participation in the Eco-Everest effort was an opportunity to talk about
the issue of global warming and the threat it poses to the people of the
Himalayan highlands. Speaking as
the Chief Guest during the ICIMOD workshop on Climate Change Impact in
the Himalaya – “Glacier Lake Outburst Flood Awareness” in Namche on 25th
April, Apa Sherpa said "....
global warming is melting the ice in our mountains and the ice is
turning into big lakes... when Dig Tsho burst in 1985 my neighbors and I
lost almost all we had. I am very happy to support in spreading
awareness about this problem...."
On
29th May 2008
a special function was organized in
Kathmandu
by the Nepal Government, the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), the Nepal
Mountaineering Association (NMA), and travel related organizations to
declare the 29th of May as International Mt. Everest Day in honor of the
first ascent of the world's highest peak by Tenzing Norgay and Sir Ed
Hillary on the same date in 1953.
At the function Apa Sherpa was the Chief Guest and was honored
and felicitated by various organizations.
Min Bahadur Sherchan of
Nepal
became the first person to reach the summit of
Mt.
Everest at an age of 76 years, 11 months, and 6 days was honored and
felicitated by the NTB and NMA at the same function.
Meagan McGrath was honored for her efforts in rescuing Usha Bista on
Mt.
Everest
in 2007. Meagan, climbing
with the Dream Everest Expedition was the first to recognize the
life-threatening symptoms of Usha Bista below the "Balcony" at an
altitude of 8400m. Meagan
was the first to initiate rescue efforts.
Lhakpa Rita Sherpa, Dave Hahn,
Casey Grom, and Michael Haugen were also felicitated for their efforts
in rescuing Usha Bista and saving her life.
Hundreds of Nepalese and foreign
Mt.
Everest
summitters were awarded the Mt. Everest Commemorative medal.
The UAAA(Union of Asian Alpine Association) Council Meeting was also
held on
29 May 2008
in
Kathmandu.
The UAAA website: www.uaaa-asia.org
was launched that day. It has been decided to organize the UAAA Member
countries Joint Expedition in the Spring of 2009 to
Langshisa
Ri
in the Langtang region, and to hold the International Mountain
Environment Symposium in
Nepal
in 2009.
Following the revision of mountaineering permit fees by the Nepal
Government we have also revised our expedition services rates. The
details are our website: www.astrek.com
or
www.astrek.com/asiantrekking.
Please let us know if we can help in any manner to organize your
climb in
Nepal.
Also on our website are the
peaks in mid and far western Nepal declared by the Nepal Government's
that all permits will be free for all opened peaks in these regions for
the next five years.
This offers a good opportunity for climbers of the world to
discover new and more challenging climbing routes on some of the
greatest mountains of the world.
Please let us know if you want to climb any of these peaks.
We are still optimistic that expeditions and tours will be permitted in
Tibet
this Autumn. We have
attached revised prices for
Tibet
for your information should in case the area opens.
In the coming days you will see on our website some new and innovative
programs launched by Asian Trekking of the ASTREK Group:
¨
Special "Off-the-beaten-track" itineraries.
¨
Community based Eco-projects in the Khumbu
¨
Interactive Programs for youths and young business executives
In the meantime - please do keep in touch and let us know if there is
any way in which can be of assistance.
Sincerely,
Ang Tshering Sherpa
Chairman
ASTREK Group
