Govt. honors Lhotse, Manaslu Climbers

Kathmandu / May 1: President Bidya Devi Bhandari honored mountaineers on the occasion of the Mt Manaslu and Mt Lhotse Diamond Jubilee Celebrations in Kathmandu on Saturday.

The President felicitated Manaslu summiteers, including Minoru Higeta, Pertemba Sherpa, Billi Berling, Mingma Sherpa and Ted Atkins, and Lhotse summiteer Pemba Norbu Sherpa.

On the occasion, President Bhandari also released the Special Issue of Nepal Parbat – the journal of Nepal Mountaineering Association.

Minister for Information and Communications Sher Dhan Rai, Swiss Ambassador Urs Harrens and Japanese Ambassador Masashi Ogowa were present at the program.

However, the main attraction of the program was legendary mountaineer Minoru Higeta — the only survivor of the first successful expedition to Manaslu. “Sixty years ago, I stood on top of Mt Manaslu,” myrepublica daily quoted Higeta as saying at the program. “My team was fortunate to be blessed by fine weather and strong support from Nepali Sherpas.”

Likewise, Japanese ambassador Masashi Ogawa said the Japanese expedition’s successful ascent of the mountain, located in western Nepal, gave courage and hope to the Japanese people who were, at the time, demoralized by their defeat in World War II.

Later in the day, a conference was also organized on ‘Challenges and Opportunities to Promote Mountain Tourism in Manaslu and Lhotse Area’. The conference mostly dwelt on challenges and opportunities in Manaslu and Lhotse area.

Earlier in the morning, a colorful procession was taken out from Tundikhel which ended at the Narayanhiti Palace Museum. Chief of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City offered civic reception to Higeta. Junko Tabie, the first woman to climb Mt Everest, was also present on the occasion.