Tourism News

Sir Edmund Hillary discharged from hospital

Eighty-seven-year-old living mountaineering legend Sir Edmund Hillary was discharged from hospital on April 26, 2007, news reports said.

Sir Ed was taken to the Auckland hospital last weekend after he was ill.
Some days ago, he was admitted to the Auckland Hospital.He is believed to have suffered a fall. His health condition was reported to be improving gradually.
However, earlier, a statement issued by his wife Lady June Hillary had not mentioned anything about cause of his treatment.
"He is in a comfortable condition and improves daily," the statement said.
Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark, who travelled with Sir Ed to Antarctica in January 2007, indicated the entire country had been monitoring his recovery, according to news reports.
He was in Antarctica to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Scott Base.

"Everyone will be thinking of Sir Ed, he's a national icon," Lady Hillary said in the statement. "There's no one we love more. I think the message from every single one of us is 'hang in there Sir Ed, we love you'."
Sir Ed had returned to his homeland from Nepal on April 22, 2007. He was here this month to meet the 2007 SuperSherpas Expedition.
SuperSherpas expedition manager Roger Kehr said Sir Ed had revealed that it was his last trip to Nepal. He has run a charity and established 27 schools in Nepal.
Sir Ed, who is a national icon of New Zealand, and the late Tenzing Norgay climbed Mt Everest in 1953.
Although Sir Edmund Hillary has stopped climbing for the last 15 years as he suffered serious altitude sickness, he has been actively campaigning against attempts to commercialise the world's tallest peak—Mt. Everest.
In 1998 he was admitted to Christchurch Hospital with pneumonia and a slight back injury after falling over in a shower while returning from Antarctica by ship.
Three years later, altitude sickness put him in hospital in Nepal.
During his trip to Nepal in 2003 to celebrate his 50th anniversary of climbing Mt Everest, he was reported to have become ill with heat exhaustion.
Meanwhile, the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN) wished Hillary's speedy recovery. He is TAAN's Honourary Member.

Dulal emerges first in THT Mountain Bike Race
Mountain biker Mr. Suresh Kumar Dulal came out first in the First Mountain Bike Race held on April 29, 2007 on the Tamang Heritage Trail (THT) of the Langtang Region of Rasuwa district.
He completed the 28-kilometre rugged terrain in 2 hours, 11 minutes and 47.32 seconds. He bagged Rs. 25,000 in cash prize.
Similarly, Mr. Surendra Rai, who became second in the competition, completed the race in 2 hours, 11 minutes and 71 seconds. He received Rs. 15,000 for finishing the race as runner-up. Likewise, Mr. Padma Chombahang secured third position and pocketed Rs. 10,000.
Among the two women participants, Nirjala Tamrakar become first and received Rs. 8,000 in cash. Biker Kelly Bowma stood out second in women's category.
Earlier on April 29, the mountain bike competition was inaugurated by Britain's Ambassador to Nepal, Dr. Andrew Hall at Syphrubensi amidst a colourful function.
The adventure sporting event was organized by the Tourism for Rural Poverty Alleviation Programme (TRPAP), in association with the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), District Development Committee (DDC) Rasuwa, and the Himalaya Expeditions Inc., an active promoter/organiser of adventure activities in Nepal.
Promoting the THT in the Langtang Region of Rasuwa district as an adventure sports tourism destination was the main objective of the mountain bike race.
Apart from exploring and highlighting the huge tourism prospects of the THT, the event was also aimed at creating ublic awareness about sustainable community-based tourism and garnering support,
encouraging such projects and utilizing tourism a means of poverty alleviation. Besides, the event was focussed on maximising local participation in tourism-related activities.
The racde began from Syaphrubensi and ended at Goljung. The trail passes through Chaurhattar, Godam, Gatlang and Thambuchet. The altitude of the trail ranges from 1,460 to 2,436 metres above sea level.
Lying close to the capital city of Kathmandu, Rasuwa is one of the most sought-after destinations in Nepal. Despite its easy access and proximity to the capital, the area with unparalleled beauty of majestic mountains and rich culture has not been promoted as expected.
As a pilot programme, TRPAP has carried out various training and income generating activities in the THT to improve the living standard of the local people.
According to the organisrs, they are planning to organise similar event every year in the area.

China Southern promoting Nepal

Climbers scale Mt. Ama Dablam, Mt. Himlung
The two members of "HAFE Research Group" team successfully climbed the 6,812-metre Mt. Ama Dablam from the north face and came down from the Southwest face on 22 April, 2007 at 4.00 P.M, according to a press statement issued by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.
The successful climbers include 39-year-old Mr. James Frederick Cromie and 40-year-old Mr. Aric Avery Baldwin. They are from the USA.
The two-member team was permitted to attempt the peak from North Ridge/ South Ridge (any) for the period of 45 days from 22 March, 2007 under the leadership of Mr. James Frederick Cromie.
The team was handled by Global Adventure Trekking Pvt. Ltd. Kathmandu.
Similarly, six members and two high altitude workers of "Esfahan Himlung Expedition 2007" scaled Mt. Himlung (7,126 meters) on 10 April, 2007.
According to the ministry, the successful Iranian climbers were Mr. Alibakssh Bahnan Zirari, 46, Mr. Rahman S. P. Reza, 23, Mr. Asghar Raji, 34, Mr. Hamid H. Kohnouri, 53, Mr. Iman A. Mobarakeh, 23 and Mr. Majid Jamalifar, 41.
The high altitude workers were Mr. Namgya Sherpa,37, from Olangjungola-9, Taplejung, and Mr. Dawa Sangmu Bhote, 29, from Hatiya-3 of Sankhuwasabha.
The expedition team comprising of 12 members was permitted to climb the peak from Normal Route for the period of 60 days from 24 March, 2007 under the leadership of Mr. Ebrahim Naderi of Iran.
The handling agency of the expedition team was Thamserku Trekking Pvt. Ltd. Kathmandu.
Sir Edmund Hillary discharged from hospital
Eighty-seven-year-old living mountaineering legend Sir Edmund Hillary was discharged from hospital on April 26, 2007, news reports said.
Sir Ed was taken to the Auckland hospital last weekend after he was ill.
Some days ago, he was admitted to the Auckland Hospital.He is believed to have suffered a fall. His health condition was reported to be improving gradually.
However, earlier, a statement issued by his wife Lady June Hillary had not mentioned anything about cause of his treatment.
"He is in a comfortable condition and improves daily," the statement said.
Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark, who travelled with Sir Ed to Antarctica in January 2007, indicated the entire country had been monitoring his recovery, according to news reports.
He was in Antarctica to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Scott Base.

SuperSherpas expedition manager Roger Kehr said Sir Ed had revealed that it was his last trip to Nepal. He has run a charity and established 27 schools in Nepal.
Sir Ed, who is a national icon of New Zealand, and the late Tenzing Norgay climbed Mt Everest in 1953.
Although Sir Edmund Hillary has stopped climbing for the last 15 years as he suffered serious altitude sickness, he has been actively campaigning against attempts to commercialise the world's tallest peak—Mt. Everest.
In 1998 he was admitted to Christchurch Hospital with pneumonia and a slight back injury after falling over in a shower while returning from Antarctica by ship.
Three years later, altitude sickness put him in hospital in Nepal.
During his trip to Nepal in 2003 to celebrate his 50th anniversary of climbing Mt Everest, he was reported to have become ill with heat exhaustion.
Meanwhile, the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN) wished Hillary's speedy recovery. He is TAAN's Honourary Member.

Dulal emerges first in THT Mountain Bike Race

Mountain biker Mr. Suresh Kumar Dulal came out first in the First Mountain Bike Race held on April 29, 2007 on the Tamang Heritage Trail (THT) of the Langtang Region of Rasuwa district.
He completed the 28-kilometre rugged terrain in 2 hours, 11 minutes and 47.32 seconds. He bagged Rs. 25,000 in cash prize.
Similarly, Mr. Surendra Rai, who became second in the competition, completed the race in 2 hours, 11 minutes and 71 seconds. He received Rs. 15,000 for finishing the race as runner-up. Likewise, Mr. Padma Chombahang secured third position and pocketed Rs. 10,000.
Among the two women participants, Nirjala Tamrakar become first and received Rs. 8,000 in cash. Biker Kelly Bowma stood out second in women's category.
Earlier on April 29, the mountain bike competition was inaugurated by Britain's Ambassador to Nepal, Dr. Andrew Hall at Syphrubensi amidst a colourful function.
The adventure sporting event was organized by the Tourism for Rural Poverty Alleviation Programme (TRPAP), in association with the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), District Development Committee (DDC) Rasuwa, and the Himalaya Expeditions Inc., an active promoter/organiser of adventure activities in Nepal.
Promoting the THT in the Langtang Region of Rasuwa district as an adventure sports tourism destination was the main objective of the mountain bike race.
Apart from exploring and highlighting the huge tourism prospects of the THT, the event was also aimed at creating ublic awareness about sustainable community-based tourism and garnering support, encouraging such projects and utilizing tourism a means of poverty alleviation. Besides, the event was focussed on maximising local participation in tourism-related activities.
The racde began from Syaphrubensi and ended at Goljung. The trail passes through Chaurhattar, Godam, Gatlang and Thambuchet. The altitude of the trail ranges from 1,460 to 2,436 metres above sea level.
Lying close to the capital city of Kathmandu, Rasuwa is one of the most sought-after destinations in Nepal. Despite its easy access and proximity to the capital, the area with unparalleled beauty of majestic mountains and rich culture has not been promoted as expected.
As a pilot programme, TRPAP has carried out various training and income generating activities in the THT to improve the living standard of the local people.
According to the organisrs, they are planning to organise similar event every year in the area.

China Southern promoting Nepal
Following its successful nearly three months of flight operations to Kathmandu, China's flagship-- China Southern Airlines (CSA) is coming up with new plans to promote Nepal as a premier tourist destination among the Chinese outbound travellers.
According to Mr. Vincent Zhen, general manager of CSA's Nepal Office, initial three months were quite encouraging. "This has shown that we could market Nepal as an attractive destination among the Chinese tourists," he said.
CSA has been operating its two weekly flights (Mondays and Fridays) to Kathmandu from China's industrial and business hub of Guangzhou since February 5 this year.
Over 1,100 Chinese passengers flew by China Southern on Guangzhou-Kathmandu route during the time.
He said that about 300-400 Chinese tourists will be visiting Nepal in the upcoming golden week from May by CSA flights.
Despite Nepal and China being close neighbours, many Chinese people are still not familiar with Nepal's rich cultural and natural heritage, he said.

Sherpa dies on Everest
Dawa Sherpa, 40, died while ascending to Camp III of Mt. Everest, as he fell in a crevasse on April 13, 2007.
This is the first tragic accident that has taken place on Mt. Everest this spring.
He was supporting staff of the International Everest Expedition.
He was born in Kaku Village of the Solukhumbu district. He has left behind his wife, two sons and two daughters.
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