Nepal to rename Everest Airport after Sir Edmund Hillary, Tenzing
Norgay
NEPAL: Nepal's Cabinet has formally agreed to rename the only airport
in the Mount Everest region Tenzing-Hillary after the first men to scale
the world's highest peak more than five decades ago, the government said
Tuesday.
The Cabinet decided Monday that the airport would be named after Sir
Edmund Hillary, who died last month aged 88, and his climbing partner
Tenzing Norgay, Tourism Minister Prithvi Gurung told reporters.
Hillary and Tenzing, a Sherpa, reached the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot)
summit of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953. Lukla airport, situated at
2,800 meters (9,200 feet), serves as the gateway for thousands of
trekkers and mountaineers who visit Everest every year.
The Sherpa community reveres Hillary, not just for his landmark climb
but also for founding the Himalayan Trust, which has built 27 schools,
two hospitals and 12 clinics around Mount Everest. Thousands of people,
mainly Sherpas, have benefited from the trust's projects.
Katmandu, Tuesday, AP |