Appa leaves for 20th Everest Expedition
Kosh R. Koirala
Mountaineering legend Appa Sherpa on Tuesday left Kathmandu for
Everest Base Camp to break his own previous record by scaling the
world's highest Mt. Everest for the 20th time.
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Appa Sherpa |
The 50-year old mountaineering guide will scatter the mortal remains
of the late Sir Edmund Hillary, who along with a Sherpa guide Tenzing
Norgay for the first time conquered 8,848-meter tall peak back in 1953.
Late Hillary had reportedly wished that his mortal remains be scattered
only in two places,in the sea near his home in Auckland, New Zealand and
on the mountain of Nepal.
Appa is also scheduled to hoist a Nepali flag imprinted with the
slogan of Nepal Tourism Year 2011 on the top of the Mt. Everest in order
to spread the message of tourism year. Nepal expects to attract over 1
million tourists in the tourism year.
Earlier, Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Sharat Singh
Bhandari handed over the flag amidst a function held in Kathmandu.
According to the organizer of Eco Everest Expedition, Appa will also
carry a banner to the Everest peak which reads, "You heard our voice,
now raise yours - we can stop climate change in the Himalayas." This is
aimed at raising the issue of the impacts of climate change on the
Himalayas. He will be accompanied by two-time Everesteer, Dawa Steven
Sherpa. They will be joined by a Finnish national, Carina Raiha, who is
the first Finnish woman attempting Everest.
Appa made the first successful ascent of Everest on May 10, 1990, and
set foot atop the summit twice in 1992 and 1997. He has been climbing
the highest peak regularly since 1990 except in 1996 and 2001.
Though Appa announced his retirement citing family reasons after
completing his 12th summit in 2002, he could not resist his temptation
to scale the coveted peak for long time and stepped again atop the
Everest for the 13th time in 2003. Asian Tribune |
