Saturday, March 29, 2008
Everest Expeditions on Ice
Billi Bierling writes in the
Nepali Times: "Mountaineering is always unpredictable because of weather, avalanches and the effects of altitude. But climbing the world?s highest mountain this year has an added uncertainty: China."
As hundreds of climbers are gathering in Kathmandu for climbing expeditions to the south side of Chomolungma, China is exerting pressure on Nepal to ban all expeditions to the mountain during China's olympic year. It seems that Beijing is doing all in its power to avoid someone unfolding a 'Free Tibet' banner at the summit just as the olympic torch gets there.
The cancellations and uncertainty has already cost several hundred people their jobs, at a time when they normally earn most of their annual income, and the people suffering most are the Sherpas. Read more in Billi Bierling's article.
Labels: China, Everest, expeditions, Mount Everest, Nepal
Friday, January 11, 2008
Tribute to a giant
Thomas Bell writes in the
Telegraph "Sir Edmund Hillary has been mourned in Nepal as a 'second father' to the Sherpa people and an honorary son of their mountains and valleys."
One of Edmund Hillary's great achievements was to help the people of Nepal and the Himalayan country has declared how immensely proud it is to be home to the world's tallest mountain, and also how immensely proud it is of the giant foreigner who, along with Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, climbed it for the first time, 55 years ago.
Read why Nepal granted him greater honours than any other outsider, in Thomas Bell's
tribute article.
Labels: 2008, Edmund Hillary, Everest, Mount Everest, Nepal
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Ancient Buddhist Cave Discovered
An ancient cave, with 55 wall paintings that depict the life of the Buddha, has been discovered in Nepal, at its northernmost tip jutting into Tibet.
A team of scholars and climbers, Funded by adventure gear maker North Face and a US-based production house, stumbled upon the cave which had been preserved by the extreme cold and remained untouched for thousands of years, Nearby caves have piles of manuscripts in an ancient Tibetan script, which could provide information on Tibetan forms of Buddhism and possibly the history of Tibet, Mustang and even Nepal and India.
Read a more detailed account of this discovery in
The Indian Times, and
Yahoo NewsLabels: 2007, art, Buddhist, cave, discovery, Nepal
