Expeditions

The Himalaya in Nepal, extending more than eight hundred kilometers from the east Kangchenjunga Massif to the west Byas Rishi Himalaya, accounts for a third of the Himalayan mountain system. In the territory of Nepal and lie more than thirteen hundred peaks with an altitude of more than six thousand meters. Among them, 127 are above seven thousand meters and eight rises above eight thousand meters-eight of the fourteen highest peaks in the world. Mountaineering and Peaks climbing first brought Nepal to the attention of the world for the adventure mountain Tourism. Long before, its great peaks were coveted by mountaineers. Although there had been negotiations for a British expedition to Mt.Everest ( Sagarmatha ) as early as 1908 and a French expedition to Makalu in1934, Nepal first opened its doors to outside visitors in 1949. The pioneering exploration and mountaineering teams of that year were a British team in the Langtang Ganesh Himal area and a Swiss team in the Kangchenjunga area. By 1960, eight-four expeditions, both large and small, had encountered the Nepal Himalaya. At least fourteen nations sent expeditions, followed by the French and the Swiss. This was the pioneering decade of mountaineering, combining both reconnaissance and climbing. All eight thousand meter peaks of the Nepal Himalaya were climbed. The decade began with the dramatic French triumph on 8,091- meter Annapurna I in 1950, by Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal. The most famous ascent, of course, was Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa’s ascent of 8,848 meters Everest on May 29,1953. Kangchenjunga and Makalu were climbed in 1955, Lhotse and Manaslu in 1956 and Dhaulagiri in 1960. During the decade, there were numerous first ascents, many on peaks of equal difficulty to the “eight – thousands.” As well as these achievements, there were extensive explorations of the Himalaya that paved the way for further expeditions. The first half of the 1960s saw an increasing number of expeditions. In late 1965, mountaineering was banned in Nepal and for four years only a small number of trekking groups and scientific expeditions were allowed to operate. In with a new set of regulations. Mountaineers were eager to return and between 1969 and 1970 thirty-seven expeditions entered Nepal. There were many successful first ascents during that decade, however, including Ama Dablam, Pumori, Nuptse and Annapurna III. The third decade showed an unprecedented increase in mountaineering -404 expeditions climbed in Nepal, as opposed to only 105 in the previous decade. During this time the government refined their system of mountaineering management with the recognition of multiple routes to individual peaks and the extension of climbing seasons. Between 1970 and 1980 nearly two dozen countries sent expeditions to Nepal and all the eight-thousands, with the exception of Cho Oyu, were climbed numerous times. Since the 1950s mountaineering techniques and equipment had advanced significantly and climbers were challenged by ever more difficult faces, climbing seasons and techniques. In 1978 Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler made a dramatic ascent of Everest without the use of artificial oxygen. The same year Messner made the first solo ascent of an 8,000-meter peak, Nanga Parbat in Pakistan. Two years later he returned to Nepal to make the first solo ascent of Everest, climbing four days from the base camp to the summit and back, without oxygen, fixed camps or climbing assistants. Japanese climbers added to the list of firsts, in 1970 Yuiichi Miura descended a major part of Everest on skis, in 1975 Mrs. Junko Tabei became the first woman to climb Everest and Yasuo Kato became the first person to reach the summit in three different seasons. The trend continues. In 1993, there were 95 expeditions to the high Himalaya. Over 270 mountaineers from around the world pitted their strength against the Giants during the four climbing seasons that year. In 1994, the number of mountaineering teams had gone up to 105, with 696 climbers doing battle with the elements for the greatest prize in world mountaineering – standing atop a Himalayan peak. Throughout the history of Nepal mountaineering, Nepal’s own climbers have played a major role. Sundare Sherpa, one of Nepal’s greatest climbers, became the first man to summit Everest five times and Ang Phu Sherpa was the first to scale the mountain by two different routes. Ang Rita Sherpa one of the world’s greatest climbers, became the first man to summit Everest expedition of China, Japan and Nepal in 1988 added a new milestone in the history of mountaineering by simultaneously scaling the world’s highest peak from both the north and south sides and by putting a record number of twelve climbers on the summit at once. This climb was highlighted by live television coverage from the summit and witnessed by millions of people all over the world.