New records, reflection mark Everest 60th anniversary

Mangalore Today/PTI

Kathmandu, May 26, 2013: Sixty years ago this week two men became the first to stand on the roof of the world in a remarkable feat of endurance and strength of the human spirit.

As the May 29 anniversary of Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary’s summit of Mount Everest approaches, hundreds of people from all walks of life, and with varying motivations, are trying to follow in their footsteps.

With May the ideal month to climb in the Himalayas, some 500 have already succeeded this year, including an octogenarian, the first female amputee, the first women from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, and the first female climber to summit twice in one season.

 

Still more will attempt an ascent while the good weather window remains open, including professional mountaineers with corporate sponsorship, those attempting to break records, activists raising awareness and charity fundraisers.

While the tourism generated by Everest is important for Nepal, Norgay’s grandson Tashi Tenzing, 49, said understanding the value of the Himalayas and protecting them for future generations was also crucial.

"I think that the 60th anniversary is a time to reflect on the mountain and what we have done to it. As we celebrate the 60th anniversary we must learn the lessons from our experience on the mountains," said Tashi, himself an Everest mountaineer based in Kathmandu.

To mark the anniversary, Hillary’s son Peter, and Norgay’s son Jamling, will join Queen Elizabeth II at a diamond jubilee event at the Royal Geographical Society in London.

Celebratory events back on Everest range from a clean-up campaign at base camp to a high-altitude marathon.

In Kathmandu, a gala featuring record-setting summiteers and top brass from Nepal’s government will be held at the palace.

Increased crowding on the peak was captured in a now-famous photograph showing climbers lined up like ants as they traversed the Lhotse Face ice wall last year.
The image has become emblematic of a mountain that may have become, as a later National Geographic piece suggested, "maxed out".

Some 3,000 people have reached the top of the 8,848-m (29,029-ft) mountain so far.
Cason Crane, a 20-year-old American university student, is aiming to be the first openly gay person to reach the summit.

Before leaving for the climb he told AFP in Kathmandu: "It’s not about a personal achievement for me, it’s about being a role model."

Everest was named in 1852 by the colonial-era Great Trigonometrical Survey of India which singled out the until then unremarkable peak in the eastern Himalayas as the tallest mountain in the world.

 

Arunima Sinha gets offer from Hollywood

Arunima Sinha, who created history by becoming the first woman amputee from India to conquer Mount Everest, may soon have her story filmed by Hollywood.

According to sources, Arunima who is a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Ambedkar Nagar district, about 200 km from here, a Hollywood film producer has offered to make a film on her life.

Some members of her family have been contacted through a translator by the Hollywood producer as they (Arunima’s family) could not understand English that well, sources said.

Arunima is currently in Nepal and is scheduled to return to her home district in the next few days. Arunima has been invited to visit the US to discuss the matter.

Arunima, a former national-level volleyball player, lost her right leg after being allegedly thrown off a moving train near Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly town in April 2011 by unidentified miscreants while resisting a robbery. The railways had however contested the claim.

She was found lying in a pool of blood in the morning by the villagers and was admitted to District Hospital. One of her legs had to be amputated following infection. The incident had triggered a nationwide outrage and the railway had to pay a compensation of Rs five lakh to the athlete.  The union sports minister had also given financial assistance to her.