Nepal Mountaineering

Mountaineering can be extremely dangerous. Over 200 people have climbed to the top of Mt Everest, some people more than once. Also around 100 climbers have died during climbs during attempt on Everest. Almost as many people have died while climbing Annapurna as have reached the top.

Permits
To climb a mountain peak that is allowed, an expedition has to get permission from the Ministry of Tourism’s Mountaineering Section (211-286), Tripureshwar in Kathmandu. The team must be connected to a licensed trekking agency in Nepal.
To climb a mountain a fee has to be paid before the permit is issued. To climb Mt Everest the fee is $50,000 and is usually booked years in advance. Each year 600 to 1000 climbers come to Nepal for mountaineering.

Mountaineering History
Climbing mountains starting to be popular in the last half of the 19th century in Europe. WW Graham from English climbed a 6000m peak in Nepal in 1883. Also from England, Tom Longstaff climbed Trisuli (7215m) in 1907. From the next 20 years this was the highest mountain that was climbed.

In the 1920s and 1930s the main goal became to climb to the top of Mt Everest. Because Nepal did not allow foreigner in, the early attempts were made from the Tibet side. Attains were made by the British in 1921, 1922 and 1924. The 1922 expedition used oxygen and got to 8326m. The 1924 expedition did not use oxygen and reached 8572m. The expedition in 1924 used over 350 porters, plus there were climbers and the support staff.

In 1925 Mallory and Irvine left the last camp to climb to the top, but never returned. It is not known if they died on the way up or they died on the way down from the top. Mallory made of famous statement on why to climb Mt Everest. He said, “Because it’s there.” There were more expedition in the 1920s and 1930s, but no one was able to climb to the top. Maurice Wilson died during a bizarre in 1934, when he tried to climb the mountain alone.

In the 1930s only two major mountains were climbed in the Himalayas. In 1931 Kamet at 7761m was climbed and included HW Tilman. In 1936 Nanda Devi at 7822m was conquered.
In 1950 Maurice Herzog led a successful France expedition that climbed Annapurna, making it the first mountain over 8000m to be climbed to the top. On the descent of the mountain and the return trip, severe snow cost members of the expedition including Herzog to get frostbite and lose then fingers and toes. Herzog’s book Annapurna is a classic mountaineering book that describes this expedition.

In 1953 a British expedition led by John Hunt enable two of its climbers to reach the top, Edmund Hillary from New Zealand and the Sherpa Norgay Tenzing. The next successful attempt was by a Swiss team in 1956. In 1960 a Chinese party reached the top from the Tibetan side. A huge US expedition with over 1000 porters reached the top in 1963. In 1965 an Indian party made it. In 1970 a Japanese party climbed Mt Everest. One of the climbers went down very quickly on skis.

An Italian party was successful in 1973. It was a huge expedition that includes 64 climbers, 100 Sherpas and almost 2000 porters. Nine climbers reached to top during this attempt. Helicopters brought up supplies. A Japanese women’s party was also successful.

How it was Done
In the 1953 British expedition to conquer Mt Everest a huge amount of people were used. A set of camps were established a different levels higher up on the mountain. Supplies then would be ferried further up the mountain.

As more and more mountains became conquered, it was not just that you climbed a mountains, it was important how you did it. Climbers instead of climbing the easy path up the mountain climbed the more difficult faces. Chris Bonnington exemplified this system when he climb the southern face of Annapurna in 1970 and then climbed what was believed to be unconquerable southwest side of Mt Everest in 1975.

Also small expeditions became the trend. In 1978 an Austrian expedition has two climbers Peter Habler and Reinhold Messner reach the top without using oxygen. In 1980 Reinhold Messner did a solo climb of Everest and reached the top in the fastest time ever.

In 1990 Tim Mccartney-Snape from Australia walked from sea-level at the Bay of Bengal and then climbed Mt Everest without the use of oxygen.

Trekking Peaks
There are many small mountains that can be climbed if they are done with a trek. This avoids the high mountaineering fees for climbing a high peak. The trekking peaks range for 5587m to 6654m. By the standard of other mountains in the Himalayas these mountains are not so high, but some offer some really tough ice climbing. For some mountains you do not need much experience. You have to be very physically fit and be able to deal with real cold weather.

To climb a trekking peak you have to get a permit from the Nepal Mountaineering Association, PO Box 1435, Kamaladi, Kathmandu. The fee (also called royalties) depends on the height of the mountain being climbed. It costs $1000 (per party???) to climb a peak below 6501m. It goes up by $500 for every 500m increased up to $3000 to climb a peak between 7501m and 8000m.

Climbing a trekking peak usually takes three or four weeks and costs per day about the same price as a high end trek. A trekking peak tour must be arranged by a registered trekking company, a special permit is needed, and a certified guide (sirdar) has to go on the trip.
Gear for climbing can be rented or purchased in Kathmandu.

Most trekkers who go to the Everest base camp also climbed the 5545m high Kala Pattar to get a fantastic view of Mt Everest.

The Trekking Peaks of Nepal by Bill O’Connor (Crowood Press, UK) has a detailed description of the climb of each mountain and the trek to get to it. You can get information from the Nepal Mountaineering Association (434-525; email: peaks@nma.wlink.com.np).

Equator Expeditions (415-782; email: equator@mos.com.np) operates classes on mountaineering for beginners in the Everest area. Classes are held in April and October-November. It costs $1800 for three weeks and $2000 for four week (includes a hotel in Kathmandu). You can also trek to the Everest region your self and take the six day Equator course on Labuje East for $700 per person. This can work out cheaper than doing it yourself and you also get lessons. These courses are only a couple times a year, so you should contact them in advance for dates.

Trekking Peak Height
Chulu East 6584m
Chulu West 6419m
Hiunchuli 6441m
Imja Tse 6183m
Kangja Chuli 5844m
Khongma Tse (or Mehra) 5849m
Kusum Kanguru 6367m
Kwangde 6011m
Lubuje 6119m
Mardi Himal 5587m
Mera Peak 6654m
Paldor Peak 5896m
Parchemuche 6187m
Pisang 6091m
Pokalde 5806m
Ramdung 5925m
Singu Chuli (or Fluted Peak) 6501m
Tharpu Chuli (or Tent Peak) 5663m

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Copyright ©2001 John Howley and Spiritual Guides