KATHMANDU: Jangbu Sherpa, who has successfully climbed Mt Everest for 16 times, has added another feather in his cap by successfully Mt Manaslu (8,163m) for the first time on September 25.
Upon setting his feet atop Mt Manaslu, he looked at his watch. “It was 6:15 am,” a delighted Jangbu told Khabarhub.
This young and energetic Sherpa said he had had a unique and amazing experience while climbing Mt Manaslu for the first time this year. “You won’t believe, it was just incredible to be atop this summit,” he said adding that the trip to Mt Manaslu and the enchanting beauty of the mountains, in fact, fascinated him.
He says the government needs to promote Mt Manaslu as it can be conquered within a short span of time. According to him, the expedition can be completed within 20 days, if all circumstances favor.
Here’s what he suggests: “Now, the government basically needs to focus on three mountains — Mt Everest for the spring season, Mt Manaslu for September and Ama Dablam for October-November — for three seasons and other mountains above 6000 meters.”
The view from the summit of Mt Manaslu, he says, is just mind-blowing from where one can take a view of other mountain peaks.
Sherpa says the section from Camp 3 to Camp 4 is a little bit difficult and risky due to the high rate of the avalanche. “Other parts are quite safe,” he says.
Another point he raised during the conversation was about what he said ‘high charge’ of the altitude porters due to their unavailability there. He suggests the rate of high-altitude porters could be minimized if local people are encouraged to work as porters.
He has a complaint. “As a matter of fact, I could see several liaison officers were absent in the base camp of Mt Manaslu,” he said. “Such a tendency shows government’s apathy,” he added.
Jangbu says the government needs to provide identity cards including their permit numbers to the climbers and high-altitude porters. “This might look simple, but has a value,” he says.
According to the Department of Tourism (DoT), a total of 192 foreign climbers representing 18 teams obtained climbing permits to attempt to climb Mt Manaslu this season.
Meanwhile, some 120 foreign climbers, along with over 100 climbing Sherpas, successfully scaled Mt Manaslu, the world’s eighth highest peak in western Nepal, during the autumn climbing season, contributing a total of NRs 27 million to the government fund.
The DoT said a total of 41 teams — 35 foreigners and six domestic groups — comprising 378 people scaled Mt Everest, the world’s highest peak, during the spring season contributing a royalty of NRs 44 million rupees to the government.
Likewise, around 462 members from 60 teams have received permission to climb 24 peaks of Nepal.
The government of Nepal collected a total of NRs 41 million from these mountains during the autumn season so far including Mt Everest, Mt Manaslu, Mt Makalu, Mt Nemjung, Mt Nuptse, Mt Api, among others.
According to Jangbu, there is a high potential in the expedition. However, the government needs to focus on publicity.
“If the government promotes Nepal’s peaks, there will be a lot of employment opportunities besides squirreling royalty,” Jangbu claims to add that this will also help the government to fulfill the government’s ambitious Visit Nepal 2020 campaign of bringing in 2 million tourists.
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