Mountaineers

Every year on Dec 11, people observe International Mountain Day to increase awareness of the value of mountains in preserving the ecological balance of the globe and promoting human well-being

Two foreign women mountaineers, who were stranded at a height of 6,015 metres on way to the Chaukhamba III peak in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, were rescued on Sunday morning, the District Disaster Management Centre here said. The mountaineers -- Michelle Theresa Dvorak from the USA and Fay Jane Manners from the United Kingdom -- were stranded since October 3. Both are safe despite their ordeal lasting three days. Though looking somewhat tired, the experienced mountaineers wore a smile when they were brought to the Jyotirmath (Joshimath) helipad by the Indian Air Force (IAF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel on Sunday morning. A joint operation by the IAF, SDRF and the State Disaster Management Authority carried out over the past two days led to their safe evacuation. Two IAF helicopters began a search operation to trace them on Friday. They were joined by climbing trained SDRF personnel on Saturday to assist in the operations hampered by fog and adverse weathe

An expedition team of the National Institute of Mountaineering and Adventure Sports scaled a previously unclimbed peak, at an altitude of 20,942 ft in the Gorichen range of Arunachal Pradesh Himalayas

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International Everest Day is observed on 29 May in Nepal and New Zealand to remember the first successful summit of Mount Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953

This is his second ascent of the season, after his first on May 12

Nepal's legendary mountaineer Kami Rita Sherpa made history on Sunday by breaking his record for the highest number of ascents of Mt. Everest as he scaled the world's highest peak for the 29th time. The 54-year-old veteran climber reached the 8,849-metre peak at 7:25 am local time on Sunday, according to Rakesh Gurung, director at the Tourism Department in the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation. The expedition was organised by the Seven Summit Treks and had 20 climbers. They scaled Everest on Sunday morning, said Thani Guragain, a senior staff at the Seven Summit Treks. At least 20 climbers from Seven Summit Treks including Kami made a successful ascent of Mt. Everest Sunday morning, Seven Summit Treks said, issuing a statement. The climbing members were from countries including the USA, Canada and Kazakhstan besides thirteen climbers from Nepal. Kami had climbed Everest for the first time in 1994. Last year, he made two successful attempts to scale Everest for the 27th and

The only surviving member of the mountaineering expedition that first conquered Mount Everest said Saturday that the world's highest peak is too crowded and dirty, and the mountain is a god that needs to be respected. Kanchha Sherpa, 91, was among the 35 members in the team that put New Zealander Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay atop the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) peak on May 29, 1953. It would be better for the mountain to reduce the number of climbers, Kanchha said in an interview in Kathmandu on Saturday, Right now there is always a big crowd of people at the summit. Since the first conquest, the peak has been climbed thousands of times, and it gets more crowded every year. During the spring climbing season in 2023, 667 climbers scaled the peak, but that brought in thousands of support staff to the base camp between the months of March and May. There have been concerns about the number of people living on the mountain for months on end, generating trash and wast

International Mountain Day is a yearly celebration designated by the Unified Nations General Assembly. Since 2003, it has been observed annually to emphasise the importance of mountains in our lives

Rescuers searching the hazardous slopes of Indonesia's Mount Marapi volcano found the last body of climbers who were caught by a surprise weekend eruption, raising the number of confirmed dead to 23, officials said Wednesday. About 75 climbers started their way up the nearly 2,900-metre mountain in Agam district of West Sumatra province on Saturday and became stranded. Some 52 climbers were rescued after the initial eruption Sunday, and 11 others were initially confirmed dead. New eruptions on Monday and Tuesday spewed more hot ash as high as 800 metres into the air, reducing visibility and temporarily halting search and recovery operations, said Abdul Malik, chief of the Padang Search and Rescue Agency. The bodies of two climbers were located on Monday and nine more on Tuesday, the National Search and Rescue Agency said. West Sumatra's Police Chief Suharyono said the body of the last climber was found early Wednesday, just a few metres from the eruption site, bringing the death to

Nepal's largest umbrella organisation of Sherpas has felicitated over 100 veteran mountain climbers who have scaled Mount Everest at least 10 times in a gala event here. Nepal honoured record-holding Sherpa guides and climbers on Monday to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the first ascent of Mount Everest by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. On May 29, 1953, Hillary, a beekeeper from New Zealand and his Sherpa guide Norgay scripted history by becoming the first human beings to scale the treacherous terrains of the world's highest mountain peak. Sherpa Tourism Entrepreneurs Association of Nepal (STEAN), the largest umbrella association of Sherpas in Nepal organised a gala event here on the occasion of the International Everest Day. Sherpa climbers, who scaled Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world at least ten times, were felicitated at the programme chaired by STEAN chairman Sangam Sherpa. Among those felicitated include Kami Rita Sherpa, who climbed Mt Everest for a recor

As the mountaineering community prepares to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the conquest of Mount Everest, there is growing concern about temperatures rising, glaciers and snow melting, and weather getting harsh and unpredictable on the world's tallest mountain. Since the 8,849-metre (29,032-foot) mountain peak was first scaled by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay in 1953, thousands of climbers have reached the peak and hundreds of lost their lives. The deteriorating conditions on Everest are raising concerns for the mountaineering community and the people whose livelihoods depend on the flow of visitors. The Sherpa community, who grew up on the foothills of the snow-covered mountain they worship as the mother of the world, is the most startled. The effects of climate change are hitting not just the fishes of Antarctica, the whales or the penguins, but it's having a direct impact on the Himalayan mountains and the people there, said Ang Tshering, a

A total of 500 climbers have successfully scaled Mt Everest during the current expedition season to the world's highest peak, Nepal's tourism department said on Monday. Nepal's Tourism Board, which handles the permits for the expedition to the 8,848.86 metres-high Mt Everest and other mountains in the Himalayan nation, issued a record 478 permits to mountaineers from various nations, including India, for the climbing season that started on May 13. "A total of 478 mountaineers received expedition permits to climb Mt. Everest in this season. The 500 who reached the Everest Summit also include the Sherpa guides from different expeditions," the tourism department said. Permits are mandatory for every new person qualified to climb Mt Everest, but there is no such requisite needed for the Sherpa guides, who are permanently authorised. Officials said that so far 12 climbers, four Nepalese, one Indian and one Chinese died during their respective expeditions to Mt Everest. This season of t

World-renowned Nepalese mountaineer Kami Rita Sherpa scaled Mt Everest for a record 27th time on Wednesday, beating his own record with the highest number of ascends on the world's highest peak. The 53-year-old record-holding mountain guide stood atop the 8,848.86 metres-high peak at 8:30 am on Wednesday, the Department of Tourism of Nepal said. He regained his title for the most climbs of Mount Everest, just three days after a fellow Sherpa guide equalled his previous record. Pasang Dawa Sherpa, 46, a fellow Sherpa guide, scaled the summit of Mount Everest on Sunday for the 26th time, equalling Kami Rita's previous record for the most ascents of the world's highest peak. A resident of Solukhumbu district in eastern Nepal, Kami Rita first reached Everest on May 13, 1994. Kami Rita, who works as a senior mountain guide at the Seven Summit Treks, reached the summit under an expedition organised by the Kathmandu-based commercial adventure operator. He summited Mt Everest for the 26t

Search for the two mountaineers who continue to be missing after the October 4 avalanche in the district went on for the 11th day on Friday amid bad weather. Meanwhile, one more body recovered earlier was brought to the district hospital here to be handed over to the relatives after a post-mortem. Inclement weather at the avalanche site located at an altitude of 17,000 feet near Draupadi ka Danda-II peak has been hampering search and rescue efforts for nearly a week. Two mountaineers out of a team of 29 are still missing, Registrar of Nehru Institute of Mountaineering Vishal Ranjan said. Twenty-seven bodies have already been recovered and brought down, he said. Those who went missing after the avalanche are said to have fallen into a crevasse. However, the body of trainee mountaineer Sourav Biswas from West Bengal, which had been recovered earlier was brought to the ITBP camp at Matli and then to the district hospital here on Friday, he said. The body will be handed over to rel

Ten more bodies were recovered from the site of an avalanche here, taking the death toll to 26, the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering said on Friday. Two Cheetah helicopters took off from the Army helipad in Harsil to join the search operations, officials said. The avalanche occurred at a height of 17,000 feet on Tuesday when a team of the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) was returning after summiting Draupadi Ka Danda II peak. Three more bodies were recovered from the avalanche site late on Thursday evening and seven were found on Friday, taking the total number of bodies retrieved so far to 26, the NIM said. While 24 of these bodies are of trainee mountaineers, two are of their instructors, it said. According to the NIM, three trainees are still missing. Fifteen bodies were recovered on Thursday, the NIM said. Four of the bodies that were being brought to Matli were taken to the Harsil helipad due to bad weather. From there, they were sent to Uttarkashi in ambulances, .

Twenty-seven mountaineers remained missing on Wednesday after rescue workers brought 14 injured members of their team to safety, a day after an avalanche claimed 10 lives in Uttarkashi. The Uttarakhand Police said on Facebook that 10 bodies have been retrieved so far as a multi-agency search and rescue operation aided by IAF helicopters continued through the day to find those missing. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami did an aerial inspection of the area, which is at a height of 17,000 feet, that was hit by the avalanche on Tuesday and told reporters that 27 climbers are still missing. He said he prayed for their safety even as personnel of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and mountaineers from the Nehru Institute Of Mountaineering (NIM) are trying to find the missing climbers. "Out of 34, 27 are still missing, Dhami told reporters after the aerial survey along with Haridwar MP and former Union ...

Harshwanti Bisht was elected to the coveted post on November 20, winning 60 out of a total of 107 votes

Purja has had an illustrious career in mountaineering and is a multiple Guinness World Records holder for quickest ascents of Everest, Lhotse and Makalu

Indian Air Force helicopters on Wednesday undertook three sorties to retrieve bodies of five mountaineers lying near the Nanda Devi East Peak in Uttarakhand but high speed sharp winds hampered their efforts. Considering the tough terrain, the operation of retrieving the bodies might extend beyond a week, Pithoragarh District Magistrate V K Jogdande said. He said three sorties were undertaken from Pithoragarh to retrieve the bodies but the helicopters could not hover over and get down at the spot where five bodies were found. High speed sharp winds at the peak did not let the IAF helicopters with ITBP mountaineers on board get down, he said. "Besides the aerial operation, the administration will also try to reach the spot by the land route tomorrow to retrieve the bodies," he said. We are being joined by 35 State Disaster Response Force men tonight who will be divided into two groups. One will be sent to the spot by land route while the other will try to reach the spot by air," the