Nepal to honour 100 Everest heroes including Indians

Mt. Everest (A PTI file photo)

Kathmandu, May 27 (PTI): To mark the third International Everest Day, more than 100 Everest summiteers from around the world including Indian climbers will be honoured during a special function, Nepal's Mountaineering Association has said.

Peter Hebler from Austria, the first person to climb Everest without oxygen, Apa Sherpa, 20 times climber, Major HPS Alhuwaliya, a war hero and acclaimed mountaineer who also summited Mt Everest and Arjun Bajpayee, the youngest Indian to climb the Everest are some of the prominent Everest summiteers who will be felicitated on May 29, the day when Tenzing Sherpa and Edmund Hillary set a record by climbing the Everest for the first time in 1953, said Ang Tshering Sherpa, president of Nepal Mountaineering Association.

Others who will attend the function include Chris Bonington, renowned mountaineer and writer, L Jirasko, president of International Alpinism Festival and Richard Blum president of American Himalayan foundation.

On the occasion, Apa Sherpa, the record 20 times summiteers, will be honoured as Goodwill Ambassador of SAARC and Tenzing Hillary Award will be conferred to a person who substantially contributed for the development of Khumbu region near the Mt Everest.

A rally comprising mountaineers, travel entrepreneurs, government officials, industry leaders, media persons and trekking agency representatives will be organised on May 29 in Kathmandu.

Summiteers' Summit will also be held in Kathmandu with the objective to save the Himalayas, during which experts will present papers on different topics related to climate change and preservation of the mountain range.