Treks across the Himalayas
Kathmandu :Nepal’s “Super Sherpa” voiced amazement at the pace of change in the country’s remote Himalayan communities, as he celebrated his return from one of the world’s most difficult treks.
Apa Sherpa completed a 99-day trek across the Himalayas in Nepal covering over 1,555 kilometres as part of the Great Himalayan Trail. The effort was latest in the former Nepali porter’s attempt to highlight ill-effects of climate change on Himalayas and especially Nepal, one of the most vulnerable countries to global warming.
“The trail gave me an opportunity to see my country, interact with thousands and hear their experiences. Collective effort is needed to tackle climate change and promote sustainable eco-tourism,” said Apa, a resident of Salt Lake City, USA.
Apa and the team from HCI would compile the comprehensive data, photos and videos collected during the trip and share them with Nepal government, donor agencies and private players dealing with climate change and eco-tourism.
Apa Sherpa arrived in Kathmandu earlier this week after leading the first expedition to complete the Great Himalayan Trail, a 1,700-kilometre (1,050-mile) trek spanning the entire length of the Nepalese Himalayas.
Sherpa, who earned his nickname for scaling Mount Everest a record 21 times, said the world’s highest mountain range had undergone a “transformation”, with improved transport links, communications and education.
Sherpa and three companions set off in January on the Climate Smart Celebrity Trek, an expedition promoting tourism and highlighting the effects of climate change.
The adventurers set out from the shadow of the world’s third-highest peak, Mount Kanchenjunga, in the east and finished at Nepal’s border with Tibet in the west, 20 days ahead of schedule.
Along the way they traversed some of the world’s most rugged landscapes, ascending beyond 6,000 metres (19,600 feet).
They said they received letters of support from former US vice-president Al Gore, British actress Joanna Lumley and Italian mountaineer Reinhold Messner.
Dawa Steven Sherpa, a member of the expedition who has climbed Everest twice, said the group found mountain communities that rely on subsistence farming were suffering the effects of climate change.
