<figure><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Page-6-7-NT-1.jpg" data-elementor-open-lightbox="yes" data-elementor-lightbox-title="Page 6-7 NT 1"> <img width="3999" height="301" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e39ff09c7e80680e0d7014jpeg.jpg" alt=""/></a> <figcaption> Full panorama of the Himalaya as seen on a clear day from Sunakothi on the southern outskirts of Kathmandu Valley, from Annapurna in the west to Numbur on the east. Photo: BINOD KRISHNA SHRESTHA</figcaption></figure><figure><a href="https://archivenepal.s3.amazonaws.com/nepalitimes/book/Nepali_Times_1144/index.html#page=6" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> <img width="1603" height="800" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e39ff49c7e80680e0d7015jpeg.jpg" alt=""></a> <figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Binod Krishna Shrestha remembers in the 1970s seeing foreign visitors to Nepal being mesmerised by the vista of mountains to the north of Kathmandu.They used to ask him the names of the individual peaks. He was embarrassed to admit that he had no idea which was which.So, in 1975 he started working on a panorama of the mountains, identifying the individual Himalayan peaks. He was helped by journalist Kunda Dixit, who sketched and identified the peaks as seen from Patan, and took it to Delhi to print a brochure.The folder also had captions providing information on which expeditions had climbed the peaks, and it was later useful for celebrations by the Ministry of Tourism marking the 30th anniversary of the first ascent of Mt Everest in 1983.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-mountains-are-melting/">Nepal’s mountains are melting</a>, Alton C Byers <figure><img width="720" height="477" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e39ff89c7e80680e0d7016jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>After this, Shrestha was involved in rural development projects and trekked across Nepal, and this brought him up close and personal with the mountains he had been seeing from Kathmandu.He also visited other countries and took up philately, all along keeping up his interest in knowing Nepal’s mountains.He found that Mt Everest is depicted in 84 postage stamps of 46 countries. And Nepal’s other mountains are on 41 other postage stamps of various countries. Shrestha collected these stamps, and brought out a book, Nepal Himalaya: The Roof of the World on Postage Stamps.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/it-is-getting-hotter-on-the-roof-of-the-world/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">It is getting hotter on the roof of the world</a>, Kunda Dixit <figure><img width="2973" height="1374" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e39ffb9c7e80680e0d7017jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“The fact that other countries put Nepal’s mountains on their stamps was a recognition of their importance,” Shrestha says. “And it was a pity that we Nepalis did not bother to know them.” Shreshta feels that this is a failure of the geography curriculum in Nepal’s schools. The peaks all have names, either of Hindu gods and goddesses given by the people of the lower valleys, or Tibetan names by dwellers of the high mountains.The southern outskirts of Kathmandu Valley on clear days like this week provide a sweeping view of 250km of Himalayan mountains from Annapurna in the west to Numbur in the east. Few know that even Mt Everest is visible from Lagankhel and Kirtipur, peeking from behind Kang Nachugo in Rolwaling Himal.In those days there was no pollution in Kathmandu, and the peaks were visible most days from the city itself. And from the ridges on the southern rim of the Valley, the view is of mountains further still — from Dhaulagiri to Makalu. Shrestha credits his passion for identifying mountains to his Jesuit teachers at St Xaviers School in Godavari, and especially Fr James Donnelly who passed down his interest in mountains to boarding school students like himself.“Every December, we used to climb Pulchoki and Fr Donnelly used to point out each peak and tell us their names, and we never forgot them, they were etched in our memory,” says Shrestha, who clambers up to the terrace of his home in Sunakothi every day with clear skies to take pictures of the panorama. “With climate change threatening the Himalaya, it is important to know our mountains,” he says. “Only if we know them will we respect them, and value them.”Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/knowing-our-mountains/">Knowing our mountains</a>, Editorial

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Knowing our mountains

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101140/63720d119c7e80680e0b78a4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"/><figcaption>Imja Glacier has turned into a lake 3km long and 1km wide in the last 30 years due to global warming. Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>The double-barrel crisis of climate and Covid <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/human-face-of-a-himalayan-climate-crisis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">has hit Nepal’s Himalayan communities hard </a>with its impact on livelihoods and the natural environment.I myself have witnessed first-hand the vast changes in the lives of our people in the mountains for over six decades. As a mountaineer, trekker, environmental activist, and someone in the mountaineering, trekking and tourism sector, I have seen the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/epicentre-of-two-disasters-in-west-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">impact of the twin crises</a>.Although we share the Himalaya with Bhutan, India, China and Pakistan, it is Nepal that hosts most of the highest peaks. Both the Buddhists and the Hindus who live here consider the Himalaya sacred.Much of our socio-cultural practices of diverse ethnicities from the mountains to the plains evolved amidst the great lakes and rivers emanating from the Himalaya. Protecting the precious natural beauty of the mountains is important not just for Nepal, but also for the planet.Much of Himalayan region is poor, many remote areas still do not have electricity, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/at-the-covid-19-frontlines-in-rural-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">health facilities </a> are dismal, children are deprived of quality schooling, and educated <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/no-country-for-young-men/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">youth migrate because there are no jobs</a>.Nepal is known for its mountains, but it is the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/right-at-home-with-nepalis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">spontaneous warmth and natural friendliness of its people</a> that impresses visitors. This multi-ethnic society living in harmony for centuries has weaved a rich cultural tapestry.Read also: <a style="font-weight: 600; letter-spacing: 0.15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/global-heating-melts-mountains/">Global heating melts mountains</a>, Nepali TimesThe Himalaya, and more specifically the<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/on-thin-ice-in-the-khumbu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Khumbu region</a> represents the opportunities and challenges of Nepal in a microcosm. I grew up there taking my family’s yaks to graze, climbed for a living to support my family, and awakened to my life’s mission. The mountains are literally melting before my eyes. Hundreds of glacial lakes have swelled up dangerously in recent decades. Imja is now one of the biggest, and I have seen it grow enormously since my childhood. As children, we used to cross the Imja Glacier with our yaks. Then ponds started to appear, and grow. The lake is now 3km long and 1km wide, and in danger of bursting. The Khumbu Glacier in the adjacent valley may not have a big lake, but the firm ice we used to walk on is all gone, replaced by boulders and debris.The Himalaya is already one of the most <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/nepali-times-search/?q=melting+shake" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">seismically active areas </a>of the world. Future earthquakes can bring down avalanches into these lakes, causing them to top over the fragile moraine dams, sending vertical tsunamis rushing down the narrow valleys.In my lifetime, I have seen two of these glacial lake outburst floods with my own eyes: in 1977 below Ama Dablam in Pangboche, and in 1985 after the Dig Tso burst in Thame. Both caused death and destruction downstream, washing away trails and bridges, drinking water systems, a hydropower plant and decades of development.We in Nepal’s mountains did not cause the global climate breakdown, yet <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-terrifying-assessment-of-himalayan-melting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">we are paying the price</a>. This is why I formed the Climate Alliance of Himalayan Communities (CAHC) to bring the impact of climate change in the Himalaya to world attention, and work on risk reduction through traditional knowledge and native experience.Trekking and mountaineering had also fouled the mountains, giving Mt Everest a bad reputation for being <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/most-days-its-not-so-crowded-on-mt-everest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">overcrowded</a> and garbage-laden. But in recent years, through initiatives like the annual Eco Everest Expeditions and the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, the routes are much cleaner. The ‘Cash for Trash’ started by Asian Trekking has brought down 24 tonnes of garbage from Mt Everest in the past 14 years. Seven bodies of climbers have also been retrieved for dignified funerals.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/managing-everests-waste-problem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cleaning Himalaya</a> is not as easy as picking garbage in the streets of Kathmandu. Some of the frozen bodies were brought down from Balcony at 8,400m, below the summit of Mt Everest. The Sherpas risked their own lives to dig out the bodies entombed in ice.Tourism has played a pivotal role in the economic transformation of the Khumbu. But it has suffered many crises. The deadly avalanche at Everest Base Camp in 2014, the earthquake the next year, and in the past two years the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as more recent conflicts and instability.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/living-below-nepals-melting-mountains/">Living below Nepal’s melting mountains</a>, Alton C Byers<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101140/63720d149c7e80680e0b78a5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1244" height="500"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Nepal needs a post-Covid strategy to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/model-for-post-covid-ecotourism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">revive its tourism industry</a>. The Khumbu, Annapurna, Langtang and Manaslu areas have been hit particularly hard because trekking provided 80% of the income for families.What has made the situation worse has been winter drought, extreme monsoon weather in the last two years. This has meant poor harvests, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-is-going-up-in-smoke/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">wildfires and other disasters</a> that have made it difficult for people to cope.The pandemic hit just as Nepal was preparing to welcome the Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign. The tourism sector had invested a lot of resources through bank loans to promote Nepal and upgrade facilities. But when <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-tourism-may-take-5-years-to-recover/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tourism collapsed</a>, the loans added to the burden for businesses.A post-Covid resurgence of tourism in Nepal could be adopted with the following strategies and policies:Banks should reschedule repayment of loans, demand only interest payments now and the principal a year after tourism revives and the cash flow is better. This would lessen some financial burden of the already floundering industry.As tourism recovery seems uncertain, there is a need for state support for those dependent on trekking and mountaineering.Read also: <a style="font-weight: 600; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/climate-for-change/the-great-himalayan-thaw/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The great Himalayan thaw</a>, Ajaya DixitCovid vaccination should be prioritised for frontline tourism workers. More PCR test centres should be opened at airports for hassle-free entry for tourists without quarantine. Health protocols should be followed but without making a Nepal trip unpleasant for travellers.Introduce and promote more tourism destinations and products, such as sky diving, winter skiing, high altitude ice hockey competitions, mountain biking, agro tourism, etc.Tourism infrastructure should be <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/tourism-that-treads-lightly-on-the-land/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rebuilt using an eco-design</a> approach to optimise the use of locally-available resources and expertise that generates employment.Special packages must target repeat international tourists, the Nepali diasporas, expatriates and domestic tourists.Provide vocational skills (plumbing, carpentry, electrician, masonry) for local people dependent on tourism jobs.Revival of tourism will only happen if there is survival. More than anything else, we need to get people back to work so that they can look after themselves. And that means we need to get tourism up and running, as it is one of the biggest employers.We need to let the world know that the best way to help the Himalayan people is by visiting the country. Visitors will also see first-hand the enormity of the climate crisis, and will thus help focus global attention to it.The Himalaya is not just a tourist destination providing income to Nepalis. It is also a gigantic water tower for much of humanity that lives downstream in Asia. Saving the Himalaya means saving the planet.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/danger-nepals-glacial-lakes-are-filling-up/">DANGER: Nepal’s glacial lakes are filling up</a>, Nepali TimesAng Tshering Sherpa is a tourism entrepreneur and has served with the Nepal Mountaineering Association.

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Himalayans on the frontlines

At 7,300m on the perpendicular south face of Lhotse Shar, considered among the most dangerous climbs with the highest fatality rate among all eight-thousander peaks, Um Hong-gil suddenly saw his Nepali climbing companion slip and fall down the mountain.A fall at that altitude and on that face would have been impossible to survive, but miraculously his Sherpa partner only sustained a leg injury and was helicoptered to Kathmandu.It was at that moment that the famous Korean mountaineer remembered his previous failed attempts to ascend the 8,383m peak during which two of his team mates had been killed. He also recalled all the other 15 peaks that he had taken over two decades to climb.On his first attempt of Lhotse Shar in 2001, Um Hong-gil was forced to turn back at 7,600m due to bad weather. In 2003, just 150m below the summit at 8,250m, the team lost two members in an avalanche and the expedition was abandoned. At 8,200m in 2006, the team retreated once again due to avalanche risk.As he clung to the rocky Lhotse Shar recalling his <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepalis-on-k2-make-the-impossible-possible/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mountaineering feats in Nepal and Pakistan</a>,  and a lifetime of narrow escapes with death, Um Hong-gil made a solemn promise to the mountain gods: “If I survive this climb, I will use rest of my time for the service of less privileged people of Nepal.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101124/6372093d9c7e80680e0b552djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1030" height="670"/><figcaption>Korean climber Um Hong-gil after reaching the top of Lhotse in 2001.</figcaption></figure>On 31 May 2007, Um Hong-gil set a new world record. He became the first mountaineer to climb all the world’s 16 highest peaks. Unlike Nirmal (Nims) Purja and 44 other climbers who have summited 14 eight-thousanders, Um Hong-gil regards Yalung Kang at 8,505m and Lhotse Shar at 8,383m also deserve the status of independent peaks even though they are part of Kangchenjunga and Lhotse-Everest massifs in Nepal.No one else has climbed all 16 peaks since, but this feat came at enormous cost to the Korean. He has lost 10 team members, six Koreans and four Nepalis, during his  mountaineering career. He himself lost the rotational movement in his right foot at the ankle during descent from Annapurna, and has had several toes amputated due to frostbite.Altogether it took 38 attempts and 22 years, 14 of which were dedicated to summiting the 14 highest peaks, unlike <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nims-purja-does-it/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nirmal Purja</a> who achieved the same success in a mere six months.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/alpine-style-in-the-himalaya/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Alpine style in the Himalaya</a>, Kunda Dixit“There is a distinction between analogue climbing of those days and digital mountaineering of today,” said the stocky white-haired climber in an interview last week in Kathmandu during one of his frequent visits to Nepal.He explains: “We couldn’t tell when it would be best to climb or if the weather would be favourable, all our decisions were based on past experience, and luck. The success rate was extremely low. There was no technology to guide us nor the helicopters there are today to speed things up.”After conquering the 16 highest peaks in 2007, to keep his promise to the mountain gods, Um Hong-gil turned his life around to dedicate it to humanitarian causes. He set up Um Hong Gil Human Foundation in Seoul in 2008.Initially, he didn’t know where to begin. Remembering a lifetime looking up at lofty peaks rising up to the sky, for the first time he turned his attention to those living at the base of the mountains. Inevitably, they were under-served and neglected by society.“I realised that the reason for their intergenerational poverty was lack of access to quality education,” says the mountaineer turned philanthropist.And thus began Hong-gil’s Human School Project in what he calls his second home, Nepal.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101124/6372093f9c7e80680e0b552ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">Humble beginnings Besides his world record, Um Hong-gil also has the unfortunate distinction of being dubbed among the most accident-prone climbers. Yet his love for the mountains and climbing never wavered.In fact, having survived all those near-death experiences, Um Hong-gil is convinced he was saved for a reason: to give back to the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/conserving-mountains-for-people-and-nature/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">people of the mountains</a>.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/of-mountains-and-of-people/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Of mountains and people</a>, Shristi Karki For the native of a country where the highest peak is less than 2,000m, Um Hong-gil says he never set out to climb all the world’s highest peaks. But his inspiration were Korea’s mountains.Born in South Gyeongsang in 1960, at the age of three, his parents took him to Uijeongbu in Gyeonggi Province where they set up a small shop at the entrance of Mangweol Temple at Mt Dobong.From an early age, he was a natural-born hiker, having to go up and down the slopes every day to get to his school which was one hour away. He resented not having electricity at home until he was in high school, but he was also constantly exposed to weekend trekkers on their way up Mt Dobong – sparking an early interest in mountaineering.The fact that there was a crag only 10 minutes away from home added to his growing fascination with rock climbing. By 14, he had started training professionally on rock, ice and mixed terrain.“I was practically raised by the mountains, maybe that is why I have always felt at ease among them wherever in the world,” says the climber, who looks much younger than his 61 years.During his mandatory military service, Um Hong-gil trained with an underwater demolition team in the Korean Navy. The physical and mental strength required to be deep underwater for long periods was useful for his future mountaineering career.By the time he was 25, Um Hong-gil turned his eyes to the Himalaya – not just the range, but Mt Everest itself in winter. Without any experience of climbing at high altitude and the terrain, he admits it was a foolhardy thing to do to aim for Everest as his very first Himalayan climb -- especially because he was attempting the difficult southwest face in winter. Predictably, his 1985 attempt to climb the difficult southwest face of Everest in winter failed.For the first time, he realised that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/1921-rendezvous-mallory-pumori-and-everest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">climbing in the Himalaya</a> was not like climbing in Korea. Hong-gil retreated, but returned undeterred the very next year with a better understanding (and more respect) for Nepal's formidable peaks. But once again, he had to abort the expedition when his guide Surdip Dorje fell into a crevasse and his body was never retrieved.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101124/637209429c7e80680e0b552fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="457"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The loss of this Pangboche native would play an important role decades later when Um Hong-gil started building schools in Nepal.It was only in his third attempt in 1988 that he successfully summited Mt Everest via the South Pillar. He made it to the top two more times climbing the world’s highest peak from both the north and south sides.Even then, Um Hong-gil had no inkling that he would someday be spoken about in the same breath as<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nims-purja-does-it/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> mountaineering legend Reinhold Messner</a>, the first to summit Mt Everest without oxygen in 1978, and to climb all the 14 eight-thousanders in the world.But there would be many failed expeditions and tragedies on mountains before Um Hong-gil could achieve his own record in 2007.Read also: <a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-next-for-reinhold-messner/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">What next for Reinhold Messner</a>, Kunda DixitClose encountersMountaineering makes for some of the most thrilling works of literature and cinema. That may or may not always be true for real-life summiteers but Um Hong-Gil with 38 attempts, more than half of which were unsuccessful, has had more than a fair share of close encounters with death.The Korean alpinist attempted Annapurna I five times before he finally reached the summit in 1999. It goes to show the tenacity of the man that he kept his focus on the summit despite so many failures.During his third expedition in the spring of 1997, a Nepali team member fell into a crevasse and died right before his eyes. The team eventually recovered his body and he was buried.Exactly a year later in 1998 on his fourth attempt on Annapurna, at an elevation of 7,600m, he saw his Nepali climbing companion slip on ice. Um Hong-gil quickly belayed him with his rope, only for it to wrap around his right ankle and twist it. He fainted, and on regaining consciousness found out that his toes was pointing backward.Another Nepali guide helped him realign his foot, but he had no control over it. He cut his shoe, and bandaged his leg with fabric from his backpack. It took the injured climber three days to descend to Base Camp at 4,500m from where he was helicoptered to a hospital in Kathmandu. He got metal implants for his right foot, and the surgeon told him his mountaineering career was as good as over.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101124/637209459c7e80680e0b5530jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="610" height="454"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>But within 10 months, he was back on the Annapurna to finish the job. In March 1999, he finally got to the top from the north face, even as he could still feel the metal implants in his right foot move every time he sat down.From there, there was nothing that could shake his determination which had by then extended to climbing all the highest 14 eight-thousanders as well as Yalung Kang and Lhotse Shar. But before that could come into fruition, Um Hong-gil would have to undertake one extremely painful yet healing expedition.It was in 2005 when the ‘Human Expedition Team’ was formed to bring back the body of a former teammate who had died near the summit a year earlier during an ascent of Mt Everest. Um Hong-gil had previously climbed with compatriot Park Moo-taek on four different occasions.The team located Park’s body at 8,750m and brought him down for a funeral. This heroic tale was later adapted into a 2015 South Korean adventure movie The Himalayas starring Hwang Jung-Min as Um Hong-gil.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/on-screen-mountains/">On screen Mountains</a>, Sahina ShresthaWhile a hit domestically, the film went relatively unnoticed elsewhere -- much like many of Um Hong-gil’s achievements. Looking into the Korean’s impressive mountaineering resume, one wonders if he would have gotten more recognition if he was a Westerner, a sentiment echoed by Nirmal Purja in his 2021 Netflix documentary 14 Peaks.“I never did what I did for fame or recognition,” says Um Hong-gil modestly during a meet-up with Nepali Times last week. “Which is why I am satisfied with what I have.”True to his passion, even after scaling the 16 highest peaks, he continued climbing. In December 2007, he reached the summit of Vinson Massif, the highest peak in Antarctica. He has also climbed Mount Aconcagua in Argentina, South America’s highest, many times over.This week he has just returned from Aconcagua (6,961m) with an <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/why-are-sherpas-always-happy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">all-Sherpa team</a> that was climbing South America's highest peak in Argentina.“This time, I stayed at Base Camp,” he smiles.Promise to the mountainsUm Hong-gil used to go from one year to another planning expeditions and climbing the mountains, there was no time for anything else. But after surviving on Lhotse Shar in 2007 and scaling all the 16 peaks, he decided he needed another challenge. And that was to serve the people of Nepal.It was December of 2007 and he had raised $50,000 for his cause. And after setting up a foundation in Seoul in 2008, a year later he did the same in Nepal.He started building schools in remote parts of Nepal, and visited Pangboche, the home of Surdip Dorje, the first Sherpa companion who died while climbing with him. He had decided to build 16 schools for 16 mountains he had climbed, and this would be the site of his very first ‘Human School’. He also supported Dorje's mother until she passed away.“The gods kept their promise, it was time I kept mine,” says Um Hong-gil of the time.The groundwork for the first school was laid on 5 May 2009 and exactly a year later, Pangboche Human School was completed. Since then he has built 17 schools, over-fulfilling his target, with the 18th and 19th already planned in Taplejung and Rasuwa. Each school is completed in a year and in the beginning, they were concentrated in the mountains.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101124/637209479c7e80680e0b5531jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640">But with the recommendation of the Nepal government, he has now spread out across the country, in areas with the highest need but the least access, from Sankhuwasabha and Taplejung, to Gorkha and Dhading to Lumbini and Banke, directly benefitting nearly 5,500 students.When asked why it was Nepal he chose to focus his humanitarian work on, given his experience travelling globally in his mountaineering quest, Um Hong-gil says: “This is where I gained the most but also where I lost a lot, and where I want to give back to the best of my ability.”He elaborates: “I came to Nepal often, I got to know the people and families of my team. They treated me like their own, so much so that I felt like it was my second home.”And it is through education he wants to make a difference in the lives of people in Nepal. Which is why he does not only construct school buildings, but also supports staff with training, science laboratories, computers and libraries.Human Schools focus particularly on developing reading culture among students and extracurriculars including art and exchange programs to provide exposure to young minds.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101124/637209499c7e80680e0b5532jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640">In 2017, artwork of nine children from Human Schools in Kaski and Taplejung districts were exhibited in Korea. These students now in high school are still pursuing the craft.Lumbini Sundi Human School built in 2015 has the biggest library with 9,000 books among the 17 schools set up by the foundation, which also conducts an annual book review contest for students to promote reading from an early age.The Human School project is also committed to sharing the learning experiences between Korea and Nepal with retired teachers coming here for an exchange program.Um Hong-Gil Human Foundation’s works also extend beyond education. After the 2015 earthquake, the Korean alpinist led a Red Cross Korea team to Nepal for rescue and relief. And a year later, the foundation set up a fully equipped hospital in Khumbu.It is also taking care of four Sherpa families who lost their sole breadwinners in an accident on Gurja Himal in 2019 that also killed 5 Korean climbers including team leader Kim Chang-ho. He is also taking care of 30 other children of Nepali porters and guides who have died on mountains.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/what-is-it-about-ama-dablam/">What is it about Ama Dablam?</a>, Nepali TimesPost Script In his most recent Nepal visit, Um Hong-gil spent most of his time in Rupandehi district to meet a group of students who have been receiving virtual reality development training through online monitoring supported by the foundation.Immediately after that, he took off to Argentina to mentor a fellow climber attempting Mt Aconcagua. Back in Kathmandu, just a day before his departure to Seoul where he is also A-chair professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, technical advisor at BLACKYAK INC. and consultant with the Korean Alpine Federation, he told us he will be back next March if the pandemic did not keep him away.In 2019, Um Hong-gil was granted honorary Nepali citizenship for his dedication to the country, and contribution to educating children here.Um Hong-gil has been called ‘Tank Mountaineer’ among his peers for his dogged determination, but his goals have shifted. He explains: “I want to continue building schools and contribute to the education of Nepali children for the rest of my time. I have just begun, I’m not stopping anytime soon.”Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/doug-scott-a-giant-among-giants/"> Doug Scott: a giant among giants</a>, David Durkan

Sonia Awale

Um Hong-Gil’s Project Impossible

<figure><img width="640" height="295" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101116/637208299c7e80680e0b54d1jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Doti's Budar all snowed in. All Photos: RSS</figcaption></figure>Trans-Himalayan districts of Humla and Jumla as well as East Rukum in Karnali Province have been snowed in since Thursday night as yet another westerly storm system moved into Nepal.Kathmandu witnessed a rare winter thunderstorm, there had been 15mm of rain by noon on Friday with more wet weather on the way. The mountains on the valley rim have also got snow.Highways have closed due to heavy snow, and flights to many mountain districts have been cancelled.  <figure><img width="800" height="461" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101116/6372082c9c7e80680e0b54d2jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Roads in Jumla obstructed by snow. </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="2400" height="1650" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101116/6372082e9c7e80680e0b54d3jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img width="2400" height="1800" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101116/637208329c7e80680e0b54d4jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Nepal Army trying to clear the street of snow.</figcaption></figure>Darchula, Dadeldhura, Bajhang, Bajura and Doti districts in the far west also have been similarly affected. The Bhimdatta Highway which connects the seven districts in Sudur Paschim Province has also been obstructed, further impacting the movement of people in the region.The westerly system is bringing in moist warm air that is moving up the Himalaya and meeting the frigid air, creating storm cells. Kathmandu Valley experienced wind gusting up to 35 knots on Friday morning with driving rain. The maximum temperature on Friday is only 8.8°Celsius.The system is expected to bring more precipitation over central and eastern Nepal, but the sun will start shining again on Sunday.  <figure><img width="960" height="720" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101116/637208369c7e80680e0b54d5jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Locals play with snow in East Rukum.</figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101116/637208389c7e80680e0b54d6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1862" height="1146">Nepali Times weekend weather

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Nepal’s wet, icy winter

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637204bc9c7e80680e0b287bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1536"/><figcaption>Annapurna 4 and 2, and Lamjung Himal after fresh snowfall on new year's eve.</figcaption></figure>One of the advantages of Nepal’s spreading road network is that scenic spots that used to take days of trekking to reach are now accessible. One of them is <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Migration-in-a-microcosm,3893" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Migration-in-a-microcosm,3893&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642645654378000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0rrN28uOMH0iPeWrYiPFe1">Tang Ting in Kaski</a> from where a series of scenic spots are easy hikes away.One of the places nearby with the best views is Krapu Choh located at 3,085m elevation and offers a dazzling 360-degree view of the entire Central Nepal Himalaya, including Dhaulagiri, the Annapurnas, Lamjung Himal, Manaslu, Himalchuli and Ganesh Himal.This winter’s heavy precipitation has covered the peak in thick snow, and more snowfall is expected from Thursday and into the weekend. An ideal time to visit Tang Ting would be after 24 January when this weather system passes.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637204c09c7e80680e0b287cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3015" height="1390"><figcaption>Krapau Choh is an ideal selfie spot with Machapuchre and the Annapurnas forming an impressive backdrop.</figcaption></figure>Despite the collapse of tourism, Tang Ting is now a popular destination for Nepali travellers – especially because of its easy access from Pokhara. There is a public bus operated by Pokhara Municipality twice a day that departs Kahun Khola at 8am and 4pm. It takes two hours by bus to Tang Ting, but can be shorter in a private vehicle. Besides Pokhara and Tang Ting, Krapu Choh is also accessible from Lamjung.Tang Ting is a charming little Gurung village which has kept its ambience and architecture intact. It is on a north-facing slope with a view of Sikles village across the Madi Khola and Annapurna 2 beyond.But for better mountain vistas, visitors need to take a 3-hour hike to Krapau Choh. There is also an unpaved road that takes an hour, but it may not be accessible if there is heavy snowfall. The trail is also ideal for mountain biking enthusiasts.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637204c49c7e80680e0b287djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="587">Krapau Choh also has archaeological significance, since it is supposed to be located on one of the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16541" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D16541&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642645654378000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0u21L8fy4vCFyms-yoYFfQ">ancient migration routes </a>of the Gurung people as they spread from <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-tamu-trek-trail/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-tamu-trek-trail/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642645654378000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0Iei-jMpia35caYUlEcF60">Kohla Sonthar</a> in Kaski, which has ruins of settlements dating back at least to the 12th century.The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-tamu-trek-trail/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-tamu-trek-trail/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642645654378000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0Iei-jMpia35caYUlEcF60">Gurung people are believed to have migrated</a> south from the Tibetan Plateau more than 1,000 years ago at about the same time as the Thakali and Tamang peoples who settled in the Kali Gandaki and Rasuwa valleys.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637204c89c7e80680e0b287ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1152"><figcaption>Annapurna 4 and 2 from Krapau Choh on 1 January 2022. More snowfall is forecast for this weekend.</figcaption></figure>The best views from Krapu Choh are at sunrise, when the mountains to the north catch the first light and turn from pink to white. As the sun moves higher into the sky, the forested ridges come alive with birds.When the snow melts and the weather gets warmer, the forests surrounding Krapau Choh erupt with red rhododendron blossoms. During the monsoon, it is veiled in mist but surrounding hills are fresh and green with occasional glimpses of the snow peaks beyond.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637204cb9c7e80680e0b287fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3015" height="1390"><figcaption>The road from Tang Ting to Krapau Choh can be treacherous in the snow, and for those who prefer to walk, it is a brisk 3 hour hike uphill.</figcaption></figure>After Dasain is also a good time to explore the region and discover a Nepal that is off the beaten track. One side trip that is gaining popularity is the two-day trek to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTzRntsUVOc" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DvTzRntsUVOc&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642645654379000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0sWDrNa9gGJrYZIDKjSeTg">Kapuche, the lowest elevation glacial lake</a> in Nepal that is fed by avalanches off Annapurna 2 and 4.Youth from Tang Ting have set up lodgings on Krapu Choh, so food and accommodation is not a problem. Bookings are advisable.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637204ce9c7e80680e0b2880jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="946"><figcaption>The scenery from Krapau Choh is so mesmerising it makes many take a meditation break.</figcaption></figure>More information: <a href="http://www.tangtingtourism.com/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.tangtingtourism.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642645654379000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1VT0kbRNXgwG5IKLsoeAkK">www.tangtingtourism.com</a>Members of Tang Ting Tourism Committee. Photo: Bhupal Gurung:Eka Jang Gurung, War Chair  +977 9856072202Om Prakash Gurung: +977 9856028827Himal Gurung: +977 9856070007Bhupal Gurung:  98560 32068Chhetra Gurung : 98191 85869Pas Maya Gurung, Homestay Committee:         98171 55770<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637204d19c7e80680e0b2881jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="480"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637204d39c7e80680e0b2882jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640">Tang Ting village with the sun rising over Annapurna 2 and Lamjung Himal. Across the valley in the shadow is Sikles village. All photos: Eka Jang Gurung and Chhetra Gurung.

Tang Ting’s winter wonderland

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f2c9c7e80680e0af44fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2400" height="1802"/><figcaption>Manang. Photo: NABIN LAMICHHANE.</figcaption></figure>Kathmandu Valley and the surrounding areas experienced rains from Tuesday night with moderate snowfall in Chandragiri and Pulchoki in the outskirts.Heavier snow has blanketed the mountainous districts of Dadeldhura, Doti, Baitadi, Bajhang and Darchula, as well as trans-himalayan Dolpo, Manang and Mustang, while vehicular movements in different sections of the Tribhuvan, Bhimdatta and Jayaprithvi highways have been obstructed by snowfall.The Department of Meteorology and Hydrology has predicted rain into Wednesday morning.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f309c7e80680e0af450jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2400" height="1600"><figcaption>Myagdi. Photo: SONTOSH GAUTAM.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f339c7e80680e0af451jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="854" height="481"><figcaption>Lukla. Photo: RAJENDRA B. SINGH.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f359c7e80680e0af452jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="816" height="612"><figcaption>Bhojpur. Photo: YUVRAJ BISTA.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f379c7e80680e0af453jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1353" height="902"><figcaption>Bhaktapur. Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f3b9c7e80680e0af454jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1304" height="870"><figcaption>Bhaktapur. Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f3e9c7e80680e0af455jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2400" height="1107"><figcaption>Chandragiri. Photo: ACHYUT REGMI.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f419c7e80680e0af456jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2400" height="1350"><figcaption>Doti. Photo: BIMAL BAHADUR BISTA.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f449c7e80680e0af457jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2400" height="1350"><figcaption>Doti. Photo: BIMAL BAHADUR BISTA.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f479c7e80680e0af458jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="450"><figcaption>Simkot. Photo: DANE BOHARA.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f499c7e80680e0af459jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2400" height="1350"><figcaption>Humla. Photo: DANE BOHARA.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f4d9c7e80680e0af45ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2400" height="1834"><figcaption>Jajarkot. Photo: HEMANTA KC.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f509c7e80680e0af45bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="454"><figcaption>Rasuwa. Photo: HIMNATH DEVKOTA.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f539c7e80680e0af45cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2400" height="2112"><figcaption>Jajarkot. Photo: HEMANTA KC.</figcaption></figure>

Nepal lashed by winter rain and snow

<figure><img width="2560" height="1384" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f249c7e80680e0af44cjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Still from The Summit of the Gods.</figcaption></figure>For those who have never climbed a mountain before, it may be difficult to understand the allure. After all, mountaineering is the furthest thing from easy. Climbing vertically often in appalling weather, while paying expedition expenses, traversing mountains of red tape for permits, while all along risking one’s life is not everyone’s cup of tea. So why do they keep doing it?Two films that premiered on Netflix this month may provide some of the answers.Directed by Torquil Jones, 14 peaks: Nothing is Impossible starring Nirmal (NimsDai) Purja, and his climbing partners Mingma David Sherpa, Lakpa Dendi Sherpa, Geljen Sherpa and Gesman Tamang opens with Purja telling viewers to dream big.“Doesn’t matter where you come from, you can show the world, nothing is impossible,” he says as a drone camera shows him on Ama Dablam's vertical rock face.The documentary chronicles Purja and his team’s attempt to summit the world’s 14 peaks over 8000m in just seven months. The previous world record was 7 years 310 days, set by South Korean mountaineer Kim Chang-Ho.“I was told that my project was impossible. So, I decided to name it Project Possible,” Purja tells viewers. This was not just for himself, not just for Nepal, but to show what human beings can do. But a point made over and over again in the film is that Nepali guides and porters who helped western expeditions never got the credit they deserved in the past. “They are ghosts,” he says, and he is out to change that once and for all. <img width="640" height="399" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f279c7e80680e0af44djpeg.jpg" alt="">A newcomer to the mountaineering scene who first set foot on the mountains only in 2012. There are obstacles, but in October 2019 after summitting Xixapangma, the last of the 14 peaks, he proves that it is<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nims-purja-does-it/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> indeed possible</a>.14 Peaks is a story of teamwork, ambition, determination, perseverance, and patience. But what stands out is the generosity of spirit.More than once, Purja's team rescue climbers stranded high up in the mountains. In Annapurna, he and his teammates go back up to rescue a climber after an exhausting climb, in Kanchenjunga he helps a climber who has run out of oxygen, and even when he develops HACE (high altitude cerebral edema), he manages to help a climber come down to Camp 4.“In military I have never left anyone behind I wasn’t gonna do that on the mountains,” he says.On <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepalis-on-k2-make-the-impossible-possible/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">K2</a>, when the group reaches base camp, the climbers are ready to abandon their expeditions after three deadly avalanches. The Nepalis lighten the mood, dance to Resham Firiri and Purja rallies everyone to give it one more try while he fixes rope to the top.Purja’s optimism isn’t for everyone. “You are a great boy, and it is lovely propaganda, but you don’t change the mountain,” says one climber during Purja’s motivational speech at base camp.Like <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/alpine-style-in-the-himalaya/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Purja’s book</a>, the documentary has a macho tone, and at times one wishes he would tone it down a bit. The star of the film is Purja’s wife Suchi, who is disarming while explaining his drive, her own fears but also the constant support she provides him.https://youtu.be/8QH5hBOoz08Purja’s tender side shows in the scenes with his ailing mother, Purna Kumari Purja. Days after being discharged from the hospital, she gets on a helicopter to meet her son after he climbs his 14th eight-thousander. Later, at Kathmandu Airport, Purja tells reporters how a Western climber doing what he did would have got “ten times more publicity”.At 101 minute documentary has stayed in the Top 5 on Netflix for weeks, and touches on a lot of things: the financial burden of accomplishing such a monumental task, the physical and mental challenges of climbing, personal relationships, philosophical questions on mortality, power of social media in today’s age and navigating the bureaucracy.The documentary also attempts to address the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nims-purja-fans-react-to-criticism-of-climb/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">criticism</a> Purja faced for using bottled oxygen, with many ‘purists’ saying that disqualified his feat. Surprisingly, it is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-next-for-reinhold-messner/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Reinhold Messner</a> who himself climbed the 14 peaks without oxygen, but taking 16 years to do it, who defends Purja: “He was doing it this way otherwise it is not possible in such a short time.”Read Also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-next-for-reinhold-messner/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">What next for Reinhald Messner?</a>, Kunda DixitMost of the film’s climbing footage is taken by Purja and his team. Director Torquil Jones juxtaposes these with fresh interviews from the team, Purja’s family and other mountaineers, and animations (which could have been better quality) for some near-death experiences.Watching 14 Peaks is like watching a shōnen anime, with an underdog protagonist who has the odds stacked against him. Like every hero, Purja has a dream. For Naruto it was becoming a hokage, for Luffy it is becoming the Pirate King, and for Nimsdai Purja, it is climbing all the eight thousanders in record time.With 14 climbs and their back stories, there was not enough time dedicated to specific mountains, team mates, or the specific challenges on each mountain. But for a genre that often focuses on individual feats, 14 Peaks goes beyond to show how far mountaineering has come from the days of the first industrial scale expeditions on the world’s tallest mountains.https://youtu.be/AwDVv6pDBx8While 14 Peaks profiles a climber attaining an impossible goal, claiming glory for himself and his country, the animated French film The Summit of the Gods is quietly meditative. This is based on Jiro Taniguchi’s manga adaptation of Baku Yukemura’s 1998 novel and does not delve into the heroics of climbing, focusing instead on the obsession with it.Working as a photographer for a magazine, Fukamachi Makoto (Damien Boisseau) heads up to Mt Everest to take pictures of a Japanese expedition, which aborts the climb and he is left without pictures for his story.In Kathmandu, while on the phone with his editor, a man tries to sell him a camera that he says belonged to George Mallory, the British climber who disappeared on Everest in 1924.The mystery of whether Mallory and his climbing partner Andrew Irvine reached the top, almost three decades before <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/hillary-centenary/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sir Edmund Hillary</a> and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/was-tenzing-a-tibetan-nepali-or-indian-it-does-not-matter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tenzing Norgay</a> haunts the climbing world to this day. Many believe that the camera, a Vest Pocket Kodak, which is still missing today holds the answer.Back to the film: Fukamachi thinking it to be fake, does not pay much attention. But when he catches a glimpse of a man he believes to be Habu Joji (Eric Herson-Macarel), he suspects that it may be Mallory's. Habu is a famous, but fictitious, Japanese climber who disappeared years previously.Fukamachi sets to track down Habu. The film flashes back Habu’s childhood, his days in a climbing club and his perilous climbs. While Habu’s endeavors are awe inspiring, he is clearly human. His shares of victories come with losses. <img width="800" height="431" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f2a9c7e80680e0af44ejpeg.jpg" alt="">Fukamachi is as obsessed as his subject, and when Fukamachi finally gets to photograph Habu on Everest, both display powerful tenacity to push the limits.Director Patrick Imbert captures five volumes worth of story in just 90 minutes. The 2D animation departs from the textured layers of the original manga and is reminiscent of the works of Studio Ghibli, with simple character animations and simply stylized photorealistic backgrounds.It is the climbing scenes where the film truly shines. There is no dialogue, just struggle to breathe, the missteps, the trembling taut ropes, and the roar of wind. There are the movement of hands, eyes, and gestures in the dialogue scenes. This is animation at its immersive best.Imbert and his animation team capture the mountains in all their raw wild power, and the audacity of those who dare try to scale them.  Amine Bouhafa’s score complements the story and animates the adventure.This is a French film about a Japanese climber using Japanese cartoon techniques for a film set in Nepal, so it is surprising Netflix does not have a Japanese dub version with subtitles to give it more authenticity.The Summit of the Gods, is not a happy movie, that much we can say. It does not gloss over the sacrifice and suffering to glamourise the adventure. 14 Peaks on the other hand, glorifies climbing. But both films show us what it is like to be a human attempting something super-human.Read Also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nims-purja-does-it/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nims Purja does it</a><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nims-purja-fans-react-to-criticism-of-climb/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nims Purja fans react to criticism</a>

Sahina Shrestha

On-screen mountains

<figure><img width="1582" height="1556" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141136/636cfe6f9c7e80680e0a0c3bjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Dawa Sherpa (extreme right) on the summit of Kilimanjaro (5,895m) on 22 August after blazing a new trail to the top. All photos: courtesy Dawa Sherpa</figcaption></figure>Three-time Everest summiteer and climate activist <a href="https://asian-trekking.com/about-us/dawa-steven-sherpa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://asian-trekking.com/about-us/dawa-steven-sherpa/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1630392078246000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHB_QWtd_oqSDj5iq8n-qnGYEZckQ">Dawa Steven Sherpa</a> has forged a new route up Africa’s highest mountain to help Tanzania with an innovative eco-tourism project.Sherpa helped explore the new Kidia Route and reached the summit of Uhuru Peak (5,895m) on 22 August along with rangers from the Kilimanjaro National Park. The Tanzanians want to promote it as a ‘<a href="https://www.ippmedia.com/en/news/vip-route-mt-kilimanjaro-visitors-offing-govt" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.ippmedia.com/en/news/vip-route-mt-kilimanjaro-visitors-offing-govt&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1630392078246000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFyFACgOM23ZtPsopiaH7rRP_QUlw">VIP Route</a>’ by pricing it higher for those who want to avoid the crowds on the Mweka or Machame routes.“The summit is at about the height of Everest Base Camp, so it was not particularly difficult,” Sherpa said on return to Kathmandu this week. “But we had to explore a new route and see if it was feasible and safe for a low-volume, high-value trail that can help raise local incomes and make tourism itself more sustainable.”Before Covid-19, there used to be 50,000 visitors a year to Kilimanjaro National Park with up to 200 climbers a day on the busier trails which had been nicknamed ‘Coca Cola Route’ or the ‘Fanta Route’ and where tourism income does not really trickle down to local communities. With the pandemic the numbers are down to 30%, affecting the park’s revenue for conservation.The plan now is to limit trekkers on the Kidia route to only 20 a day, employ more porters, depend more on local produce, and charge tourists higher fees — a bit like an ‘executive class’ on Kilimanjaro, and similar to the Nepal government’s practice in <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/kundadixit/2012/09/07/monsoon-in-the-rainshadow/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/kundadixit/2012/09/07/monsoon-in-the-rainshadow/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1630392078246000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE_aw9D7nxvsAteaLwtdZQQ5Lgx9w">Mustang</a> and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/nepali-times-search/?q=dolpo+kunda" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/nepali-times-search/?q%3Ddolpo%2Bkunda&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1630392078246000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFUuwDgzBvfBnqgd1w4sXlrC5QfdQ">Dolpo</a>. Besides being the highest in Africa, the dormant volcano is also one of the tallest free-standing mountains in the world, rising 4,000m from its base. Uhuru is the highest point, and situated on the Kibo cone. <figure><img width="1582" height="1568" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141136/636cfe729c7e80680e0a0c3cjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>En route to the summit of Kilimajaro along the Kidia trail earlier this month.</figcaption></figure>Even though the <a href="https://www.himalayanglacier.com/everest-base-camp-vs-mount-kilimanjaro-which-one-to-choose/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.himalayanglacier.com/everest-base-camp-vs-mount-kilimanjaro-which-one-to-choose/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1630392078246000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG2ueYEsfIOJAoR9BJAGIilwD4jVQ">Kilimanjaro climb ends at an elevation where the ascent of Everest begins</a>, Dawa Sherpa found a lot of similarities between the two mountains — the terrain on the higher reaches, friendly people, porters singing as they carry loads, and the Tanzanian camp staff preparing chapati and samosa for breakfast. When posing for group photos in Nepal, porters often ask trekkers and climbers to smile and say “Yak Cheese”. On reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro, their porter instructed Sherpa’s team: “Say Chapati.” “Africa gets a lot of bad press, but what I found were super friendly people, and like Nepalis they are very relaxed and polite,” says Sherpa. “Tanzanians are very conscious about the environment, there is very little garbage.” The new 7-day route starts in Kidia village on the southern side of the mountain, the 25km trail first passing through pastoral land, thick forests of the national park, then the moors higher up leading to an alpine desert terrain similar to Mustang.  Back home, besides running his family's tourism and climbing business, Dawa Steven Sherpa supports the clean up the garbage from the base camps of eight of the world’s highest mountains in Nepal. <figure><img width="1582" height="1572" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141136/636cfe759c7e80680e0a0c3djpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Dawa Sherpa with his Tanazanian team members before heading out from the base of Kilimanjaro to explore the new Kidia trail.</figcaption></figure>The Tanzania National Parks Authority has included the Kidia route project into its strategic plans not just as a new marketing tool but also to use tourism income to directly help local communities at the base of the mountains. “Both in Nepal, Tanzania and in other fragile parts of the world, you have to look after the people so they will look after the natural areas they live in,” explains Sherpa. “Eco-tourism can make local communities the custodians of the ecosystem, so they are an integral part of conservation.”Sherpa’s team had to break a new trail around dangerous scree slopes on Kilimanjaro, and avoid cliffs, recording the path with GPS devices. After they reached Stella Point on the crater rim, Sherpa let the Tanzanian rangers go ahead to Uhuru so they could be the first to climb the new route to the summit.Sherpa has been involved in raising awareness about the impact of climate change in the Himalaya, and what he saw on the summit of Kilimanjaro shocked him. “In fact, climbing Kilimanjaro is possible mainly because the glaciers and snow slopes are gone,” he says. “Every year, more snow is melting, and this year there were huge wildfires at the base of the volcano due to a drought, just like we had in Nepal.” <figure><img width="1284" height="894" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141136/636cfe799c7e80680e0a0c3ejpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Kilimanjaro in 1935, when it was still snow covered. Africa’s highest peak is located at the equator and has lost 90% of its ice cover in the last century due to climate change.</figcaption></figure>Indeed, Kilimanjaro, which is situated at the equator, has lost 90% of its ice in the past century, and at the present rate experts say all the ice will have vanished by 2040.Back in Nepal, Sherpa is getting ready to continue where he left off before the monsoon to clean up the garbage at the base camps of Manaslu, Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. <figure><img width="1580" height="1538" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141136/636cfe7c9c7e80680e0a0c3fjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Sun rising from behind the summit of Mawenzi peak (5,149m) from Uhuru peak.</figcaption></figure>Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/spring-returns-to-nepals-mountaineering/">Spring returns to Nepal's mountaineering</a>, Tulsi Rauniyar

Nepali pioneers new route on Kilimanjaro

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141128/636cfc6b9c7e80680e0a0b8ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2006" height="1332"/><figcaption>Paddy and maize fields in Kavre. A heavier than usual monsoon this year brought destructive floods, but was a boon to farmers. Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>As if the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/first-drought-then-downpour/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">drought</a>, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/wildfires-ravage-nepal-mountains/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">wildfire</a> and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/disasters-in-nepal-come-in-waves/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">flood disasters</a> this year were not bad enough, scientists have warned that unless the world reduces emissions of greenhouse gases drastically, these disasters will get much worse.Hundreds of scientists spent the past two years drafting a 4,000 page <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/">report for the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC),</a> but even as they did so, news of climate calamities were coming in thick and fast: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/turning-on-the-heat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">heat waves</a>, continental-scale wildfires, flash-floods, biodiversity loss.A summary of the report for world governments was released on Monday, three months before world leaders meet in Glasgow in November for a Climate Summit called COP26 (Conference of Parties 26).The highly technical Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the IPCC on the science behind climate change has forecasts that will directly affect Nepal and the Himalaya. It also has pointers on what must be done urgently to reduce its impact.The IPCC report contains the most direct correlation scientists have drawn between <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/a-hotter-himalaya/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">climate change and extreme weather</a> around the world.‘The frequency and intensity of heavy precipitation events … and droughts have increased since the 1950s,’ the report states with ‘high confidence’, adding that human-induced climate change is likely the main driver.It adds categorically: ‘Increases in monsoon precipitation since the 1980s have resulted from rising GHG (greenhouse gas) concentrations … Monsoon precipitation is projected to increase in the mid- to long term on a global scale, particularly over South and Southeast Asia.’<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141128/636cfc6e9c7e80680e0a0b8bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1988" height="1024"><figcaption>Source: IPCC</figcaption></figure>It predicts that these heavy precipitation events will intensify and become more frequent in most regions as the world continues to warm. Globally, there will be 7% more <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/climate-damage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">extreme weather</a> for every 1° Celsius of global warming.Even under the best-case scenario of reduced greenhouse gas emission, global average temperature is set to exceed 1.5°C by the turn of the century. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-biden-presidency-climate-and-the-himalaya/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Himalaya</a> will get hotter faster than other parts of the world, and could warm by 1.8-2.2°C.The main conclusions of this IPCC report were leaked to AFP in June, and predicts global surface temperatures increasing until at least the mid-century even under the best scenario. The warming will ‘exceed 2°C during the 21st century unless deep reductions in CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions occur in the coming decades’.The 2015 Paris Agreement recommended capping global warming at ‘well below 2°C’ above pre-industrial levels, and to 1.5°C in the next 30 years by reducing emissions. However, the increase is already at 1.2°C Celsius, and on track to exceed 2°C.This will lead to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/between-existence-and-extinction-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mass species extinction as ecosystems collapse</a>, more <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/mosquitoes-move-up-mountains-as-the-earth-warms/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">widespread diseases</a>, heatwaves making parts of the world unfit for human habitation, cities and small island nations at risk of being submerged by sea level rise.For Nepal, even a 1.5°C rise in global temperature will mean <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/manpower-and-hydropower/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">heavy precipitation and associated flooding</a> of the kind the country saw in 2018 and this year. At 2°C increase, the floods, heat waves and droughts  will be even deadlier.The other impact on Nepal will be a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/on-thin-ice-in-the-khumbu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Himalayan meltdown</a>, as the mountains thaw with rising temperatures.‘Human influence is very likely the main driver of the global retreat of glaciers since the 1990s,’ the report states. ‘…The global nature of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/human-face-of-a-himalayan-climate-crisis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">glacier retreat</a>, with almost all of the world’s glaciers retreating synchronously, since the 1950s, is unprecedented in at least the last 2,000 years.’<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141128/636cfc719c7e80680e0a0b8cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="546"><figcaption>Future annual emissions of CO₂ under the five scenarios SSP1-1.9, SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0 and SSP5-8.5. Source: IPCC</figcaption></figure>This is even truer for the Himalaya because of its proximity to the equator. Scientists say it is already warming up to 0.3-0.7°C faster than the global average due to a phenomenon called ‘Elevation Dependent Warming’. But at the current trajectory, the mountains may see warming of up to 5.7°C during this century. In such a scenario, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-terrifying-assessment-of-himalayan-melting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Himalaya will lose two-thirds of permanent ice</a>, and most glaciers will have melted.It predicts that even if greenhouse gas emissions are curtailed, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-third-pole-is-warming-faster-than-expected/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mountain and polar glaciers will continue melting</a> for decades or centuries. This will impact not just Nepal but about 1 billion people living downstream from the Himalaya in China, India, Bangladesh and southeast Asia.‘Human influence has likely increased the chance of compound extreme events since the 1950s, increases in the frequency of concurrent heatwaves and droughts on the global scale, fire weather in some regions of all inhabited continents, and compound flooding in some locations,’ the says the IPCC report, almost describing the winter drought, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/weve-seen-fire-and-weve-seen-rain/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">wildfires and floods that have ravaged Nepal</a> in the past 8 months.The main cause of all this warming is that in 2019, atmospheric CO2 concentrations were higher than at any time in at least 2 million years. Global surface temperature averaged over 2081–2100 will be higher by 1.0°C to 1.8°C compared to pre-industrial levels even if emissions are controlled in the next 30 years.The IPCC report summary says that the only solution is for world governments to immediately agree on reaching net zero anthropogenic CO2 emissions to stabilise human-induced <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/climate-for-change/the-great-himalayan-thaw/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">global temperature increase</a>.If the biggest carbon emitters like India and China meet cut back targets, under the most optimistic scenario global average temperature would stabilise at below 1.5°C toward the end of the 21st century after overheating by 0.1°C. But experts do not sound very optimistic about this happening.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141128/636cfc749c7e80680e0a0b8djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2006" height="986"><figcaption>Projected global temperature rise under the intermediate, high and very high GHG emission scenarios considered. Source: IPCC</figcaption></figure><a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-lockdown-proves-air-quality-can-be-improved/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal’s greenhouse gas emission</a> is negligible, but it has doubled in the past seven years according to a mandatory report filed by the Ministry of Environment with the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Most of this is because the volume of petroleum imports from India has doubled in the past 10 years to meet the demand of transportation, expansion of cement and other industries.Last year, Nepal had submitted its second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to meet <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/blueprint-for-a-net-zero-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">zero emission by 2050</a>. Switching to electric public transport and battery vehicles to reduce the petroleum import bill by just 10% would save Rs21 billion a year. This will also clean up the air, dirty air killed 41,000 people in Nepal in 2019.It is a sign of just how desperate the situation is that the IPCC scientists say in their report that the only hope for life on the planet may be a major volcanic eruption this century that would reduce global surface temperature because the sun will be blocked out for 2-3 years.The reports says rather phlegmatically: ‘If such an eruption occurs, this would therefore temporarily and partially mask human-caused climate change.’

UN climate report declares planetary emergency

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111015118/636d06359c7e80680e0a5f4ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="1080"/><figcaption>The Kosi Barrage on the Indian border where the river funnels out into the inland delta in Bihar.</figcaption></figure><ul><li>Three decades after it was first proposed, a 26.5km tunnel starts supplying water from Melamchi to Kathmandu.</li> <li>A <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/drones-to-the-rescue-in-melamchi/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/drones-to-the-rescue-in-melamchi/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625725666191000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEISH8LehEm5nAihrdyEOSDxSXsUg">deadly flood</a> on the Melamchi-Indrawati in Sindhupalchok on 16 June kills at least 27 people, and destroys infrastructure.</li> <li>The much-delayed 465MW Upper Tama Kosi hydropower plant starts feeding electricity to the national grid.</li> <li>SJVN says it has completed half the work on the 900MW Arun III project and the Investment Board awarded it another contract to develop the 679MW Lower Arun as well.</li> <li>Work has begun on the Sunkosi-Marin Diversion, to channel water to the Bagmati Basin and irrigate much of Province 2.</li></ul>All five events have one thing in common: they are all on the trans-boundary Kosi Basin that drains 75,000 sq km of territory in China, Nepal and India.Last week, I was standing on the Pati Bhanjyang ridgeline at the northeastern rim of Kathmandu Valley. Pour a glass of water on one side, and it flows westwards into the Gandaki River Basin. On the other side the streams drain into the Melamchi, which meets the Indrawati, then the Bhote Kosi to become the Sun Kosi that flows 200km eastward until it merges with the Arun and Tamor to form the Sapta Kosi.At that point, the river makes a tight turn south to tumble into the Kosi megafan in the Tarai and Bihar to finally to join the Ganga at Kursela. The Kosi, in fact, is the largest tributary of the Ganges, bigger than the Gandaki, Karnali, Jamuna, and even bigger than the Ganga itself as it debouches into the plains at Haridwar.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111015118/636d06389c7e80680e0a5f4fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="1080"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The Kosi’s origin in Nepal is near Kathmandu. But it largest tributary, the Arun, originates in Tibet where it is called the Phung Chu, makes a mighty arc in Tibet and cuts through the Himalaya between Mt Makalu and Mt Kangchenjunga to meet its siblings Sun Kosi and Tamor at Tribeni.Geologists say rivers like the Arun that slice through the Himalaya are older than the mountains, and cut their way through as the terrain rose over millions of years with the collision of the India and Eurasian tectonic plates.The Kosi watershed therefore drains an enormous vertical landscape stretching from Mt Xixapangma which lies just 80km on the other side of the Himalaya in China, both sides of Mt Gauri Shankar (Chomo Tseringma), Mt Everest and Mt Makalu, as well as the western slopes of Kangchenjunga. Six of the world’s 13 peaks above 8,000m are therefore a part of the Kosi catchment.These mountains block the monsoons, and in eastern Nepal their southern slopes get more than 3,000mm of rain a year, weathering them down relentlessly, making the sedimentation load of the Kosi the heaviest for any river in the world.The topography of this mighty river has shaped Nepal’s history and culture, and can determine the country’s future prosperity as well. But only if we respect its geology, hydrology and the climate of its basin.Watershed expert Madhukar Upadhyay says, “We have not even begun to understand the hydrological and geological specificities of our mountains and rivers and yet are rushing headlong into ever-larger infrastructure development. Nepalis will still be here 500 years from now, what kind of country and landscape are we leaving behind for them?”Last month, landslides blocked the Melamchi-Indrawati, unleashing a deadly debris flow that destroyed infrastructure, homes and livelihoods. It imperilled <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/light-at-the-end-of-the-melamchi-tunnel/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/light-at-the-end-of-the-melamchi-tunnel/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625725666191000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEaXQ5HnjB92xgkbHBEnnbl5xiwow">the Melamchi project</a>, and its tunnel supplying water to Kathmandu was saved only because the gates were closed for maintenance just hours before the onrush.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111015118/636d063c9c7e80680e0a5f50jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="1080"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>This week, the Upper Tama Kosi project started generating electricity, that will provide one-third of Nepal’s total power demand. But there was a scare just days before the inauguration: China informed Nepal that a massive landslide had blocked the river upstream, threatening the Rs55 billion project. Fortunately, the river found its way around the blockage. The near escapes of the Melamchi and Upper Tama Kosi sites make us take Upadhyay’s warnings seriously.Other <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/monsoon-hits-nepal-with-a-bang/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/monsoon-hits-nepal-with-a-bang/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625725666191000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHkbbDluGypXbbgC1BQxVAVndFTvA">flash floods this year </a>in Manang, Kaski and Lamjung also showed that while our rivers hold great promise, we ignore the risk to settlements and major infrastructure along their banks. Our engineering methods have been inherited from the West, and do not account for cloudbursts and extreme Himalayan weather events. All these risks have been exacerbated by climate change.In Melamchi, the power of the flood last month is evident in the steel hulk of the Indrawati Bridge that lies crumpled in the muddy river 100m downstream amidst room-sized boulders. The new sand bank is 25m thick, indicating the flood’s maximum height.It is not clear what happened, for a bishyari or two (bursting of a landslide-damming of the river) would not be enough to generate such a massive debris flow. Some speculate there may have been centuries-old glacial deposits which suddenly got released through a combination of earthquake weakening and heavy rain.We also saw that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/after-the-deluge-in-nepal/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/after-the-deluge-in-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625725666191000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFAaYeK5lUf9eY4-j8mOHnFIUOT5A">Melamchi Bazar </a>had expanded into the river’s flood plain, with buildings in place of rice paddies, which added to the loss of life and property. Less than a month after the disaster excavators and tipper trucks are already on the Indrawati river bed, scooping up sand and boulders to feed Kathmandu Valley’s voracious appetite for construction material.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111015118/636d06409c7e80680e0a5f51jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="1080"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>It is the Kosi’s Melamchi tributary that augments Kathmandu’s water supply, while the sand and boulders from the Indrawati, Sun Kosi, Bhote Kosi and Rosi fulfil the Valley’s demand for sand and aggregates.While earthquakes, floods and landslides are seen as ‘natural disasters’, and indeed they are to some extent, they become ‘man-made’ calamities with unregulated sand-mining of rivers, quarrying on steep slopes, and haphazard road-building.The highway along the Indrawati is crowded with sand-laden tipper trucks bound for Kathmandu. Downstream towards the Kosi Barrage along the BP Highway, the road follows the river past the site where a part of the Sun Kosi is to be channeled through a 13km tunnel to irrigate farmlands in the Tarai of Province 2. A similar inter-basin diversion scheme on the Kali Gandaki is now pitting Gandaki vs Lumbini Province, and the central government.We finally get to the new bridge across the Sapta Kosi at Chhatara, connecting Udayapur and Sunsari districts. This is exactly the point where, after its epic journey from the Tibetan Plateau and between the highest mountains in the world, this great river fans out into the plains.https://youtu.be/34lmOgPv-zkNorth of the bridge is the site of the proposed mammoth <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=2413#.YOQRoi8RoWo" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D2413%23.YOQRoi8RoWo&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625725666191000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF86VG9E0i8u5OqfG5NvKJKILpBEA">Kosi High Dam</a>. The 300m high dam will create a reservoir submerging huge tracts of the Sun Kosi, Arun and Tamor Valleys in a kind of ‘trishul’. India needs the dam for flood control, and to facilitate inland navigation by storing monsoon water and discharging it in the dry season. But there are many questions regarding the proposed mega project.To begin with, the high silt load means that a future Kosi Reservoir would soon fill up with sediment. There are alternatives to dams: people in the Kosi plains have learnt to live with annual floods which deposit valuable soil nutrients, and diverting water through earlier river channels would ease flood impact.The village of Hanuman Nagar had to be relocated because of the barrage, and 60 years later some of its families and those further upstream have still not got compensated. The barrage also destroyed an important wetland, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-great-trans-himalayan-bird-migration/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-great-trans-himalayan-bird-migration/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625725666191000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFOCjdWAUhLv8LM1mLEnBNbFZeVHQ">migratory birds </a>now alight in <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=15974#.YOQSqy8RoWo" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D15974%23.YOQSqy8RoWo&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625725666191000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH9ndET9JXr1SU0_SRmfnAXaLeZ5A">Kosi Tappu Wildlife Reserve</a> instead.Extending the reserve further north and south could increase the habitat of endangered arna, wild elephants and freshwater dolphins, encourage ecotourism, and provide income to villagers whose grandparents had to move.The 60-year-old embankments that jacket the Kosi upstream and downstream from the Barrage have created the potential for a massive future disaster, an inland tsunami. Because of the river’s heavy silt content, the Kosi now flows on a deck 3-4m above the surrounding land. <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=15163#.YOQR6y8RoWo" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D15163%23.YOQR6y8RoWo&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625725666191000&amp;usg=AFQjCNELQRpfAALk_H4uMYlUohTJDiWrQg">In 2008, the Kosi breached the eastern embankment </a>at Kusaha, causing <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=15193#.YOQTGy8RoWo" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D15193%23.YOQTGy8RoWo&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625725666191000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGQbFvez-8I6Bv7_rYVwfQpczaNAg">destruction </a>downstream in Sunsari and Bihar. And that was when the river was not even in spate.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111015118/636d06439c7e80680e0a5f52jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="1080"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>With extreme weather caused by climate change, or a confluence of cloud-bursts in the mountain catchment, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=3526#.YOQSOy8RoWo" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D3526%23.YOQSOy8RoWo&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625725666191000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEvH8AZlBKUPb68a4OulBhpsm0Q2w">a record-breaking flood in future</a> could cause an engorged Kosi to bypass the barrage altogether and unleash a catastrophic flood downstream.The Kosi Barrage was meant to be a temporary solution, and the Kosi High Dam was always in the minds of the Indian authorities. There is a need for transparent and independent study by water experts, social scientists and technocrats to study the pros and cons of the Kosi High Dam.Siltation, seismicity, adaptation and mitigation, all need to be factored in with projected future climate impact. Meanwhile, across the world, ecologists are warning that the price to pay for large dams is too great because of the destruction of river ecosystems.A massive rockfill dam on a seismically active zone, the geopolitical implications as well as the social and environmental costs may outweigh the planned benefits. To make up for the mistake of the Kosi Barrage, we may be making an even greater blunder with the Kosi High Dam.

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