Encorachment in Sagarmatha National Park

Kathmandu, February 26:
The Sagarmatha National Park, a UN Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) world heritage site, which also houses the Mt Everest, is now ruined by encroachment for haphazard commercialisation.Two resorts — Kong Dey View Resort and Farak-pa Village Resort that are being constructed in the national park area — were constructed in controversial circumstances.The locals claim that the hotels are built on encroahed public land and are damaging the cultural and national landscape of the world heritage site.“We are more than shocked to know that two grand hotels are being constructed in core area of Sagarmatha National Park. This is going to damage the nature and value of the national park,” said Sonam Gyalzen Sherpa, chairman of the Buffer Zone Management Committee of the park.He said the locals had been very conscious about the conservation issues for thousands of years but since the people from other areas have migrated to the sacred village for commercial purposes, the tradition to conserve nature has been destroyed.According to the officials at Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, the Environment Impact Assessment for both the projects were passed in November and December, 2004, when Bachaspati Devkota was the environment minister.On the other hand, assistant management officer at Department of National Park and Wildlife Conservation, Surya Bahadur Pandey admitted that it was the result of the government’s mismanagement.He said the two resorts came up at Sagarmatha as a result of government’s mismanagement and the local people’s tendency to encroach upon public land.“It would not have been like that had the local people been aware of the public land and its significance,” he said.He added that many other big hotels there have violated the norms.A UNESCO official said the UNESCO had also tried to raise the issue and had asked the DNPWC several times about the authenticity of the hotel but the government officials were found skeptical on this issue.

5th Annual Khumbu Climbing School

http://www.alexlowe.org/

The 5th annual Khumbu Climbing School Program, Phortse Nepal.

As in the past few years, the team expects to find spectacular ice for instruction for over 60 lucky students.

The Khumbu Climbing School (KCS) is an annual vocational training and instructional program for Nepali climbers and is designed to increase the competency of Nepali people who climb and work in the high mountains. The school takes places in January, the low season for altitude workers, and classes are held in the village of Phortse, a one day walk from Namche Bazaar, the "capital" of the Khumbu. Training is conducted on frozen waterfalls on the northern flank of Khumbila Peak. The program is endorsed by the Nepal Mountaineering Association and is taught by volunteers and funded by the Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation (http://www.alexlowe.org/.)

Fore more photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/sonamsan/KhumbuClimbingSchoolPhortse

courtesy: basecampmd.com

2135 Earth Mouse Year Losar

Wish You all very Happy Losar 2135 Earth Mouse Year.

This new year bring peace, prosperity happiness and healthiness in your households. May Guru Rinpoche Bless you.

About Losar:

Generally losar falls in the month of february. This year the sherpa/tibetan new year falls on friday february 8. The word losar is a tibetan word for New year. Here Lo means "Year" and sar means "New". There is no exact no of days that losar is celebrated. However losar has important days on the frist three days.

Sherpa people follow the tibetan calender, which is made up of twelve lunar months and losar begins on the frist day of the frist month. The year 2008 is tibetan year 2134 Earth Rat Year. The day before losar eve, is celebrated in a different way.

Prepration begins well before the arrival of the new year. it's called "Ghutuk Day". That particular day sherpa's and tibetan prepare special meal called Ghutuk, which is a sherpa stew and consists nine different ingredients including barely and vegetables. People enjoy eating ghutuk. There is an old saying: "Ghutuk thu ni shina shi, Dhena dhe!" (we'll have gutuk at any cost). Another intresting thing is that they prepare special bread called Khapse (flour, ghee,sugar prepration) for losar.

"Ngishu gu ki lula jyo mein,

shya metu ghutuk thu ni chhyo mein!"

Happy Gutuk.