KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 13

Gandaki Alpine Club is all set to organise the first ever national-level ''Rock Climbing Festival'' in Tanahu district.

The six-day festival will be held from December 22 to 27 at Bimalnagar of the district.

According to Narendra Shahi, Chairperson of the newly formed Gandaki Alpine Club, the slogan of the event is 'Revolution for mountaineering in Gandaki Province.'

GAC is a non-profitable, non-political organisation registered under the NGO Act of Nepal and established by a team of well-experienced and dedicated alpinists to promote the mountain tourism sector in Gandaki Province.

'Since the tourism sector of Nepal has been adversely impacted by Covid 19 pandemic, one of the several objectives of the event is also to revive the sector in the post-Covid-19 context,' Shahi said.

Along with the Rock Climbing festival, GAC is also organising a Kayaking competition in the Marshyangdi River at the same time.

'It will be a very memorable event for all the participants along with the local people because it is the first of its kind in the region,' Shahi said, adding, 'Initially, we believe that there will be more than 200 rock climbers and more than 400 mountaineering lovers from the National to International level.'

The Climbing route is rough and tough, and full of adventurers, so it is an alternative way to promote the possibilities of adventurous tourism in Nepal, according to Shahi.

Bimalnagar rock climbing wall also known as Chun Pahara (Limestone cliff) located on the premises of Siddha Gufa at Bandipur. It is situated 130 km west of Kathmandu and 70 km east of Pokhara.

For more than a decade of operation, this tall cliff has been successfully attracting tourists for various adventurous sports like Rock climbing and rappelling.

This climbing wall was established in memory of world-famous climber IMFGA guide late Iman Singh Gurung in 2007.

Bimalnagar's 'Chundhunga' – limestone crag was one of the first crags ever developed – starting with one of Nepal's most classic lines – 'Iman ko Samjhana ma' – a route opened by Nepali mountain guides in memory of Iman Gurung – one of the founders of the Nepal National Mountain Guide Association (NNMGA).

The well-known climbing natural wall at Bimalnagar has seen so much development and is currently the best sport climbing crag in Nepal and boasts Nepal's hardest sport climbs.

The rock climbing spot of Bimalnager was first explored by the team of the International Federation of the Mountain Guide Association (IFMGA) with the coordination of the Nepal National Mountain Guide Association (NNMGA).

It was first explored in 2006 by a team of IFMGA mountain guides – Padam Ghale, Sunar Bahadur Gurung, Prem Bahadur Gurung and Shree Maharjan.

'For climbing the wall, a route is set up throughout which leads a climber and can be from simplest to most difficult routes while there are as many as 27 routes for climbing in the region in which the Cobra route is considered to be one of the most difficult ones and many national and international climbing daredevils try to conquer the route,' Shahi said.

GAC team will ensure the safety measures to create rock climbing routes ethically and not alternating the existing environment.

'By organising this event, we aim to put Nepal on the map not only as a mountaineering and trekking destination but also as a must-go destination for rock climbing,' he added.