KATHMANDU, JUNE 6

A commemorative ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the first ascent of Annapurna I (1950) by French climbers Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal was held at the International Mountain Museum in Pokhara on Thursday.

Jointly organised by the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) and the French Embassy, the event featured the unveiling of statues of Maurice Herzog, Ang Tharkay Sherpa (sirdar of the 1950 expedition), and Walung Sonam Sherpa (first Nepali to summit Annapurna). The statues were unveiled by the chief guest, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Badri Prasad Pandey.

French Ambassador Virginie Corteval and Gandaki Province Minister for Forest and Environment Bhesh Bahadur Poudel jointly inaugurated a photo exhibition titled 'Summit of Friendship: 75 Years of Annapurna Ascent,' curated by Swaraj Man Chitrakar and supported by the Alliance Française.

A highlight of the ceremony was the symbolic handover of Maurice Herzog's original 1950 ice axe to the International Mountain Museum by his son, Mathias Herzog. The artefact was loaned from the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The event concluded with the unveiling of the cover of the upcoming Nepali translation of Herzog's book Annapurna: Premier 8000, by Mathias Herzog and Cyril Sonam Sherpa, grandson of Ang Tharkay Sherpa. NMA President Nima Nuru Sherpa delivered the vote of thanks during the event.

Earlier on June 3, additional anniversary programmes were held at Annapurna Base Camp and in Narchyang, Annapurna Rural Municipality. These included the inauguration of the Maurice Herzog Trail, Annapurna Himalaya Open Museum, and the first Maurice Herzog Annapurna Marathon.

Statues of Maurice Herzog, Louis Lachenal, and Walung Sonam Sherpa were also unveiled. Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, Tourism Minister Badri Prasad Pandey, State Minister for Energy Kham Bahadur Garbuja, Gandaki Province Tourism Minister Mitralal Bashyal, and Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister Bishnu Rimal were among the attendees, along with the French ambassador and representatives from the mountaineering and local communities.