KATHMANDU, MAY 10 Nepal on Saturday celebrated the 70th anniversary of the first ascent of Mt. Manaslu (8,163m) with a platinum jubilee ceremony in Samagaun, Tsum Nubri Rural Municipality-1, Gorkha, honouring the legacy of the Japanese-Nepali team that first reached the summit on May 9, 1956. Statues of Japanese climber Toshio Imanishi and Nepali mountaineer Urken Tshering Sherpa were unveiled at the ceremony, which also saw civic honours extended to the families of both pioneers. Gandaki Province Chief Minister Surendra Raj Pandey, who addressed the gathering as chief guest, called for the development of alternative trekking routes in road-accessible areas and urged that Manang, Mustang, and upper Gorkha be developed as special protected zones. Ram Krishna Lamichhane, Director General of the Nepal Tourism Board, also spoke at the event. Kunio Imanishi, son of Toshio Imanishi, recalled the conditions his father had faced seven decades ago. 'There was no infrastructure then - he had to walk all the way from Kathmandu. The support extended to him by the people here was immense,' he said. Local Manaslu summiteers Mingmar Tshiring Lama, Nangsal Choden Lama, Diki Lhamu Lama, and Tshiring Diki Lama were also honoured at the ceremony, along with tourism entrepreneurs Bir Bahadur Lama and Lakpa Dundup Lama, and organisations CAN Nepal and Help Nepal. The two-day celebration is set to conclude on Sunday at the International Mountain Museum in Pokhara, where a 3D model of Manaslu will be inaugurated and a documentary on the 1956 expedition screened.