Kathmandu, December 11

International Mountain Day 2019 was observed in the country today with various events organised within the Kathmandu valley.

Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), in association with Nepal Tourism Board, Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal, Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents along with other tourism associations, had organised the events in the valley.

The day was marked in the country with the international slogan for this year — ‘Mountain Matters for Youth’.

NMA kicked off the event today by organising Tenzing-Hillary procession in remembrance of Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Sir Edmund Hillary, who had scaled Mount Everest for the first time, and other climbers. The rally commenced from Basantapur and passed through Chhetrapati, Ganeshman Singh Road, Thamel before concluding at NMA office in Naxal. Various competitions were also held to mark the day.

Last year, the event was celebrated in Pokhara.

On the occasion of International Mountain Day, Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai felicitated some world famous climbers of the country, including Mingma Gyabu Sherpa, Kami Rita Sherpa, Mingma Sherpa, Chhang Dawa Sherpa and Sanu Sherpa.

Meanwhile, Santa Bir Lama, president of NMA, announced that profiles of 476 peaks of the country will be launched during the inauguration of Visit Nepal 2020 campaign. Under the guidance of Department of Tourism, NMA has prepared the profiles with information on the peaks, including routes, itinerary, height of peaks, districts, social condition of the areas, and budget details for climbing the peaks. Lama is also the coordinator of the peak profiling committee.

“We have prepared the peak profiles in a scientific manner with the help of national and international mountain experts,” he said. “The profiles will be beneficial not only for the climbers but also others interested in gathering details of the peaks and its surroundings, including the geography, socio-economic status of the people there, etcetera.”

He further said that the NMA and Nepal government expect the profiles to encourage climbers to attempt to scale virgin peaks.

The International Mountain Day has been celebrated across the world since 2003 for sustainable development of the mountaineering sector.