Dmitry Moskalev on Lhotse

The presentation of Lyudmila Korobeshko's book "The Height Gene 2.0: A Woman's View" will also take place as part of the evening. There was a lot of communication, pleasant meetings and acquaintances. Well, we had fun, too. See the photos, look for yourself! And those who were not with us, envy! It is rare where you can meet so many positive people.

That's the scope! 28 people take part in three expeditions. Good luck to everyone, the summit and a safe descent.

Lyudmila Korobeshko, Alex Abramov and Andrey Selivanov, the doctor of the Everest expedition, took part in the photo shoot.

This year's Everest season has been very dramatic. The pandemic, the weather on Mount Everest, the covid outbreak and the lockdown in Nepal, caused a lot of confusion and frayed the nerves of all the expeditions, participants and leaders of the expeditions. More than a hundred Sherpas fell ill and left their jobs. At least half of the participants were ill, coughed, had a fever, and left for treatment. Some came back, some didn't.

The weather was actually unusual for the Everest-Lhotse area. This year, less than half of the participants who bought permits have reached the summit of Mount Everest. And there are only 20 participants on the summit of Lhotse in general.

Now participants of expeditions are trying to fly out of Nepal by export charters. International regular service is completely prohibited.

Congratulations to all those who fought, survived and reached the summit of Mount Everest this year, despite all difficulties and hardships! And I thank all the Sherpas who heroically helped the participants achieve their cherished goal.

Thank you to everyone who waited, hoped and believed in us! We are flying to Moscow.

Thank you to the Russian Embassy in Nepal for your help and support in such a difficult and stressful year!

Namely:

Alexey Novikov, Russian Ambassador to Nepal,

Mikhail Skovorodnikov, Head of the Consular Department,

To Nikolay Kapustin, attache, Press Secretary.

Now about the situation in Nepal. The government abruptly closed all domestic flights, including helicopter flights from 3.05. And they promise to close international flights from 6.05, that is, today at 24: 00. For us, it wasn't as sad as it could have been. Since helicopter transportation is still possible on special anti-COVID permits. For the supply of expeditions, it is possible to receive them. So we must not starve to death. Moreover, there is a stock of non-perishable products until mid-June.

We use helicopters to transport fresh food and equipment from Kathmandu. Today, for dinner, the cooks baked us trout in foil. In the evening, we had a bard concert at the bar. All participants are very happy with the camp. We don't even want to leave it for climb.

Hello everyone from Gorak Shep (5200)! The weather has made adjustments to our team's plans. There was heavy snowfall for more than a day. Therefore, only a part of our group dared to take a risk and go to climb Lobuche under the leadership of Alexey Lonchinsky. Most of us went a little higher - to Gorak Shep (5200). Tomorrow we go to Kalapatar and hold our fists for our climbers on Lobuche.

Today we spend the night at an altitude of 4920 m, in Lobuch. Before dinner, we went to check out just above 5000 m, at the same time to look at the base camp of Everest, from afar.

News from the Lhotse 8516 group. Hello again from Namche! We spend two nights here for better acclimatization. Today it was a wonderful day. After breakfast, the whole team went for a walk to the Everest View Hotel at an altitude of 3900. The views are really gorgeous. First, we were photographed against the background of the beautiful Tamserku. Everyone wanted to take a photo with Lesha Lonchinsky, who received the "Golden Ice Axe" just for climbing this peak.

  And after an hour of walking, we found an incredibly beautiful view of Ama Dablam, Lhotse and Everest. Half an hour later, we sat down for coffee at a famous hotel with a view of Mount Everest.

Then we went down to the village of Kumjung, where there is a Yeti scalp and a School built by Edmund Hillary. And a little tired, but happy, we returned to our Bigfoot Home in Namche.

Tomorrow we will have a long trek to Tiangboche.

Hello, Friends! The group of the 7 Summits Club "Lhotse 8516" began its movement to the base camp. We arrived by helicopter in the village of Phakding (2600m. n. m.). Slowly, in two hours, we reached the village of Monjo (2860 m). We were lucky with the weather, we managed to accommodate in a comfortable loggia before the rain. Along the way, we saw Mount Tamserku, a beautiful mountain with a height of 6680 m. Our guide Alexey Lonchinsky received the "Golden Ice Axe", the most prestigious award in mountaineering, for climbing it.

The main part of the Everest team arrived in Kathmandu. They arrived a day ahead of schedule, and the program starts tomorrow. But Nepal and the guides are happy to see everyone! Along the way, no one was lost in the flights, and even the backpack that was left on the plane was returned to the owner after a few hours. To make it even more fun to spend time in Kathmandu, two groups of the 7 Summits Club partially arrived today. One team goes trekking to Everest base camp, the second team goes to Mera Peak. There are more tourists in Kathmandu, thanks to us. And tomorrow we are waiting for the arrival of the Lhotse group.

The Everest-Lhotse 2021 expedition is gaining momentum. Sherpas work at the foot of Mount Everest, preparing the base camp. The guides, meanwhile, are completing the procurement, inspection, and preparation of the remaining cargo for shipment to the expedition camps. Tomorrow, the first members of the expedition will arrive in Kathmandu, and we are looking forward to meeting them.

 The guides of the 7 Summits Club expedition on Mount Everest were photographed at the airport before flying to Nepal. Everything is going according to plan. On the photo: Alexander Abramov - Sergey Larin -Artem Rostovtsev.

During the evening, the performances of famous climbers and participants of the 7 Summits Club expeditions were held in parallel with the communication in an informal atmosphere. The audience was addressed by: Viktor Volodin (with a story about the Russian eight-thousandth Lhotse Middle), Alexey Lonchinsky (about the Tamserku peak, for which he received the "The Golden Ice Axe"), Vladimir Kotlyar (who wandered a lot in the mountains of Nepal), Natalia Smirnova (about an unforgettable trip to Colombia). We should also note the parting words of cosmonaut and mountaineer Mikhail Kornienko. The Hero of Space handed Alexander Abramov the flag of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center for lifting it to the Himalayan peaks.

At the end, a traditional auction was held, which was fun and gave pleasure not only to the lucky winners.

 Thank you to everyone who attended our party! Thank you to those who wished success to our expedition!

In 10 days, the main part of the expedition will go to Nepal for very serious climbs. Follow our news!

“Hello everyone from the winter Avacha!”

You will have great partners!

   The 7 Summits Club in the person of its President Alexander Abramov handed Nims "Golden Ice ax", so we evaluate his achievement ...

What was Nims talking about?

Nothing is impossible! The main thing in the project was precisely this idea! Show that it is possible. Nims sacrificed his pension,  laid his own house. And normal sponsorship appeared only after the completion of the first, most difficult part of the project.

 But at the same time, he wanted to show that Nepalese can be considered  as leaders in high altitude mountaineering. They consider themselves underrated.

Nims paid special attention to the fact that during the project, his team held four rescue actions. Critically, this could affect success. Especially at the very beginning, when the schedule was broken due to the rescue action at Annapurna.

The most difficult was, of course, Kanchenjunga. It was only the fourth day after the descent from Dhaulagiri. Fatigue was incredible. However, when on the descent, Nims's group found three climbers who were unable to move independently, they were assisted. And of the 40 climbers who were in the nearest camp, no one took part in the action.

Nims also climbed with  supplemental oxygen because there can be different situations on the ascent and often other climbers have to be helped. What would be impossible without additional oxygen.

Before K2 he was worried more than usual. After all, no one was able to get to the top before them. Even very strong teams. Under the mountain there were about a hundred climbers. When they arrived at the base camp, everyone turned to Nims with a question about their plans. He answered - today we drink (alcohol) and no plans. And in the morning his team took the storm of the most formidable mountain.

By the way, during the 16-year service in the elite unit of the English army (the Gurkhas are considered by many to be “the best warriors in the world”) Nims did not drink alcohol at all. But now he believes that it can even be useful in the mountains.

On Pakistan's eight-thousanders, the Nims team had difficulties associated with the work of local porters. Nepalis simply did not like the pace of their movement. Therefore, they carried goods under Broad Peak and Gasherbrum independently.

Nims plans to issue book,  ti finish a film, work in his company Elite Himalayan Adventures, make a new route to Cho Oyu, perhaps for new records ...

And! Collaborate with  the 7 Summits Club and work with our groups. And not only in Nepal!

From an interview with Forbes magazine:

I am not really afraid of anything. But there is an old saying: If someone says, “I’m not afraid of dying,” they must either be a Ghurka or they must be lying. I am a Ghurka (laughs)!

Reinhold Messner, the man of the era who first climbed the eight-thousanders: “Nims, I can see in your eyes - it comes from your soul, from your heart - I think you can do this project.”

 Now we made sure that Messner was right. Nims is a very honest, decent, pure in his goals, strong person in every way, and at the same time he is adequately thinking. We are friends now!

Plans of climbing the eight-thousanders by expeditions the 7 summits Club. 2019 -2020

September 2019

 Manaslu (8156), Nepal. The tour-leaders Sergei Larin and Lyudmila Korobeshko.

April – May 2020

Lhotse (8516m) + Everest (8848m) from the South - leader Vladimir Kotlyar.

Makalu (8462m, Nepal) – leader Artem Rostovtsev.

Everest (8848m, Tibet) from the North - leader Alexander Abramov.

July 2020

Gasherbrum II (8035m, Pakistan)

K2 (8611m, Pakistan)

September 2020

Cho-Oyu – leader Sergey Larin.

Our expeditions are served by our well-trained team of Sherpas, proven high-altitude guides and well-trained in the provision of camping services. With the ideal organization of expeditions, members have a great chance to achieve success, to reach the summit. Climb all 14 eight-thousand - no longer a fantastic dream, but it can be quite a real goal.

The route is a legend, it is very different from the ascent from the North. Starting from the approaches by the Khumbu valley, then following through the legendary icefall (for several years without accidents, you only need to carefully choosing  a route), through the South Col, South Summit and Hillary Step. By the way, at the top there is a chance to meet the climbers of the 7 Summits Club, which will climb from the North.

And as an added plus, we offer a bonus (free) climb to thesummit of Lhotse, the fourth highest peak in the world. Additional payment for the permit will not be necessary.  Recently, such double ascents in one exit above the Khumbu icefall have become not uncommon. So go ahead!

 We invite to take part in our expedition the boldest and most daring climbers!   It's a rare chance to go down in history. After all, in the fall climbers rarely climb Everest and Lhotse, and these two peaks in one expedition in the fall has not yet been "conquered".

 Programs with prices will appear on the site in the coming days…

From camp four, with our boots still on and probably looking a bit rough at this point with crazy things still frozen to our beards, noses and who knows where else. We are vey happy to announce that our entire Mountain Professionals team, Tone, Leif, Vibeke, Fredrik, Ryan, Chhirring, Pema, and Lhakpa, reached the summit of Manaslu 8163m this morning!

A big congratulations to our climbers, they enjoyed mostly blue bird skies and some mild winds at the tip top that basically blew a little spindrift around but we could still enjoy the very narrow and steep summit pyramid.

We owe a tremendous thanks to our Sherpa guide staff, who work tirelessly from fixing line for our team in exposed sections to brewing up hot tea when they know we need it most... like right now, Lhakpa is at our tent door!

We will descend in a short time to camp two for the relative comforts there and keep continuing down with caution until the safety of base camp and send more details and photos. Thanks a lot for following, from a tired but elated group up here in the clouds.

---

Altitude Junkies: Manaslu 2012 Expedition Dispatches

Update - October 1, 2012
We have had 15 successful summits! Two of our Sherpas and one team member did not go to the summit. The team is now in the process of descending to Camp 2. Everyone is safe and doing well. A more detailed dispatch will be posted as soon as they return to base camp.

Update - September 30, 2012
The team, including Sherpas and members, are at Camp 4 and doing well. They will be heading for the summit tomorrow.

Members of the expedition: Alexander Bykov (born 1988), Yevgeny Yegorov (1956), Sergei Ilyasov (1957), Andrew Kutsy (1959), Ivan Lobanov (1961), Dmitry Serebryakov (1964), Gregory Yudin (1955).

Ilyas Tukhvatullin - one of the strongest climbers bothRussiaandUzbekistan. With a team of Russia, he was on the record routes on the North Face of Mount Everest and K2 West Face. To his credit there are many ascents of peaks above 7,000 meters, the climb of the North Face of Khan Tengri in duo with Pavel Shabalin, winter first ascent of the North Face of Aksu etc….

This season, the famous mountaineer Gleb Sokolov also goes to the Annapurna, and some climber from Moscow.

http://racek-club.climberca.com/

Autumn in the Himalayas...

Manaslu became the most popular autumn mountain in recent years. Once Chinahas restricted access to the peaks of Tibet (Cho Oyuand Shisha Pangma) an expedition Alpine Ascents International went to Manaslu (guide Garrett Madison). AsGermany's commercial expedition Amical (guide Herbert Wolf) and a team fromIndia, including a young climber Arjun who aim to go all 14 eight-thousanders. And a small commercial group gathered by American guide Ryan Water.

For the media, perhaps the most interesting event is an attempt of 73-year-old Spaniard Carlos Soria to climb his 12th eightthousander -Dhaulagiri. Almost no one would bother Everest this season. Polish expedition led by the indefatigable Arthur Haizer will run on its southern slopes. But its aim isLhotseby the normal route. Elbrus record holder Andrew Bargiel from Zakopane is one of its members. His goal - speed record ascent ofLhotse. From the base camp to the top a record holder is Mexican Carlos Carsolio climbed 23 hours 50 minutes. Autumn is a lot of snow, but it will not be the crowd on the railing.

The Polish team. On the left is 49-year-old leader, and near him 24 years old Elbrus record-holder

Mexican couple "Yuri - Laura" Yuri Contreras and Laura Gonzalez are now he trail through jungles to the foot ofMakalu, their next eight-thousanders.

Well, one more note. Declared Sophie Denis French expedition on Shisha Pangma will not take place. Do not blame the Chinese, just Sofia decided to become a mother. So her plan to complete the collection of 14 eight postponed or canceled. Time will tell.

In our office: Mikhail Yarin, Alex Abramov, Gleb Sokolov and Pavel Shabalin

Makalu. Polish woman climber Kinga Baranovska, which goes to his eight eighåt-thousanders, will be there a major star ... Slovak Peter Hamor plans, high-speed solo climb without oxygen. For acclimatization he plans to climb Lobuche East and Pumori.

Lhotse. Carlos Soria, 72-year-old Spanish climber intends to climb its 10 th eight-.thousander. In the company with him will climb Carlos Pauner and Juan Oiarzabal, who has now 24 climbs on eight thousanders (overall record). Austrian paragliding Mike Kueng wants to flight over the summit ridge (8500 m), starting from the south. On account of this 42-year old athlete is a lot of records, including a flight at an altitude of 10,100 meters. But the goal is very difficult: from the bottom up in the Himalayas nobody could rise above 7300 m yet. Austrian already is flying in the vicinity of Namche Bazaar, as part of his great expedition "paratrekkers.

Soria (left), Kueng and below - the planned route record

On Everest should be lively as usual ...

In addition to numerous commercial expeditions, many people will try to speak own word on the slopes of tallest peak of the planet.

In the focus - Basque woman climber Edurne Pasaban, which tries to climb the highest peak without the aid of artificial oxygen. If successful, all 14 eight she would have "made" without oxygen. Also will try a clean, oxygen-free ascent a 35-year-old Australian climber Allie Pepper .. And men… once again going to climb without oxygen Englishman David Tait. Before that he planned to climb a new route on Lhotse. Mexican David Liano is back to his project climb Everest from both sides during the season. Without oxygen, and one day plans to go to the summit an Ecuadorian Ramiro Tesalema. Brazilian Rodrigo Raineri announced his intention to descend from the top of a glider.

 Allie Pepper - after Cho Oyu climbs Everest without oxygen

Sherpas go for at least 3 record. Famous Apa go to the top once again.

Pemba Dorji plans for a day to visit both Everest and Lhotse. His brothers dragged to the top of the world's tent - they plan to stay at an altitude of 8848 meters over 24 hours.

On Cho-Oyu the most interesting fact is that refusal to participate in the expedition Japanese Hiro Takeuchi. In solidarity with the victims of the catastrophic earthquake compatriots. Takeuchi - the first real contender for the 14 eight-thousanders from the country which was a quarter-century was among the leaders of Himalayan mountaineering. He remained only two: Cho Oyu and Dhaulagiri

KATHMANDU: The Seven Summits Foundation in coordination with Nepal Tourism Year 2011 committee will organize a concert at the Mount Everest Base Camp at the height of 5,400 meters above the sea-level on March 23.

According to the organizers, apart from Nepali artists and International artiste John McCune from USA will also perform at the Everest Base Camp for the programme. The initial festival is dedicated to raising awareness of the melting of the Himalayan Glaciers due to Global Warming, kicking off a series of five concerts with the final one in Kathmandu, said Thomas J Sexton, a member of the 7 Summits Foundation.

After two weeks of trekking and performing in the Himalayas, the ‘Save the Himalaya’ festival will conclude with a concert in Kathmandu on April 6.

Led by Ang Chhering Sherpa, who holds the record for climbing the world’s seven highest summit in just 42 days, and in association with the Nepal Tourism Year 2011 committee, the 7 Summits Foundation hopes to use the concert series to focus the attention of the international community on one of the highest destinations on earth, embodying the ‘Voice from the Top of the World’.

While rising sea-levels have been the central focus of the detrimental effects of Global Warming, the melting of our glaciers will have an impact on landlocked nations as well, he said, adding that the melting of the Himalayan glaciers will cause flooding and destruction, affecting the survival and livelihood of the people of the Himalayan region.

Meanwhile, AC Sherpa plans to continue to build awareness of the impact on the Himalayan glaciers by attempting to set a new mountaineering record by climbing Mt Everest three times in one climbing season this summer.

KATHMANDU: A team of civil servants led by Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Lila Mani Poudel is all set to scale the Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world. They are setting off for mountaineering from the third week of Chaitra.

It was informed at a programme that the mountaineering campaign of the civil servants, as an important programme in connection with the Nepal Tourism Year 2011, will spread a new message in the international sector. The programme was organised at the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation.

The government has allocated Rs 750 million for the campaign which will be of 75 days. Similarly, the Mountaineering Training Institute Development Committee has been providing training and will manage the expedition.

In course of the training, the expedition has successfully scaled the Yala peak of Lamtang.

At the programme, Chief Secretary Madhav Ghimire said the mountaineering will help devise a mechanism on sustainable environment conservation by acquiring information about the effects of climate change in the mountain region.

Similarly, Secretary at the Tourism Ministry, Kishor Thapa said the Ministry will arrange the management for the mountaineering team to reach atop the Everest and return it safely.

Team leader Secretary Poudel said they were all set to climb the Mt Everest to show that the civil servants were also capable to do adventurous job.

Nepal Tourism Year Coordinator Yogendra Shakya said the mountaineering zeal of the employee will add new spirit to the tourism sector.

The mountaineering team comprises Joint Secretary at the Foreign Ministry, Durga Prasad Bhattarai, Joint Secretary at the Tourism Ministry, Laxman Bhattarai, engineer at the same ministry Santa Kumar Maharjan, and Mukti Ram Rijal, Surath Pokhrel, Hari Prasad Guragain, Khim Lal Gautam, Gyanendra Kumar Shrestha, Tulsi Ram Bhandari, Padma Bahadur Bhandari, Bishnu Prasad Poudel, Subir Shrestha, Hari Dhakal and Kumar Giri.

Joseph Dalton Hooker, renowned botanist, close friend of Charles Darwin and global explorer, also produced the earliest Western sketch of a little-known geologic feature called Mount Everest, it emerged this week.

The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, where Hooker was director in the late 19th-century, has identified a rough sketch by Hooker of the Himalayan mountain, the highest point on Earth, as one of the first of its kind. A consultation with Hooker experts, including the Royal Geographical Society (RGS), suggests the drawing is the earliest known scientific Western drawing of what locals call Mount Chomolungma. The work dates from 1848, completed while Hooker, aged 30, was conducting a three-year-long research expedition of the Himalayan region. The RGS named Everest in 1856 after George Everest, a former British surveyor-general of India.

"It is always wonderful when we turn up a hidden gem of such historical importance," said Kew's director Stephen Hopper. "To our knowledge there are no other earlier representations of Everest by a European, in which case this discovery could be one of the most important findings in Kew's Archive."

While the RGS has a French map of the relevant Himalayan region dating from the 1730s, it has no pictorial representations of the mountain from this period.

Kew were first alerted to the sketch's importance by documentary filmmaker Peter Donaldson, who has spent several years researching Hooker's life. In 2008, he retraced Hooker's 1848 journey through eastern Nepal and the Tibetan border, which Mr Donaldson claims was the first recreation of its kind. "Hooker's various explorations around the world and on the spot drawings provide a very interesting reference point to see how parts of the eastern Himalayas and elsewhere have changed over the last 160 years," Mr Donaldson said in an email. "Hooker established much of the science underlying current understanding of how plants change with changing climate. This is of great importance in interpreting the past and future effects of climate change."

The garden's archives also contain a watercolour by Walter Hood Fitch, based on the Hooker sketch, which was created in about 1850. While the botanist does not refer directly to the drawing in his journals, he describes a spectacular sunset seen during his four-year expedition. "I have never before or since seen anything which for sublimity, beauty and marvellous effects, could compare with what I gazed on that evening." Everest is marked on Hooker's sketch "very high snows NNW ".

As well as being the first European to collect plants in the Himalayas, Hooker also worked with Darwin to classify plants he had collected in the Galapagos Islands.

Hooker's sketch is currently on display at Kew's Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art until 1 June.

While Nepal was celebrating its four-day Tihar holiday, Nepali pilot Sabin Basnet and technician Purna Awale were scouring the upper ranges of Mt Ama Dablam – meaning mother's necklace – a Himalayan range whose main peak juts up to 6812m above sea level. They had been sent by domestic airline Fishtail Air to airlift two Japanese climbers who had fallen ill.

After successfully rescuing the first climber, the two men went back for the second when high winds buffeted the aircraft and caused it to crash while trying to land. Two other helicopters sent to locate the missing chopper and its crew had to search the area for hours before they could locate the wreck and the bodies. Fishtail officials said they have now started the difficult operation of bringing the bodies down from the inaccessible mountain range.

This is the second air accident since August that resulted in casualties. In August, an aircraft crashed near Kathmandu valley, killing all 14 people on board, including a Japanese tourist. Last month, three Japanese climbers and their Nepali guide were swept away by an avalanche while climbing Mt Dhaulagiri, the seventh highest peak in the world.

The best high-altitude pilot, a real pioneer of rescue above 7000 m -  Sabin Basnet

With swiss team after Lantang flight to find Tomas Humar

After epic Dhaulagiri rescue withh his swiss teachers

Save the Himalayas

The program will be organized as an accompanying event of the fifteenth conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to celebrate the International Mountain Day on December 11, 2009. Mountaineering icons, marching in summit gears on the streets of Copenhagen, will be joined by many mountain lovers in issuing a declaration to save the Himalayas from the impacts of climate change.

 After holding a historic cabinet meeting at a Mount Everest base camp last week, Nepal is all set to organize a march by Everest summiteers at Copenhagen on December 11.

 The hour-long march comprising mountaineers who have scaled the world’s tallest peak will coincide with International Mountain Day and highlight the threat posed to Himalayas by climate change.

 “The march to be held on the sidelines of the Copenhagen meet will have mountaineers marching in full mountaineering gear to attract global attention to the issue,” said Deepak Bohara, Nepal’s minister for forest and soil conservation.

 On Monday, a 57-member Nepalese delegation led by Bohara left for Copenhagen. Several other ministers including Deputy Prime Minister Sujata Koirala will leave soon to take part in the march.

 The Nepalese team which comprises of 32 Mt Everest summiteers includes Apa Sherpa, who has climbed the peak a record 19 times, Min Bahadur Sherchan (77), the oldest climber and Nimduma Sherpa, the youngest woman summiteers.

 Several Mt Everest summiteers from across the globe including Austrian Peter Habbler, who climbed the peak without oxygen cyclinder, Canadian Byron Smiths and the Mayor of Prague Pavel Bem are also expected to take part in the march.

http://www.savehimalayas.org/index.php

DECLARATION 

The Summiteers’ Summit to Save the Himalayas Copenhagen, 11 December 2009

 The majestic Himalayas, whose enthralling beauty have inspired awe and religious devotion in people around the world for millennia, continue to challenge the human spirit and contribute to the human experience. The Himalayas are the ‘water towers’ of Asia, feeding its largest rivers and nourishing hundreds of millions of people downstream. The Himalayas play an important role in global atmospheric circulation and are a sanctuary for unique biodiversity. The lofty peaks and mighty rivers have inspired civilizations and supported a mosaic of cultural diversity. The Himalayas, in essence, are a global treasure.

 But the perils of climate change are threatening this treasure. Temperatures are rising rapidly at higher altitudes – several times higher than the global average. Glaciers are melting – changing landscapes and creating dangerous glacial lakes held back only by natural dams of rubble and ice. The ensuing changes threaten unique ecosystems and the lives of millions of people living in the mountains and downstream who eke out their livelihoods from diverse mountain resources. The menace of climate change on the Himalayas will manifest far and wide in the form of drought, flood and sea level rise. As the seas rise, there is no refuge from climate change even at the highest altitudes.

 We, the undersigned, confirm the vital importance of the Himalayas and recognize the risks posed by climate change; we call upon the world community:

 • To focus attention to the challenges of climate change in the Himalayas and downstream.

• To value their unique contribution to human adventure, global ecology, and regional river systems;

• To safeguard Himalayan ecosystems which provide essential services to millions of people living in the mountains and on the plains.

• To enable mountain peoples to meet the unfolding challenges of climate change.

• To save the Himalayas for the current generation and for generations to come.

The highest ever Cabinet meeting

After passing initial health check-up in Syangboche, twenty-four Cabinet ministers, including Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, have reached Kalapatthar plateau near Everest Base Camp at an altitude of 17,192 feet (5,242 meters) at 9:20 a.m on Friday morning to hold the historic Cabinet meeting set in the backdrop of the majestic Himalayas, including Mt. Everest, the world's tallest mountain.

 The Cabinet meeting will be held for around 30 minutes to draw global attention to the threat of climate change in the Himalayas. It is set to declare Banke National Park as new national park and Api-Nampa and Gauri-Shankar as conservation areas.

 A rescue team led by Usha Gurung along with six doctors and a team of mountaineers are accompanying the ministerial team for this historic event.

 The government will make public the decision of the Cabinet at a press meet after arriving in Syangboche (3,780 m) later.

 Speaking to media-persons before the ministerial team was air-lifted to Kalapathhar, Minister for Forest and Soil Conservation Dipak Bohora said that the Government of Nepal is holding the Cabinet meeting to draw the attention of the world to the threats of climate change in the Himalayas and the people living in the region.

 The Cabinet is set to endorse the agenda prepared for the UN climate change summit to be held in Copenhagen.

 State-owned Nepal Television is broadcasting the special event live from Kalapatthar.

 Twenty four Cabinet ministers, including PM Nepal, had reached Lukla Airport in Solukhumbu district on Thursday to take part in the historic meeting. However, four ministers missed the meeting.

A large number of national and foreign journalists, health and technical teams had reached Syangboche on Thursday to cover the rare media event.

 The high-altitude Cabinet meeting has attracted international attention, especially as it comes on the eve of the Copenhagen summit. nepalnews.com