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Everester Apa Sherpa is unstoppable
KATHMANDU, APR 01 -
The unstoppable journey of Apa Sherpa, World Record holder for 19 successful expeditions to Mt. Everest continues as he heads for the tallest peak one more time. Apa plans his 20th Summit on April 6 which will create another milestone and break his own world record.
Apa, originally from the village of Thame in Nepal and living in Draper, Utah, USA since 2006. He has climbed Everest for 8 straight years since May 16, 2002.
A 50-year-old Apa seemed determined as he faced queries from journalist about his upcoming expedition. It was on 21 May 2009, Apa broke his own record by reaching the summit of Everest for the nineteenth time. He was a member of The Eco Everest Expedition, led by Bill Burke, whose purpose was to raise awareness about climate change.
The team had spent half an hour at the top of the mountain, unfurling a banner that said 'Stop Climate Change, Let the Himalayas Live!' This time around, he has a three fold mission to accomplish. "I will unfold a Nepal Tourism Year 2011 (NTY-2011) flag at the top of the mountain to spread the message across the globe for the success of the upcoming national campaign," said Apa, at a press conference organised here by the Nepal Tourism Board and NTY-2011 secretariat.
The second mission of the expedition team was to collect and bring down seven tons of garbage from the Everest. The team has set a target to collect and bring down six tons of garbage from camp 2 under the 'cash for trash' programme. The remaining will be brought from above camp-2 under the 'cleaning up Everest' programme.
The third mission of the expedition is to place the ashes of the late Sir Edmund Hillary on Mt. Everest to commemorate his death anniversary. His ashes were kept in a monastery of Khunde village, Solukhumbu for the past two years.
"It was the wish of Hillary that his ashes be scattered only in two places; in the sea near his Auckland home, and in the mountain of Nepal where he tirelessly toiled and made huge personal sacrifices to uplift the lives of the mountain people," Dawa Steven Sherpa, Apa's deputy said.
Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Sarat Singh Bhandari handed over the NTY-2011 flag to Sherpa, while, Ang Rita Sherpa, chairman of Himalayan Trust, Nepal handed over the ashes of Late Hillary to Apa on behalf of the Himalayan Trust and Sherpa Community.
Following the success of Eco Everest Expedition 2008 and 2009, the Eco Everest Expedition 2010 team under the leadership of Apa and Dawa as climbing leaders and Nanga Dorje Sherpa as Sirdar is scheduled to leave Kathmandu on April 6 and start the expedition from April 20 from the Everest base camp.
On the same occasion, Minister Bhandari handed over an 'International Olympic Committee Award for Sports and Environment', to Dawa Steven Sherpa. The International Olympic Committee honoured Sherpa with this award for his contribution and efforts in the field of sports and environment.
Posted on: 2010-04-02 07:54
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