Central Executive Board Meeting- 5 December 2006
The Central Executive Board Meeting held on 5 December 2006 decided upon various different committees for the smooth implementation of the upcoming Himalaya Tourism Conference 2006.

Himalaya Tourism Conference 2006
Under the initiation of Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA), Himalaya Tourism Conference took place on 11 and 12 Dec 2006. NMA was the Member Secretary for the program where as MoCTCA, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, Nepal Tourism Board, WWF Nepal, ICIMOD, The Mountain Institute, National Trust for Nature Conservation, Himalayan Environment Trust-Nepal (HET-Nepal) were the organizers of the program. The program was organized on the occasion of Golden Jubilee of Mt. Manaslu and Mt. Lhotse and International Mountain Day 2006. The basic objective of the program was to organize and revive and promote post-conflict mountain tourism in the Himalaya, to reduce impacts of tourism on Himalaya environment and cultures and to promote equitable sharing of tourism benefits with local communities.

11 Dec 2006
In the early morning on the first day of the conference, Mt. Manaslu and Mt. Lhotse Summiteers, national and international participants of the conference were driven from Tudikhel in an open jeep in a carnival atmosphere to Kathmandu Durbar Square for the traditional reception organized by Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City, Bhaktapur Municipality, Madhyapur Thimi Municipality and Kirtipur Municipality. Hon'lble Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, MoCTCA Secretary Mr. Madhav Prasad Ghimire were present in the program. In the program, the twenty-two Mt. Manaslu and Mt. Lhotse summiteers were given plaque of honor and honored with garland and khadas.

Civic Reception of Mt. Manaslu & Mt. Lhotse Summiteers and particpants of Himalaya Tourism Conference 2006 at Basantapur Durbar Square

In the opening ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Hon'ble K P Sharma Oli inaugurated Himalaya Tourism Conference 2006 a function at Hotel Hyatt, Kathmandu on the same day. Hon'ble Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Pradeep Kumar Gyawali and Hon'ble Minister for Forests and Soil Conservation Dilendra Prasad Badu were also present in the program. In the program, the Chief Guest launched a special publication of NMA, Nepal Parbat and Sacred Himalayan Landscape Strategic Plan-Nepal (2006-2016) of the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation

The Chief Guest awarded Kumar Khadga Contribution Award to His Excellency Michel Jolivet, Ambassador of French Republic for veteran climber Mr. Maurice Herzog, First Annapurna Summiteer. He also felicitated national and international Mt. Manaslu and Mt Lhotse summiteers present in the program. Various prizes were distributed for individuals for their valuable services in their respective field.

During the conference, seven different papers on mountaineering, livelihood and environment were presented.

1. Managing Mountain Biodiversity for Better Life by Dr. Krishna Chandra Poudel (Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation),

2. Developing Mountain Tourism Opportunities & Challenges by Mr. Robert Pettigrew (President, Access & Conservation Commission),

3. Community Based Tourism for Equitable Socio-Economic Development by Mr. Ravi Jung Pandey (National Program Manager, TRPAP),

4. Harmonizing Tourism & Environment by Dr. Lhakpa Norbu Sherpa (Director, TMI),

5. Mountaineering in Nepal- Prospects & Challenges by Prof. Indra Narayan Manadhar (Department of Geography, TU),

6. Tourism Marketing Opportunities and Challenges by Mr. Tek Bahadur Dangi (CEO, NTB) and

7. Enabling Policies for Mountain Tourism by Mr. Dipendra Purush Dhakal(Ex-Secretary, MoCTCA).

ICIMOD and IUCN organized book and technology fair entitled 'Sharing Mountain Knowledge' at Hotel Hyatt premises. The fair exhibited the publications of different environmental books, photographs and the demonstration of various environmental friendly technologies. Likewise, WWF and NTNC also exhibited the products and photographs related to their activities.
 

12 Dec 2006
The closing ceremony of the conference was organized on 12 Dec 2006 at Hotel Hyatt under the chairmanship of Hon'ble Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali. In his concluding speech, he said that Nepal's mountains were not only an object of mountain tourism attraction but also the unique culture and civilization of the mountain people, attention should be paid towards the livelihood of local people in order to ensure their participation in its preservation. He also urged foreign mountaineers and intellectuals to spread around the world the message that Nepal has now become a peaceful and safe destination. Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Madhav Ghimire said emphasis should be given on the rural and eco-tourism for sustainable tourism development. Mr. Nazeer Sabir, President, Alpine Club of Pakistan, Dr. Siddhattha Bajracharya- Member Secretary, NTNC, Mr. Tek Bahadur Dangi- CEO, NTB, Dr. Gabriel Campbell- Director General, ICIMOD, Mr. Franc Ekar- President, Alpine Association of Slovenia, Mr. Robert Pettigrew-President, Access & Conservation Commission, UIAA also expressed their thoughts regarding the conference. In the vote of thanks, NMA President Mr. Ang Tshering Sherpa thanked all the organizers and supporters involved in organizing this conference successfully and expressed that such type of conference will help future developers in their endeavors to promote and develop Nepal.

Dr. Lhakpa Norbu Sherpa and Mr. Robert Pettigrew in Business Session

Visit to IMMP- 12 December 2006
Japanese Tourists visited International Mountaineers' Memorial Park on 12 December 2006 to inspect the memorial site for Late Mr. Nishiboo.

Himalaya Host Countries Meeting 2006- 13 Dec 2006
The delegates from Himalayan Host Countries China Mountaineering Association, China Tibet Mountaineering Association, Alpine Club of Pakistan and Nepal Mountaineering Association held a special meeting on Dec 13 2006, to deliberate on matters of mutual interests amongst the host countries and to review the proceedings of the Himalaya Tourism Conference 2006 held on 11 & 12 Dec.
The delegates collectively showed great satisfaction over the successful conclusion of this conference with a respectable representation from various countries from around the world. They also noted the changing improvement in the tourism activities in Nepal with satisfaction and the positive trends shown by the foreign visitors towards Nepal as the prime Himalayan destination in the light of recent political transformation.

During the meeting there was especial emphasis on regional networking, linking websites of all the Himalayan host countries for promoting and exchanging information on various activities, products and the Government policies regularly.

Mt. Manaslu Golden Jubilee Celebration at Gorkha- 14 Dec 2006
Mt. Manaslu and Nepal Japan Diplomatic Relationship Golden Jubilee Celebration Committee, Gorkha organized a felicitation program for Mt. Manaslu Sumiteers Mr. Lhakpa Norbu Sherpa ( Son of first Manaslu Summiteer Late Gyalzne Norbu Sherpa) and Mr. kageyama, Japanese Manaslu Summiteer in Gorkha on 14 Dec 2006. NMA Treasurer Mr. Ang Kaji Sherpa, Mr. Lok Bahadur Khatri- Under Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation and NMA Board Members- Mr. R P Pant, Mr. Vijay Gurung and Mr. Pemba Dorjee Sherpa attended the program.

Inauguration of Taiwanese Section at IMM- 15 Dec 2006
NMA IInd Vice President Mr. Bhumi Lal Lama, Mr. Huang Pan Nan, President, Yung Ho Alpine Association and Mr. Tadao Kanzai, President, Japanese Alpine Club jointly inaugurated Taiwanese Section at International Mountain Museum (IMM) on 15 Dec 2006. The section exhibits the culture of people living around the regions of Taiwan. Mr. Huang Pan Nan, President, Yung Ho Alpine Association expressed his happiness on the construction of IMM and assured for further cooperation for the development of the programs for IMM.
 

Inauguration of Taiwanese section

Advance Mountaineering Course - 20 Dec 2006
The regular annual program of NMA- Advance Mountaineering Course 2006 starts from 20 Dec 2006. 15 students are participating in the training program, which will be carried out at Kathmandu and Langtang for 45 days.

Introduction of Mountaineering Gears
This is regular column of e-News to introduce mountain gears to the readers.
 

Climbing Shoe: A climbing shoe or kletterschuh is a piece of foot wear, which is specifically designed and worn for climbing. It increases the grip of the foot on a climbing wall or rock face due to friction. Usually, the shoes are only a few millimeters thick and will have a very tight fit around the feet.

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