Mountaineering In Nepal

Nepal first came into world focus when Tenzing Norgay Sherpa of Nepal and Sir Edmund Hillary of New Zealand conquered Mt. Everest in 1953. Ever since there have been countless expeditions heading off to the Himalayas. With eight of world’s highest peaks within Nepal’s boundaries, there is tremendous interest in the Nepal Himalaya. Most of the peaks over 8000m high were conquered during the Golden Decade of Climbing in the 1950s. Climbing by then had become a national affair with various nations vying with each other to be the first to climb. Today it is all about breaking records. There are some 326 peaks in Nepal open for mountaineering today.

Climbing permits for peaks in the Nepal Himalayas are issued for all seasons by the Mountaineering Section of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation. The requisite official documents must be furnished when seeking permission to climb. Around 121 peaks do not require liaison officers for expedition while the rest must be accompanied by one.

Climbing gear and types of equipment can be bought or rented in Kathmandu or the whole expedition can be handled by mountaineering and trekking agencies. All logistics are taken care of by these agencies including gear, food, transportation, guide and porter services. They also arrange for insurance coverage. Always choose an agency that has a good track record.

Royalty and Size of Expedition Team.

Realizing mountaineering as the backbone of Nepal’s tourism industry, the Government of Nepal has made following decisions in a bid to make mountaineering royalty fee competitive amongst the neighboring countries, promote mountains lying in remote and less privileged areas, and creative environment to transform the seasonal mountaineering business operational round the year and materialize the concept of Nepal for all Seasons.

Climbing Gears.

It is very important to know about the right kind of climbing gears and stuffs before backpacking for mountains. After all, these types of equipment and gears are your only bet for survival at a place that is so far from any kind of habitation. The most important thing is size. You must check that you put climbing gears of the right size. Keeping over or under-sized climbing gears are like not keeping that gear at all. You must keep a keen eye on the make of these climbing gears. Old and useless climbing gears will be of no use besides increasing your burden. Following is the list of items that are the must keep before venturing out for climbing and peak climbing in Nepal.

Climbing Equipment.

• Ice axe.
• Climbing with Ice Axe.
• Ascending with Ice Axe.
• Ice Axe as an anchorage.
• Ice Hammer.
• Ascent Method (Device).
• Descent Method (Device).
• 3 point Anchorage.
• Jumar.
• Belay Device (Figure 8).
• Ice Screw.

Types of Climbing Knots.

• Prussic Knot.
• Fisherman Knot.
• Half Sailor Knot.
• Middleman Knot.
• D. Sheet Knot.
• Sheep Shank Knot.
• Bowline Knot.
• S. Sheet Bend.
• Thumb Knot/ Stopper Knot.
• Tie Knot.
• Overhand Knot.
• Running Bowling.
• Triple Bowling on the Bight.
• Waterman Knot.
• Provisional Knot.

Other Climbing Gears and Equipments.

• Quick Draws.
• Rock Hammer.
• Friends.
• Rock piton.
• Crampons.
• Chocks.
• Snow-bar.
• Oxygen Cylinder.
• Mountain cooking gas stove.
• Helmet.
• Snow rocket.
• Climbing boots.