Himalayan Mountaineering History Celebrated

As Nepal readies itself for the 2011 Year of Nepal Tourism, several important reminders of mountaineering’s long and auspicious history in that country are cropping up. The fifitieth anniversary of the first ascent of Daulagiri by a Swiss Austrian expedition, whose summit party included two Sherpas, is on May 13. One of the first ascensionists, Kurt Diemberger, will speak in Pokhara on May 13 to open a Golden Jubilee commemorating the first ascents of Nepal’s famous 8,000 m peaks. On  June 13, the Alpine Club, in London, will consider early Everester George Mallory’s famous quip “Because it’s There,” and whether or not it remains relevant to climbing in an age of industrial mountain tourism,  at a mountain festival at the Royal Geographical Society in London on June 13. George Band,  who was the youngest member of the 1953 Everest expedition and a sometime partner of Eastern Canadian rock climbing hero John Turner will be one of the speakers.