Mt. Pharilapcha to be ascended for first time Post Report KATHMANDU, April 15 : A team of three Nepali dubbed by the Nepal Mountaineering Association as the ‘National Team for the Golden Jubilee Celebrations’ is to attempt the first ever ascent of Mt. Pharilapcha (6017m), starting April 28. Consisting of three Nepali climbers and Marcelo Rey Belo (Brasil) / Juliana N. Bechara Belo (Brasil) / Viktor Groselj (Slovenia) / Rafael Vodisek (Slovenia) / Vladimir Mesaric (Croatia) / Stipe Bozic (Croatia) / Josko Bozic (Croatia) / Vladimir Shataev (Russia) with Isrofil Ashurly (Russia) / Valentine Grakovithch (Russia) a supporting crew, this is the first exclusively Nepali team yet to be attempting a climb on the occasion of 50th anniversary of the first ascent to the summit of Mt. Everest. Suren Thami, event manager of the proposed climb christened Moving Mountains project, said that the event is unique because ‘it consists of all Nepali non-professional climbers, and is the first ascent ever on the mountain’. “We wish to represent Nepal in the golden jubilee celebrations,” he said. The preparation and the entire climb will be documented on camera, culminating in two documentary films, said Thami. Pramod Shrestha will be leading the team, Dinesh Devkota will be filming the entire climb and Siddhartha Lama will be dealing with the technical aspects of the expedition. “More than anything else, this is an effort to promote domestic mountaineering and of course to promote the unexplored peaks in the country,” said Thami. Mt. Pharilapcha lies in the Khumbu region
23.12.’03
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC – Croatia