Nepal honors 9 Sherpas on Everest Day

Nepal has celebrated Everest Day by honoring 9 Sherpa guides who fixed ropes and dug the route to the summit of Everest so that climbers could scale Everest, following almost 2 years of disasters. Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli praised the men at Sunday’s ceremony in Kathmandu, where they were presented with bouquets and given checks for 50,000 rupees ($460).

The nine Sherpas were the first people to reach the summit on May 11. After they fixed the ropes and dug the route, nearly 400 climbers were able to climb the mountain. The busy climbing season follows two years of disasters on the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) mountain.

The Sherpas first fixed aluminum ladders and tied ropes over the dreaded Khumbu Icefall, just above the base camp. They then fixed ropes for climbers to hold onto for much of the route. The Sherpas initially fixed aluminum ladders and tied ropes over Khumbu icefall, just above the base camp. Then, they fixed ropes for climbers.

Prime Minister Oli offered bouquets at the statues of Hillary and Tenzing in Kathmandu. People attending the function observed a minute of silence in memory of those killed on Everest this season. Two Indians, an Australian and a Dutchman died on the mountain this month, while another Indian is missing and believed to have died near the summit. Everest Day honors the first successful climb in 1953 by Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay.