Thousands hail pioneer mountaineers

By TIM WATKIN in Kathmandu

Thousands of Nepalese cheered and waved as Sir Edmund Hillary was carried through the streets of Kathmandu in a horse and carriage yesterday morning.

Sir Edmund, Lady June Hillary and 1953 expedition member Gyalzen Sherpa were at the head of a procession of more than 200 mountaineers who had scaled Mt Everest in the 50 years since the New Zealander and Tenzing Norgay became the first people to stand on the summit of the world's highest peak.

Officially, 1252 people have climbed Everest, but the records are out of date and the actual figure is estimated at more than 1500.

A second carriage carried Junko Tanei, the first woman to climb Everest, and Jamling Tenzing, Norgay's son. A third carriage held Reinhold Messner, the first man to climb Everest without oxygen, his wife, and Tashi Tenzing, Norgay's grandson.

With a brass band in front and a pipe band behind, they all waved as they wound through Thamel, Kathmandu's tourist district. Along the way they were showered with confetti and handed flowers.

Some on the roadside knew who they were cheering, some did not.

"That's the great Hillary," said one man excitedly.

"I thought it was the Maoists," said another.

In the hand-to-mouth lives of most Nepalese, it was nothing more than a curiosity, but the climbers were thrilled with their reception.

Warkworth dairy farmer John Gluckman, 52, who reached the top in 1993, said it brought back great memories of his climb: the hard work, the Sherpas, the scenery.

Jan Arnold, who reached the peak with husband Rob Hall in the same expedition, said the parade was a special occasion. Hall died on the mountain three years later.

As she walked alongside Messner's carriage, Arnold introduced her daughter, Sarah Arnold-Hall, to the great German climber.

The 6-year-old asked for an autograph on a scrap of paper, but Messner rustled through his jacket for a photograph, wrote "For Sarah" on it and smiled warmly.

Messner said it was important that climbers who gained so much from Nepal gave something back. He said Sir Edmund was a wonderful example for them all.

"I think [his development work in Solo-Khumbu] is more important than the climb itself. For many years I have supported his trust. It works very well."

Messner said he was starting a trust in Germany that would follow the Himalayan Trust's example in other parts of Nepal that missed out on the Everest-generated tourism income.

Tashi Tenzing said: "We are here for my grandfather, for his spirit to be alive here.

"He would have loved this."

Sonam-Guval Chhen Sherpa, the seventh Sherpa to reach the summit, in 1973, said: "This is a very special occasion because everything [Hillary and Norgay] achieved was a first. They did not have good crampons, good ice axes, good equipment. How did they do it?"

In historic Durbar Square, Sir Edmund was presented with a letter from the city of Kathmandu, thanking him for his development work in Nepal and for raising the country's international profile.

"Long live the friendly relationship between the people of Nepal and New Zealand! Long live Sir Edmund Hillary!" the city spokeswoman said.

Sir Edmund replied: "This is a great honour you are doing us.

"We are great lovers of the Himalayas and the Himalayan people. Today has been a fantastic celebration of the warmth of the people of Nepal for their mountaineers who have climbed the great Mt Everest."