MYAGDI, May 29: Foreign guests have arrived in Nepal to join the Diamond Jubilee celebrations marking 75 years since the first successful ascent of Annapurna I.
Fourteen international guests-including family members of first summiteer Maurice Herzog-have traveled to Nepal to attend the event, which begins on May 31 in Narchyang, Ward 4 of Annapurna Rural Municipality, Myagdi, home to the 8,091-meter-high Annapurna I and its base camp. According to Annapurna Rural Municipality Chair Bharat Kumar Pun, the guests arrived in Kathmandu on Thursday, plan to travel to Pokhara today, and will reach Narchyang on Saturday.
"Maurice Herzog's son Mathieu, grandson Ethan Herzog, six guests from France, three from the UK, five from India, and one from Italy have joined the celebration at the government's invitation," said Chair Pun. "We have entered the final stage of preparations for the main event, which Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli will attend as the chief guest."
75 years of Annapurna’s historic ascent: separate diamond jubil...
Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal of France summited Annapurna I without supplemental oxygen on June 3, 1950. To honor the 75th anniversary of this historic climb, the government will host a series of events from May 30 to June 4. While past anniversaries were celebrated in Kathmandu and Pokhara, this year's event will take place closer to the mountain.
As the first 8,000-meter peak ever climbed, Annapurna holds the distinction of being the "eldest" among them. The 1950 summit preceded the successful ascent of Mount Everest by three years.
Chair Pun confirmed that Prime Minister Oli will inaugurate a marathon race from Annapurna Base Camp to open the main ceremony. He will also unveil statues of Maurice Herzog, Louis Lachenal, and Nepali climber Sona Wangchuk Sherpa. The Prime Minister will inaugurate the newly built open-air museum at the base camp and the Maurice Herzog Trail linking Narchyang to the base.
Annapurna Rural Municipality, in coordination with the Nepal Tourism Board, Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN), Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), and the local Tourism Development Committee, is organizing the celebration. A 30-kilometer marathon race will feature as part of the program, with cash prizes of Rs 50,000, Rs 30,000, and Rs 20,000 for the top three winners.
Tej Gurung, a member of the municipality's Tourism Development Committee and a key advocate for the base camp trail, said the organizers plan to install a record wall at the base camp to archive climbers' achievements.
The main ceremony in Narchyang will showcase traditional dances and cultural parades from all eight wards of the rural municipality. Organizers will also honor both Nepali and international climbers, along with individuals who have contributed to promoting Annapurna.
As part of the Diamond Jubilee, Herzog's family will hand over the original climbing equipment he used to the International Mountain Museum in Pokhara, run by the Nepal Mountaineering Association. The program will also include the launch of Herzog's book *The Annapurna*, translated and published by the French Embassy.
