It was an uncharacteristic start to an office day for the Secretary of the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers who, like almost every other civil servant in the country, has spent most of his career waging a seemingly ceaseless battle against the drudgery of table work.[break]
But the 48-year-old bureaucrat is fond of surprises. Since 2008, he has continued to surprise, and perhaps shock, many by pedaling to office once a week. Pedaling is his way of remaining fit and making a humble, personal contribution to the environment.
At the office building of Nepal Mountaineering Instructors Association in Gairidhara, Poudel was joined by 14 other civil servants whom he marshaled to the airport where a chartered Nepal Airlines twin-otter waited to fly them to Lukla.
"To Lukla today, to Phakding tomorrow, to Namche the day after …," Poudel told Republica, making no effort to disguise childish excitement, when asked about his team´s itinerary for the coming weeks. "To the top of the world between mid to late May," he concluded.
Breaking stereotype
The all-civil-servant expedition that Poudel is leading has a number of tasks at hand.
"When it comes to our role in mountaineering, Nepalis aren´t seen as anything more than porters and guides," said the Brahmin from Gulmi.
An unfortunate stereotype for a nation whom nature has bestowed with eight of the ten tallest mountains in the globe!
(Photo: Bikash Karki)
"We hope to break this stereotype," he said while guiltlessly laying bare his climbing inexperience by revealing that his farthest trip in the Everest region so far has been to the Base Camp. "But that too was on a helicopter," he added hurriedly.
None in Poudel´s team of amateur climbers have made it farther up.
There is yet another stereotype the team will shatter if it manages to reach the top: among Nepalese, it is only Sherpas who climb mountains.
Poudel´s team consists of 11 Brahmins, three Newars, and one member of the Sanyasi community. But the mix isn´t deliberate and neither is the team uncomfortable with stereotype number two.
The 15, who are ranked from secretary to non-gazetted staffers and aged between 55 and 27, are among four dozen civil servants who shot applications to the Ministry of Tourism last year after the ministry made the unusual announcement that it would fund a civil servants´ expedition in spring 2011.
The 15 were selected based on the physical prowess they demonstrated while climbing the 5,500-meter Yala peak in Langtang last year as part of training. The selection was also based on health clearance given by the Civil Servants Hospital.
Mountains feed
"The contribution of mountains to Nepal´s tourism industry is striking," Poudel said solemnly.
On an average, a tourist stays in Nepal for 11 days, a figure that owes heavily to tourists who come for mountaineering (average stay of 60 days) and those who trek through the Annapurna circuit (average stay of 16 days).
In contrast, the average stay of tourists other than those who go to the mountains or to the Annapurna circuit is just three days.
"Had it not been for our mountains, the overall average stay of tourists in Nepal would have been pitifully low. And yet, we are miserly when it comes to recognizing the contribution of mountain tourism to the country´s economy," Poudel argued.
Mountains eat as well
The civil servants who are now acclimatizing in Lukla are mindful that climbing Mt Everest is no child´s play.
Poudel was at Ama Dablam Base Camp in January this year to hand over a replica torch of Tourism Year 2011 when he ran into a Korean elderly couple and an American couple descending the mountain. They were terribly distraught, having spent the previous night surviving a storm that blew away their tents.
Poudel knows that climbing a mountain entails huge risks. Nature remains as brutal as ever. The only thing that has changed from the past is that there are better mountaineering gears and equipment around; and rescue teams are better equipped.
Poudel was, therefore, shocked when he was recently approached by senior bureaucrats, who wished their inclusion in the expedition despite not having gone through the physical and mental preparation the 15 went through.
"Clearly, not many in the bureaucracy see climbing as something needing serious effort and careful preparation," he said somberly.
Understanding climate change
Joint Secy Laxman Bhattarai, who, at 55, is the eldest member of the expedition, anticipates a steep learning experience in the next two months.
The team will see the Imja Glacial Lake located at 5,010 meters, climb the 6,189-meter Island Peak, and see first-hand the trash that litters the slopes of Mt Everest. Up close, the mountain might not appear as white as Bhattarai has seen on postcards sold in Thamel or on brochures published by Nepal Tourism Board.
"As policy makers, climbing Mt Everest is the best way to understand the threats posed to the Himalayas by pollution and climate change," said Bhattarai.
The expedition is special on another count: it is an all-Nepali expedition. Apart from the climbers, the support staff and guides are all Nepali nationals. Funding is also indigenous. The government has doled out Rs 30 million for the expedition.
While the team is weeks away from setting history of sorts, the expedition has already caused some ripples abroad. There have been informal enquiries from civil servants in India and Pakistan about the possibility of sending their own all-civil-servant teams to climb Mt Everest.
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