All-Female Team to Tackle Everest to Spread Climate Change Awareness, Empower Women

By The Associated Press

KATMANDU, Nepal: A group of Nepalese women plans to scale Mount Everest to spread awareness about the impact of climate change on the Himalayan peaks and help empower women, organizers said Thursday. The 10 team members and their support staff hope to reach the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) peak in April or early May. It will be the largest all-female team to try to scale the world's highest mountain, said Sushmita Maskey, a member of the expedition.

"Even our mule drivers are going to women," she said. All have some climbing experience and are Nepalese citizens but represent a variety of castes and ethnic backgrounds. They include students, a beautician and a trekking agent.

Team members said they hope to draw attention to global warming and encourage women to try new pursuits. The expedition is being supported by the United Nations Development Program, the World Food Program and Nepal's government. "We have raised about half the money needed and are looking for anyone to help us out," Maskey said. Global warming is causing Himalayan glaciers to melt, creating a possible long-term threat for water supplies. Many of the region's key rivers originate in the Himalayas.

"We expect the team to bring back updated information on the major changes which have been observed in the past years, from the bottom to the top of Mount Everest," said a U.N. official in Nepal, Anne-Isabelle Degryse-Blateau. "We hope that their observations will provide additional ideas on how to ecologically better manage and preserve this unique tourist and world heritage site." Since Everest was conquered in 1953 by Edmund Hillary and climbing partner Tenzing Norgay, it has been climbed by more than 2,000 people. About 200 climbers have died on its unpredictable slopes.

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(Jakarta, Kamis 21 February 2008, 07.39 pagi)

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