Mountaineering as a sport is about fairness, honesty, and humility born of risk. It is not about taking advantage of helplessness and poverty.
In the winter of 19 78,1 w as horn e in Phalebas, Parbat District, after an absence of almost four years. My village is situated along the eastern terrace formed by the Kali Gandaki river and commands a grand view of Dhaulagiri (8167m) and the Arma purnaranges. One evening when Dhaulagiri looked aflame in the setting sun, an elderly lady happened to find me staring at the view in fascination. She threw a quick glance at the mountain and said matter-of-factly, "Yes it is truly beautiful, but it does not feed us." The point inherent in that statement has stayed with me ever since.
Department of Tourism statistics show that in 1990 Nepal earned U$ 63.7 million from 195,121 foreigners (other than Indians) who entered the country. In that year, the latest for which the breakdown is available, 62,092 trekking permits were issued to tourists. These included 972 climbers who were members of 120 mountaineering teams. These teams employed 863 high-altitude porters and guides and 13,316 local porters.
In 1990, the Nepali Government earned a mountaineering royalty of NRs 7.3 million (about US 160,000). In addition, the mountaineering teams were levied fees in lieu of trekking permits and entry into national parks. With the exception of the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), where entry fees are utilised by the Project for conservation work, these direct earnings from mountaineering (royalty and other fees) went to the central exchequer.