The president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, Ang Tshering Sherpa is busy ironing out the final details for the Everest Golden Jubilee celebrations. A seasoned tourism veteran, he spoke to Nepali Times about mountain ecology, high-altitude dumping and over-commercialisation.

Nepali Times: How are preparations for the 50th anniverasry shaping up?
Ang Tshering Sherpa: We are working on a sort of war footing, giving it our very best. More than 200 foreign and over 100 Nepali summiteers have confirmed their participation. One of the prime attractions of this program is the historic gathering of Everest summiteers in Kathmandu on 29 May. The world's eyes will be on Nepal.

Why in Kathmandu and not at Everest Base Camp?
The base camp would be ideal but we face practical problems like accommodation and transportation. Handling so many guests in such a remote area is very difficult to manage.

How badly has SARS impacted the celebration plans?
Well, the virus has not dampened our spirits. We can already see signs of the epidemic tapering off. In Singapore, for instance, the disease has been brought under control. By the time our program starts, we hope things will look to have taken an upward turn. Till date only a few climbers, mostly from Southeast Asia, expressed doubts about being here for the anniversary.

The question will come up: have we turned the Himalaya into a commodity?
I disagree with anyone who says we have over-commercialised our mountains. Mountaineers with different capabilities come to Nepal because we can offer them a variety of different climbs-from easy to difficult, high to low. Some sell mountain sports as a tourist product, but not everyone operates on those lines. Eco-tourism is not just a buzzword for us.

And garbage?
We cleaned up Everest, rubbish is piling up on Dhaulagiri and Annapurna base camps. The NMA has received complaints about litter on Dhaulagiri and Manasalu base camps. We have plans to clean up those areas in the near future. We must put a system into place, similar to the ones they have in Europe. So many mountaineers go to the Alps every year and yet their mountains are so clean because they have an orderly process that everyone follows. In our own case, the Khumbu region is much cleaner than it was 15 years ago. The most important factor is education-for the local people, the expedition team members and even the staff and porters.

What are the plans for more grisly things like cadavers on the slopes?
Last year an expedition group brought down two bodies. The cadavers are really unnerving for many climbers, but you must realise that it is not an easy job to remove them from the mountains. They are frozen stone cold and are very heavy, making it very difficult for anyone to carry them to lower altitudes where they can be burried or cremated.

How do we reduce pressure on mountain forests?
Micro hydro-electricity projects have helped lessen the impact. Many turbines have reached the mountain areas thanks to the Mi17 helicopters. These have reduced the rate of deforestation. The locals are being helped by various NGOs and INGOs who teach them how to properly manage and utilise their resources. There definitely is a positive side to mountain tourism.

Lot of complaints about our bureaucracy, and expeditions call our liason officers "lazy" officers. What is NMA doing about it?
This is a complaint we receive regularly, especially from international alpine associations who bring the subject up at different forums. We have spoken about this with the government who is finally taking the matter seriously. A more practical solution to the problem would be appointing a liaison officer for every mountain open to expeditions. It seems a waste to appoint one liaison officer for each expedition team. After all, most of them do not accompany the team and yet bill the expeditioners.

How about the welfare of support staff on the expedition?
This is an important concern for the NMA because we believe without making our staff and porters happy, we cannot make our clients happy. The staff are responsible for the well-being of the clients throughout their trip, so it's necessary that they too are taken care of. The NMA also pays for the education of all our staff members' children.

Like everything else in Nepal, NMA has also split. Can you tell us more?
Till date, the NMA is the only national mountaineering association in Nepal. For the last 30 years it has worked for the betterment of mountain tourism in Nepal. Yes, we are aware of the other federation, but the government has not recognised it so far.