The Great Himalayan Trail
To my knowledge, this is not a first ('The Great Himalayan Trail', #472). A French company sponsored a similar trip back in 1986/87.

Bousteaud is also wrong to claim that tourists were first able to visit after 2002, when Nepal "resolved all its border disputes with China". To the best of my knowledge, there was no border dispute, almost all of the Nepal Himalaya were accessible from the early 1990s on.

Next, I've always been uncomfortable with the idea of 'discovering' areas where people have lived for centuries. These high valleys are often Buddhist holy places and have histories of their own, with indigenous literature to show for it. Thanks notably to the Nepal German Manuscript Preservation Project, a considerable portion of it has been translated. You can find them easily in Kathmandu, and on this website: http://digitalhimalaya.com/collections/journals/ancientnepal/)

As for "creating value in regions that previously had little to offer," what does Boustead think tourists will bring? I'm not sure that tourism can help such areas much, since tourism also has an adverse impact, especially in fragile areas.

Marceau,
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COPENHAGEN CLIMATE COUNTDOWN
An 'emerging consensus' on what needs to be done to address climate change is not going to help countries like Nepal deal with global warming's effects, like accelerated glacial melt and its effects on water supplies. Every country needs to cut its emissions, including India and China. It may not be 'fair' historically, but arguing over fairness at a time when countries like Tuvalu are at risk of extinction, and countries around the world, including India and China, are at risk of growing food shortages, is futile. Instead of rejecting all imposed cuts, developing countries like India and China should be pressing for more financial and technical assistance.

Margaret P,
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JAZZMANDU
Great review of Jazzmandu! ('Let them hear jazz', #472). But I'm also glad you've brought attention to the jazz scene in Kathmandu, outside Jazzmandu. Many don't realise that there's tons for jazz-fans to be excited about in the city. Enough, at least, to keep them occupied until Jazzmandu rolls around again next year.

Sudip Lama,
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SUJATA
Sujata, Sujata, Sujata, Sujata! She hogs newspapers, she hogs magazines, and now she's DPM. What. The. Hell. But get used to this folks, we won't have serious leaders for a while. CK Lal's right ('The daughter also rises', #472), leaders of substance are squeezed out of parties.

Name withheld,
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