Chinese woman's triumph on Qomolangma recognized

Nepal has recognized a Chinese mountaineer who reached the summit of Mount Qomolangma this season, a tourism ministry official said on Tuesday, despite controversy over her use of a helicopter during the ascent.

Wang Jing scaled the 8,848-meter peak on May 23, accompanied by five local guides, but Nepalese officials initially held back from logging the climb because she used a helicopter for part of the way.

Wang, 41, told authorities she used a chopper to drop off tent equipment at an advanced camp before descending to base camp and climbing the mountain - also known as Mount Everest in the West - on foot, said Tourism Ministry official Madhusudhan Burlakoti.

Wang admitted on June 8 that she took a helicopter to fly from the base camp at an altitude of 5,364 meters to Camp II at 6,400 meters as the route between was damaged by an avalanche, Xinhua News Agency reported on June 16.

The report quoted Nepalese officials as saying that no matter how and in what way the adventurer scaled the peak, the government had recorded her feat which will remain documented forever.

Officials at the tourism ministry had ruled out any possibility of punishing Wang for violating the mountaineering rule of Nepal by using the helicopter in the snowy region, stating that it was the job of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal to look into the controversy, according to the Xinhua report.

"We investigated the issue and decided to recognize her achievement. We believe she returned to base camp after using the helicopter to deliver supplies and then climbed on foot," Burlakoti told AFP.

"We have awarded certificates to her and to the five Nepalese guides who accompanied her," Burlakoti added.

Wang's ascent came just over a month after an avalanche killed 16 Nepalese guides in the deadliest accident on the world's tallest peak.

Nepal traditionally only allows flights to Camp 2 to conduct rescues, but teams were allowed to use helicopters to transport equipment last season as the route below, normally prepared by guides with ropes and ladders, had not been completed.

Most mountaineers dropped plans to scale Qomolangma from the Nepalese side - the easiest and most popular route up the peak - after the avalanche, effectively ending this year's climbing season.

(China Daily 07/02/2014 page10)