KATHMANDU: Mountaineers from Gorkha were honoured in Kathmandu on Wednesday to mark the 70th anniversary of the first successful ascent of Mt Manaslu.

Tsum Nubri Rural Municipality of Gorkha district felicitated record-holding mountaineers, including the fastest female Everesteer Phunjo Jangmu Lama, for their inspiring role in promoting Nepal's adventure tourism in the world.

The Rural Municipality also honoured several climbers and institutions, including the Nepal Mountaineering Association and the Manaslu Conservation Area Project, for their contributions to mountaineering and conservation, said RM Chairman Nima Lama.

Mt Manaslu was first scaled on May 9, 1956, by Japanese climber Toshio Imanishi and Sherpa climber Gyalzen Norbu. Urken Tshering Sherpa became the first Nepali to summit the mountain in 1973.

Similarly, mountaineers including Nangsal Choedon Lama, Diki Lhamu Lama, Nanu Maya Gurung, Yukta Gurung and Mingmar T Lama, as well as other personalities from Gorkha district, were felicitated on the occasion.

The felicitation programme was organised in coordination with the Nepal Tourism Board and the Nepal Mountaineering Association, according to Chairperson Lama.

NMA President Phur Gelje Sherpa and RM Chair Lama, along with other guests, congratulated all the mountaineers for their successes on different mountains.

According to the organisers, more than 3,800 domestic and foreign climbers have summited the world's eighth-highest peak to date. Speaking at the event, record-holding Everest climber Phunjo Jangmu Lama expressed concern over the impact of climate change on Nepal's mountains.