US-Nepal Friendship Team II leaves for Alaska adventure

KATHMANDU, June 05: The US-Nepal Friendship Team II left here today for Alaska, the United States of America, in a bid to scale the highest peak in North America, Mount Denali aka McKinley.

The expedition to Mt Denali (6,190 meters tall) is led by renowned climbers Pasang Phurba Sherpa of Nepal and Mark Parella of the US and is coordinated by Public Affairs Chief Garrett E. Wilkerson from the US Embassy in Nepal and Karma Tenzing, the leader of the USA-Nepal Friendship Team I, according to team manager Thaneshwar Guragai.

According to Guragai, the objective of the expedition is to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of Jim Whittaker’s climbing Mount Everest, to promote sustainable mountaineering practices, acquire invaluable eco-expedition techniques and to establish mountain diplomacy between Nepal and the US, forging stronger diplomatic ties between the two nations.