Another prominent person to address press conference was Dr. Heuberge Helmut who was with the first Austrian Expedition which successfully climbed Cho Oyu in 1954. Recalling his expedition experience in 1954, he said it was very difficult to climb mountain those days. Scientist by profession, Dr. Helmut reached upto 7500 meters with his team but hurried back to basecamp after reaching 4the camp to make other expedition members possible to climb. He also showed the flag that they took upto Cho Oyu in 1954. "Nepal is like a second home for me," he said with a smile.

Mr. Bhoj Raj Ghimire, Secretary of Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation outlined the policy of His Majesty's Government in promoting mountain tourism in Nepal. Mr. Ang Tshering Sherpa, President, Nepal Mountaineering Association said so far 47 foreign participants have confirmed their participation in the Cho Oyu Golden Jubilee Celebration which begins from October 17. Ms. Nandini Lahe Thapa, Director, Nepal Tourism Board also spoke on the occasion.

S. Joechler, H. Tichy of Austria and P. Dawa Lama of Nepal were the first persons to ascend Mount Cho Oyu on October 19, 1954. The Indian Expedition became the second team to climb Cho Oyu in 1958. So far 1750 climbers have climbed Mt. Cho Oyu from Nepal and Tibet.

Cho Oyu sits astride the border of Nepal and Tibet, about 20 miles west of Mount Everest. It is the sixth highest mountain in the world. Cho Oyu is translated in Tibetan as "the goddess of the turquoise." A famous trade route crossed Nangpa La pass, just west of Cho Oyu, and very close to the Advanced Base Camp. From Tibet, salt used to be brought over this pass to Namche Bazaar (Khumbu's commerce center) in exchange for grain from the south.

The Second Wold Buddhist Summit Conference is scheduled to be held in Lumbini, Nepal this year from November 30-December 2 with the theme "Lumbini- A Symbol of Unity in Diversity -The Fountain of World Peace". In this connection, the Second World Buddhist Summit Organizing Committee held its meeting on August 05 under the chairmanship of Prime Minister and Committee's Chairman Rt. Hon'ble Sher Bahadur Deuba.
Addressing the meeting Prime Minister Deuba said, "Hosting the Buddhists Conference in Nepal, the country popularly known as apostle of peace and the birth place of Gautam Budhha is a matter of pride for all Nepalese". Expressing his conviction that the summit will be significant in developing Lumbini into a destination of World Buddhist pilgrimage Prime Minister Deuba said, "All should make contributions in making the conference a grand success". Prime Minister Deuba also assured that the government will extend full cooperation for the same.
This Summit is jointly organised by His Majesty's Government of Nepal and Lumbini Development Trust.
Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Hon'ble Deep Kumar Upadhyaya said, "The summit will provide a golden opportunity for promoting religious tourism of Nepal and that the event should be observed as a national festival".
Vice-Chairman of Lumbini Development Trust Omkar Prasad Gauchan said, "The summit will focus on inculcating faith and reverence of the people world towards Lumbini and to encourage donor countries, institutions, associations and individuals to join hands for the development of Lumbini".
The conference is expected to help promote the spirit of fraternity, unity and peace.
The summit conference is expected to bring together some 500 representatives from Nepal and some 196 from at least 17 countries. Heads of State, heads of the government, ministerial level delegations, Buddhist monks and nuns and representatives of Buddhist organizations and intellectuals will be among the delegates to the conference. The conference will also review the achievements made after the first World Buddhist Summit Conference held in Nepal.
It may be recalled that the Budget of fiscal year 2004/05 has in its program stated that support will be provided to convene “Second World Buddha Summit”.

Six members and 4 high altitude Sherpas of "Indian Army Kanchenjunga Expedition 2004 " successful scaled 8586 meter high Mt. Kanchenjunga on 10th October, 2004 at 09:55 a.m., reports Nepal Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation.

Summiteers are: Major M.S. Chauhan (35),The Dogra Regiment, Indian Army; Nb/Sub Mohinder Singh, SC (38),The Dogra Regiment, Indian Army; Nb/Sub Chhering Norbu Bodh, SC (33), The Dogra Regiment Indian Army; Nb/Sub Neel Chand, SC (33), The Dogra Regiment Indian Army;Nk Surender Singh (32), The Dogra Regiment Indian Army; Lnk Ashok Kumar (27), The Dogra Regiment Indian Army.

Sherpas on the summit are: Mr. Pemba Rinji Sherpa (41) Juving-1, Linjekharka, Solukhumbu; Mr. Damai Chhiri Sherpa (29) Juving-9, Khariknola, Solukhumbu; Mr. Dawa Wongju Sherpa (32),Makalau -9, Walung, Sankhuwasava; Mr. Ngima Ongdeki Sherpa (31) Juving -1, Kharikhola, Solukhumbu.

“The 11-member "Indian Army Kanchenjunga Expedition 204" Team was permitted to climb 8586m. high Mt. Kanchenjunga from South West Face for the period of 75 days from 23rd August 2004 under the leadership of Lt. Col. S. C. Sharma, from India.”

In 1977, Colonel Prem Chand of Dogra Regiment and Late Sub N D Sherpa of 3 Gorkha Rifles had reached the summit from the tough, untrodden northeast ridge route on the Sikkim side.

Kangchenjunga (8586m), also known as the “Five Treasures of the Great Snow,” is an immense mountain mass situated on the Sikkim-Nepal border and is the most easterly of the Himalayan peaks. It is the third highest peak on Earth.

With an overall fatality rate of just under 22% and modern fatality rate of just over 22%, Kangchenjunga is statistically more dangerous than Everest today.