Coinciding with the International Women’s Day, Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN) here on Sunday handed over a cheque of Rs 200,000 to the members of First Inclusive Women Sagarmatha Expedition (FIWSE)-2008.Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Hisila Yami handed over the cheque amidst a function organised to mark the Day.

Receiving the cheque, the young woman mountaineers said that they intend to use the amount as seed money to establish a national mountaineering school in the near future.

They are soon embarking on an exploration mission to Langtang to identify a possible location for setting up the school. They will later explore Rolwaling Valley, Khumbu Region, Annapurna and Kanchanjunga among other areas. Ten women mountaineers of FIWSE had reached atop Mt Everest on the eve of the declaration of the country as a Federal Democratic Republic.

TAAN, the umbrella organsation of trekking and mountaineering operators in the country, expressed hope that the support would help encourage more women to professionally involve in trekking, mountaineering and other focused tourism activities.

Usha Bist, Sushmita Maskey, Maya Gurung, Pema Diki Sherpa, Chunu Shrestha, Shailee Basnet, Ngawang Phuti Sherpa, Nim Doma Sherpa, Pujan Acharya and Asha Kumari Singh are the members.