Accompanied by Snow Mountains, Tibetan Mountaineering Celebrates 60 Years of New Developments in Snow Operations
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the first successful summit of Mount Qomolangma (hereinafter referred to as “Qomolangma”) from the North Ridge. On May 25, 2000, at 4:20 AM, Wang Fuizhou, Gongbu (Tibetan), and Qu Yinhua summited successfully, completing the historic feat of being the first to summit Qomolangma from the North Ridge. In the same year, in October, the predecessor of the Tibetan Mountaineering Camp, the Tibetan Mountaineering Expedition Team, was established, marking the beginning of modern mountaineering in Tibet.
Photo: Zhao Yao
Over the 60 years of hardship and triumph, Tibetan mountaineering has grown from nothing to something, consistently upholding the supremacy of the motherland, resolutely responding to national calls, undertaking various major mountaineering missions, and making significant contributions to China’s mountaineering and foreign affairs work. At the same time, it has striven for hardship, persisted in its pursuit, and independently carried out a series of major mountaineering activities, innovating and creating a series of world mountaineering records.
In 1975, Tibetan mountaineering team member Pan Duo successfully summited Qomolangma, becoming the first woman in the world to summit from the North Ridge; In 2007, the Tibetan Mountaineering Team successfully summited Gosharbrum I Peak, thus completing the narrative of climbing all 14 peaks above 8000 meters in the world. In 2008, the Olympic Flame was lit on the summit of Mount Qomolangma, leaving a symbol of significance in the Olympic history and the Chinese nation’s great rejuvenation, as well as in the development of human civilization. The spirit of Tibetan mountaineering has become the spiritual belief and pursuit of generations of athletes in Tibet.
Starting in 2006, the Tibetan Mountaineering Team has taken on the establishment of rock climbing, ski mountaineering training teams, China cross-country skiing training teams, and single board skiing training teams. Among them, Ren Qing La Mu obtained the championship in the difficulty race and boulder race of the 2013 Asian Climbing Championship for women, achieving a historic breakthrough for Chinese female rock climbers in international competitions; Bai Ma Yu Zhen won the championship of the women’s project of the 2019 “Belt and Road” China Lhasa International Rock Climbing Masters Competition, realizing a historical breakthrough for Chinese female rock climbers.
Photo: Zhao Er Zhao
On January 18, 2019, the China Mountaineering Team (Tibet) was established in Lhasa, Tibet, Autonomous Region. The team based on Tibetan mountaineering talent, integrated the resource advantages of China Mountaineering Team and Tibetan Mountaineering Team, further enhancing the capabilities of China’s mountaineering development.
Tibet possesses abundant snow mountain resources, and in promoting mountaineering and rock climbing, Tibet is also committed to the development of snow projects. The Tibet Sports Bureau, in combination with the characteristics of the high-altitude population of Tibet, began recruiting athletes from the Tibet Sports School and the Mountaineering School across Tibet starting in 2016, forming cross-country skiing, ski mountaineering, and single board skiing training teams. It focuses on developing ice and snow sports, ice and snow tourism, promoting ice and snow sports projects, and accelerating the development of ice and snow sports in Tibet. In 2018, the Tibet Ski Team, mainly focusing on ski mountaineering and ski mountaineering projects, was formally established. In 2019, the Tibet Sports Bureau planned to build a ski resort with beginner and intermediate trails around Lhasa, and had already started the site selection work.
Photo: Suolan Quyechen in the competition Source: Tibet Sports
Since the establishment of the Tibet Ski Team, it has gone to Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, and Jilin to conduct systematic training, selected outstanding seedlings to participate in high-level training in ice and snow sports countries, and participated in a series of domestic and international competitions, achieving excellent results. Among them, ski mountaineering athlete Ciren Zhang Tie obtained participation qualification for the 2020 Lausanne Winter Youth Olympic Games, and Suolan Quyechen won the fourth place in the women’s individual race of the ski mountaineering short distance race at the 2020 Third Winter Youth Olympic Games, creating another historical record.
Tibet, as the homeland of snow mountains and ice, has created numerous records over 60 years while exploring the new development directions of Tibetan sports. (China Tibet Net Comprehensive/Zhao Yao)
