Snow poles set up along Kangchenjunga base camp trails

• Deepak Kumar Limbu

Snow poles have been set up in the trekking area of the world’s third-highest Kanchenjunga Mountain to solve the problem of snow not being visible.

These colorful snow polls have been installed so that the trekkers going towards the Kangchenjunga base camp may not be misguided or lost in the middle of the route.

The snow polls are expected to truly guide the trekkers during snow seasons when the trekking routes are completely covered by the snow in this region.

The poles are located in shorter distances to make the trekkers feel easy to find their route. In addition to the installation of 200 colorful snow poles, 100 signboards have also been erected along the routes from Ghunsa to Pangme.

These snow poles were ferried by the potters from Ranipul to the trekking route. The base camp of Pangme is elevated at a height of 5140 meters above sea level.

According to a local of Khambachen Kipa Sherpa, tourists find it very hard to locate the trekking route. She has met many such tourists. However, the poles are now going to guide them.

“When it snows, they get lost. This happens with many,” she said. “Now the tall poles will help them identify the location,” she added.

She also added that the improved management of the trek route with colorful poles will definitely benefit the tourists and trekkers and avert accidents and human casualties in the future.

Chitra Kumari Changsu, the program coordinator of the prosperous mountain project Taplejung, said that the snow pole has been set up as per the plan to facilitate the travel of domestic and foreign tourists.

He said that a signage and information board has been set up to guide the pedestrians and provide the necessary information.

The Kanchenjunga Conservation Area is the first protected area transferred to a community in South Asia. Suketar Airport in Taplejung and the headquarters can be reached by car from Phungling to Hangdrung.

You have to walk to the eight camps from Taplejung headquarters to the northern base camp. Despite the lack of facilities, the number of tourists is increasing.

Last year, 12 foreign tourists visited Kanchenjunga. Only 65 foreign tourists and 100 Nepali tourists visited the Kanchenjunga Himal region in October this year.