Himalayan
Mountaineering and Tourism Meet was instituted in 1973 by Air India
and Indian Mountaineering Foundation. The first meet was
held in Darjeeling in 1973 which attracted almost all
celebrity mountaineers of the world. It included Sir Edmund
Hillary, Tenzing Norgay, John Hunt, Maurice Herzog, Chris Bonington.
Norman Dyhrefurth, Henirich Harrer and Captain M.S.
Kohli.
The Second Mountaineering and Tourism Meet was held at New
Delhi in May, 1983, to coincide with the Silver Jubilee celebrations
of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation. It was
inaugurated by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. This too attracted
leading mountaineers of the world. Thereafter, these meet were held
every alternate year.
The 1985 meet in Mussoorie, which coincided with the 40th
Anniversary of the Indian ascent of Mount Everest was a memorable
event.
In 1989 when Captain M S Kohli took over as President of
the Indian Mountaineering Foundation and the HET was founded the same
year. the HET decided to hold these meets annually. These meets
thereafter became most crucial in regard to the environmental problems
of the Himalayas. Sir Edmund Hillary and other trustees regularly
attended these meets. HET journals were brought out regularly and the
awareness about problems of the Himalayan environment spread fast.
Some of these international conferences were held at Katmandu, Tokyo,
San Francisco, Los Angles and Chamonix. The presence of the greatest
living legends of Himalayas resulted in worldwide publicity putting
Himalayan environment in great focus.
