Sir Edmund Hillary and a Sherpa from his 1953 Mount Everest expedition led a colorful procession of hundreds of climbers and their fans through the Nepalese capital yesterday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the conquest of the world's highest mountain.

　　Gyalzen Sherpa, 85, one of three surviving Sherpa from the first Everest expedition, climbed into a horse-drawn carriage with Hillary, 83, and his wife, June, and placed yellow scarves around their necks.

　　They set off at the head of a parade of carriages bearing other famous Everest mountaineers, while a Gurkha army band played bagpipes and drums, and children waved flags and signs saying the mountaineers were symbols of courage.

　　Jamlin Norgay, son of the late Tenzing Norgay, who with Hillary was the first to reach the 8,850-meter summit on May 29, 1953, said, "It's a historic moment for Nepal." He rode in the second carriage, with Junko Tabei from Japan, the first woman to climb Everest.

　　"More women have got to climb Everest now," Tabei said, adding that only 5 percent of the 1,200 Everest summitters have been women. "Many young people should climb," she said.

　　The procession paused in Katmandu's central Durbar Square, where the Nepal Mountaineering Association and city officials handed scarves, books, wooden carvings and photographs to the famous climbers, also including Reinhold Messner, the first person to climb Everest without bottled oxygen.

　　"Today has been a fantastic celebration of the warmth of the people of Nepal," Hillary told a cheering crowd that filled the square and the steps of several surrounding temples.

　　Hillary said he spoke on behalf of all the mountaineers "who have climbed the great Everest."

　　Two-thirds of those who have climbed Everest in the last 50 years are believed to be still alive, but only about 100 have come to Nepal's weeklong celebration.

　　Some were on the mountain, meeting old friends, or trying to make new climbs. A Sherpa named Appa, 42, made a record 13th climb on Monday, and more than 110 climbers and their Sherpas have reached the summit during the anniversary climbing season, which ends on May 31.

　　"In the 1950s, it was very hard to get to the summit. These days everybody climbs." Yalzen Sherpa said.

　　He wore a cowboy hat and a medal issued by Queen Elizabeth II for those who participated in the first successful expedition.

　　Other mountaineers have set new records this season.

　　A 70-year-old Japanese ski instructor, Yuichiro Miura, became the oldest climber to reach the summit, while a 15-year-old Sherpa girl, Mingkipa, became the youngest.

　　Lakpa Gyelu, 35, raced from the 5,300-meter base camp to the summit in a record 10 hours and 56 minutes.

　　The Nepalese tourism ministry said at least 10 foreign climbers and 12 Nepalese Sherpa guides scaled the mountain on Monday.

　　Officials said there are a few climbers who might try reach the summit tomorrow.