Origins 1997-1998

Although Nepal is home to the world’s highest mountains, the nation had absolutely no presence in the ski world until one day in 1997 a 43 year old British ski enthusiast, Richard Morley, sat down to tea and cakes with the late King Birendra in the royal palace at Kathmandu and chatted about just what he could do for Nepal.

Richard Morley in Nepal	King Birendra (1945-2001)	The Nepali royal family, Prince Nirajan (1977-2001) stands to the right.

The two men had become friends after Richard was propelled to international fame during his epic 7 year struggle to win the right of a Nepali youth, Jayaram Khadka, to remain in England as his adopted son. As a young man himself, Richard’s life had once been saved by Basu Khadka, a Nepali policeman, who ran for three days to the nearest telephone when the Englishman suffered a lung collapse whilst climbing in the Himalayas. When Basu died a few years later Richard honoured a promise he had made to his rescuer that he would care for his youngest son if anything should happen to him. So he took the lad to England in order to give him an education and a family home.


But the Conservative British government would not allow Jayaram to stay and Richard was forced to campaign for the adoption of European family rights into British law in order to fulfil his promise. In 1997 the New Labour government was elected on that manifesto and their very first act in office was to grant Jayaram the right to remain with his new English family at their home in Gloucestershire. It was a story that was published all over the world.

(For full details of the Jayaram Khadka story read the relevant Press Archive HERE)

And so Richard and Jayaram were met by all the dignitaries of Nepal and asked how they might assist the impoverished nation further. King Birenda and his sons were keen recreational skiers and once Richard’s passion for the sport was revealed their conversation quickly turned to dreams.

Richard had learnt to ski as an officer in the British Royal Navy where he took part in a few inter-service competitions and taught sailors how to compete against the Army. Birendra’s youngest son, 19 year old Prince Nirajan, was a keen sportsman, a reasonable skier and a very gifted swimmer. The king mused at the concept of his participation at the Olympics and suggested that Richard might build a national ski team. The idea had instant appeal to the Englishman who was loath to extend his business interests into Nepal for fear that philanthropy and commerce would make uneasy partners. And so it was that Richard and Jayaram were lined up to meet the equerry to the royal princes, Colonel Kharki, and the all powerful President of the Nepal Olympic Committee (NOC), Rukma Shumsha Rana.

Of course it was impossible to formalise the team and get an athlete ready to compete in the forthcoming Games at Nagano in 1998. The 2002 Olympics at Salt Lake City was the target and Richard set about preparing a dedicated training base at his favourite French ski resort of Les Arcs for the purpose. He bought an abandoned old farmhouse at the foot of the world’s longest black ski run and together with his family converted it into a home for Nepali skiers. And Jayaram Khadka, now recognised as his adopted son and a very gifted Badminton player, was to be given the advantages of a full time training schedule in order to lead the team. Once Jayaram had established himself on the European ski circuit the plan was to take on other Nepali athletes, perhaps even Prince Nirajan, and develop a thoroughly professional and successful national team.

Home in the French Alps

Home in the French Alps

But as always there were unforeseen problems. In order for athletes to compete Nepal needed a National Ski Association (NSA) and Richard helped Rana to create one. The International Ski Federation (ISF) needed convincing that facilities for general skiers could be created in Nepal and Richard visited the Everest region in order to establish that a cross country (or ‘Nordic’) course was feasible there. In early 1998 the Ski Association was formed with Rana as President and Richard as ‘technical advisor’.
But immediately there was opposition. All sports associations are normally controlled by the National Sports Council (NSC), the President of which is a politically appointed figure. Binod Shankar Palikhe was NSC President and he was the sworn political enemy of Rana. They were both senior members of opposing political parties and had fought over control of the sports world for years.

And, completely unbeknown to Richard, there was a considerable amount of money involved. Whoever controlled the ski association was able to benefit from massive ISF funding designed to develop the sport and assist the athletes of developing countries. There were hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars involved. So Palikhe refused to recognise Rana’s ski association and the ISF was prevented from giving any Nepali skier the essential FIS licence required for international competitions.