Nepal's ruling Maoist party has welcomed a US decision to remove it from a blacklist of terrorist groups after the end of a long conflict with Kathmandu, saying it would boost ties with Washington.

An estimated 16,000 people died in a 1996-2006 war fought by Maoist rebels against Nepal's once absolute monarchy, before the rebels turned to politics and then took power in elections two years later.

Krishna KC, a Maoist rebel who narrowly escaped death in his fight for political freedom, tells Al Jazeera how his attempt to climb Mount Everest is a way to reconcile the past and promote peace.