KATHMANDU, JUNE 20
Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Badri Prasad Pandey joined high-level dignitaries today to honour the Sherpa climbers who successfully fixed ropes to the summits of Mount Everest and Lhotse during this year's spring climbing season.
The Expedition Operators Association Nepal (EOAN) organized the felicitation ceremony in Kathmandu to recognize their critical role in establishing safe summit routes.
Under EOAN's coordination, 8K Expeditions Pvt Ltd was responsible for fixing the route from Camp II to the summits of both Everest and Lhotse.
The 8K team, led by aspirant guide Ashok Lama and IFMGA guide Tsering Pemba Sherpa, completed the Everest route on May 9 with support from climbers Pem Nurbu Sherpa, Tashi Sherpa, Karma Gyaljen Sherpa, Tashi Gyalzen Sherpa, and Pas Tenzi Sherpa.
Under expedition director Lakpa Sherpa's base camp leadership, the same team opened the Lhotse route on May 8 with additional support from Pasang Tenje Sherpa (Dhaulagiri Pasang), Lakpa Sherpa (Jilke Lakpa), Migma Dorjee Sherpa (Saila Mingma), Ming Dawa Sherpa, and Pas Rinzi Sherpa.
"Our team is really excited to receive this honour, as rope-fixing climbers left no stone unturned to get their job done this season," Lakpa Sherpa, co-owner of 8K Expeditions, said. "Despite many challenges, our team fixed double-line ropes, completing their task on time."
Record-holding climbers Tashi Gyalzen (four Everest summits in 14 days), Dawa Tenzi Sherpa (three-time triple crown holder), and Lakpa Sherpa, the co-owner of 8K Expeditions, were also felicitated at the event.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister Pandey praised the Sherpa climbers for enabling global mountaineering expeditions, stating: "The government is committed to collaborating with EOAN and stakeholders to promote mountaineering tourism internationally." He also honoured Nepali climbers who recently summited Cho Oyu from the Nepal side on June 7.
EOAN President Damber Parajuli emphasized the need for standardized rope-fixing procedures across all mountains and urged the government to establish a dedicated garbage management fund for high-altitude clean-up efforts. "We need prompt facilitation from the government side," he added.
"The government must prioritize and protect Nepal's mountaineering sector," said EOAN General Secretary Rishi Ram Bhandari, who also serves as a Nepal Tourism Board director. Bhandari also called on the government to set up a climbers' welfare fund at the earliest.
