Everest Summiteers Association marks silver jubilee
Nepal's Everest climbers' association marks a quarter-century of advocacy, safety and mountain conservation
Nepal's Everest Summiteers Association marked the silver jubilee of its establishment on Sunday, celebrating 25 years of advocacy for climbers while pledging a greater role in protecting the Himalayas, their environment and mountain communities.
The association, which brings together climbers who have summited Mount Everest, also honoured climbers and other figures who contributed to its growth and helped promote Nepal's mountaineering sector around the world.
Addressing the gathering as chief guest, lawmaker and record-holding climber Mingma Gyabu Sherpa said the country could face serious challenges in the mountaineering tourism sector if mountain guides are not provided with fair wages and mountaineers are not given proper recognition and respect.
Sherpa said a parliamentary committee would hold discussions with stakeholders on the Tourism Bill on Monday and urged mountaineers to submit suggestions on how their problems and rights should be addressed through the new law.
“We have enough mountains naturally, but we have not been able to retain mountaineers. Therefore, policy-level reforms are necessary in the mountaineering sector,” he said.
Founded in late 2000 and formally registered on December 26 that year, the association emerged amid growing concerns over the safety, rights and welfare of mountaineers as commercial expeditions on the world's highest peak expanded.
Its founding members included some of Nepal's most prominent climbers, among them Wangchu Sherpa, Kaji Sherpa, Babu Chhiri Sherpa and Apa Sherpa.
The association has since lobbied successive governments on mountaineering issues, supported climbers and helped mobilise experienced Everest summiteers as liaison officers and at the government's monitoring camp at Everest Base Camp during spring expeditions.
"By reflecting on our shared journey, we want to recognise that achievements on Mount Everest cannot be limited to individual success alone," association president Maya Sherpa said.
Welcoming participants, general secretary Shiva Bahadur Sapkota stressed that protecting climbers and guides was essential to the continued promotion of Nepal's tourism industry.
Over the years, the association has also pushed for improved insurance benefits for mountaineers, participated in government-led mountaineering and tourism initiatives, and worked with national and international organisations on mountain safety, environmental protection and the welfare of Himalayan communities.
For the association's leaders, the anniversary was also a reminder that climbing Everest involves far more than reaching the summit.
Extreme weather, avalanches, treacherous terrain and high-altitude illness continue to threaten climbers, while the growing number of expeditions has intensified concerns over safety, environmental protection and the welfare of communities across the Himalayas.
The association said it hoped to build on its 25-year legacy by taking a greater role in addressing those challenges and protecting the mountains on which Nepal's mountaineering industry depends.
