Nepal’s premier mountain organization NMA elects new leadership 

Veteran tourism entrepreneur Nima Nuru Sherpa has been elected as the head of Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) in the election held on Friday, June 10.

Sherpa secured 735 votes against his closest contender Rajendra Man Shrestha’s 122 votes.

Thakur Raj Pandey has been elected the senior vice-president, Ang Dawa Sherpa as first vice-president, Dawa Yangzum Sherpa as second vice-president, Mohan Lamsal as general secretary, Dhan Bahadur Gurung as secretary and Mukti Pandey as treasurer.  

The new team claims to be the leadership of professional mountain guides. NMA is authorized to issue climbing permits and manage expeditions for 27 peaks. 

Established in November 1973 the association is also responsible for  promoting mountain tourism, climbing sports and mountain cultural heritage, mountain environments and preserving them. 

The NMA elections had been delayed citing the COVID pandemic. The outgoing leadership remained in the office for two terms. The delay had drawn criticism from professional mountaineers. 

Last year, the NMA was in loggerheads with the Nepal National Mountain Guide Association (NNMGA), an organization of certified international elite mountain guides over the issue of the official designation of “mountain guide”. 

The NNMGA’s position was that not all high altitude workers should be given the official title of mountain guides. But the NMA was for giving mountain guide recognition to those recorded in its red book. 

The NNMGA filed a case in the Supreme Court against the NMA decision to award high altitude workers the title of mountain guides. The government halted distribution of mountain guide certification for now. This irked the NMA and decided to suspend 43 renowned professional guides from its membership over the issue. One of the newly elected members said that the resolution of this issue is the major challenge of the new leadership. 

Nepal announces a hike in climbing fee for 8,000ers

Nepal has raised the climbing permit fee for all its 8,000ers by 36-40 percent. As a result, the new permit fee for climbing Mount Everest during the spring season has increased to $15,000 up from $11,000 per person.

Community participation to protect the rare elongated tortoise

Nepal has an opportunity to use community-driven conservation to protect the critically endangered elongated tortoise, which can be key to saving this species from extinction.

Adriana Brownlee becomes youngest female climber to complete 14 peaks

French climber Alasdair Scot Mckenzie, 20, Pakistani Shehroze Kashif, 22, and British Adriana Brownlee, 23, are the youngest of the batch of 13 climbers who completed 14-peak challenge on Wednesday.

RELATED ARTICLES

Nepal announces a hike in climbing fee for 8,000ers

Nepal has raised the climbing permit fee for all its 8,000ers by 36-40 percent. As a result, the new permit fee for climbing Mount Everest during the spring season has increased to $15,000 up from $11,000 per person.

Community participation to protect the rare elongated tortoise

Nepal has an opportunity to use community-driven conservation to protect the critically endangered elongated tortoise, which can be key to saving this species from extinction.

Adriana Brownlee becomes youngest female climber to complete 14 peaks

French climber Alasdair Scot Mckenzie, 20, Pakistani Shehroze Kashif, 22, and British Adriana Brownlee, 23, are the youngest of the batch of 13 climbers who completed 14-peak challenge on Wednesday.

Dawa Yangzum Sherpa becomes first Nepali woman to complete all 14 peaks

Dawa Yangzum Sherpa, who scaled Everest at the age of 21, became the first woman to become the IFMGA certified guide, and now the first Nepali female climber to complete all 14 peaks.

Nima Rinji Sherpa becomes youngest to summit 14 highest peaks

At 18, Nima Rinji Sherpa has set a record as the youngest climber to summit all 14 of the world’s highest peaks in just 25 months

Five Russian climbers found dead on Mt. Dhaulagiri I

Five Russian climbers missing since Sunday during their ascent of Mt. Dhaulagiri have been found dead at around 7,700 meters, following a search operation hampered by severe weather.

Nimsdai becomes the fastest to climb all 8000ers without supplemental oxygen

Nimsdai Purja sets a new world record by completing the ascent of all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters without supplemental oxygen in just two and a half years.

Mingma G sets record on Shishapangma

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, the first Nepali to summit all 14 of the world’s highest peaks without oxygen, led a group of climbers on Shishapangma, where several records are anticipated to be set in the coming days.