Pasang Dawa Sherpa honoured for 31 Everest summits
The veteran Nepali guide received the International Sagarmatha Award, Nepal's top state recognition for mountaineering, after extending his Everest tally during this year's climbing season.
Renowned climber Pasang Dawa Sherpa was awarded the International Sagarmatha Award, the country's highest state honour for mountaineering, at a ceremony marking the 73rd International Sagarmatha Day in Kathmandu on Friday. The award carries a cash prize of NPR 100,000.
Known widely as "PaDawa", the 49-year-old climber has summited Mount Everest 31 times, placing him just one ascent behind fellow Nepali guide Kami Rita Sherpa, who holds the world record. Both men extended their records during the spring climbing season.
Pasang Dawa reached the summit twice this year, while Kami Rita climbed Everest once. Yet neither has sought personal glory from the tally. Like most record-holding Nepali climbers, they accumulated their ascents while guiding paying clients rather than pursuing records for their own sake.
Pasang Dawa's second summit this season was particularly telling. He had climbed only as far as Camp IV, at about 7,900 metres, to ferry logistical supplies. From there, the additional push to the summit required little persuasion. For a climber of his experience, the final 1,000 metres were less an expedition than an extension of the day's work.
Born in Pangboche, a Sherpa village perched at roughly 4,000 metres beneath Everest's southern flank, Pasang Dawa entered the mountaineering trade at a young age, assisting expedition teams before becoming one of the Himalaya's most accomplished guides.
Despite his latest achievement, he did not travel to Kathmandu to receive the award, choosing instead to remain in his home village after the season. The expedition that produced his latest summits was jointly organised by Climbing The Seven Summits and TAG Nepal Treks and Expedition.
Gobinda Gurung, founder of TAG Nepal, accepted the award and certificate on his behalf.
The award was presented by Khadga Raj Paudel, Nepal's Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, and Mukunda Prasad Niraula, the ministry's secretary, at a programme jointly organised by the ministry, the Nepal Tourism Board, the Department of Tourism and the Nepal Mountaineering Association.
