Phurba Gyaltsen Sherpa elected President of NMA
Close contest ends in clean sweep for Phurba’s Team, except First Vice President and a member
Phurba Gyaltsen Sherpa has been elected as the new president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA). According to the final results announced last night, Sherpa secured 342 votes, defeating his opponent Kul Bahadur Gurung, who received 288 votes.
A prominent tourism entrepreneur and Managing Director of Heli Everest, Phurba hails from the Khumbu region—home to Everest and several of Nepal’s iconic peaks. His strong roots in the Sherpa community and support from leading tourism entrepreneurs contributed significantly to his victory.
Phurba’s win over coalition candidate Kul Bahadur Gurung is seen as a triumph of local tourism entrepreneurship over institutional professionalism. However, Phurba himself was backed by tourism entrepreneurs aligned with the CPN-Maoist Center and the National Independent Party (Rastriya Swatantra Party - RSWP).
Kul Bahadur Gurung, a former NMA General Secretary from Ruby Valley—situated between Langtang National Park and Manaslu Conservation Area—was regarded as a formidable candidate in the race for the NMA presidency.
Phurba’s team made a near-clean sweep, winning all key positions except for the First Vice President and one executive member.
Ishwori Poudel, owner of Himalayan Guides, secured the position of Senior Vice President with 345 votes, defeating his opponent Tika Gurung, who received 258 votes.
Mingma Gyabo Sherpa, running with Team Kul Gurung, won the post of First Vice President. A globally recognized climber and tourism entrepreneur, Mingma proved his strong standing within the national mountaineering community. He secured 359 votes, defeating his opponent Kazi Sherpa, who garnered 256 votes—a lead of over 100 votes. Mingma is also the co-owner of Elite Exped.
Bodh Raj Bhandari, owner of Snowy Horizon, won the Second Vice President position with 368 votes, beating Dhan Bahadur Gurung, who received 238 votes.
Rajendra Bahadur Lama of Friends Adventure Team was elected General Secretary with 318 votes. His nearest competitor, Bimal Naharki, received 209 votes, while independent candidate Shiva Bahadur Sapkota of the Everest Summitteers Association got 68 votes.
Chandan Thapa of Rising Adventure was elected Secretary with 358 votes, defeating Ngima Diki Sherpa, who received 244 votes.
In the race for Treasurer, Ngima Nurbu Sherpa and Sumi Lama each received 304 votes. They have agreed to split the term and serve half the duration each.
Additionally, Madhav Kumar Dhamala, Kedar Neupane, Thupden Sherpa, Gokul Thapa, Mulal Gurung, Dendi Sherpa, Bikram Karki, Rinje Sherpa, Devendra Dangol, Diki Sherpa (Team Kul Bahadur), and Nisha Bhote have been elected as Executive Committee Members for a three-year term of the country’s alpine association.
