Everest Day Sikkim 2026 was held in Gangtok on May 23, 2026, with the Sikkim Mountaineering Association (SMA) organising the event and Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Raju Basnet attending as chief guest. The programme honoured the legacy of Late Sonam Gyatso, a pioneering Himalayan climber and the first person from Sikkim to summit Mount Everest, and aimed to celebrate mountaineering achievements while promoting adventure tourism and sports climbing in the state.
Sonam Gyatso, who reached the Everest summit on May 22, 1965, was 42 at the time and reportedly spent nearly 50 minutes on the summit without supplemental oxygen — a feat regarded as a world record then. He is a recipient of the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and the Arjuna Award, and the day’s observance recalled his contributions to Indian mountaineering.
In his keynote address, Minister Raju Basnet urged people to explore “the road not taken” to unlock new opportunities and drive human progress. He praised Everest summiteers for overcoming monumental challenges and called for broader societal recognition to inspire others. Basnet also highlighted the importance of promoting sports climbing — now an Olympic discipline comprising Speed, Lead and Bouldering — noting that Sikkim’s terrain is well suited to these activities and promising continued government support. He stressed that better road infrastructure is needed to boost tourist inflow and create business opportunities in the tourism sector.
Tourism chairman Sonam Norgay Lachungpa thanked organisers and said the event would inspire youth while showcasing the state’s natural assets; he noted Sikkim has roughly 130 named mountains and urged capacity-building, effective marketing and collective action to scale the tourism industry. He emphasised expanding adventure offerings such as river rafting, rock climbing, trekking, mountaineering, birdwatching, camping and wildlife expeditions.
SMA president Kunzang Gyatso Bhutia outlined the association’s history — established in 2005 and affiliated with the Indian Mountaineering Foundation and the UIAA (Switzerland) — and its mission to deliver high-standard mountaineering training. He listed SMA achievements: expeditions on five major peaks, two Basic and two Advanced Mountaineering Courses, about 100 BMC trainees, 60 AMC trainees, some 350 adventure courses, 80 rock-climbing activities and 65 trained guides to date. The association has collaborated with NSS, Home Guards, Sikkim Fire Service, the Sports and Youth Affairs Department, Tourism and Civil Aviation Department, the State Disaster Management Authority and local youth groups for training programmes and outlined plans for a dedicated mountaineering facility.
Before the event, the chief guest viewed an exhibition of Sonam Gyatso’s equipment — including a compass, watch, boots, ice axe, ropes and buckles — along with letters from former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and former Home Minister G.B. Pant concerning his Cho Oyu expedition, plus his awards and medals. S.T. Gyatso, Sonam Gyatso’s son, presented a brief history of the late climber.
The programme also featured the launch of a biography of Kunzang Gyatso Bhutia by Dr. Vidha Prakash Kayastha; Kunzang, who summited Everest in 2008, is the second person from Sikkim to do so. The SMA Gold Medal 2026 was awarded to former IPS officer and ex-SMA president S.T. Bhutia, and the Award of Excellence went to Dr. Jigme Bhutia of Sikkim University. Sixteen senior mountaineers from the state, including Everest summiteers, were felicitated, underscoring the event’s focus on preserving mountaineering heritage and inspiring the next generation.
Original Source: https://www.sikkimexpress.com/news-details/everest-day-sikkim-celebrated-in-memory-of-late-sonam-gyatso
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