$30,000 award established for Himalayan mountaineering contributors
Everest Alliance Nepal and Chinese firm GoNature Outdoor Sports Group set up the ‘largest’ prize in the mountaineering sector to recognise individuals and institutions supporting alpine communities.China-based outdoor sports brand PELLIOT Vice President Zhao Le and Everest Alliance Nepal President Sudarshan Nepal sign an agreement to establish the award during the Everest Summiteers Summit held recently in Kathmandu.
A $30,000 (around Rs4.6 million) award has been established to recognise individuals and organisations contributing to the development of Nepal’s mountaineering sector and Himalayan communities. The prize is said to be the largest ever established in Nepal’s alpine and mountaineering sector.
The prize has been jointly set up by Everest Alliance Nepal and China’s GoNature Outdoor Sports Group Co Limited. The agreement was signed during the recently held Everest Summiteers Summit 2026 in Kathmandu.
Everest Alliance Nepal is a dedicated initiative founded by a tourism entrepreneur, while GoNature Sports Group manufactures and distributes sporting goods.
According to the organisers, the memorandum of understanding was signed by Zhao Le, vice-president of PELLIOT, a Chinese outdoor sports and lifestyle brand, and Everest Alliance Nepal President Sudarshan Nepal.
The total prize money will be split into three categories, with each winner receiving $10,000 (around Rs 1.5 million), according to Nepal.
He said a high-level jury comprising five international experts, including one Nepali, will be formed to ensure fair selection of winners. The award will be formally presented during the Third Everest Summiteers Summit 2027 to be held in Nepal.
President of Nepal Mountaineering Association Phur Gelje Sherpa said such a high-value prize did not previously exist in the tourism sector. He said the government’s International Sagarmatha Award carries a prize of Rs100,000, which had been considered the highest so far.
He said the newly announced $30,000 award would become the most significant in Nepal’s mountaineering history.
The Everest Summiteers Summit 2026 was held on Wednesday to mark the 73rd anniversary of the first ascent of Mount Everest. The summit commemorates Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa’s climb on the world’s highest peak on May 29, 1953.
The event brought together more than 176 climbers from 26 countries in Kathmandu. President Ramchandra Paudel inaugurated the summit, when the award was announced.
Suraj Kunwar is a reporter with over two decades experience covering Aviation, Tourism and Mountaineering. He received the IFJ Tolerance Award in 2005.
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