Sonam Gyatso (mountaineer)

Sonam Gyatso (1923–1968) was an Indian mountaineer[1] and the second Indian man and seventeenth man in world and the first person from Sikkim to summit Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world [2],[3].He was one of the 9 summiters of the first successful Indian Everest Expeditions that climbed Mount Everest on May 1965 led by Captain M S Kohli[4], [5],[6],[7], [8][9].On 22 May -1965 first time that the Oldest Sonam Gyatso at 42 and the Youngest Sonam Wangyal at 23 climbed Everest together.He became the oldest person to scale the peak in 1965 and when he spent 50 minutes at the peak, he set a world record for spending the longest time at the highest point on Earth.[10] The Government of India awarded him the third highest honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 1965, for his contributions to the sport of mountaineering[11][12].

Not to be confused with Sikkimese politician, Sonam Gyatso Lepcha.
Sonam Gyatso
Everest Expedition 1965 stamp of India
Born1923
Kewzing, Sikkim, India
Died22 April 1968 (aged 44–45)
New Delhi, India
OccupationMountaineer
Years active1946–1968
Known forEverest summiting
Spouse(s)Kunzang Choden
Children5
AwardsPadma Bhushan
Padma Shri
Arjuna Award
Indian Mountaineering Foundation Gold Medal
Pema Dorji Award
Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi meets the members of Indian Everest Expedition 1965 on the occasion of Golden Jubilee of this on 20 May 2015
Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi meets the members of Indian Everest Expedition 1965 on the occasion of Golden Jubilee of this on 20 May 2015
1965 Indian stamp dedicated to the 1965 Everest Expedition

Biography

Born in 1923 at Kewzing, a south Sikkimese village at the foot of Kangchenjunga in Northeast India, Sonam Gyatso started his career in 1946 as a school teacher at Lachung, in the northern part of the state.[13] After three years of service, he joined the Frontier Constabulary Force of the Indian Air Force as a head constable in 1949 which gave him the opportunity to attend a basic mountaineering course at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling in 1954.[10] His first chance at mountaineering came in 1957 when he was selected for the Nanda Devi expedition, but the attempt was unsuccessful. However, he completed his first successful expedition when he scaled the 26,897 ft of Cho Oyu peak in 1958, as a member of an all-Indian expedition, the first time an Indian team climbed a peak of that height.[13]

Gyatso followed his Cho Oyu success with several successful climbs such as Annapurna III in 1961, Kanchengyao in 1961,[14] Hathi Parbat in 1963, Rathong peak and Langpo Chung in 1964.[10] In between, he attempted Mount Everest twice, in 1960 and 1962, but could not scale the peak on both attempts, though he reached up to 700 ft and 400 ft to the summit.[13] Subsequently, he attempted Everest through the S Col-SE Ridge route and on 22 May 1965,[15] he reached the summit at the age of 42 as a member of the first all-Indian Everest expedition,[16] thus becoming the first person from Sikkim and the oldest person among all mountaineers to summit the peak.[17] He spent 50 minutes at the top without oxygen supply which was then a world record.[10] His record stood for over 13 years till Pierre Mazeaud summitted the peak on 15 October 1978 at the age of 49.[18] The attempt also set another world record for the highest number of successful climbers in a single expedition; the team strength of 9 members broke the record set earlier by an American expedition of 6 members.[19] India Posts issued a postage stamp in commemoration of the achievement.[20] Later, he also scaled the Siniolchu peak.[21]

Gyatso was married to Kunzang Choden and the couple had five children.[10] Gyatso was serving as the founder principal of Sonam Gyatso Mountaineering Institute (SGMI) when he died on 22 April 1968 at a hospital in New Delhi, at the age of 45, succumbing to frost bite suffered during one of his trials.[13][22]

Awards and honors

After two successful expeditions and before his second failed attempt on Everest, the Government of India awarded Gaytso the honor of the Padma Shri in 1962.[12] The government followed it up with the higher award of the Padma Bhushan in January 1965, four months before his successful Everest climb in May. The Government of Sikkim honored him with one of their highest civilian award of Pema Dorji Decoration the same year and he received one more honor, the Arjuna Award from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the second highest Indian sports award.[23] ,[24] He also received the Gold Medal from Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF), in 1960 after his first attempt on Everest.[13] The Old Tibet Road in Gangtok has since been renamed as Sonam Gyatso Marg in his honor.[25] The mountaineering institute in Rathong, Sikkim where he served as the founder principal, is now known as Sonam Gyatso Mountaineering Institute since 1968.[26]

Notable expeditions
Peak Height Year Result Additional info
Nanda Devi
25,643 ft
1957
failedfirst mountaineering attempt
Cho Oyu
26,906 ft
1958
successfulfirst successful climb
Everest
29,029 ft
1960
failedreached up to 700 mt to the summit
Annapurna III
24,787 ft
1961
successfulhighest climb by an Indian expedition till then
Kanchengyao
22,603 ft
1961
successfulleader of the expedition
Everest
29,029 ft
1962
failedreached up to 400 mt to the summit
Hathi Parbat
22,070 ft
1963
successfulleader of the expedition
Langpo Chung
21,850 ft
1964
successfulleader of the expedition
Rathong
21,911 ft
1965
successfulpre-Everest trial
Everest
29,029 ft
1965
successfuloldest person to summit the peak
Siniolchu
22,598 ft
successful
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See also

References
  1. Pete Takeda (25 November 2013). An Eye at the Top of the World. Basic Books. pp. 268–. ISBN 978-0-7867-3287-6.
  2. "Sonam Gyatso -". www.everesthistory.com.
  3. "SGMI turns 50, celebrates smart bouquet of achievements". Sikkim Now. 26 September 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  4. "First successful Indian Expedition of 1965-". www.istampgallery.com.
  5. "First successful Indian Expedition of 1965-". www.thebetterindia.com.
  6. "First successful Indian Expedition of 1965-". www.youtube.com.
  7. "Nine Atop Everest-First successful Indian Expedition of 1965-". books.google.com.sa.
  8. "The first Indians on Everest-First successful Indian Expedition of 1965-". www.livemint.com.
  9. "The first Indians on Everest-First successful Indian Expedition of 1965-". www.himalayanclub.org.
  10. "Sonam Gyatso - Everest History.com". Everest History.com. 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  11. "Padma Bhushan for The first Indians on Everest on 1965-". www.dashboard-padmaawards.gov.in.
  12. "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  13. "Padma Bhushan Sonam Gyatso". Government of Sikkim. 2016. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  14. Sonam Gyatso (1961). "Expedition to Kangchen Jau". The Himalayan Journal. 23.
  15. "List of successful climbers". Everest Summiteers Association. 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  16. "Salute to first boots nation put on Everest". The Telegraph. 20 April 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  17. M.S. Kohli (1 December 2000). Nine Atop Everest: Spectacular Indian Ascent. Indus Publishing. pp. 18–. ISBN 978-81-7387-111-5.
  18. "Everest and age". Adventure Stats. 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  19. "Did you know that 50 Years ago 9 Indians Held a Record for Climbing Mount Everest?". Better India. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  20. "Postage Stamps". Web portal. Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  21. "Mountaineering". Sikkim Travel. 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  22. "Everest Hero Gyatso Dead". The Indian Express. 23 April 1968. p. 1. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  23. "Arjuna Award for The first Indians on Everest on 1965-". www.sportsauthorityofindia.nic.in.
  24. "Team spirit at its peak for Arjuna". The Telegraph. 30 May 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  25. "Sonam Gyatso Marg". Travel Guru. 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  26. "Mountaineering Information of Sikkim". Tour Sikkim. 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2016.

Further reading
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