Sudarshan Gautam
Sudarshan Gautam (Nepali: सुदर्शन गौतम; born 1978, in Nepal) is the first person without arms to have reached the summit of Mount Everest without the use of prosthetics. He did this on May 20, 2013.[1] Gautam lost his arms in an accident in childhood. He now lives in Canada. In 2014, he appeared in the Nepali movie, Himmatwali.[2]
Life and education
Gautam was born in Bhauduri, a village in the Ramechhap District, Nepal. As a boy, growing up in Kathmandu, where his parents had moved, he had an accident with a live power cable that led to the amputation of both of his arms.[1]
Gautam received a Diploma in Computer Science using a non-modified computer with his feet. He received a master's degree from the Nepal Commerce Campus.[3]
In 2007, Gautam became a citizen of Canada. He is married with one child, a son. Gautam lives in Toronto, Ontario.
Mountaineering
Prior to climbing Mount Everest, Gautam reached the peaks of Mount Ramdung (5,925 metres (19,439 ft)) and Mount Yala (5,732 metres (18,806 ft)).[1][4]
On May 19, 2013, while descending from Mount Everest, Gautam required a high altitude helicopter rescue.[5]
Awards
On June 30, 2013, NRN-Canada, the national organization of Nepali Diaspora in Canada, honored Gautam as an outstanding Nepali Diaspora member.[6] He was their brand ambassador from 2014 to 2016. In 2014, Gautam was received into the Canadian Disability Hall of Fame.[7] In May 2017, he received a South Asian Canadian Trailblazers Award. On November 2017 Sudarshan Gautam has been chosen one of the ten Canadian for Toyota globel campion. He has also received a Compelling Calgarians Award.
Acting
In 2014, Gautam appeared in the Nepali movie, Himmatwali ("a brave person") with Rekha Thapa.[2] In January 2017, Gautam hosted the Nepali Film Fair in Canada.
References
- Seema Dhawan (23 May 2013). "Sudarshan Gautam Climbs Everest: Armless Calgary Man On Top Of The World". Huffington Post Alberta. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
- Himmatwali X Nepali 14 October 2014. Accessed 19 April 2015.
- Put your hands together for the first armless man to climb Everest. IB Times 23 May 2013. Accessed 14 July 2103.
- Armless Calgarian completes historic summit of Mount Everest Calgary Herald 20 May 2013. Accessed 14 July 2013.
- "Daring High Altitude Rescue on Everest Sets Records". Rock and Ice. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
- Program outline of the 6th National Convention NRN-Canada 9 April 2013. Accessed 3 July 2013.
- "Previous Hall of Fame Inductees". Canadian Foundation for Physically Disabled Persons. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
External links
- Photo of the week, India Times
- Samacharpati website
- Entertainment, Himshikhar TV
- "From the desk of Scott Feschuk", Macleans
- Sudarshan Gautam, X Nepali
- Armless climber Sudarhan Gautam wants to scale Mount Everest again, The Star
- News photo, Getty Images