Since Sir Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay of Nepal (who later took Indian citizenship) scaled the Moun Everest in 1953, more than 6,000 mountaineers from across the world have reached the zenith of the world’s highest peak.

Mount Everest and Arunachal Pradesh seem to share a special bond as 14 mountaineers from the state have scaled the peak so far with Abraham Tagit Sorang becoming the 14th man to scale the 29,028-feet peak.

He scaled Everest 20 days after Dirang-based National Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (NIMAS)’s Tashi Yangjom claimed it on May 11, 2021- thus, Sorang became the second mountaineer from the state to climb the peak this season.

The 14 mountaineers from Arunachal Pradesh to scale the Everest so far are- Tapi Mra (2009); Tine Mena (2011); Anshu Jamsenpa (A total of five times. Twice in 2011, once in 2013 and then again twice in 2017), Nima Lama (2013); Tame Bagang (2013); Kalden Paljor (2017); Dorjee Khandu and Tongchen Nimsonga (2018), Muri Lingi (2018); Kishon Teksang and Taka Tamut (2018), Sange Dondup (2019), Tashi Yangjom (2021), and Abraham Tagit Sorang (2021).

“Sornag, who hails from the Sapha village under Pip-Sorang circle of Kra-Daadi district, is on his way back but facing tough challenges due to inclement weather,” informed the Indian Weightlifting Federation vice president Abraham K Techi.

“Sorang is not first from the district but also the first civilian Nyishi to achieve this feat,” Techi added.

It may be mentioned here that 50 climbers reached the summit on May 12 and so far more than 150 climbers have climbed Everest this season.

Apart from it, over 300 climbers are still waiting for their turn to climb the fixed lines to the top.