Sonam Wangyal (born 1942) is a former

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n paramilitary personnel and mountaineer who climbed

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...

in 1965 at the age 23, making him the youngest summiter. He was one of the nine summiters of the first successful Indian Everest Expeditions that climbed

in May 1965 led by Captain M S Kohli,. He is the third Indian man, and eighteenth man in world, to have climbed

. On 22 May 1965, the first time that the oldest ( Sonam Gyatso at age 42) and the youngest (Sonam Wangyal at age 23) climbed Everest together. Currently, he is serving as a principal at

Sonam Gyatso Mountaineering Institute Sonam Gyatso Mountaineering Institute (SGMI) is a paramilitary mountaineering school, located in Gangtok, India. History In 1963, the ''Mountaineering Institute'' was established in Gangtok by Indian mountaineer Sonam Gyatso. After the dem ...

Honors and awards

He was honoured with the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

in 1965, followed by the

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

in 1965 and then

Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award The Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award, formerly known as the National Adventure Awards is the highest adventure sports honour of the Republic of India. The award is named after Tenzing Norgay, one of the first two individuals to reach t ...

2017 in lifetime achievement category. He served as the Principal of the Sonam Mountaineering Institute in

Gangtok Gangtok is a city, municipality, the capital and the largest populated place of the Indian state of Sikkim. It is also the headquarters of the East Sikkim district, Gangtok District. Gangtok is in the eastern Himalayas, Himalayan range, at an e ...

(Sikkim) from 1976 to 1990. He retired as Assistant Director of the

Indo-Tibetan Border Police The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is a border patrol organization of India deployed along its borders with Tibet Autonomous Region. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces, established in 1962 in the aftermath of the Sino-Indian ...

(ITBP) in 1993, and now lives in

Leh Leh () ( lbj, ) is the joint capital and largest city of Ladakh, a union territory of India. Leh, located in the Leh district, was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh, the seat of which was in the Leh Palace, the former res ...

Honors and awards

References

See also