History in the making

24-year-old Jigme Pelden Dorji has begun the climb to the summit of Mount Everest, the tallest peak in the world. If successful, he will enter the annals of Bhutan as the first Bhutanese to reach Everest’s summit.

Lieutenant of the Royal Bhutan Army (RBA), Jigme is from Punakha. He is the son of Pem Zam, who earlier, worked in the then Ministry of Education. Currently, she is in Perth, Australia.

Jigme is not just a military personnel. His talents go beyond the military. He appeared in one of Bhutan’s first singing competitions, which was organized by Mila Tobgye, and bagged a spot in the top five. As a child, he also featured in a couple of Bhutanese movies, one of which is Bu-tshub.

After completing his studies from Ugyen Academy, Punakha, he joined the National Defense Academy (NDA), Pune, India, where he showcased his strengths and won several awards.

Jigme Pelden Dorji, at 20, became the first equestrian to India from a friendly country. He has all skills in equestrian starting from being a. zero handicap Polo player, Show Jumper, Trick riding, Dressage , x- country and not only these but also skilled in training horses and to discipline them for better bonding of horses and men.

Amongst the many accolades at NDA, Jigme was a merit cardholder in Physical Training, a Battalion Commander Motivational Award recipient, Athletics Medalist, and more. He was the first foreigner to receive the merit card certificate under training for “Exceptional Display of Horsemanship”. He was recognized as the best cadet rider in the National Defence Academy’s passing out course and was also the recipient of the IMA Lt. Satyendra Chaudhary Award in 2022.

Jigme Pelden Dorji is part of a 15-member expedition team (excluding Sherpas) from Pioneer Adventures, led by US climber David Charles Fathalikhani. The other members of the team include Nathan Alan Frederick, Zhu Shuhui, Ligia Maria Madrigal Moya, Chen Zhihong, John Rhett Evans, Rama Thakur, Rajasekhar Reddy Kandi, Srinidhi Sampath Lyengar Raghavan, Hareshbhai Maganlal Dudhat, Satyadeep Gupta, Zhang Bingjie, Yu Senhua, and Rohit Laxman Patil.

According to a local Bhutanese media, Jigme Pelden Dorji is one of the 414 climbers set to make it to the summit. Participants come from 70 countries, with the USA leading in numbers. The same media outlet also quoted co-founder of Pioneer Adventure, Nivesh Karki, saying  that Jigme Pelden Dorji’s summit target is between May 17-21.

After reaching Nepal on April 10, 2024, Jigme Pelden Dorji began his trek to Everest Base Camp two days later. He reached the base camp on April 19.

According to High Adventures Expedition, 6,664 different people have climbed Mount Everest and reached the summit, as of December 2023. Kami Rita Sherpa of Nepal has reached the summit the most number of times – 29 times.

The 3 countries with the most number of summits by different climbers are:Nepal – 1,856 summits, USA – 783 and India – 544.

Meanwhile, if everything goes as planned, Jigme is expected to reach the summit by the 20th of May, 2024.

By Nidup Lhamo, Thimphu