Candidate watch: Mingma Sherpa from Sankhuwasabha constituency

Mingma Sherpa, a mountaineer, a tourism entrepreneur, and a social worker seeking to translate decades of Himalayan experience into public policy, is a 47-year-old candidate representing the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) in Sankhuwasabha. He entered politics after a career defined by high-altitude achievement and leadership in Nepal’s mountaineering industry. 

Raised in Solukhumbu, Sherpa completed SLC from his local school. His professional path unfolded on the world’s highest peaks as he became the first South Asian to scale all 14 mountains above 8,000 meters and earned a Guinness World Record as the first person to climb all 14 eight-thousanders on the first attempt. Beyond summits, his work has centered on expedition logistics, rescue operations, and the operational backbone of Himalayan tourism.

As the Managing Director of Seven Summit Treks, and Director at Climbalaya, both leading Nepali trek and expedition operating companies, Sherpa has overseen complex, high-risk expeditions while engaging with international clients, local workers, and mountain communities. His experience spans safety management, insurance coordination, and workforce development for high-altitude workers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he organised relief efforts for mountain communities and established scholarship funds to support Sherpa children, reflecting a long-standing commitment to community upliftment.

Politically, Sherpa joined the RSP in 2026 after previously being affiliated with the Nepali Congress until 2025. He has not held elected or legislative office. His candidacy focuses on tourism reform, environmental protection in mountain regions, and improving education and technical training in remote Himalayan districts, including Sankhuwasabha.

At the legislative level, Mingma advocates for amending and updating the Tourism Act 2035 to better reflect the evolving realities of mountaineering and adventure tourism. A new Act was recently introduced that Mingma thinks still has gaps. He calls for stronger community ownership mechanisms within tourism policy, streamlined by-laws to reform the garbage deposit management system, and closer coordination with local governments to integrate mountaineering technical training into mountain-region education systems.

Sherpa frames his campaign around strengthening state ownership and oversight in the Himalayan tourism sector while modernising safety, insurance, and regulatory frameworks for high-altitude workers. Drawing on lived experience from the mountains, he positions himself as a representative of Himalayan communities and an advocate for sustainable, community-centered tourism development.

Q&A Sidebar

Q: What is your top priority if elected?

To bring forward policies which enable Nepal to truly leverage the full potential of the Himalayas. This includes keeping tourists longer in the Himalayas while blending experiences across religious, cultural and adventurous forms of tourism.

Q: What problem concerns you most right now?

• Lack of adequate state ownership across the Himalayan tourism sector, including monitoring and investment.
• Inadequate incentives and infrastructure to keep tourists engaged in the Himalayan region for extended periods.
• Lack of structures and training programs to transfer mountaineering knowledge to the next generation while incentivising younger people to have a stake in the industry.

What experience best prepares you for this role?
As someone from the Himalayas with extensive experience in the mountaineering industry, I will be a voice for the communities in the region. I fully understand the ecosystem to be able to design policy interventions to incentivise and retain tourists for longer days in a sustainable manner.

What change would you like to deliver in one term?

• Increase state ownership in the Himalayan market and its resources, including creation of dedicated bodies to increase state investment, regulate the private sector and expand community ownership.
• Launch public and community awareness programs on climate change, waste management and sustainability in the Himalayas.
• Upgrade the existing garbage deposit management system to transfer responsibility further to individuals and communities while strengthening monitoring mechanisms.