Sonam Wangyal



Sonam Wangyal (born 1942) is a former Indian paramilitary personnel and mountaineer who climbed Mount Everest 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 Mount Everest in May 1965 led by Captain M S Kohli,. He is the 3rd Indian man, and 18th man in world, to have climbed Mount Everest. 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.

Honors and awards
He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1965, followed by the Arjuna Award in 1965 and then Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2017 in lifetime achievement category. He served as the Principal of the Sonam Gyatso Mountaineering Institute in Gangtok (Sikkim) from 1976 to 1990. He retired as Assistant Director of the Intelligence Bureau in 1993, and now lives in Leh.