KATHMANDU: The Everest Summiteers Association (ESA) observed the 25th memorial of legendary Everest climber Babu Chhiri Sherpa on Wednesday, commemorating one of Nepal's most celebrated mountaineers with a series of programmes at the Salik and Sangrahalaya in Tilganga and Gaushal, Kathmandu.

The commemoration was attended by ESA President Maya Sherpa, Senior Vice President Diwas Pokhrel, Nawang Dima Sherpa — President of the Alpine Sports Association Inc. of the United States — and Pemba Gyaljen Sherpa, Vice President of the Babu Chhiri Sherpa Foundation, along with family members, colleagues, and fellow climbers. A Buddhist prayer ceremony was conducted, followed by floral tributes, lamp lighting, and homage paid at the Salik.

Speaking at the event, ESA President Maya Sherpa recalled Babu Chhiri's summit of Everest alongside the French Everest Expedition's Marc Batard in 1990, and his world record in 1999 — spending 21 hours at the summit without supplemental oxygen, a feat that remains one of the most extraordinary in Himalayan history.

Senior Vice President Diwas Pokhrel recalled a lesser-known but extraordinary episode from Babu Chhiri's life: in 1999, descending from Everest, he fell approximately 20 metres into a crevasse in the Khumbu Icefall before being stopped by his rope. He had been carrying clothes, a sleeping bag, a walkie-talkie, empty oxygen cylinders — 15 in total — and roughly 25 to 30 kilograms of equipment. He later climbed out of the crevasse with all of it still on his back.

Pokhrel also remembered the circumstances of Babu Chhiri's death — in 2001, while at Everest's second base camp to photograph the mountain rather than climb it, he fell into a crevasse and died. He was serving as the association's Second Vice President at the time.

Nawang Dima Sherpa of the Alpine Sports Association Inc. in the United States highlighted Babu Chhiri's remarkable record of honours, which included the Gorkha Dakshinbahu, the National Youth Excellence Award, the Pasang Lhamu Award, the Nepal Mountaineering Association Award, and recognition from the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, among more than two dozen awards from various organisations and institutions.

Among Babu Chhiri's enduring records: staying 21 hours at Everest's summit without oxygen on Baisakh 23, 2056; reaching Everest's summit from Base Camp in 16 hours and 56 minutes in 2000; and successfully summiting Everest twice in a single season in both 1995 and 1999. He passed away at the age of 36 on Baisakh 16, 2058.
Pemba Gyaljen Sherpa, Vice President of the Babu Chhiri Sherpa Foundation, said the foundation continues to run education, health, and community upliftment programmes in his name for Himalayan communities, and that efforts to inspire young people toward mountaineering and promote a culture of safe climbing are ongoing.

Family members reaffirmed their commitment to keeping Babu Chhiri's legacy alive, with plans for more extensive memorial programmes in the coming years.