Gangtok: Samdong, with its perfect natural setting of cliffs, rocks and boulders, is set to get its first full-fledged rock climbing institution and training centre.
The idea of the centre, the first of its kind in the region, was presented at the graduation ceremony of the rock climbing course of National Service Scheme (NSS) students at Government Senior Secondary School, Samdong. The village is situated in East Sikkim, about an hour’s drive from Gangtok.
The five-day course was organised by the NSS wing of the school in collaboration with the Tenzing Norgay Climbing Club of Darjeeling, in which 42 students of Class X took part. The trainees were awarded certificates by the chief guest, Nawang Gombu, the climber, who was the first one to have summitted the Everest twice.
Saom T. Namchu, who coordinated the course, said it was the first time that classes were held on rock climbing and information on mountaineering and adventure for students and that too in a rural school.
The legislator of Rakdong Tintek constituency, Norzang Lepcha, declared Samdong as a rock climbing area and the site for the centre has also been identified. Gombu has even offered to share his expertise with the new institution.
“The idea is not just to have a climbing institute, but turn the area into a venue for national and international championships in the next few years,” Lepcha said. As a beginning, the legislator announced that two among those who graduated today would be sent to Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling for further training while another four would be sent to rock climbing institutes elsewhere.
The idea of the centre, the first of its kind in the region, was presented at the graduation ceremony of the rock climbing course of National Service Scheme (NSS) students at Government Senior Secondary School, Samdong. The village is situated in East Sikkim, about an hour’s drive from Gangtok.
The five-day course was organised by the NSS wing of the school in collaboration with the Tenzing Norgay Climbing Club of Darjeeling, in which 42 students of Class X took part. The trainees were awarded certificates by the chief guest, Nawang Gombu, the climber, who was the first one to have summitted the Everest twice.
Saom T. Namchu, who coordinated the course, said it was the first time that classes were held on rock climbing and information on mountaineering and adventure for students and that too in a rural school.
The legislator of Rakdong Tintek constituency, Norzang Lepcha, declared Samdong as a rock climbing area and the site for the centre has also been identified. Gombu has even offered to share his expertise with the new institution.
“The idea is not just to have a climbing institute, but turn the area into a venue for national and international championships in the next few years,” Lepcha said. As a beginning, the legislator announced that two among those who graduated today would be sent to Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling for further training while another four would be sent to rock climbing institutes elsewhere.
(The Telegraph)
