The Saga of a Nepali rock climber

Rock or wall climbing has not been well recognized as a particular sport, it is more likely seen as a means of entertainment and adventure in Nepal. And sadly, most of the people have not even heard about the wall or rock climbing. There are only few people who take it as a sport.

21 years old Pancha Maya Tamang began her wall climbing journey in 2013 when she was just 13 years of age. The first time she went wall climbing at 'Astrek Wall Climbing Centre' Thamel, she knew this was what she wanted to peruse. After some training, she started applying to a wall-climbing competition and won her first gold medal. Since then she has not stopped.

Starting from 2014, Tamang has already bagged 6 gold medals in national wall climbing competition and has represented Nepal 11 times internationally. In 2017, Tamang was able to win bronze medal in the Asian youth championship held in Singapore.

But being a sportsperson in the country is not an easy journey.

Tamang says, "As a national player I have not gotten full support from the government yet, but Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) has been very helpful. But most of the time I have to buy all the climbing gears on my own and if I want to play any tournaments in Nepal then I have to pay for all of the training sessions. The tournament fees go from my own pocket money as well."

"But my brother has always been my support system since the very beginning. Whenever I feel demotivated by the people who try to bring me down he has always been there to keep pushing to not give up. I can also say he is also one of the reasons for me to be where I am at now." she adds.

Wall climber, Tamang is currently training as well as she has reached up to 7b (there are different stages in the sport). She says that no matter where I am there is still a long way to go and I am not going to stop.

Sharing about her decade-long climbing journey, Tamang says, “I've seen so many ups and downs, highs and lows in my career and have met people who share the same passion for the sport. When I look back today, I can proudly say that I am doing what I love and wholeheartedly have been a part of this sport. In fact, this sport made my identity and people now know me because of it. Since it has given me so much, I want to give back to it as well. So people who are thinking of perusing rock climbing as their living then go for it. It will be a long journey but looking back at my own I will not change anything. Just believe in yourself and never give up.”