Sukman was born into a rural farming community in Thulopatel village in eastern Nepal. The course of his life changed when he started working as a porter for Exodus in the Annapurna Region. Working along different trekking routes he honed his skills, working his way up to assistant guide and leader. He won the Exodus Leader of the Year award in 2022 and was inducted into our Hall of Fame shortly after. He has led at least 50 Exodus groups to Everest Base Camp and summitted Mera Peak at 21,247ft (6,476m). Sukman has played a key role in setting up many Himalayan Community Projects, ranging from opening tree nurseries, to safe drinking water projects, building schools, installing solar cookers and smokeless stoves, to running a medical camp in his village.
“Sukman is the best of the best. Having experienced his leadership, I cannot imagine travelling with any other guide. Highly recommended” – Pamela
“An outstanding leader who was tireless in ensuring the entire group were okay. Nothing was too much trouble. His passion and enthusiasm was unparalleled. Sukman has a fantastic sense of humour which was a joy – we laughed the whole trip. I felt extremely safe” – Amanda
“I cannot stress enough the positive impact Sukman had on our trip. As a clearly seasoned climber / trekker he showed infinite patience with those of us who found the ascents difficult, offering to adjust packs, take extra weight and to encourage us to shadow his footsteps to that we could feel the pace of the walk and the rhythm that would help us make steady progress. He told jokes and filled our heads with a wide range of facts about the area, Nepal and Buddhism”