Kathmandu, May 30 -- Seven personalities from different walks of life were awarded on Thursday for their contribution to promoting mountaineering and mountain tourism.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli conferred the International Sagarmatha Award to veteran climber Mingma Gyalje Sherpa (Mingma G), who was the first to climb all 8,000-metre peaks without supplementary oxygen.

He has made a name for himself and the country by stepping on the peaks of 14 highest mountains in the world without supplementary oxygen.

Similarly, Nepali authors Ankit Babu Adhikari and Pradeep Bashyal were conferred the prestigious Tenzing-Hillary Award in research and investigation category. The award presented on the occasion of 72nd International Sagarmatha Day c...