Army Today

Indian Army Women scale Mount Everest

Captain Shipra Mazumdar, Captain Ashwini Pawar, Cadet Tshering Ladol and Trainee Dechin Lhamo scaled the 8848-metre Mt. Everest on 02 June 2005

Indian Army's women mountaineers created history by becoming the first women's expedition to scale the Mount Everest. Captain Shipra Mazumdar, Captain Ashwini Pawar, Cadet Tshering Ladol and Trainee Dechin Lhamo scaled the 8848-metre high peak between 0615 and 0939 hours. The peak was also summitted by five members of the support team -- Major S S Shekhawat, Subedar Surjeet Singh, Naib Subedar Jagat Singh, Havildar Topgey Bhutia and Commando Kaman Singh. The Indian Army's women mountaineering team scaled the world's tallest peak from the Chinese side through the North Col Route, the Army said in a release. With this unprecedented feat, the Indian Army has scaled four eight thou sanders in the last four years and Mt Everest has been climbed thrice by the Army in the last five years. The Army Women Everest Expedition, was flagged off by the Chief of Army Staff General J J Singh on 18 March 2006. The Army Chief, who is a mountaineer himself, has congratulated the team on its feat. Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee congratulated the successful women's mountaineering team of the Army, saying the success of the expedition has brought laurels to the nation in general and Indian Army in particular. "The achievement will go a long way in infusing sense of enthusiasm and spirit of teamwork in the youth of the nation. This feat will provide impetus to the growth of adventure sports in the country," he said.

• Prev
• Next