Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 19: Lt Colonel Ranveer Jamwal from Jammu and Kashmir today scaled Mount Everest and became the first officer from the state to achieve the feat for a third time.
He had first reached the summit of the world’s highest peak at 8,848 metres on May 25, 2012 and the second time on May 19, 2013.
“An Indian Army mountaineering team (led by Lt Colonel Jamwal) scaled Mount Everest today at 6:07 AM even though the weather conditions remained inclement,” Army spokesman in Udhampur, Colonel S D Goswami said.
Chief of the Army Staff General Dalbir Singh has congratulated the team for its achievement.
The expedition to Mount Everest was launched after a hiatus of a year following the Nepal earthquake. The officer had also made an attempt to scale the peak in 2014, Goswami said. Today’s team included one Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) and personnel of five other ranks.
“The team led by Lt Col Jamwal, who is a reputed climber, was at the Everest base camp when a 7.9 magnitude earthquake stuck Nepal on April 25, last year”, Goswami said.
Twenty-two international climbers and local sherpas, who got struck at the Everest base camp by an avalanche last year, were killed. However, the Indian Army expedition camp that was also in the path of the avalanche remained unharmed, he said.
“The army team had taken control of the situation after the avalanche by extending help in the rescue operation and providing shelter and ration to those in need,” he said.
Son of a Havaldar, Jamwal had joined the army as a jawan in the Dogra Regiment. With sheer hard work and dedication, he made it to the Army Cadet College (ACC) and then was commissioned in the Jat regiment as an officer, he said.
“He has the record of having led 17 people, including the six today, to the Summit,” Goswami said.
The expedition to Mount Everest was flagged off on March 30 by Vice Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen M M Rai from New Delhi.
The Indian Army climbers led by Lt Col Jamwal were amongst the initial lot of mountaineers to successfully climb Mt. Everest since the Nepal quake.
Five members of the team will also be participating on May 29, this year in Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon, considered to be one of the toughest trail marathons in the world.
Meanwhile, an army team led by Major Nooruddin Ahmed is attempting to summit Mount Lhotse, the fourth highest peak in the world at 8501 metres.
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