Two ITBP Mountaineers summit Mount Manaslu in Nepal

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, September 25

Two top mountaineers from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Commandant  Ratan Singh Sonal, and Deputy Commandant Anoop Kumar, successfully scaled Mount Manaslu in Nepal on Saturday.

It is the 8th highest mountain in the world at an altitude of 26,781 feet above sea level. This expedition is being undertaken from September 7 to October 5, 2021, an ITBP spokesman said. 

Both the mountaineers have earlier brought laurels for the force by scaling many peaks in the Himalayas. Sonal had earlier this year also summited Mount Lhotse, the world’s fourth-highest peak.

These ITBP officers had also led the difficult Nanda Devi search and rescue operations in which four foreign nationals were rescued and seven bodies from recovered from over 20,000 feet in June-July, 2019.

ITBP holds a distinguished record in the field of mountaineering and the mountaineers of the force have completed more than 220 mountaineering expeditions including four expeditions to Mount Everest over the years, which is a record. 

The Force has been awarded seven Padma Shri and 14 Tenzing Norgay Adventure Awards for its contribution towards the field of mountaineering. 

More recently, ITBP personnel have climbed four peaks situated at an altitude above 18,000 feet in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.