1965 Indian Everest Expedition

Mount Everest
1965 Indian stamp dedicated to the 1965 Everest Expedition
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi meets the members of 1965 expedition in New Delhi on 20 May 2015, the 50th anniversary of the ascent

The 1965 Indian Everest Expedition reached the summit of Mount Everest on 20 May 1965. It was the first successful scaling of the mountain by an Indian climbing expedition.[1]

After the first conquest of Mount Everest in 1953 by the New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, Indian military forces made several attempts to conquer the summit. The first expedition by the Indian Army, which was led by Brigadier Gyan Singh in 1960, failed. Climbers Colonel Narendra Kumar, Sonam Gyatso, and Sherpa Nawang Gombu reached 28,300 feet (8,600 m), just 700 feet (210 m) from the summit, but had to turn back due to extremely bad weather.[2] The second expedition by the Indian Army, led by Major John Diaz in 1962, also failed. Captain Mohan Singh Kohli, Sonam Gyatso, and Hari Dang got to almost 400 feet (120 m) below the summit at 28,600 feet (8,700 m), but also had to give up due to bad weather.[3] Mohan Singh Kohli was a member of both these expeditions.

  1. ^ "Indian Everest Expedition 1965-". www.everesthistory.com.
  2. ^ "Failed Indian attempt on Mount Everest-1960 -". www.himalayanclub.org.
  3. ^ "Failed Indian attempt on Mount Everest-1962". www.himalayanclub.org.