Gurdial Singh (mountaineer)

For the Punjabi writer, see Gurdial Singh.

Gurdial Singh
Personal information
Main disciplineMountaineer
Born(1924-01-01)1 January 1924
Died30 May 2023(2023-05-30) (aged 99)
Chandigarh, India
NationalityIndian
Career
Notable ascents- Led the first Indian expedition to Trisul (1951)[1]
- First ascent of Mrigthuni (1958)[2]
- Member of the first Indian expedition to Mount Everest (1965)[3]
A colourised image of Gurdial Singh performing Shirshasana on the summit of Trisul in 1951. Mountaineer and chronicler Harish Kapadia has written in his book, Across Peaks & Passes in Garhwal Himalaya: "To my mind, it was when Gurdial Singh climbed Trisul in 1951 that was the beginning of the age of mountaineering for Indians."[4]
An acrostic, penned by renowned novelist and writer Vikram Seth (after Singh's death), dedicated to Gurdial Singh, who was Seth's housemaster at The Doon School in the late 1960s.

Gurdial Singh (1 January 1924 – 30 May 2023) was an Indian schoolteacher and mountaineer who led the first mountaineering expedition of independent India to Trisul (7,120 metres) in 1951. In 1958, he led the team that made the first ascent of Mrigthuni (6,855 metres).[5][6] [7] In 1965, he was a member of the first successful Indian expedition team to climb Mount Everest.[8][3][9]

Singh also led many expeditions at The Doon School, where he was a geography teacher, and along with other Doon masters and students was instrumental in establishing a mountaineering culture in post-Independence India.[10] Singh has been described as "the first true Indian mountaineer", and in 2020, the Himalayan Journal noted "Gurdial climbed for pleasure, to enjoy the mountains in the company of friends, to savour the beauty and grandeur of the high ranges, not to find fame or bag summits."[11]

  1. ^ Greenwood, R. D. (1952). "TRISUL, 1951". Himalayan Journal. Vol. 17.
  2. ^ Ali, Aamir (1958). "MRIGTHUNI, 1958". Himalayan Journal. Vol. 21.
  3. ^ a b Ghosh, Padmaparna; Sengupta, Rudraneil (16 May 2015). "The first Indians on Everest". mint. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  4. ^ Kapadia, Harish (1999). Across Peaks & Passes in Garhwal Himalaya. Indus Publishing. p. 15. OCLC 42718179.
  5. ^ Sahi, Sudhir (31 October 1989). "Book review: M.S. Kohli Vikas 'Mountaineering In India'". India Today. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  6. ^ The Times, Wednesday, 4 July 1951; pg. 5; Issue 52044; col B
  7. ^ Sengupta, Rudraneil (4 May 2012). "Vertical limit". mint. Archived from the original on 6 May 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  8. ^ Mathai, Kamini (12 April 2015). "50 years later, it's happily Everest after". Times of India. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  9. ^ "PM meets members of 1965 Everest Expedition on the golden jubilee of the occasion". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 20 May 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  10. ^ Anderson, Richard (2001). "Climbing with Doon School" (PDF). Alpine Journal. 106. London.
  11. ^ Dubey, Suman (2020). "This Is His Life: Gurdial Singh". Himalayan Journal. Vol. 75.