Mountaineer sets out to scale Mt Tenzingkhang

Mountaineer sets out to scale Mt Tenzingkhang
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Naveen Kumar’s passion for mountaineering ignited when he went on his first trekking expedition to Darjeeling as a school kid with his parents.

Hyderabad: Naveen Kumar's passion for mountaineering ignited when he went on his first trekking expedition to Darjeeling as a school kid with his parents. He had no idea that many years later, he'd be making a record as the first to go an expedition in West Sikkim Himalayas from Telangana and Andhra States.

Speaking to The Hans India, Naveen, a resident of Hyderabad, says this has been his dream for 15 long years and, now at the age of 41, he is embarking on a 25- day independent expedition (with the help of sherpas) to Mt Tenzingkhang and Mt Lama Lamini (5835 mtrs)in Sikkim.

Tenzingkhang meters is one of the most popular expedition peak in west Sikkim at an elevation of 6,010 meters from sea level near Goechala, a high mountain pass in Sikkim. Mt. Tenzingkhang, located in the Khanchendzonga national park, a world heritage site, is a good peak to climb for climbing enthusiasts aspiring to climb higher peaks eventually.

Although this is his first independent expedition, Naveen is by no means an amateur. He acquired his basic course on mountaineering from Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling, and did an advance course from Nehru Institute of Mountaineering. As part of training at Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, he trekked Mt Kedar Dome in Gharwal Himalayas in 2001.

A senior instructor of Adventure Club of Andhra Pradesh, he received State Adventure Award in 2002. But despite being a veteran mountaineer, there are still many things that could go wrong. Naveen elaborates that throughout the journey, he has to set up around 78 camps so as to acclimatise himself with the high altitudes and prevent cerebral edema.

The journey will be slow and arduous but Naveen, who is currently the area sales manager for a pharma company in Hyderabad, feels proud that he is making a new record. "We are attempting two peaks and if everything goes well, it will be another record" he says, referring to the fact that he is the first from Telangana to also attempt two peaks in the West Sikkim Himalayas.

Asked about his inspiration, he says that this is his dream alone and he hopes to inspire others by his journey. The expedition is sponsored by RBO Charminar, State Bank of India, and the mountaineer was handed the expedition flag by Ravindra Gurav, DGM (B&O), State Bank of India, AO, Hyderabad. Kumar left for Siliguri, West Bengal, on Wednesday.

By Mounica Alamuri

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