Haryana mountaineer’s Everest summit claim comes under a cloud over ‘morphed’ photo
CHANDIGARH: After some Indian mountaineers questioned Everest summit claim of Haryana’s Narender Singh Yadav, who has been named for the Tenzing Norgay national adventure award 2020, Jamling Tenzing Norgay, on whose father’s name the country’s highest adventure award has been instituted, has written to the Indian Mountaineering Foundation to look into the matter.
“The award has been bestowed upon Yadav whose Everest accomplishments are questionable as he seems to have faked his summit picture. He should not be considered for the prestigious award for lack of integrity. Otherwise,
it will be a blow to the national honour as the entire world (mountaineering fraternity) is looking at this issue,” says Jamling, who was part of the Everest expedition in 1996 and the experience was documented in film ‘Everest’.
Jamling even contacted Naba Kumar Phukon, who was the leader of the 14-member Everest expedition (2016) of which Yadav was part of and also contacted seven-time summiter Lakpa Sherpa, who was a member of the rescue team when Yadav took the Everest expedition.
“Yadav’s summit claim was false and he morphed his picture. I was the leader of the expedition and he was part of the team. He never made the summit and even had frostbite. He along with another Haryana mountaineer Seema Rani Goswami had to be rescued by the Sherpas,” said Phukon, who works with the Assam Sports Department. “Regarding Yadav’s false summit claim, Jamling contacted me and I narrated to him what actually happened. Because of not sufficient stock of oxygen, Yadav’s Sherpa and I advised him not to proceed further. Later, I went for the summit and on my way back met Yadav and saw his frostbitten toes,” said Phukon. “I have even written to the sports minister about the fake claim of Yadav,” he said.
“I have forwarded Phukon’s report on the issue to the foundation, which has taken up the matter with the sports ministry,” says Jamling, who is based in Bhutan.
Yadav, who hails from village Nehrugarh of Rewari district in Haryana, couldn’t be contacted. There was no response to the phone calls and text messages sent to him by this correspondent.