Balwant Singh Sandhu (1934-2010) was an Indian mountaineer and a colonel in the Indian Army. He made the first ascent of

Changabang Changabang is a mountain in the Garhwal Division, Garhwal Himalaya of Uttarakhand, India. It is part of a group of peaks that form the northeast wall of the Nanda Devi Sanctuary. It is a particularly steep and rocky peak, and all routes on it ar ...

along with

Sir Chris Bonington Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL (born 6 August 1934) is a British mountaineer. His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest. Early life and expeditions Bonington's father, w ...

in 1974. In 1981, he received the

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

for excellence in mountaineering, and in 2010, after his death in an accident, he was posthumously awarded the

Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award The Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award, formerly known as the National Adventure Awards is the highest adventure sports honour of the Republic of India. The award is named after Tenzing Norgay, one of the first two individuals to reach th ...

, the highest adventure sports honour of India. Mountaineer M S Kohli described him as a "world-class climber". Sandhu died on 3 December 2010, after a speeding car hit him outside the Indian Mountaineering Foundation headquarters in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

Career

From 1980 till 1985, Sandhu was the principal of Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in

Uttarkashi Uttarkashi, meaning Kashi of the north, is a town located in Uttarkashi district in Uttarakhand, India. Uttarkashi town is headquarters of the district. Uttarkashi is also known as Somya Kashi. Uttarkashi is a religious place for spiritual and ...

. In 1983, he became the president of the Himalayan Club, and in 1997-98 the vice president of

Indian Mountaineering Foundation Indian Mountaineering Foundation is an apex national body which organize and support, mountaineering and rock climbing expeditions at high altitudes in the Himalayas. The organization also promotes and encourages schemes for related adventure acti ...

. Sandhu made first ascents of the following: North Peak of Bancha Dhura (c. 6000m, solo climb) in 1962; Shinkun (6065m) in Lahaul in 1968; Changabang (6864m) in 1974; Phawarar ang (6349m) in 1979; Mamostong Kangri (7516m) in the East Karakoram in 1984; Kabru Dome (6600m) via a new route in 1985; West Face of Kamet (7756m) in 1985; Chombu East Peak NE Sikkim (5745 m) in 1996; along with

The Doon School The Doon School (informally Doon School or Doon) is a selective all-boys boarding school in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India, which was established in 1935. It was envisioned by Satish Ranjan Das, a lawyer from Calcutta, who prevised a school mode ...

expeditions: Rudugaira (5816 m) in 2001 and Jogin III (6116 m) in 2002.

Awards

*1981 -

*2010 - Lifetime achievement,

(awarded posthumously)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandhu, Balwant Indian mountain climbers Recipients of the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award Recipients of the Arjuna Award 1934 births 2010 deaths Indian Army personnel