Harish Chandra Singh Rawat (3 July 1934 – 20 January 2008) was a

mountaineer Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

who climbed the

Mt. Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is List of highest mountains on Earth, Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border ru ...

in 1965. He was one of the 9 summiters of the first successful Indian Everest Expeditions that climbed

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...

in May 1965 led by Captain M S Kohli.Rawat was a humble soul, dedicated to mountaineering: Kohli
''One India''. 21 January 2008 He is the seventh Indian man and twenty second man in world that climbed

. On May 24, 1965 Vohra and

Ang Kami Ang Kami Sherpa was the member of the third Indian Everest expedition, led by Captain M S Kohliin 1965 which was first Indian successful Everest Expedition climbed Mount Everest, consisted of 21 major expedition members and 50 Sherpas. T ...

Sherpa together reached the top of

On May 29, 12 years to the day from the first ascent of

the fourth and last summit team with Major

H. P. S. Ahluwalia Major Hari Pal Singh Ahluwalia (6 November 1936 – 14 January 2022) was an Indian mountaineer, author, social worker and Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS) officer. During his career he made contributions in the fields of adventure, spor ...

and

Phu Dorjee Sherpa Phu Dorjee Sherpa was the first Nepali man and twenty-third person in the world to climb Mount Everest. He was a member of the third Indian Everest Expedition 1965, led by Captain M S Kohli, which was the first successful Indian Everest Exp ...

, Rawat reached on the summit. This was the first time three climbers stood on the summit together.

Biography

Rawat participated in a number of expeditions including

Nanda Devi Nanda Devi is the second-highest mountain in India, after Kangchenjunga, and the highest located entirely within the country (Kangchenjunga is on the border of India and Nepal). It is the 23rd-highest peak in the world. Nanda Devi was consid ...

Sunanda Devi Nanda Devi East ( deva, नंदा देवी पूर्व), locally known as Sunanda Devi, is the lower of the two adjacent peaks of the highest mountain in Uttarakhand and second highest mountain in India; Nanda Devi is its higher twin ...

, Kanglacha, Hathi Parbat,

Tirsuli Tirsuli is a Himalayan mountain peak in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, India. It is part of the complex of mountains, including Tirsuli West, Hardeol, Dunagiri, Changabang, and Kalanka, which make up the northeast wall of the Nanda D ...

, Rathong,

Nanda Khat Mt. Nandakhat () is positioned outside the Nandadevi sanctuary or at the rim of Nandadevi Sanctuary located in the Bageshwar district of Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), ...

and

Nun Kun Nun Kun is a mountain massif of the greater Himalayan range, located on the border of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in northern India. It consists of two main peaks: Nun () and Kun (),Figures for Kun's elevation vary between 7,035 m and 7,086 ...

. In 1962, he led a party, including Sonam Wangyal, another Everester of the 1965 expedition, to Kanglacha, 30 miles south of Leh. In 1963, Rawat climbed Hathi Parbat and a year later he was part of the Tirsuli and Sunanda Devi expedition. In the pre-Everest preparations, he climbed Rathong. Rawat also participated in a joint ascent by the Indian intelligence and the U.S.

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

to the

peak to test the Chinese missile program development. At that time (1965), he was and later worked for social welfare in

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

. He died of a

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

, aged 74. He was vice president of the

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 ...

. Rawat had graduated from Lucknow University in 1952 and joined central government service in the same year, in Intelligence Bureau. He was posted as Deputy Central Intelligence Officer, Gorakhpur, in October 1963. Thereafter he shifted to Special Service Bureau (now

Sashastra Seema Bal Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB; ) is a border guarding force of India deployed along its borders with Nepal and Bhutan. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The fo ...

). He was Joint Assistant Director in SSB headquarters in 1965. In January 1970, he became the founder chief of the High Altitude Operations Training Centre, at Sandev, near

Didihat Didihat is a town and a Nagar Palika in Pithoragarh District in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is one of the eleven Tehsils of India, administrative subdivisions of Pithoragarh district and also serves as its administrative headquarter. Wit ...

. In October 1972, it was merged with SSB's Frontier Academy at Gwaldam as its Mountaineering Wing, and Rawat became that wing's first Senior Instructor.

Honors and awards

He was awarded

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 ...

and

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

for his achievements.

Biography

Honors and awards

References

See also