Love Raj Singh Dharmshaktu is an Indian mountaineer who has climbed

Mount 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 ...

seven times. He was awarded the

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

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

in 2014.

Early life and background

Dharmshaktu is from Bona village,

Pithoragarh district Pithoragarh district is the easternmost district in the state of Uttarakhand. It is located in the Himalayas and has an area of and a population of 483,439 (as of 2011). The city of Pithoragarh, located in Saur Valley, is its headquarters. T ...

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 worked at Uttar Pradesh Tourism office on Special Duty and took his adventure course. Later he completed Basic Mountaineering and Advanced Mountaineering courses from

Nehru Institute of Mountaineering The Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM India) in Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand is an institute that was established on November 14, 1965. The institute was formed to honor the great desire of President Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first Prime Minister o ...

(NIM) in 1990. He earned a specialisation in Search and Rescue.

Family life

His wife, Reena Kaushal Dharmshaktu from Delhi, is also a mountaineer and holds the record as the first woman from India to ski to reach the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

from the coast of the Antarctica, in 2009 as a part of 8-women Kaspersky Commonwealth Antarctica Expedition.

Mountaineering experience

In 1989, Dharmashaktu climbed

Nanda Kot Nanda Kot ( Kumaoni-नन्दा कोट) is a mountain peak of the Himalaya range located in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand state in India. It lies in the Kumaon Himalaya, just outside the ring of peaks enclosing the Nanda Devi ...

(6861 meters), accompanying as a part of a mountaineering team from Lucknow. He reached the peak. He was part of mountaineering teams that attempted Mamostong Kangri (7516 mt) in Ladakh and Nanda Bhaner (6236 mt) during 1992. He was liaison officer for a British team that attempted

Nanda Ghunti Nanda Ghunti is a {{convert, 6309, m, ft, adj=mid, -high mountain in Garhwal, India. It lies on the outer rim of the Nanda Devi Sanctuary. The mountain was first surveyed by T. G. Longstaff in 1907. Eric Shipton surveyed it from the west in ...

(6309mt) in 1997. In 2008, he reached the summit of Kanchenjunga (8586 mt) along with a BSF team. As of June 2012, he has climbed about 38 peaks.

Everest ascents

* In 1998, he summited Mt. Everest as a part of the first Indian civilian expedition. * In 2006, he climbed Mt. Everest for the second time with a team of BSF. * In 2009, he led a team of NIM to Everest and reached the summit. * In May 2012, summit Everest again, as a member of

Eco Everest Expedition Eco Everest Expedition is an annual expedition drill, started by Asian Trekking Pvt. Ltd. in 2008, with the sole aim of clearing and removing accumulated debris on Mount Everest. Background Mount Everest, the highest mountain on earth, has attract ...

, which also focussed on cleaning the mountain. * On 21, May 2013, he reached the summit of Everest for the fifth time. * On 27, May 2017, he summited for the sixth time while leading a team of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC, India's National Oil Company) officers - 6 of whom also accomplished the feat. * On 8, June 2017, he was honoured by

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

at a function organised by Adventure Sports Tourism Society in Lalitpur city near Kathmandu as he became the first person from India to summit Mount Everest for a record six times. * On 20 May 2018 Dharmsaktu summited for the seventh time while leading a team of 15 members of the Border Security Force. This team has created a new world record of placing the Highest number of members permitted which was earlier of 14 members by the Indian Army.

Recognition and awards

* 2003 –

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 t ...

by Prime Minister of India for outstanding achievement in mountaineering * 2003 - Award by Sir

Edmund Hillary Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reache ...

on Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Everest organised by IMF * 2003 2006 & 2018 - Award of DGCR (Director General's Commendation Rule) by the Director General BSF for outstanding performance in BSF * 2006 - Memento by Union Home Minister after summit of Everest * 2009 - Gold Medal for excellence in mountaineering by Indian Mountaineering Foundation * 2014 -

by President of India * Honoured by permanent membership of Indian Mountaineering Foundation

References