Aparna Kumar Becomes First IPS Officer To Conquer The ‘Seven Summits'

Aparna Kumar has scaled Mount Denali in Alaska, USA, and with this climb the Indian Police Service (IPS) Officer and DIG in Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) not only became the first civil servant to climb North America's highest peak, but also the first IPS Officer to complete the Seven Summits challenge.

Mount Denali, the highest peak in Northern America stands at 20,310 feet. Luckily, Kumar was climbing the mountain in clear weather conditions. She started her final climb on June 15. Her exploration was supposed to finish around July 10, but since the weather was favourable, she finished her climb ten days before her scheduled date.

Indo-Tibetan Border Police: Aparna Kumar, DIG Northern Frontier ITBP summits Mount Denali, highest peak of North America (20,310 ft) & completes her 7th summit in her '7 Summits' challenge. She is the first civil servant & IPS officer to achieve this rare feet. (Pic -ITBP) pic.twitter.com/xeLrDNzM1t

— ANI (@ANI) June 30, 2019

Steely Resolve!

Kudos IPS Aparna Kumar, DIG @ITBP_official on summitting Mount Denali, USA & completing her "Seventh Summit". Unflinching spirit & unflappable mind of Aparna, has made India proud & have become an inspiration for millions of women across globe.

Congratulations💐 pic.twitter.com/7uqH104lcK

— IPS Association (@IPS_Association) June 30, 2019

Also: Anshu Jamsenpa Climbs Mt Everest Twice In One Season, Creates World Record

Kumar is a 2002 batch UP Cadre IPS officer. She is posted at the Northern Frontier Headquarters of ITBP in Dehradun. Thus far, the unstoppable police officer had scaled the top six mountain peaks of six continents across the globe. And now with Mount Denali, she has successfully conquered the Seven Summits.

Things you should know about Aparna Kumar:

• Kumar has previously worked as the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Telecom in Lucknow.
• She is the first woman officer (all-India services) to have climbed Antarctica’s highest peak, Mount Vinson Massif, after climbing Mount Everest.
• She was always fascinated by the mountains. She got into a basic mountaineering course at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports for a month in Manali in 2013, following which she did an advanced course in 2014.

• Accompanied by a 10-member team of mountaineers from various countries, Aparna hoisted the Tricolour and the flag of the Uttar Pradesh Police Service on Mount Vinson Massif in January 2017 amdist -35 degrees temperature.

• The group was disconnected from each other for nine days. After suffering from mild frostbite and losing over six kilos, Aparna returned to India on February 5 and recovered gradually.

• Some of her greatest feats are: Climbing up Mount Kilimanjaro in August 2014, the highest peak in Africa. The same year in November, she was on the Carstensz Pyramid peak in the West Papuan province of Indonesia, the highest peak in Australia and the Oceania region. Rewarded again as the first IPS officer to achieve the feat.

• In March 2015, she was awarded the ‘Rani Lakshmi Bai Puraskar’ by UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for her achievements.

• On the Republic Day, 2016, Aparna was also honoured with the special DGP Commendation Disc for her notable achievements.

• The energetic mountaineer also became the first Indian woman to climb Mt Manaslu (8,163 m), the eighth highest peak in the world, in 2017. She accomplished this feat on 25th September.

Here’s to defying all odds, cheers to Aparna!

Feature Image Credit: Sportskeeda.com

Read More Stories By Ria Das