Haryana man ‘fakes’ Everest summit claim, nominated for prestigious award

Narender Singh Yadav, a mountaineer and fitness instructor hailing from Rewari in Haryana, is set to be awarded with the prestigious Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award for apparently climbing the world’s highest peak, Mt. Everest in 2016 as a 21-year-old. The youngest mountaineer of Haryana is all set to receive the award on 29th August 2020 from the President of India. However, as per reports, his claim of having reached the summit is false according to his expedition leader.

Naba Kumar Phukon, who was the leader of the 14-member group, reached the summit of Everest on the morning of 20 May 2016, allegedly along with Yadav. However, Phukon denied the claim saying that he had to be rescued.

Phukon was quoted saying by a daily, “Yadav’s summit claim was false and he photoshopped his picture on top of Everest to validate his claim. I was the leader of the expedition and he was part of the team. He never made the summit. He had frostbite and he, along with another mountaineer had to be rescued.

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According to another report, the alleged summit success has also been denied by the seven-times Everest summiter Lakpa Sherpa, who was a member of the Sherpa rescue team above the South Col at that time. Apparently, Narender did not get further than to the so-called “Balcony” at about 8,400 meters.

Jamlin Tenzing Norgay, Tenzing Norgay’s son, is furious at the whole incident and is enraged that an award named after his father is being given to someone who faked his summit claim. He has written to Indian Mountaineering Federation (IMF) — the country’s apex body for mountaineering and allied sport — to inspect the matter.

“The nation’s highest award is being bestowed upon Yadav, whose Everest accomplishments are questionable,” Jamlin told the daily.

In 2016 itself, an Indian couple was convicted of fraudulently obtaining an Everest certificate by means of a fake summit photo. They were later also banned from coming to Nepal for mountaineering for ten years.