Havildar K. Siva Kumar from Tamil Nadu makes T.N. proud atop Everest

Havildar K. Siva Kumar scaled Mount Everest last month as part of the Indian army’s expedition team.

The 7-member Army team scaled the peak in the early morning of May 18, 2016.

Havildar Siva Kumar is the first person from Tamil Nadu to reach the Himalayan summit.

Havildar Kumar is from 2 Madras regiment, the same regiment that Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad that belonged to. Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad, it may be recalled, became a national symbol of determination as he fought and lost his life after being caught in an avalanche on the Siachen glacier in February 2016

Commenting on the trek, Havildar Kumar observed that in the aftermath of the avalanche, the route has changed a lot and they encountered more than five ice walls which made it tougher and more time-consuming. 

 Havildar Kumar is not new to mountaineering.

Havildar Siva Kumar learnt the ropes in 2004 when he did a course at the Army’s High Altitude Warfare School in Gulmarg and has worked as an instructor there from 2008-11.

Since June 2013 Havildar Siva Kumar has been posted as an instructor at the National Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (NIMAS) in Arunachal Pradesh