Scaling Success

At 44, she has climbed six mountain peaks in six continents, and is raring to go for the seventh. Mountaineer Aparna Kumar talks to Nikshubha Garg about her South Pole expedition

- Nikshubha Garg

Not a woman to give up, the only thought Aparna Kumar, 44, swore by as she made her way to the South Pole was, “I will die, but not leave.” Kumar, currently posted at the Northern Frontier Headquarters of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in Dehradun, recently became the first Indian Police Service (IPS) and ITBP officer to conquer the southern-most point on the globe situated in Antarctica, a feat, as she puts it, “not for the fainthearted”. Kumar completed the 111-kilometre expedition over 12 days, battling chilly winds and temperatures ranging from -30°C to -47°C.

Kumar’s tryst with mountaineering began in 2013, when her colleagues at the battalion she was commanding at Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh), recalled adventures of mountaineers and the thrill the sport brought. “I was intrigued by the tales and, out of sheer interest and curiosity, enrolled myself at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports in Manali (Himachal Pradesh). I took