Patiala: Seven-year-old Teghbir Singh from Ropar has become the youngest person in the world to summit a peak higher than 6,000 metres.On July 13, he successfully scaled Mount Yunam (6,111m) in the Zanskar range of Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul region at just 7 years and 10 months old, breaking the previous record held by Mumbai’s Kaamya Karthikeyan, who climbed a 6,000m+ peak at age 9 years and 11 months in 2017. The six-day expedition began on July 7, with the final nine-hour summit push starting at 6 am in -5°C temperatures. Teghbir, his father Sukhinderdeep Singh, and two guides reached the peak at 2:50 pm. To combat low oxygen and altitude sickness, the team completed three days of acclimatisation treks at base camp and two days of sub-zero, high-wind climbs en route to the summit camp. “I knew it was going to be difficult, but I could reach the summit with my father,” Teghbir said. “It was my first time summiting a 6,000m+ mountain — the oxygen was less, but I had practised for it,” he added. Sukhinderdeep said preparations began nearly six months ago under retired coach Bikramjit Singh Ghuman who worked on his cardiovascular health and lung capacity and durability through weekly hill treks. Teghbir’s mother, Dr Manpreet Kaur, also managed a strict, coach-directed diet to support his physical training. Mount Yunam is the latest in a string of achievements for the young climber. He reached Mount Everest base camp at age 5 in April 2024, became the youngest Asian to scale Mount Kilimanjaro in Aug 2024, and was the youngest to summit Europe’s Mount Elbrus in June 2025. In April, he also became the youngest person to complete Nepal’s 235km Annapurna circuit. MSID:: 132415144 413 |
