Col. Sarfaraz Singh had just completed the National Integration Trekking Expedition to Gorichen Glacier and was somewhere in the vicinity of 19,000 feet, on his way to the Gorichen Peak with his team, when he was informed about being one of the recipients of this year’s Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award.
A member of the elite 6th Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, Sarfaraz is more than just a mountaineer, although his achievements as one are quite distinguished.
He is also a sky-diver, a combat free faller and a certified Scuba Rescue Diver. On the mountains, he has summited the highest peaks in the four continents — Mt. Everest (Asia), Mt. Aconcagua (Argentina, Americas), Mt. Elbrus (Russia, Europe) and Mt. Kilimanjaro (Tanzania, Africa).
His lineage is equally accomplished — he is the son of Arjuna Awardee Col. Balbir Singh Kular, who won hockey bronze at the Mexico Olympics, and a fourth generation armyman.
“People tell me I have an Arjuna and now my son has also got this award but honestly, I think he has achieved something far greater than me. This award is much, much bigger and I am proud of his achievements, both in the armed forces and on the mountains,” an emotional Balbir said.
An alumnus of the RIMC, the NDA and the IMA, Sarfaraz excelled at boxing and squash. With service rules barring him from indulging in contact sports professionally, it was his induction into the Para Regiment in 2001 that gave him a taste for adventure sports, beginning with the Army’s2004 expedition to the 7,105m high Mt. Nun in Ladakh.
“I was deputy to Brig. Saurabh Singh Shekhawat there and he was the first person I called up to inform about this award and dedicate it to him,” the 43-year old Sarfaraz said.
And for all the gratitude he has for the award, he cannot wait to join his team on the next expedition. “My team is already at the base and getting the logistics ready. We will be starting sometime next week to try and go up Mt. Kangto (7060m). The thrill of climbing uncharted mountains is unparalleled,” Sarfaraz concluded.
