Teen brigade to conquer Everest

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“Belonging to a small city in Punjab called Muktsar, I always loved to travel and read. Playing hockey, football and table tennis also excited me. But I never even thought that I would be a part of the youngest team that would be scaling the Mount Everest,” says Fateh Singh Brar, an 11th grade student of St. Lawrence School, Sanawar, who was in the city along with his six other batchmates, Harkirat Singh Grewal, Prithvi Chahal, Shubham Kaushik, Ajay Sohal and Guribadat Singh, to address the media.
The teenagers, four from Punjab, one from Delhi and one from Himachal Pradesh, were trained by Colonel N. Rana of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI), Darjeeling. The feat under the aegis of brand Woodland is called “Teens Tame Everest” project.
“The idea of sending the world’s youngest team was inspiring and challenging. The idea for the project came alive seven months back and we started working to create the great team,” said Col. Rana, who will be leading the expedition that starts on April 7.
“Most of us have a certain adventurous streak and enjoy all forms of physical activities. Out of the 30 students who enrolled for the course, only few of us managed to complete the basic and advanced levels,” said Shubham.
Isn’t the high altitude intimidating? “This expedition is a sharp turn in our life because living in extreme condition and traversing difficult terrains isn’t going to be very easy. Getting this opportunity early in my life makes me feel lucky,” adds Ajay.