Gurdial Singh (mountaineer)

[5][6] [7] In 1965, he was a member of the first successful Indian expedition team to climb Mount Everest.

[10] Singh has been described as "the first true Indian mountaineer", and in 2020, the Himalayan Journal noted "Gurdial climbed for pleasure, to enjoy the mountains in the company of friends, to savour the beauty and grandeur of the high ranges, not to find fame or bag summits.

"[11] Gurdial Singh joined The Doon School in 1945 and it was here that he was influenced by Englishmen such as John Martyn, R.L.

[10][12] Together, they scaled many peaks including Bandarpunch, Trisul, Kamet, Abi Gamin and Nanda Devi.

[11][15] He died following complications due to a hip fracture and chikungunya at his home in Chandigarh, on 30 May 2023.

A colourised image of Gurdial Singh performing Shirshasana on the summit of Trisul in 1951. Mountaineer and chronicler Harish Kapadia has written in his book, Across Peaks & Passes in Garhwal Himalaya : "To my mind, it was when Gurdial Singh climbed Trisul in 1951 that was the beginning of the age of mountaineering for Indians." [ 4 ]
An acrostic , penned by renowned novelist and writer Vikram Seth (after Singh's death), dedicated to Gurdial Singh, who was Seth's housemaster at The Doon School in the late 1960s.