Solan: Baljeet Kaur, a professional extreme athlete and mountaineer from Himachal Pradesh, has been selected for the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2024. While her name has been officially announced as a recipient, the formal presentation of the award—along with the physical trophy and citation—will take place at a later date, as per the government’s schedule.
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports recently announced the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards for 2024. The awards are given in four categories – land, water and air adventure expeditions, and lifetime achievement. The government selected Ms Kaur, along with Skalzang Rigzin, Rimo Saha, and Shiv Prasad Chamoli for this year’s award. Ms Kaur has been honoured in the land adventure category.
The award seeks to promote individual achievements in adventure expeditions and encourage qualities such as endurance, risk-taking ability, teamwork and quick decision-making in challenging situations.
Hailing from a small village in Kandaghat tehsil of Solan district, Ms Kaur’s journey to the pinnacle of mountaineering is a story of determination. Her father, Amrik Singh, is a bus driver with the Himachal Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (HRTC), and her mother, Shanti Devi, is a homemaker. Growing up, Ms Kaur would help her mother with farming alongside her three siblings.
Ms Kaur’s list of mountaineering accomplishments is extensive. On May 12, 2021, she became the first Indian woman to hoist the tricolour on Mount Pumori (7,161 metres) in Nepal. The same year, she also scaled Mount Dhaulagiri (8,167 metres).
Her exceptional abilities were further demonstrated when she scaled world’s challenging peaks including Mount Everest, Lhotse, and Makalu in just seven days, two hours and eight minutes. She also became the first Indian woman to complete the Everest and Lhotse climb in 25 hours and 20 minutes.
In 2022, Ms Kaur scripted history by becoming the first Indian to climb five 8,000-metre peaks – Annapurna, Kanchenjunga, Everest, Lhotse, and Makalu – in a single season of less than 30 days.
Reacting to the announcement of her selection, Ms Kaur described it as a moment of pride and humility, dedicating her success to everyone who supported her mountaineering journey.
The mountaineer’s success from the village trails to the world’s highest peaks serves as an inspiration for daughters of Himachal Pradesh. This recognition is expected to further strengthen the state’s growing identity in adventure sports. Her achievement has sparked celebrations in her village and surrounding areas, with locals calling it a proud moment for the region.
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has announced that the awardees will be conferred the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan, along with the National Sports Awards 2025. However, the date of the ceremony has not been finalized yet and will be announced separately. Until that official ceremony takes place, only the selection has been confirmed; the physical presentation of the award remains pending.
Each winner will receive a bronze statuette, a certificate, and a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh at the formal ceremony. The national selection committee selected the winners based on evaluation and scrutiny of the nominations. Her recognition is expected to inspire young women in Himachal Pradesh and strengthen the state’s growing presence in adventure sports.
