Deputy Conservator of Forests, Koppal, S Prabhakaran has become the first Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer to scale Mount Everest. After scaling Mt Everest, this 29-year-old officer is planning his next expedition to 8,210 metre-high Mount Cho- Oyu in Tibet.

Prabhakaran was chocked with emotions as he recollected his 40-day experience with the media and forest department officials here on Monday.

In 2015, he had tried to scale Mt Everest from the southern (Nepal) side but could not. The team had to return from Camp One due to earthquake and avalanche.

It was then he decided to attempt from the northern (China) side. Southern side is frequented by many Indians and foreigners, but very few climb from the northern side, with limited rescue operations making it more challenging.

His asthma did not hit enthusiasm. “I was slower than my teammates while climbing. But that did not affect me. I later matched their tempo as all of us were using oxygen cylinders from 7,000 metres above mean sea level. I had consulted doctors who had told me that asthma is not curable, but physical activities help build stamina,” he said.

Prabhakaran was accompanied by Sohail Sharma and Radhika, IPS officers from Maharashtra and Telangana respectively, a tribal boy from Telangana and a single-amputee from Telangana.

“I will never forget the moment I reached the peak. It was a rush of emotions- tears, smile and pride. I knew that it was only half success, the second half was when I returned to the base camp on May 22. Sharma and I were together from Katmandu. We experienced the first mild earthquake there. Later in Lassa, we experienced another earthquake when we were in the hotel room. But still we decided to go for it and the mountains accepted us,” he said.

Prabhakaran underwent a Himalayan mountaineering course in Darjeeling in 2015. In 2016, he was a part of Shekhar Babu’s team, the first civilian to scale Mt Everest from the northern side.

Prabhakaran said his inspiration was Lance Naik Hanumathappa Koppad who was buried under the ice for a week after an avalanche in Siachen and died later in a  hospital. “Last year, I was stuck in ice for two minutes and had a near encounter with death. I salute Koppad,” the IFS officer said. Prabhakaran is a black belt in karate, a kabaddi, cricket, football and basketball player.

He now plans to train youngsters in Koppal region to scale such heights. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests A K Singh said the department will encourage more forest officials to scale peaks.
DH News Service

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State / DHNS, Bengaluru – May 31st, 2016