In a first, NCC expedition scales Mount Everest

The first-ever expedition of the NCC to Mount Everest created history when its two teams scaled the world's highest peak May 19 and 20, an official said Monday.

The first team was led by Subedar Jagat Singh, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), and five cadets from the National Cadet Corps (NCC). The team scaled the peak at 7.30 a.m. Sunday.

"History was created when the first-ever Mount Everest expedition of NCC cadets scaled the world's highest peak in two teams on May 19 and May 20, 2013," the official statement said.

The second team of two NCOs and three NCC cadets scaled the peak at 6.35 a.m. Monday.

The NCC cadets who scaled the peak included four from Himachal Pradesh and three from Manipur.

Those who scaled the peak were Khimi Ram, Ashwani Kumar, Rajat and Karma Dawa from Himachal Pradesh, Phairembam Bidya Chand Singh and Chirom Shangkar Singh from Manipur, Arvind from Uttrakhand and Sandeep Rai from West Bengal.

The Indian Army personnel escorting the NCC expedition who scaled the peak were Subedar Jagat Singh, Havildar Rafiq Ahmed Malik, Havildar Raghuveer Chand, and Rifleman Ramesh Bahadur Thapa Magar.

The mountaineering team was led by Col S.C. Sharma, a renowned mountaineer, and comprised 18 members, including four "support members."

The team was flagged off by Minister of State for Defence Jitendra Singh on April 3.

The team had carried out extensive training at Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) Darjeeling and undertaken two pre-Everest expeditions to Mount Deo Tibba and Mount Kamet.

The team had also carried out winter acclimatisation training at the Siachen Glacier before embarking on mission "Mount Everest".

NCC director general Lt. Gen P.S. Bhalla complimented all the team members for their achievements.