NEW DELHI: Indo Tibetan Border Police DIG Aparna Kumar has become the first Indian civil servant to scale the Mount Denali in Alaska, the highest mountain peak in North America.
The officer climbed the peak on her third attempt, and also completed her "Seven Summits" Challenge, an ITBP statement said here. An IPS officer of 2002 batch from the UP Cadre, Kumar is at present posted as DIG, ITBP Northern Frontier at Dehradun.
She left India for the mission on June 15 and was expected to reach the summit around July 10. But due to fair weather and also her tenacity, unflinching spirit and unflappable mind, Kumar reached the target much before. She unfurled the Tricolour and the the ITBP flag at the summit.
After the spectacular feat, the officer's next target is to reach the North Pole in the summer of 2020 and complete the "Explorer's Grand Slam" (Seven Summits and the North and South Pole), which has been achieved only by a handful of people so far.