Aparna Kumar becomes first woman IPS officer to trek Antarctica South Pole

New Delhi : Good news! Aparna Kumar has become the first woman Indian Police Service (IPS) and ITBP officer to successfully trek to the South Pole, the southernmost point in Antarctica.

Aparna Kumar is a 2002-batch officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre and on 22 January, called on Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba. She mentioned the challenges she faced in her six-year career of professional mountaineering.

“The trek to the South Pole was very challenging, tough and amidst very, very cold climate. With this success, I have scaled prominent peaks in six continents and I’m looking forward to the seventh, which is Mt Dinali in North America, this year.” said Aparna Kumar to reporters during an interaction.

It is known to all that the South Pole is the coldest and driest place on Earth. The temperature there ranges from minus 37 degrees to minus 48 degrees and hence it makes the trek arduous and challenging.

It is worth-mentioning that the IPS officer is mother to two young kids and has finished her South Pole trek in eight days on 13 January. During her adventurous trek she was accompanied with seven other members. They together walked 111 miles.

Sources confirmed that Aparna Kumar had her advance mountaineering course in July 2014.

The officer, who joined the mountain warfare-trained border guarding force Indo-Tibetan Border Police last year on deputation, had her first brush with mountaineering when she was commanding a Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) battalion in Uttar Pradesh few years back. The ITBP guards the 3,488-km icy and high altitude Indian border with China.

Aparna Kumar who hails from Karnataka is now aiming to set her foot on the North Pole in April, to conquer both the poles successfully.