Since the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards were announced last week, mountaineers all over the country are up in arms about one of the recipients in the Land Adventure category. The man in question is Narender Singh of Haryana, who faked his summit of Mount Everest in 2016 by providing photo-shopped images. He claimed he climbed Everest on May 20, 2016. However, his team leader Naba Kumar Phukon of Assam has said that Singh did not summit Mt Everest in 2016. Another witness, a member of a rescue team that season, has said Singh was actually rescued.

Speaking from Assam, Naba recounted the conversation between him and Singh. "On the evening of May 19, 2016, Narender and I were at South Col (Camp 4). Narender complained to me that he did not have sufficient oxygen, I advised him to descend as without oxygen one cannot summit Everest. I then left and summited Everest on May 20 at 7:45 am. On my return I met climbers from Bengal police at South Col and asked them about Narender. They mentioned that they met him mid-way between Camp 2 and 3. I met him again on May 21 at Camp 2, he had developed frostbite. When I left for base camp he was still at camp 2. I reached Kathmandu on May 23, received my certificate and came home."