Actress Sukhi Bal Climbs Ama Dablam, Sets Sights on Everest
Punjab‑born actress Sukhi Bal has reached 6,812 m on Nepal’s Ama Dablam, carrying her father’s photos, and now eyes Mount Everest as her next challenge.
Sukhi Bal topped Nepal’s Ama Dablam at 6,812 m, clutching her father’s pictures. The actress now aims for Everest, recalling his dream.
Sukhi Bal, Actress, Mountaineering, Ama Dablam, Everest, Nepal, Punjab, Australia, Trekking, Cadets
Punjab‑born but Australia‑based, actress Sukhi Bal has completed a climb that is as demanding as it is breathtaking. She reached the summit of Nepal’s Ama Dablam, which stands at 6,812 m, one of the Himalayan range’s most technically challenging peaks.
While at the top, the performer carried photographs of her late father, a gesture that highlighted the personal significance of the ascent. Bal’s father, Sardar Ranjit Singh, had inspired her love for mountains, a spark that has guided her to this point.
Her journey into serious trekking began two and a half years ago. Last year she finished the Everest Base Camp trek and summited Labouche Peak, which reaches 6,119 m. The training that followed was tough on both mind and body, Bal said. “Mentally you have to be 110% present. Physically you can be tired, but if you are mentally strong, you can pull yourself up. On a climb of seven, eight, sometimes nine hours—that is only possible through willpower and mental strength,” she added.
Guidance came from Malkit Singh, a fellow Punjabi who landed in New Zealand and summited Everest two years prior. Singh was the first to suggest that Bal visit Everest Base Camp, a decision that set her mountaineering career in motion. She returns to India annually for film and theatre work, a path that has run since her university days at Punjabi University, Patiala, where she earned a Master’s in Political Science.
Bal moved to Australia in 2007 with plans to stay for two years, but her need for action shifted her from acting to climbing. She now declares that mountaineering is “an external journey, but honestly it is about going inwards.” She recalled an adage that rang true during the trek: “You don’t climb mountains. Mountains allow you to climb them.”
For those looking to follow in her footsteps, Bal lists several key preparations:
- Prioritise leg strength – squats and stair climbing.
- Long walks with a weighted backpack to build a solid base.
- Acclimise to cold by training outdoors in winter, even in a simple T‑shirt.
- Take breathing exercises seriously due to high‑altitude lung strain.
- Incorporate yoga and meditation throughout the training.
With Ama Dablam behind her, the next target is the world’s highest peak, Everest. “Everest remains the summit of summits, the mountain my father dreamed of and the one I have been circling, in every sense, for most of my life,” Bal explained.