Actress Sukhi Bal Scales 6,812m Ama Dablam, Eyes Everest
Punjabi actress Sukhi Bal, based in Australia, summits the technical 6,812‑metre Ama Dablam in Nepal, carrying her late father’s photos and now planning to tackle Everest.
Sukhi Bal, the Punjab‑born actress, just reached the summit of Mount Ama Dablam. She now has her sights firmly set on conquering Everest.
Sukhi Bal, Ama Dablam, Everest, mountaineering, Punjabi actress, Australia, Nepal, trekking, Himalayas, adventure
For Sukhi Bal, the toughest role isn’t on a film set – it’s up at 6,812 metres on a brutally technical Himalayan peak.
The Punjab‑born, Australia‑based actress recently stood atop Mount Ama Dablam in Nepal. At the summit she tucked away photographs of her parents – a nod to her late father, Sardar Ranjit Singh, who sparked her love for mountains.
“I told my father — this is 6,812 metres, one of the most technical peaks,” she said, feeling his presence as she looked down.
Her mountaineering journey began about two and a half years ago, when trekking turned from hobby to serious sport. Last year she completed the Everest Base Camp trek and also summited Labouche Peak (6,119 m).
Training, she explains, was grueling – mentally 110 % present, physically tiring but doable with willpower. “A climb of seven, eight, sometimes nine hours is only possible through mental strength,” she notes.
Mentor Malkit Singh, a fellow Punjabi who summited Everest two years ago, guided her early steps and first suggested Everest Base Camp – a trip that set everything rolling.
Bal splits her time between Australia and India, returning yearly for film and theatre projects. She earned a Master’s in Political Science from Punjabi University, Patiala, before moving to Australia in 2007, initially for just two years.
“Acting is my first passion, my first love,” she admits, “but I had so much energy in me. I diverted it towards mountaineering.”
Now Everest is the next target. “Everest remains the summit of summits, the mountain my father dreamed of and the one I have been circling for most of my life,” she says, adding a reflective line about mountains allowing us to climb them.
She also shares a quick checklist for aspiring climbers: focus on leg strength with squats and stair climbing, long weighted walks, winter outdoor training in a T‑shirt to get used to cold, breathing exercises for high‑altitude lung strain, and underpin everything with yoga and meditation.
No tidy ending here – the journey, the training, the dream of Everest – all still unfolding as she prepares for the next big push.