Panthalam native Hassan Khan earlier succeeded Everest, now Denali

PATHANAMTHITTA: On June 12th, the Indian tricolor got unfurled in the 20310 ft high Denali mountains in Alaska. Beaming in pride, it was Panthalam native Sheik Hassan Khan who reached the summit. Khan is an assistant section officer in the finance department inside the secretariat.

Khan earlier climbed atop Kilimanjaro and ascended Everset in a successful feat. He planned his next mission on Denali and completed it in 21 days. Denali might not fit in the class of Everest but is considered deadly for mountain trekking. At -51 degree Celsius, Khan fought frostbiting to reach the top. To be exact it was on June 12 morning at 10 am when he succeeded Denali. For this mission, Khan splashed around Rs 28,70,000 Indian money.

Khan is a trained mountaineer with varied experience and training from centers in Darjeeling and Uttarakhand. He is currently on leave from service, taking no salary from his department. It is through bank loans that Khan fulfills his mountain missions. Last year, he climbed Everest. And now, even before trekking down from Denali, Khan has fixed his mind on the next destination, Mount Elbrus.