Dehradun: The closing ceremony of the 'Soul of Steel' event was organised in Ghamsali on Sunday. It was attended by GOC-in-C Central Command, GOC UB Area and a huge gathering of school students, local villagers, officers and soldiers of the Indian Army, ITBP, and NDRF amongst many others, a release said.
The first-of-its-kind, the "Soul of Steel Himalayan Challenge" was conducted in forward areas of the Garhwal Himalayan region with the aim to achieve the BJP-led central governments initiative of 'Vibrant Village' to arrest migration from border areas by unlocking the tourism potential of Himalayas and create income sources for the locals. The 'Soul of Steel' event, supported by the Indian Army in collaboration with Conquer Land Air Water (CLAW) Global, was launched by Defence Minister on January 14 at Dehradun. The campaign was started on the 120th Raising Year of 9 (Independent) Mountain Brigade Group.
The event showcased a unique blend of specialized skills including high-altitude mountaineering, extreme cold survival, and psychological and physical endurance. The challenge opens the domain of niche military skills to an average youth who wishes to challenge his/her physical and psychological limits.
The challenge attracted interest from 1401(including 94 women) highly skilled athletes, adventure sports enthusiasts and armed forces aspirants.
"These applicants were put through a gruelling two-stage screening process, out of which only 23 (including two women) of them were finally selected to undergo a 10-week long extensive training in endurance, mountaineering, survival and rescue skills under the joint team of experts from Indian Armed Forces and CLAW Global. The participants were trained to operate beyond the assumed limits of their bodies, to discover the limitless realms of their minds, consciousness and spirit," a press release stated.
The final phase of the event was held from June 10 to 17, in which 18 Soul of Steel warriors set out on a challenge to compete as teams of three along the rugged mountainous terrain of the Garhwal Himalayas, at an altitude of 17000 feet and covered a distance of 65 kilometres through glaciers, ice walls, rock faces and snow-capped Himalayan peaks. The challenge tested their self-sustained mountain climbing, survival, navigation skills, psychological endurance and physical toughness.
"In this challenge, only the toughest competed, few sustained and the best won but everyone evolved," the release read further. The event also featured breathtaking performances by Indian Army on rock climbing, mixed martial arts and Kalaripayattu, which enthralled the audience. The local villagers regaled the audience with regional folk dances and songs, the statement added.
The chief guest felicitated the winning team with medals and trophies and announced the opening of 'The Human Ability Biome', which will act as a perennial hub for advanced skill training courses in Land, Air and Water adventure activities, life skill training, environmental conservation, forestry training programs, rehabilitation and research aimed at harnessing the potential of the human mind and body. —ANI
