December 29, 2022
You might know Dalip Shekhawat or may know of his accomplishments. A teacher in the St.Amant school, he’s run ultra-marathons in a jungle and a desert and climbed Mount Everest. Two days before his latest venture, on December 1, 2022, Dalip received the Queen Elizabeth ll Platinum Jubilee Award.
The award is a medal, a tangible way for the Province of Manitoba to honour Queen Elizabeth’s service to Canada. Recipients must have a strong focus on community-mindedness, service, and reconciliation. Dalip checks all those boxes. One of Dalip’s local accomplishments is the creation of the group Rising Runners. Since 2020, Rising Runner community members have had a common goal: keep your physical health in check while making a difference in the world. The group helps raise funds and awareness for causes like homeless veterans, supporting the Wounded Warriors of Canada and the St.Amant Foundation, to name a few.
“The group is like friends and family now, we got to know each other over these past few years, we’ve helped each other stay fit and stay healthy, we created a community in a time when it was hard,” said Dalip, humbly.
For most, receiving a prestigious award is an incredible way to end the year- but for Dalip – there’s always room for more, his energy never ceases. He recently reached the South Pole and climbed Mount Vinson, one of the seven peaks on seven continents, on his list.
His journey to Mount Vinson, in Antarctica, started at the Union Glacier camp. From there, he cross-country skied, for approximately 12 days, 7-10 hours a day, 1138 kilometres, to the South Pole. Dalip, along with five other brave adventurers from around the world pulled limited gear on their sled. Each night, they camped with a tent and sleeping bag – only heated by their camp stove, when cooking dinner. At this time of year, it’s summer in that area of the world, meaning 24-hour sunshine. A blessing for the day, a curse when trying to sleep at night mentions Dalip. With an average temperature of minus 28 Celsius, without the windchill, the cold wasn’t going to stop the group.
After arriving at the South Pole, a plane picked up the team and brought them to Mount Vinson, where they started their five-day climb up the mountain, again, with only the gear on their back. When Dalip arrived at the South Pole and atop Mount Vinson, he raised a small St.Amant flag. While Dalip has many more plans for future extreme sports adventures he is always carrying the flag for important causes alongside him.
