New Delhi: The Indian Army has picked 20 climbers for an expedition that will in April attempt to reach the 8,850 metre summit of Mount Everest, the world's highest peak.
Lt Col I S Thapa of the Maratha Light Infantry will lead the expedition that is likely to be flagged off in the second half of March, a defence ministry release said on Wednesday.
The team will attempt Everest from the north face, which is considered the most difficult route to the summit.
This will be the Indian Army's fourth expedition to Everest. An all-women's team had reached in the summit in 2005.
Prior to that, expeditions were successfully launched in 2001 and 2003.
Eighty army personnel had volunteered for the expedition, of whom 45 were selected to undergo an advanced mountaineering course at the Western Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Manali.
The team then trained by scaling Mount Bhagirthi-II (6,510 m) and Mount Mana (7,273 m) in Garhwal region of the Himalayas.
The final selection of the 20 members, of which 14 will be summiteers and six support staff, was carried out after a fruitful training session at the Siachen glacier.
Comments
0 comment