The expedition to Mount Everest will be led by Colonel Anshuman Bhadauria, while the one to Kangchenjunga will be led by Colonel Ranveer Singh Jamwal. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Joint expeditions to Kangchenjunga and Mount Everest were flagged off by the Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth at South Block on Wednesday (March 26, 2025).
“By successfully summiting both mountains, the teams will set a new benchmark and inspire young mountaineers across the country and the world at large,” Mr. Seth said at the flag-off ceremony.
The expedition to Mount Everest will be led by Colonel Anshuman Bhadauria, while the one to Kangchenjunga will be led by Colonel Ranveer Singh Jamwal. The latter journey, commencing on April 7, is a landmark one as Kangchenjunga is India’s highest and only 8,000-metre peak, making it one of the most challenging summits in the world, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a statement.
The expedition to Mount Everest is being organised in collaboration with the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI), Darjeeling, and the Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering and Winter Sports (JIMWS), Jammu and Kashmir to commemorate 60 years of the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand.
The Kangchenjunga expedition has been organised by the National Institute of Mountaineering and Adventure Sports (NIMAS), Dirang, Arunachal Pradesh under its ‘Har Shikhar Tiranga’ initiative. Colonel Bhadauria is the Principal, NIM, and Colonel Jamwal is Director, NIMAS.
To Kangchenjunga
The expedition to Kangchenjunga comprises of five highly skilled climbers and three support staff led by Colonel Jamwal, an ace mountaineer who has scaled Mount Everest thrice and received the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award in 2013. Noting that NIMAS had already successfully climbed the highest peaks in 27 States of India, the MoD said that with the summit of Mount Kangchenjunga, all 28 States would be covered.
To Mount Everest
The team comprises of seven highly skilled climbers from NIM, HMI and JIMWS, all of whom have extensive experience in high-altitude mountaineering and extreme conditions, the statement said. The team will embark on its journey on April 2, following the traditional South Col Route in Nepal. “Their journey will include climbing through the treacherous Khumbu Valley, acclimatisation at extreme high-altitude camps and extensive preparation for the summit push in May 2025. This expedition is aimed at providing invaluable first-hand Everest experience to instructors, enabling them to train and inspire future generations of Indian mountaineers,” the MoD said.
Published – March 27, 2025 06:48 pm IST