Pahalgam: The Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering and Winter Sports (JIM&WS), Pahalgam, on Thursday announced that it had completed two high-altitude expeditions in Eastern Ladakh, claiming several national firsts in mountaineering and paragliding.
Addressing a press conference in Pahalgam, Principal of the institute Col Hem Chandra Singh said the expeditions were conducted in the Khyam Tso Massif and Mt Chamser Kangri regions under challenging terrain and weather conditions.
According to the institute, a 22-member expedition flagged off on June 26 successfully completed a quadruple summit of the Khyam Tso Massif in the Rumtse Phu region. The team summited Peak Point 5901 on July 2, Peak 6090 and Peak Point 5944 on July 3, and Mt Khyam-III (6,018 metres) on July 5, which it claimed was the first recorded ascent of the previously unclimbed peak.
The institute also claimed that Col Singh carried out the first-ever paragliding launch from an altitude of 5,600 metres at the Khyam Tso Massif during the expedition.
A second, 23-member mountaineering-cum-paragliding expedition, flagged off from Sonamarg on July 15, climbed Mt Chamser Kangri (6,622 metres) on July 20. The institute said the ascent was completed in 23 hours and 50 minutes.
According to JIM&WS, Col Singh and Lt Col Vikas Dhuria (Retd.) then executed the first-ever paragliding descent from the summit of Mt Chamser Kangri to the road-head camp at an altitude of 4,700 metres. Another expedition member, Nikhil Reddy, also completed a paragliding flight from the summit camp at 6,000 metres.
The institute claimed the expeditions achieved several milestones, including the first ascent of Mt Khyam-III, the first paragliding flight from Tanglang La Pass, the first paragliding launch from 5,600 metres at the Khyam Tso Massif, the fastest recorded ascent of Mt Chamser Kangri, and the first paragliding descent from its summit.
Col Singh said the expeditions demonstrated the institute’s training standards and would help promote adventure tourism and high-altitude adventure sports in the country.
