6000 m (19,685 ft) virgin peak in Himachal Pradesh summited by Arjun Vajpai and Bhupesh Kumar
(Press Release by Anil Nair) In one of the rare alpine style climbs in India, multiple world record holder, Indian mountaineer Arjun Vajpai has summited a 6000 m (19,685 ft) virgin peak in Himachal Pradesh.
Vajpai, 22, reached the summit at 6180 meters, along with his climbing partner Bhupesh Kumar on October 14 at 9 am.
Alpine style climbs are rare in India and that too on unclimbed / un-named virgin peaks towering at 6000 m.
This involves climbing to the top, often with minimal gear, food and no support staff, and sometimes sacrificing comfort, sleep and nourishment to obtain the objective.
The Virgin Peak towers near the Bara-Sigri Glacier in the Spiti Valley and is close to a popular climbing peak named Cathedral, which is frequently climbed by mountaineers associated with the Indian Mountaineering Foundation – India’s apex body in mountain climbing.
“Dream big and dare to chase it…I am delighted to announce that in true alpine style, I summited the Virgin Peak along with Delhi’s Bhupesh Kumar. It is a technically challenging mountain with lots of deep snow, hidden crevasse fields and abundant rock. It is an extremely cold environment.”
The Expedition began from Noida to Manali to Batal. Once at the snout of the glacier leading to the Virgin Peak, they set up camps as they climbed:
Snout Camp 4100m.
Snout to Intermediate Camp 4400m.
Intermediate to Base camp 4700m.
Base camp to Summit camp 5500m. u2028
Summit camp to Summit 6180m.
Summited the Virgin Peak at around 9am on October 14th, 2015.
“Oct 15th, as we celebrate our late Hon’ President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam‘s birthday, as the first ever humans to set foot on top of this virgin mountain, I along with Bhupesh, name this peak Mount Kalam.”
Highlighting his journey, from a Fisherman’s son to the President of the largest democracy in the world, which is quite similar to what a mountaineer takes on while climbing along virgin nature. END
#mountaineering #mountkalam #ArjunVajpai
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