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An Indian Army team scaled Mount Shahi Kangri and Mount Silver Peak near the China border in Depsang to honour Galwan heroes and promote Ladakh tourism, showcasing military endurance and encouraging high-altitude adventure sports.
New Delhi: With objectives to pay homage to the heroes of Galwan and also promote the border tourism in Ladakh, a team of 28 military personnel scaled Mount Shahi Kangri and Mount Silver Peak recently.
Leh-based Fire & Fury Corps commander Lt Gen Hitesh Bhalla flagged in the mountaineering expedition on June 18, which was flagged off on May 28.
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The Depsang plains
Situated on the Karakoram Ranges near Depsang plains, Mount Silver Peak and Mount Shahi Kangri are snowbound throughout the year, presenting severe terrain and climatic hardships.
It must be noted that Depsang Plains are critical to India’s strategic interests as they are closed to the Siachen Glacier and Karakoram Pass.
Situated at an average altitude of 17,400 ft, Depsang means “open, elevated plain” in Tibetan dialect.
Roughly covering 800 sqm, the western part of the plains is controlled by India, while the eastern part falls in Aksai Chin, occupied by China.
The significance of expedition
An Indian Army official said that the aim of this mountaineering expedition was to pay homage to soldiers who made supreme sacrifice fighting against the Chinese in Galwan on June 15, 2020.
Consider as the most challenging regions of Ladakh, the expedition to these mountains showcases physical, technical and mental excellence of military personnel. The expedition also promotes high altitude expeditions in remote areas that offer challenging terrain and fabulous views for mountaineers.
The military personnel who were selected had exceptional ice craft and rock craft skills for the expedition and then trained for high altitude endurance.
“With meticulous planning and training, the expedition team approached the peaks from the South Easterly direction, reducing the overall distance of the summit but involved navigating through some of the most treacherous terrain filled with crevasses, cornice and glaciers.”
In addition to achieving the challenging milestone, “the expedition also serves to attract civil mountaineering expedition teams in future to participate in scaling these twin peaks, thus promoting adventure tourism in Ladakh.”
