A joint team comprising members of the Indian Army and the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) of Darjeeling, and civilians scaled two mountains of the greater Himalayas in north Sikkim last week.

The expedition was a part of the multiple adventure activities conducted under the Eastern Command Trans Theatre Adventure Activities (ECTTAA) — 2022 of the army. The Trishakti Corps and the Striking Lion Division of the army organised the expedition that was led by Gp Capt Jai Kishan, the principal of the HMI.

Altogether, there were 24 mountaineers in the team, including four civilians, two of whom were women. One of the peaks scaled by the team was Mt Jonsang located at a height of 7,462 metres.

According to army sources, Mt Jonsang is among the Himalayan peaks which are most difficult to be conquered because of the arduous approach, frequent avalanches, rock falls and treacherous terrains.

The second peak the team scaled was Mt Domekhang. The mountaineers made detailed plans and the base camp was set up at anew location with an aim to promote and make the area of Goma Chu accessible for tourism and for mountaineers to try their skills in this part of Sikkim Himalayas.

“Since the route to Mt Jonsang and Mt Domekhang (the other peak located at a height of 7,264 metres) has a common passage which required fixing of rope, the team took the lead and opened the route to Camp 3. The first attempt at summiting Mt Jonsang was stalled because of the added challenge of negotiating a cornice crack. However, on September 22, the team could make it to the summit of Mt Domekhang and hoisted the Indian Tricolor,” said a source.

After the success, the team braved extreme cold conditions, negotiated the avalanche face of Mt Jonsang and an added obstacle of the cornice crack and could reach its summit on September 23.“Since 1930, when the first team had made it to the summit of Mt Jonsang, this is the third successful climb,” the source said.

“In 2012, another team had scaled the peak.”After the expedition, Lt Gen Tarun Kumar Aich, the GOC of Trishakti Corps that is headquartered at Sukna, on the outskirts of Siliguri, interacted with the expedition team at Dolma Sampa, a plateau in north Sikkim. He complimented the team for the achievement and said the expedition would encourage mountaineers and adventure sports enthusiasts to join in similar events in Sikkim.