A 23-member expedition of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), led by Deputy Commandant Parikshit Shah, scaled the 7,355-metre-high (24,131 feet) Mt Abi Gamin in Uttarakhand on September 16.
The expedition was flagged off from ITBP headquarters in New Delhi on August 7 by Director General Shatrujeet Kapur. The team spent weeks undertaking the demanding high-altitude climb before reaching the summit and unfurling the Tricolour.
ITBP said the expedition demonstrated the force’s mountaineering skills, endurance and team spirit. DG Kapur congratulated the team, known within the force as the “Himveers”, for the achievement.
Where is Mt Abi Gamin?
Mt Abi Gamin, also known as Ibi Gamin, is located in the Garhwal Himalayas in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, close to the India-Tibet border. The 7,355-metre peak lies about 2 km northeast of Mt Kamet, one of the highest peaks in the region. Its summit is on the India-Tibet frontier, while its northern slopes extend towards Tibet.
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{{/usCountry}}The mountain is part of the Kamet massif and is linked to Kamet by the high Meade’s Col. The terrain includes glaciers, snow slopes and technically challenging sections, making an ascent a demanding high-altitude mountaineering exercise.
ITBP’s mountaineering tradition
The force guards some of India’s most difficult high-altitude frontier areas and regularly trains its personnel in climbing, rescue and survival techniques in snowbound terrain.
The ITBP’s mountaineering activities have also included expeditions to several major Himalayan peaks. An Indian Mountaineering Foundation record, for instance, documents an eight-member Indian Navy team climbing Abi Gamin in 2003 after establishing camps progressively above 4,600 metres and negotiating glacier and ice sections.
For Shah, the latest climb was significant. The ITBP officer, who hails from Nainital, dedicated the achievement to Maa Nanda-Sunanda, revered deities of Uttarakhand.
“This success is not merely about reaching a summit; it is a victory of indomitable willpower and faith. We have dedicated it at the feet of Maa Nanda-Sunanda and prayed that her blessings always remain upon everyone,” Shah said.
A peak with a long climbing history
Abi Gamin has a long history of mountaineering attempts. The first successful ascent was recorded in 1950 by an Anglo-Swiss expedition, which approached the mountain from the north through Tibet and crossed the Mana Pass. Indian expeditions subsequently climbed the peak in the 1950s.
The peak stands at 7,355 metres, or more than 24,000 feet above sea level, placing climbers in an extreme high-altitude environment where low oxygen, freezing temperatures, rapidly changing weather and difficult terrain can make even basic movement challenging.