In a first, NIM-JIMWS mountaineers jointly climb Mount Everest
Three climbers from South Kashmir's Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering and Winter Sports (JIMWS) on Tuesday brought laurels to Jammu and Kashmir by scaling Mount Everest. "The joint expedition of JIMWS, at Pahalgam in Anantnag District of South Kashmir, in collaboration with Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) successfully summited Mount Everest at 06:20 hours on June 1," an official at the JIMWS said.
It was the first international expedition by JIMWS
The official said, "The expedition marks the first international expedition by JIMWS. This was also the first of its kind joint expedition by two mountaineering institutes under the leadership of Principal of JIMWS Colonel IS Thapa and Principal of NIM, Colonel Amit Bisht."
A look at the team of mountaineers
The team includes Havaldar Mohammad Iqbal Khan, Havaldar Chander Negi and Mahafooz Ilahi from JIMWS, and Havaldar Anil Kumar and Deep Sahi from NIM, along with Lhakpa Nuru Sherpa, Pemba Tshering Sherpa, Parita Sherpa, Tshering Tashi Sherpa, Dorje Sherpa, and Any Chhombi Sherpa. The team halted at second camp on Tuesday and is expected to be back at Everest base camp on Wednesday.
Two devastating cyclones impacted this year's Everest expedition
The official said, "Cyclone Tauktae and Cyclone Yaas in 10 days had a big impact on this year's Everest expedition with blizzards, heavy snowfall, the frequent quick change in weather conditions and avalanches a common occurrence." "Along with the cyclone, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic also made this year different from the previous year's Everest expedition," he said.
The team began climbing on May 30
"The joint team had begun the expedition from Delhi on April 1 and reached the Everest base camp in Khumbu glacier area on April 12 where they practiced for days to acclimatize themselves to the conditions," Ashish Uniyal of NIM's IT wing said. They began climbing the peak on May 30. The expedition was flagged off by the Defense Ministry's Joint Secretary (Armed Forces).
The expedition was postponed last year due to COVID-19 pandemic
According to the official, the expedition was supposed to take place in 2020 but had to be postponed due to last year's COVID-19 restrictions. Notably, Colonel Thapa has previously also lead and summited an Army expedition to Mount Everest from the north face (Tibet) in 2007 for which he was bestowed with Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM).
The team successfully climbed Mount Lobuche on April 24
After proper acclimatization, the team went for summiting Mount Lobuche East (6,119 meters) as part of the acclimatization rotation. "The team also successfully climbed Mount Lobuche on April 24, which is technically a tough peak on the Nepal Himalayas. For the first time, the flags of both national institutes along with the Indian national flag were hoisted on an international mountain peak," Uniyal said.
