NEW DELHI, Sept 2:
An ITBP expedition team has scaled an over-22,000-foot tall mountain peak in Himachal Pradesh, the first such mission undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said on Wednesday.
The 16-member team of the mountain warfare-trained border-guarding force climbed the Leo Pargil peak on August 31 and September 1 in two batches, an ITBP spokesperson said.
The 22,222-foot tall peak is located in the remote Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh, close to the Tibet border.
“Leo Pargil in the Himalayan ranges is considered one of the most tough and technical peaks in India to climb.
“Mountaineers face problems of low oxygen, extreme cold and high-altitude sickness during this expedition,” the ITBP spokesperson said.
The team, drawn from the ITBP sector headquarters in Shimla, was led by Deputy Commandant Kuldeep Singh and also had Head Constable Pradeep Negi, who climbed the peak for the second time.
It was flagged off from Shimla on August 20 with the expedition being code-named “Yodha” or fighter.
“This is the first successful mountaineering mission undertaken by any team during the COVID-19 spread and the team members underwent training and carried out acclimatisation given the limitations of the pandemic,” the spokesperson said.
The about 90,000-personnel-strong Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is tasked with guarding the 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. It has successfully completed 213 mountaineering expeditions since its raising in 1962. (PTI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
