15 mountaineers to embark on an expedition of Brammah in J&K

Kolkata: A team of 15 mountaineers from Bengal with a blend of veterans and beginners have started preparations to embark on an expedition of the Brammah in the Kishtwar Himalayas of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

There have been two or three attempts to scale the challenging Brammah but no Indian has ever completed the expedition till now.

Among the total six peaks in the Brahma massif in the Kishtwar Himalayas of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, the team is targeting Brammah-1 (6416 m) and Brammah’s Wife (5729 m).

Brammah-I is particularly notable both for its huge rise above local terrain and for its being the site of the first successful major climb in the Kishtwar Himalaya. British mountaineer Chris Bonington, along with Nick Estcourt and aided by the Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering, made the first ascent of Brammah-I in 1973 via the Southeast Ridge.

“We have taken up the challenge as it is not among the hotlist of mountains among the climbers. Most importantly, if we can successfully scale the mountain, our team will be the first from India to have done so,” mountaineer Satyarup Siddhanta said.

Satyarup from Kolkata has made the country proud by becoming the youngest in the world to have scaled the seven highest peaks and volcanic summits across continents.

Rudraprasad Halder, Partha Sarathi Lahiri, and Debashis Mazumder all veteran mountaineers will be part of the team, including some

promising young ones. The expedition is expected to start on June 30 and will continue for a month.

“We have gathered local weather inputs and have received feedback that with climate change adversely affecting weather conditions full-fledged rain will start from August. So hopefully we will be completing our expedition by then,” Siddhanta said.

The expedition is to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first successful expedition and ‘Azadi Ki Amrit Mahotsav’.