Vice Chief of Army staff flags off Indian Army Everest expedition

The 30 member Indian Army expedition team will now be able to attempt to summit Mt Everest the second time, as the expedition was ‘flagged off’ by Lt Gen MMS Rai, the Vice Chief of the Army staff on Tuesday at a ceremony held at South Block in the national Capital.

The team which comprises of five officers, four Junior Commissioned officers and 21 other ranks will be lead by Lt Col RS Jamwal, a reputed climber, who was also the team leader during last year’s Everest expedition.

The expedition team will reach Everest base camp on April 14 and they will make summit attempts between May 16-30. 

Two members of the team would also be attempting the Everest- Lhotse traverse and five members would be participating in Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon (THEM) on May 29.

 On completion of the expedition the team will return to Delhi on June 10. This is the same expedition team which was there at Everest base camp when tragedy struck Nepal on April 25 with a 7.9 Magnitude earthquake causing havoc and destruction.

The Everest base camp, otherwise considered the safest area, was struck by one of the most destructive avalanches the region has ever seen last year due to the Nepal earthquake. The avalanche which struck the Everest base camp from Mount Pumori destroyed camps of many expedition teams, killing 22 international climbers and local sherpas, and injuring more than 70, some of whom were critical due to severe head injuries. 

As various agencies gradually moved their mountaineers down, the Indian Army team was the last to leave Everest base camp.