Srinagar: Joint Team of All Jammu Kashmir Mountaineering Foundation (AJKMF) and Jawahar Institute Of Mountaineering And Winter Sports (JIM & WS) under the leadership of Col Hem Chandra Singh, Principal JIM&WS successfully summited Mt Kolahoi on September 6.
A statement said that the team included the Principal, 3 Instructors from JIM&WS and 12 members from All Jammu Kashmir Mountaineering Foundation.
On September 3, the team was flagged off by Col Hem Chandra Singh from JIM & WS Nunwan Pahalgam for the expedition to conquer Kolahoi, the valley’s highest and most arduous peak to climb.
The team left Aru at 10 am in the morning and reached the intermediate base camp at Satlanjan at 4 pm and camped there for a night. On the next day, the team moved towards Dood Sar which is at an elevation of 3750m ASL and established a base camp there, the statement said. It said that technical equipment and ration were distributed among the team members before leaving for advance basecamp on the next day. On the morning of September 5, the team moved towards Advanced Base camp i.e. the main Kolahoi Glacier. The team roped up and started ascending the glacier; negotiating crevasses, icefalls and overhangs. The effects of global warming have also taken their toll on the main Kolahoi Glacier, making the route more treacherous and difficult. The team reached the advanced base camp (4700m ASL) at 1 p.m. and immediately pitched tents as it started snowing.
On September 6 morning,the team left ABC and approached the eastern ridge route to Kolahoi, the same which was taken by the first successful expedition, led by Kenneth Mason and Dr Ernest Neve in 1912. Finally at 1015 hrs on 06 September 6 team successfully reached the snowcapped summit of Mt.Kolahoi, the statement.