IAF team to scale Mount Everest
April 13th, 2011 - 10:50 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, April 13 (IANS) A 20-member Indian Air Force (IAF) mountaineering team, with 11 women officers among its members, will attempt to scale Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak.
The team, also consisting of a doctor and eight men, was flagged off on the mission by Air Officer-in-Charge (Administration) Air Marshal J.N. Burma here Wednesday.
“It is the first time in the history of IAF that ‘women in blue’ have embarked on an expedition to scale the highest peak on earth,” an air force release said here.
The idea of women officers scaling Mount Everest at 8,848 metres was conceived in early 2009. The mountaineers underwent rigorous training schedule at Siachen in 2010 and 2011.
The team members went on to scale progressively higher and tougher Himalayan peaks in the last two years beginning with Mount Stok Kangri at 6,121 metres in Leh, Mount Bhagirathi-II (6,512 metres) in Uttarkhand, Mount Kamet (7,757 metres) in Garhwal and Mount Saser Kangri-I (7,672 metres) in Ladakh, the statement said.
The team will be following the southeast ridge route used by Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in the first successful expedition to Mount Everest in 1953.
“The route involves technical challenges such as famous Khumbu icefall, which is extremely volatile and keeps shifting, numerous crevasses and ceracs,” the release said.
- IAF women mountaineering expedition to Mt. Saser Kangri flagged-off - Aug 16, 2010
- First set of IAF women scale Mount Everest - May 25, 2011
- More IAF climbers summit Everest (Lead) - May 25, 2011
- IAF women officers scale new heights, summit Mt. Kamet (With Images) - May 25, 2010
- Vice Chief of Air Staff flags in IAF's mountaineering expedition team - May 25, 2010
- IAF women officers to climb Everest - Sep 25, 2009
- Everest next, says woman IAF officer (With Images) - May 29, 2010
- IAF flags in Bhagirathi II mountaineering team - Oct 25, 2009
- (VM) Indian Army women's team to scale Mount Everest - Mar 12, 2012
- Indian Army women's team to again attempt Mt. Everest (Lead, superseding prervious story) - Mar 12, 2012
- Indian Army engineers summit Mount Kamet - Jun 08, 2011
- Mother of two becomes oldest Indian woman to climb Everest (with Image) - May 20, 2011
- Young girl from Arunachal to lead international expedition to Mt. Everest - Apr 18, 2011
- Assam mountaineer set to scale Mount Everest - Mar 23, 2012
- President flags-in Indian Army's Everest team - Jul 03, 2012
Tags: air marshal, bhagirathi, burma, crevasses, edmund hillary, garhwal, himalayan peaks, indian air force, khumbu icefall, mount everest, mountaineering, mountaineers, New Delhi, ridge route, saser, sherpa tenzing norgay, siachen, southeast ridge, stok kangri, technical challenges