Amid Pak protest, Indian Army plans trek to Siachen

[Sam Dhanraj]

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Siachen Trekkers are back talk about a cool time


After Return Video-1
Sicahen trekkers are back, talk about a cool time: IBNLive.com > Videos

Note the song "purani jeans" being sung by trekkers...a Track by Ali Haider ...a Pakistani singer and actor

After Return Video-2
Sicahen trekkers are back, talk about a cool time: IBNLive.com > Videos

[Mohammed Azizuddin]

Notwithstanding Pakistan's vociferous protests, Indian Army will organise a civilian mountaineering and trekking expedition to the forbidding Siachen Glacier for the second year in a row in October-November this year.

Even before the planned Siachen trekking kicks off, the Indian Army will take out its own expedition to the glacial heights of Khatling on the Indo-Tibetan border in Uttarakhand later this month.

"The Siachen trekking expedition this year is in its planning stage and we are determined to take civilian mountaineers to the Glacier this year. Khatling expedition by the Army's 15 Mechanised Infantry Regiment will take place from June 25 to July 7," an Army headquarter source said.

Both the expeditions are meant to show to the international audience that Indian troops hold both the Siachen and Khatling glacial heights and neither Pakistan nor China were anywhere near the two Glaciers.

Amidst reports of frequent intrusions by China's Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) into the Indian territory along the Indo-Tibetan border, the Khatling expedition would leave imprints of the Army team's visit to the Glacier.

"The imprints could be anything from an Indian-made shoe or a copy of an Indian newspaper adequately sealed in a plastic folder to ensure it does not get wet or damaged in the snowy terrain. This would enable India to assert Khatling

Glacier is its territory and counter any future threat of a Chinese claim," a source said.

The civilian Siachen expedition last September had run into a controversy after Pakistan lodged a strong protest, calling it "incongruous" to ongoing peace efforts between the two countries.

Though the Army halted the trip immediately after the protest, it went ahead with the trekking expedition after a go-ahead was given by the UPA government.

Despite protests from Pakistan, India maintains that it does not need Pakistan's approval to send trekkers to the 78 km-long Siachen, which is essentially an Indian territory.

The Khatling expedition team will comprise two officers and an equal number of Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs), apart from eight Other Ranks (ORs), all volunteers from the Regiment.

Inducted 10 days prior to the expedition, the team would also have an eight-member support team comprising a JCO and seven ORs.

The volunteers would undertake graduated acclimatization and endurance exercises in coordination with 2 Rajput Regiment, apart from liaising with the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering at Uttarkasi for experience on trekking and survival skills in high altitude.

The Khatling expedition would involve a 12-day trekking from Malla to Gaurikund, covering a distance of 165 km of icy heights, ultimately touching the Glacier at 4717m altitude.

The Khatling team would also send in Daily Situation Reports to the Army headquarters all along its trek to the Glacier.

Beginning the ascent from Sila at 2085m altitude, the Army team would go up the Glacier, touching Kush Kalyani, Kyarki, Parital, Sahasra Tal, Kalyani, Gowki and reach

Khatling Glacier on the eighth day. It would move to Mashar Tal, Vasuki Tal, Kedarnath and Gaurikhund in the second leg of its trek, sources said.

Source:Amid Pak protest, Army plans trek to Siachen

[Contrarian]

Army ignores Pak protest, launches civilian trek to Siachen


Notwithstanding Pakistan's vociferous protests, the Indian army [Images] on Wednesday launched a civilian mountaineering and trekking expedition to the forbidding Siachen Glacier for the second year in a row.

The 21-day expedition is meant to show to the international community that Indian troops hold the 72-km-long Siachen Glacier in the Saltoro Ridge region of Jammu and Kashmir [Images], and Pakistan was nowhere near it.

However, the aim of the trekking trip for 42 civilians -- including women, journalists, Defence Research and Development Organisation scientists, and Defence personnel -- is to promote adventure tourism among civilian youth of the country, army sources said.


"The participants for the trek have already gathered at Leh and are currently going through an acclimatisation and medical fitness examination process before they proceed to the glacier," an army official told PTI.

Defence Minister A K Antony will flag off the expedition from Leh on October 7, when the actual trekking of the glacier would begin.

The trekkers would move to Siachen Base Camp on October 7 and go through another round of acclimatisation and glacier-craft training and orientation there from 12 instructors from the Leh-based Army Mountaineering Institute.

The expedition team would comprise personnel from Indian Air Force, Navy, DRDO, Defence Accounts, Rastriya Indian Military College, Indian Mountaineering Federation, prominent Ladakh citizens, journalists and dependents of army personnel from the Northern Command, the sources said.


From October 12 to 19, the 42 mountaineering enthusiasts would complete a long trek from the Base Camp to Kumar Post at 16,000 feet, the most difficult part of the expedition traversing through frozen wasteland.

After the trek, the team would return to Leh on October 21 and return to their hometowns the next day.

The civilian Siachen expedition last September had run into a controversy after Pakistan lodged a strong protest, calling it 'incongruous' to the ongoing peace efforts with India.

Though the army halted the trip immediately after the protest, it went ahead with the trekking expedition after a go-ahead signal was given by the United Progressive Alliance government.


Despite protests from Pakistan, India maintains that it does not need its neighbour's approval to send trekkers to Siachen Glacier that was 'essentially an Indian territory' west of the 110-km-long Actual Ground Position Line.

In June-July this year, the army had taken out another expedition to the Khatling glacial heights on the Indo-Tibetan border in Uttarakhand [Images] 'to leave telltale signs of Indian Army's presence there, essentially to show to the world that it belonged to India' and to counter any future claim by China.

Amid reports of frequent intrusions by China's People's Liberation Army into the Indian territory along the Line of Actual Control, the Khatling expedition left "imprints which include an Indian-made shoe and a copy of an Indian newspaper adequately sealed in a plastic fodder to ensure it did not get wet or damaged in the snowy terrain".

It was in fact a Pakistan's move to send Japanese mountaineers to climb Rimo peak, located east of Siachen overlooking the Chinese-held Aksai Chin, in 1984 that prompted India to swiftly airlift its troops to the glacier under Operation Meghdoot.

Since then, Indian troops have been located at the uninhabitable glacial heights ranging from 16,000 feet to 22,000 feet.

In 1989, India and Pakistan agreed to demilitarise the glacier along the AGPL from the NJ-9842 ground reference point, where the well-delineated Line of Control [Images] simply stopped in the 1972 Simla Accord, to the Karakoram Pass.

But India wants the AGPL authenticated first for international safeguards before troop disengagement, withdrawal and finally demilitarisation of the glacier.

Though military guns boomed across the AGPL since 1984, when India outwitted Pakistan, they have gone silent since the November 2003 ceasefire agreement between the two countries.

Army launches civilian trek to Siachen

[nitesh]

what DRDO scientists are doing there? Something else cooking up?

[Goodperson]

what DRDO scientists are doing there? Something else cooking up?

To promote adventure tourism

[ashfaque]

I wish, I could also go there.....

[nitesh]

To promote adventure tourism

oops you just torpedoed my imagination.

[Goodperson]

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oops you just torpedoed my imagination.

nope its mentioned in title post.