Indian mountaineers create history, successfully scale Mt Brammah-I in J&K's Kishtwar

In a first for the Indian climbers, the Sonarpur Aarohi Club in West Bengal created history by successfully conquering Mt Brammah 1, standing at a formidable 6,416 metres, in Kishtwar district of Jammu. Known for its technical difficulties, the challenging peak of Mt Brammah-I was first scaled by British mountaineer Chris Bonnington about 50 years ago.

A total of nine climbers and five Sherpas accomplished the momentous summit, while three members coordinated the activities from the base camp - Rudra Prasad Halder, Partha Sarathi Layak, Satyarup Siddhanta, Rudra Prasad Chakraborty, Dr. Uddipan Halder, Debasish Majumder, Avik Mondal, Tuhin Bhattacharyya and Naitik Naskar along with Phursemba Sherpa, Nurbu Sherpa, Janga Bahadur Rai, Pass Dukya Sherpa and Dawa Nurbu Sherpa as Summit Sherpa Members successfully scaled the  formidable height of 21,050 ft in the Himalayas.

Where is Mt Brammah-I?

Located in the Kishtwar Himalayas of Jammu and Kashmir, Brammah stands as a mountain massif consisting of four peaks. These peaks, arranged from the west to the east are - Brammah I (6,416 m or 21,050 ft) which was first summited in 1973, Flat Top (6,103 m or 20,023 ft) which was first summited in 1980, Brammah II (6,485 m or 21,276 ft) which was first summited in 1975, and Arjuna (6,230 m or 20,440 ft) which was first summited in 1983. In 1973, the British mountaineer Chris Bonington, together with Nick Estcourt and with the support of the Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering, achieved the historic first ascent of Brammah-I via the Southeast Ridge.

Deputy Commissioner hails efforts of mountaineering team

Deputy Commissioner Kishtwar Dr. Devansh Yadav informed Republic that the journey to claim the heights started on July 16 after meticulous planning and cooperation from the district administration of Kishtwar and various government and military bodies. The initial attempt was abandoned due to inclement weather conditions and injury to a Sherpa member Tenzing Sherpa who fell approximately 70 meters but, fortunately, survived with bruises, cuts, shock, and snow blindness while searching for the summit route. “My congratulations to the team for their success. This achievement will open new avenues for future adventure tourism in the Kishtwar Himalayas,” he added.

After initial setback, another attempt was made within 30 hours. On the midnight of July 17, the team set out once again and at approximately 10:30 AM on July 18, they achieved their goal. The team recorded the height as 6,426 meters, which differed slightly from the topographic map's mentioned elevation of 6,416 meters, based on four devices' readings. Officials informed Republic that the team safely returned to the base camp on July 19 at 8:30 pm.