In a first, Manali duo skis down 6,111-m high peak

  • | Thursday | 21st June, 2018

Our purpose behind skiing down from Yunam peak is to popularize skiing and trekking in remote and extremely high Himalayan peaks. Contrary to most of the other high-altitude peaks, Yunam has comparatively smoother slope. Skiing season generally starts in mid-November and ends in March but skiing on Yunam is possible till August. “They have to submit all required documents including evidences like photos and videos to the IMF, Delhi, to verify their claim. This is amazing place where skiing is possible almost round the year.”“We want to see more skiers and trekkers here.

MANALI: In an attempt to enter record books, two skiers from Manali have skied down 6,111-m high peak in Himachal Pradesh The peak, locally known as Yunam peak and situated close to Ladakh , had been climbed by some mountaineers before this, but nobody had attempted to ski down till date.The skiers, Praveen Sood and Ludar Thakur, achieved the feat on June 17.Praveen and Ludar videographed the whole expedition that they would send along with other documents to the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF), Delhi, for official record.The IMF, according to officials, has no such record before this successful expedition.The peak is surrounded by huge glaciers and most parts of the mountain face remain covered with snow till August. The mountaineers, especially Japanese, have attempted skiing from many high-altitude Himalayan peaks including 6,001m-high Deo Tibba, but there is no official record of skiing from Mt Yunam.IMF coordinator for Himachal Rajeev Sharma said the skiers had taken permission from IMF to carry out the expedition and they have informed him that they skied down from the peak. “They have to submit all required documents including evidences like photos and videos to the IMF, Delhi, to verify their claim. To best of my knowledge, there is no such record before this. Still, a team will check if the duo is the first to achieve the feat.”Both the skiers who carried out many recces before this expedition returned to Manali on Tuesday.Praveen said, “Not just we skied down, but also we climbed with skis on. Our purpose behind skiing down from Yunam peak is to popularize skiing and trekking in remote and extremely high Himalayan peaks. This is amazing place where skiing is possible almost round the year.”“We want to see more skiers and trekkers here. This will not only promote ecotourism, but also generate livelihood options for local residents. The IMF should make process of obtaining permission to climb this peak very easy. Also, the peak should be declared a trekking peak ,” he added.Ludar, who is also coach of the Indian skiing team, said he was surprised to see the great snow condition for skiing even in mid-June. “Not only Yunam, we have tried to ski down from some other peaks in this area in the past few days. The slopes are huge and snow condition is perfect even for competitive skiing. The winter sports and mountaineering tourism should not be limited to a particular area but should be promoted in remote places as well. The base of the peaks here is easily approachable by road,” he said.The two did skiing on southeast face of the peak for nearly one km and easily reached the base camp by afternoon. Skiing season generally starts in mid-November and ends in March but skiing on Yunam is possible till August. Contrary to most of the other high-altitude peaks, Yunam has comparatively smoother slope.

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