Kamet and Abi Gamin. An expedition of the Indian Border Security Force was led by Deputy Commander Chhering Ram. Bogged down by bad weather, landslides, road blocks and deep snow, they got to Base Camp only on May 17. Their last camp, Camp V at 7150 meters on Meade’s Col, was set up on May 25. The first summit attempt was made on June 1. When 200 meters from the top in a blinding snowstorm, one climber slipped and pulled off his partner.

They fell 100 meters but escaped without injury. The attempt was given up. A second try was made on June 3 by Sub-Inspector Habib Ullah, Lance Naiks T.R. Angdoo and T. Dorji, Constable Jamuna Prasad and Head Constable Jagat Singh. After a gruelling 11-hour climb in bad weather and poor visibility, they gained the summit (7756 meters, 25,447 feet) at 12:30 P.M. On June 15, Deputy Commandant S.C. Negi, Angdoo, Habib Ullah and Dharam Singh climbed to the summit in fine weather, Habib Ullah and Angdoo for the second time. Also on June 15, Jumma Khan, Dilawar Singh and Mahavir Singh climbed Abi Gamin (7355 meters, 24,130 feet) from Camp V. On the descent, Khan slipped and fell 100 meters, carrying Mahavir with him. Khan was badly injured and had to be carried down to Base Camp to be evacuated by air.

Kamal K. Guha, Editor, Himavanta, India