Tingchen Kang (6,010 m), bureaucratic problems. An Indian (Bengal) team led by AVM A. K. Bhattacharya and sponsored by the Himalayan Club from Kolkatta climbed this peak on 6th November. The summiteers were Subrata Chakraborty with Sherpa Pasang Phutar. They followed the northwest face. The team had an exciting journey and was walked out in bureaucratic hassles by the Sikkim Government. They paid Rs. 5000/- for the liaison officer but no LO turned out until the end. As per the current rules a LO is required both for foreign and Indian expeditions. The Sikkim Government has certainly made it difficult for mountaineers and trekkers. [This team probably used a new northwest approach to reach the upper west ridge, which was first climbed by an Indo-British Military expedition in 1998 and used by Roger Payne and Julie-Ann Clyma in spring 2005 for the peak’s third ascent—Ed.]

Harish Kapadia, Honorary Editor, The Himalayan Journal