Pune-based Giripremi plan expedition to Mount Meru

Mumbai: Pune-based adventure and mountaineering club Girpremi will undertake an ambitious expedition to Mount Meru in the Gangotri Glacier region in Garhwal Himalayas in Uttarakhand - from a never-been-climbed-before route of East Ridge.

Mount Meru is considered one of the most sacred and technically difficult peaks in India.

The Mount Meru expedition will be led by veteran mountaineer and mentor Umesh Zirpe, an expedition leader-par-excellence, who has been conferred with the Government of India’s Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award and Maharashtra government’s Shiv Chhatrapati Award.

The attempt to Mount Meru will be made via the extremely challenging East Ridge, a route that has never been climbed before.

The climbing team includes seasoned mountaineers Vivek Shivade, Varun Bhagwat, Nikunj Shah, Ronak Singh, Vinod Gosai, and Mingma Sherpa.

“Mount Meru, located in the Garhwal Himalayas, is considered one of the most sacred and technically difficult peaks in India, frequently mentioned in ancient Indian scriptures. The East Ridge ascent demands extreme high-altitude rock climbing, negotiating falling rocks, vertical cliffs, deep gorges, and a treacherous approach to base camp. The team’s attempt to summit via this virgin route has generated widespread interest across the global mountaineering community. The Indian Army has also taken special note of this challenging endeavour,” said Zirpe.

Besides, it would undertake a twin expedition to Indian Himalayas Mount Samgyal (5,814 meters) and Mount Dawa (5,900 meters), located in the Nubra Valley region of Ladakh - without the assistance of sherpas.

The Nubra Valley is known for its high-altitude desert landscape, scenic beauty, and cultural richness.

The twin Ladakh expeditions are primarily aimed at offering climbing opportunities to budding mountaineers from the organization, giving them a chance to hone their skills and gain valuable high-altitude climbing experience.

The Mount Samgyal and Mount Dawa expedition will be led by Everest summiteer Krishna Dhokale, with guidance and support from experienced climbers Ganesh More and Ashish Mane, also Everest summiteers from Giripremi.

The team includes young climbers Akhil Katkar, Manoj Kulkarni, Amod Pachhapurkar, Shravan Kumar, Sameer Devre, Ronak Singh, Sahil Phadnis, Kaushal Gadre, Chintamani Godbole, and Advait Dev.

A noteworthy aspect of this expedition is that the team will attempt the summit without assistance from Sherpas beyond base camp. All logistical responsibilities such as ferrying equipment, route fixing, and decision-making will be independently managed by the team, instilling values of leadership, endurance, teamwork, and self-reliance.

The flag-off ceremony for both expeditions was held this evening at New English School, Tilak Road in Pune.

The ceremonial flags were presented to the teams by Sheetal Teli-Ugale, Commissioner, Sports and Youth Services Department, Government of

Maharashtra, and Sunil Koparkar, Managing Director, IAC International Automotive India Pvt. Ltd in presence of Deepali Khairnar, Head of HR,IAC, Jayant Tulpule President, Giripremi, Ushaprabha Page, Founder, Giripremi and Senior Mountaineer, Anand Palande, and several members of Giripremi.