Flag-off ceremony of Giripremi's women's expedition to Mt. Gangotri-1

The Indian tricolour flag was handed over to the women’s mountaineering expedition team going for Gangotri-1, a 6672 meters high peak.

Gangotri-1 is considered to be one of the toughest peaks in the Gangotri peak group.

The expedition is organized by Giripremi, a leading mountaineering organization based in Pune.

The team will leave from Pune on September 4 and the expedition will travel to Pune - Uttarkashi - Gangotri subsequently. The duration of the expedition will be approximately 20-25 days.

The flag-off function was held at the campus of

Sevasadan English Medium School, the school founded by the late Ramabai Ranade in the early nineties.

The team was given the tricolour flag of India by Radhika Ogle, Principal of Seva Sadan English Medium School.

This is the third consecutive expedition by Giripremi in the season.

Last month, Giripremi’s women’s expedition to Kangyatse 1 and 2 was successful and another expedition is currently underway on one of the very rugged and technical peak Mt. Manda.

The Gangotri-1 expedition is led by Purva Shinde-Singh and includes Ritu Chawla, Sunita Kolke and Sneha Talwatkar.

The team will have to set up two more camps beyond the base camp.

The team will have to tackle challenges like Glacial moraines along the way, hard ice cliffs, crevasses, and finally a near 90-degree ice wall close to the summit along with the uncertain weather of the Himalayas. The team is well prepared physically and mentally and is fully ready to take up these challenges.

Giriprem’s founding president Ushaprabha Page, founding members Anand Palande, Jayant Tulpule, Giripremi’s senior climbers Ajit Tate, Chandan Chavan and Seva Sadan’s secretary CPatwardhan were present at the event.

“The need of the hour is for women to be physically and mentally fit. One of the objectives of Seva Sadan School is to empower the children physically and mentally along with their education and for that, it is a matter of great pride to have this flag-off program in the school,” Ogle

Page wished the new expedition on the background of her experience of climbing with Bachendri Pal in the pre-Everest expedition held on Gangotri-1 peak in 1981.