By IANS,
New Delhi : An team of Indian Army mountaineers Monday scaled the 8,163 metre Mount Manaslu, the world’s eighth highest peak, in the Nepal Himalayas, earning another feather in its adventure activities cap.
The team conquered the peak early Monday, an army press release said here.
The expedition is led by Colonel Ajay Kothiyal, winner of the Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra peacetime gallantry awards.
Comprising three officers, two junior commissioned officers and 13 other ranks, the team had split into two groups for the summiting attempt.
While the first group, led by Subedar Rajender Singh Jalal of 16 Kumaon Regiment, has touched the peak, the second group, led by Captain Manoj Joshi, will make their attempt on Tuesday, the release said.
Indian Army deputy chief Lieutenant General V.S. Tonk had March 8 flagged off the expedition to Mount Manaslu, also known as Kutang, in the Mansiri Himal in west-central Nepal.
Manaslu means “Mountain of the Spirit” and the name comes from the Sanskrit word Manasa, meaning “intellect” or “soul”. Manaslu was first climbed on May 9, 1956, by Toshio Imanishi and Gyalzen Norbu, members of a Japanese expedition.