PANCHACHULI PEAKS

The Panchchuli peaks are a group of five snow-capped Himalayan peaks lying at the end of the eastern Kumaon region, near Munsiyari, in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand state. The peaks have altitudes ranging from 6,334 metres (20,781 ft) to 6,904 metres (22,651 ft).

Panchachuli-1 (6,355 m)

The first ascent of this peak was done by an Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) team in 1972, via the Uttari Balati glacier, led by Major Hukam Singh. 

Panchachuli-2 (6,904 m)

This is the highest peak in the group and the highest peak lying entirely in the Kumaon region. It was first climbed successfully by an Indo-Tibetan Border Police team, led by Mahendra Singh, on 26 May 1973. The team climbed from the Balati plateau and via the southwest ridge to the summit.

 

Panchachuli-3 (6,312 m)

Though this peak has been not climbed, there have been a few expeditions and attempts to do so. The first attempt was in 1996 via the Dakshini Balati Glacier on the munsyari side. This attempt ended after an accident and an avalanche occurred.The second attempt was done in 1998, by a large Indian Army expedition, led by Colonel Bhatt of the Engineer corps of indian army, via the Duktu Glacier on the Dhauli Ganga river side. This too was not successful as the team summiting had an accident on the final approach ridge.

Panchachuli-4 (6,334 m)

The first ascent of this peak was made in 1995 by a New Zealand expedition led by John Nankervis. The expedition members who summited were; John Nankervis (Wellington), Peter Cammell (Auckland), John Cocks (Dunedin), and Nick Shearer (Oamaru). Peter Platts (Christchurch) assisted the expedition as far as Camp 2.

Panchachuli-5 (6,437 m)

The first ascent of this peak was made in 1992 by an Indo-British team jointly led by mountaineers Chris Bonington and Harish Kapadia from the South Ridge. Stephen Venables was one of the members of the team who successfully summited, but had an accident during his descent. A daring rescue operation by the Indian Ai Force helped evacuate him to safety.