A 14-member team from Indian Navy recently concluded an expedition to Mount Saser- Kangri in the Nubra valley region of Ladakh. Standing high at 7672 meters also known as the mountain of the Yellow Goddess and considered as one of the most technically and physically demanding peak of the country. It was first climbed in 1973 from Shyok side. <br/><br/>The expedition earlier flagged off from Visakhapatnam on 4th August 2016 had three distinct phases. The first phase involved transit from Visakhapatnam to Leh, Ladakh and the second phase included acclimatisation and trekking to Phukpuche from 10 – 16 August 2016.<br/>The ascent phase commenced on 20 August with a climb to summit camp. Five Camps were set up progressively at increasing altitude enroute to summit. <br/><br/>From the Base camp the team entered the South Phukpuche glacier and took the very rarely climbed Bissa'col route to the mountain with the aim of opening a new route to the summit. Very hostile weather was encountered by the team during entire route with local disturbances resulting in winds of over 30 kmph except for three clear days during the whole expedition. <br/><br/>Braving the inclement weather, the team pushed through to reach camp 5 at an altitude of 6900 meters on 4th September. The team had to pitch tents on thin ledges with a slope of over 60 degrees. Only 4 members could reach the summit camp. During the summit attempt, a giant avalanche engulfed 2 members of the team injuring them resulting in aborting the summit attempt. Three members had to be air evacuated with the help of army aviation.<br/><br/>The team managed to reach a maximum altitude of 7250 meters, barely 150 meters short of the summit. Though the summit eluded the team, the expedition turned out to be a great learning experience as they were exposed to all the factors in the mountains and in quite generous proportions like Ice-climbing, tread climbing, mixed rock climbing, vast snow and crevasse fields, sudden steep inclined and giant prominence coupled with fierce winds with high chill factor.<br/><br/>This tough and challenging peak has further hardened the resolve of bunch of mountaineers from Indian Navy to attempt the ultimate test of summiting Mt Everest in the year 2017.