The Bishop Cotton School, Shimla Jubilee mountaineering club are celebrating after the entire team reached the summit of their climb safely, with all of the members reaching the top of the 20 thousand foot mountain.
The Jubilee Expedition (25th year) of nine Cottonians and two instructors successfully summited Mt. UT Kangri, Ladakh, which stands at an altitude of 6070 metres (20,031 feet) on 5th August in the morning. The team started at 3am for their trek, setting off at dawn in the darkness.
BCS Director Simon Weale said, “BCS prides itself on challenging young people to be the best version of themselves. This is an exceptional achievement by the 2024 team which will bond them together for a lifetime. They have all had to work hard to make the trip, but even harder to make it a success. There are over 600 million people in India under the age of 20, but only a handful who have reached for the stars and left their footprints on this summit. Congratulations to them all.”
This is the first time in 25 years of the BCS mountaineering expedition’s history that all the team members summitted together.
The BCS Mountaineering Expedition leader, Amod Talwalkar, said, “It’s unbelievable as the entire team summited in Silver Jubilee year of BCS mountaineering history.”
Nine days ago, the nine brave Cottonian team set off after the 165th Founder’s Day celebrations setting off the Leh, Ladakh with their mountain leader Amod Talwalkar.
Bishop Samantaroy of Amritsar gave his blessing to the trip and the nine Class XII boys together with expedition leader, Amod Talwalkar and Viresh Kumar.
Mt. U.T Kangri, is located in Ladakh and is a challenging climb, so the boys spent a week acclimatizing to the high altitude of Ladakh, visiting temples and mountain ranges.
Each year, the best climbers at BCS, the Pargiyal Mountaineering Club, attempt at least one 6000m+ summit. The first expedition took place in 1999, so this year marks another BCS silver jubilee. All of the participants are required to score an A grade in the Basic Mountaineering Course run in Manali which involves rigorous training and the mastering of mountaineering techniques.
BCS Director Simon Weale said ‘The annual mountaineering expedition is a wonderful challenge for our boys. They have trained very hard to be ready and we wish them every success in this unique test of their character.”
