Kolkata climbers recount over-the-moon moment

A team of Himalayan Club, Kolkata section, has climbed the 7516 metre high Mt Mamostong Kangri, the highest peak in the Rimo Muztagh in the eastern Karakorum, in an expedition spanning 40 days.
Braving inclement weather that saw a cloudburst in nearby Ladakh while they were at base camp, four of the 15-member team ~ Debraj Dutta, Pemba Sherpa, Dawa Sherpa and Purva Sherpa ~ hoisted the tricolour on a clear morning on 7 August.
“At 11.30 a.m. we scaled the peak... it was an over the moon moment. We spent about 30 minutes there,” Dutta, deputy leader of the expedition said.
“We reached the summit camp at 6,500 m on 3 August. Six members and six sherpas could make there. But we had to stay there till 6 August because of the inclement weather and we reduced the size to one member and two sherpas.
“The final attempt to the peak was at 0130 hours on 7 August and it took about 10 hours to scale the peak, 1,000 m above,” Dutta, who has about 15 expeditions under his belt, said.
The first Indian woman to scale the Mt Everest Bachendri Pal had earlier sent off the team, led by Pradeep Chandra Sahoo, on 10 July. They returned to the city on 17 August.
Located about 30 km east-southeast of the snout of the Siachen Glacier, the Mamostong Kangri is the 48th highest solitary peak in the world.