Siachen trekking to take off tomorrow as per schedule

NEW DELHI: The first-ever group of 42 trekkers to Siachen glacier will set off for the icy heights in Eastern Karakoram on Wednesday as planned, the Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.

"There is no move to call it off," a Defence Ministry spokesman said here as he asserted 'the expedition is taking place in an area which is ours.'

The trekking expedition comprising cadets from the National Cadet Corps will set off on Wednesday on a 22-day trip to the glacier area.

"The Ministry of Defence views this as a routine adventure-cum-mountaineering activity. This should not be seen in any other way," the spokesman said.

His comments came in the face of protests by Pakistan to the trekking plan.

According to sources, the trekking expedition, which will commence from September 19, will go on till October 11.

Initially, the trekkers will get acclimatised at Leh, the capital of the frontier district of Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir.

After acclimatisation, the trekkers will leave for Siachen base camp by road, where they will undergo another spell of conditioning before actually leaving for the Kumar Camp, located in the centre of the 72-km-long glacier.

The actual trek will take the participants eight days of going and coming and one day has been kept as a reserve for recouping, the sources said.

Besides the cadets, the trekkers will also comprise personnel from the media, who would be escorted by ten or more Army guides with expertise in glacial craft, they added.