JAMMU/LEH: From a towering 5,921-metre summit, two Indian mountaineers made history by paragliding directly to a roadhead in Ladakh, combining a high-altitude ascent with a pioneering aerial descent, the Army said Monday.Colonel Hem Chandra Singh, principal of Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering & Winter Sports (JIM & WS), and mountaineer Manish Makholia launched their paragliders from the summit of Mt Delta-41, also known as Mt Barmal, in Tangol region of Kargil, and landed safely at the Road Head Camp in Tangol village, around 3,600 metres, an Army spokesperson said.
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After acclimatisation, the 13-member JIM & WS expedition, led by Col Singh, established base camp and split into two groups amid adverse weather and a limited window. One team reached the 5,921-metre peak amid sub-zero temperatures on Independence Day. The second team reached the summit at 6.10am on Aug 16 after setting out at 3am, the spokesperson said.The team comprised Col Hem Chandra Singh (team leader), Capt Anupam Singh (medical officer), Mahfooz Ilahi Hajam (team manager), Hony Capt/Sub Maj Rafiq Ahmad Malik (Retd), Manish Makholia, and nine others from various parts of the country.Officials said this was the first-ever paragliding descent from the summit directly to base, a feat “unprecedented in Indian adventure sports history”.