<![CDATA[The Eastern Frontier mountaineering expedition 'Vijay' to a virgin peak in North Sikkim was flagged off from ITBP camp, at Lingdum, Ranka today by DIG K.D. Dwivedi of ITBP Gangtok sub-headquarters. The 34-member expedition team led by deputy commandant Parikshit Shah will be making the summit attempt on the virgin peak at a height of 6,270 metres between September 30 and October 2. The team will be acclimatizing and setting base camps at Rangma Range, Chhaten, Thangu and Tashla Base in North Sikkim. The expedition team consists of 16 mountaineers, 9 rescue members, 2 medical officers, 2 porters, 2 cooks and a photographer. Over the last 45 days, the team was acclimatizing and training at ITBP camp at Lingdum where they conducted height training exercises, hiking and other trainings in the nearby locations. Addressing the gathering of expedition team and ITBP jawans, DIG Dwivedi stated that Expedition Vijay was not to win the mountain but win over the fear of expedition. This was also part of ITBP training as it induced a change in behaviour of the jawans. He urged the team to not exert force on the expedition beyond their capacity and not to leave anyone behind. They had to take the weather into account before making the summit attempt. They were hopeful that the expedition would be successful and wished them courage and confidence in their expedition A team of 8 rescue personnel would be based at the base camp while an additional 14 personnel would be based in Thangu Post. The wireless communication for the expedition team would be based at Thangu and Naku posts. Sixteen climbers had been insured of Rs. 10 lakh while 18 other members of the expedition team had been insured Rs. 5 lakhs, as per the mandate of Indian Mountaineering Federation.]]>
