The Indian Army is known for its rich mountaineering legacy, which includes numerous historic achievements in high-altitude explorations.
The force has been instrumental in advancing India’s mountaineering capabilities even in extreme conditions, making it well-versed in this sporting activity.
The Indian Army, as part of its duty to safeguard India’s borders, has deployed troops in a multitude of high-altitude regions for decades, which makes soldiers spend a significant portion of their careers in mountainous terrain.
This experience has made the force adept at operating in some of the world’s harshest environments, including the Siachen Glacier.
The High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) in Gulmarg is known for its specialised training in mountaineering, acclimatisation, and survival techniques, ensuring soldiers are prepared for combat and logistical challenges at extreme altitudes.
Only last year, the Indian Army recovered the bodies of three soldiers after undertaking a gruelling expedition at more than 18,000 feet to retrieve the bodies of three Havildar instructors who were trapped and buried in the debris of a deadly avalanche during an expedition in 2023.
The incident occurred when a 38-member expedition from HAWS set out to conquer Mount Kun in the Union Territory of Ladakh by October 13, 2023.
India maintains the world’s most significant mountain fighting force, with more than ten divisions dedicated to mountain fighting.
The Army has established hundreds of outposts in high-altitude areas, including Siachen Glacier, with the highest outpost located at an altitude exceeding 6,700 meters.
It is due to these professional requirements that the Indian Army has played an important role in shaping India’s mountaineering legacy, which has earned the country global recognition.
The historic 1965 Indian Everest expedition, led by Captain Mohan Singh Kohli, where nine climbers reached the summit, set a world record
To its credit, the Indian Army has several mountain expeditions that stand out. The 2003 Lhotse-Everest expedition was one such to stand out. In September 2002, the Army held a pre-Everest expedition and selection camp. The training for this expedition took place in the Rudraganga Valley of the Garhwal Himalayas and involved selecting 66 personnel from over 300 volunteers, as has been documented by The Himalayan Journal.
As part of this, 40 soldiers successfully scaled Gangotri I (6,672m) in three attempts. Some members also crossed the Kalandani Khal (5,968m) and traversed from Gangotri to Badrinath.
The training in 2002 established the groundwork for subsequent expeditions, including a major joint Everest-Lhotse expedition in 2003 led by Colonel Ashok Abbey.
The Army has also undertaken challenging expeditions such as summiting peaks like Mt Friendship in winter and scaling Mt Brammah-I in 2023, which saw extreme weather conditions.
Lance Naik Chhering Norbu Bodh’s courageous ascent of Everest in 2001 is another example that points to the Army’s indomitable spirit, which earned him the Shaurya Chakra for his extraordinary determination in overcoming life-threatening challenges.
The Army’s mountaineering expeditions showcase physical endurance and teamwork while promoting adventure tourism and environmental conservation in fragile mountain ecosystems.
It has now also become a tool for military diplomacy. More recently, the Indian Army, on Army Day 2025, along with the Argentine Army, successfully summitted Mt Aconcagua, which is the tallest peak in the Americas, at an altitude of 6,995 metres.
With changing times and emerging technologies, mountaineers now at least have the option of actively using navigation and surveillance devices and satellite communication, which are highly dependable and make mountainous terrains slightly easier to traverse.
Earlier, however, when the Army undertook some of its most remarkable mountaineering journeys, the deadly slopes were navigated entirely using maps and compasses.
Colonel Ranveer Jamwal, the first Indian to climb seven summits―the highest peaks of the seven continents, recounts that ‘instincts’ played their part in navigating rough terrains. According to Col Jamwal, the statement, “The higher you are, the better your perspective,” holds for both mountaineering and warfare.
Aritra Banerjee is a military author, and defence and security columnist