Telangana’s mountaineer Anvitha Padamati scales Mount Gorichen

The success of the expedition is being seen as a sign of significant achievement

Hyderabad: Imagine climbing a peak that is 6,488 metres in height without pre-existing route, base camps, porters to carry equipment, tricky terrain, and, above all, the last successful ascent of the mountain was way back in 1980s! These were the odds that a group of climbers, led by 26- year-old Anvitha Padamati from Bhongir, had to face while attempting to scale Mt. Gorichen, the highest mountain bordering Arunachal Pradesh and China.

Known for its remote location and treacherous terrain, Mount Gorichen is one of the most challenging and least-climbed peaks in the Eastern Himalayas. Given the challenges, the success of the expedition is being seen as a sign of significant achievement.

“It’s like starting to prepare for an examination without practice, notes or syllabus. Mt. Gorichen is a virgin mountain and we had to figure out everything including routes and where to established camps for our team while we make the ascent. The entire expedition was planned for 33 days,” says Anvitha, a senior instructor at Transcend Academy of Rock Climbing (TARC), who already summited the Mt. Everest in 2022.

Organised by TARC, the Gorichen expedition, which comprised eight amateur climbers, was mainly focused on exploring the unexplored and remote locations. “Every climber had to deal with a large glacier on the back and rock boulders on the front. We didn’t have a clue, which boulder will support the climber’s weight and which one will cave-in. The climb was technical, which tested skills, fitness and endurance,” says Anvitha.

While well-known mountain destinations like the Mount Everest have structured support system including a base camp, this expedition did not have such facilities. The group of eight from TRAC expedition joined a group of Army personnel, who were also looking to make a successful ascent. “We had to trek for days to figure out an ideal place for us to establish a base camp. Subsequently, to make the ascent of the peak, we established three camps and plan our rations accordingly. We, however, received a lot of inputs from the Army personnel,” the climber said.

The eight members of the climbing expedition included Anvitha Reddy Padamati (Bhongir), Yeswanth Naik (Mahabubabad), Ashruha Kothakapu (Hyderabad), Sharad Kulkarni (Pune), Yogeswari Bohare (Aurangabad), Denish Patel (Gujarat), Yogi Radadiya (Gujarat) and Jayesh Choksi (Mumbai).