From left: Paul Swienton, Barap Namgyal Bhutia, Dick Isherwood, Goeff Cohen, Steve Kennedy, Robert Hamilton and David Ritche in Gangtok on Sunday. Picture by Prabin Khaling

Gangtok, May 3: Sixty is no age to sit back and watch the setting sun. Rather, it is time to conquer heights.

And this is exactly what Dick Isherwood, 66, from the US and Goeff Cohen, 62, Robert Hamilton, 61, and Steve Kennedy, 52, from Scotland are planning to do.

The four are now off to West Sikkim to conquer Alpine peak Mt Jopunu at 5,930m — the height of Everest is 8,848m — along with 48-year-old David Ritche from Scotland and American civil engineer Paul Swienton, the youngest member of this mountain expedition at 45. The six veterans embarked today on a 19-day expedition to Jopunu.

This is the third international expedition to the mountain organised by Sikkim Holidays, a local adventure tour agency. The age composition of this batch is sure to set some heartburn among mountaineers here.

Cohen, a statistician by profession, is the group leader.

Asked why they were still pursuing the physically challenging adventure sports at this age, pat came Hamilton’s reply: to feel younger.

“Young climbers keep pushing us,” chipped in Isherwood, a biologist. He said the group had prepared for the expedition by scaling peaks and rock climbing in Scotland, where they also went through some endurance tests.

According to Sikkim Holidays managing director Barap Namgyal Bhutia, the team will be accompanied by government liaison officer Bhaichung Tamang and guides Karma Sherpa and Sanjeev Tamang with a support crew of 18, and 20 yaks.

The team is planning to reach Yuksom today and set up base camp at Poktey Tar (4,400m) by May 10 and then climb upwards to Jopunu. The team will be conducting a recce of the nearby Alpine peaks too. Alpine peaks are those that cannot be scaled without special mountain gears and equipment and are above the treeline at 9,000ft when trees start disappearing.

“This is our first expedition in Sikkim though we have been doing mountaineering for most of our lives. Sikkim is famous for its beautiful peaks but only five are allowed for climbing and hence, we selected Mt Jopunu for our expedition,” said group leader Cohen who claimed to have 45 years of mountaineering experience.

The group leader said they have studied the past two expeditions to Jopunu by American and British groups. “We are planning to summit through a new route and this is our main challenge,” Cohen said.

The Scottish mountaineering duo of Hamilton and Ritche said they were members of mountain rescue teams in their country and take part in rescue operations almost every year.

The team has paid $500 as royalty to the Sikkim government for climbing the peak. ‘The charge is $350 for a group of four. But since there are six members in this expedition, they had to pay $150 more,” said Bhutia.

Although mountain climbing is a relatively new form of adventure tourism in Sikkim, a streamlined rescue mechanism is absent. “We just have to be cautious and avoid dangerous manoeuvres,” said an expedition member.

A three-member international expedition led by British mountaineer Roger Payne had scaled Jopunu in November.

The Sikkim government had in 2005 declared five Alpine peaks — Frey Peak (5,830m, Chaunrikiang valley), Tinchenkang (6,010m Thansing valley), Jopuno (5,936m Thansing valley), Lama Wangden 5,868m Lachen) and Brumkhangse (5,635m Yumthang) — open to tourists.