Srinagar, July 22: The world’s highest battlefield, the Siachen glacier, is on its way to reinventing itself as an adventure sports hub, with the river originating from its snout hosting a first-of-its-kind white water rafting expedition.
The army, which was behind the four-day expedition that ended yesterday, has said it will apply to the Limca Book of Records for an entry.
The expedition negotiated “razor-sharp rock faces, near-vertical drops, freezing icy cold waters and the scorching, untamed sun over an unnerving, arduous stretch of 250km”, an officer waxed.
Lt Col Rajesh Kalia, Northern Command spokesperson, said the expedition was held over an average altitude of 12,000ft on the Nubra and Shyok rivers. The Nubra originates from the glacier’s snout and merges with the Shyok, which enters Pakistan near Turtuk in Leh.
“It was very successful. At this altitude and on these rivers, which are very difficult to navigate, they (the participants) hope to enter the Limca Book of Records,” Kalia said.
The “Trans Khardung La expedition” was led by one of the army’s most decorated soldiers in adventure sports, Major K.S. Panigrahy, who is a Limca record-holder for the longest catamaran sailing expedition in India.
Army sources said no civilians took part. “There’s no immediate plan to throw rivers in the area open to civilians (for rafting), but we hope to do so in future,” an officer said.
Civilian movement is restricted in and around Siachen, over which India and Pakistan have fought intermittently since 1984. But a ceasefire announced in 2003 has largely held.
Before 1984, the glacier had been a favourite adventure sports destination with many foreigners. New Delhi touched a raw nerve with Pakistan in 2007 by allowing the first civilian mountaineering and trekking expedition in Siachen after 1984. This has become an annual feature.
The apparent purpose was to showcase to the international community that India was firmly in control of Siachen and that Pakistan, which claims the glacier, did not control any part of it.
