Shivling, scaled by a team from Krishnagar

The boys from Bengal are going places ? not just on the cricket or football fields, but up in the mountains as well.

Shivling is not as high as Mount Everest, but it?s one of the toughest peaks to climb in India. Just how tough? In the past three decades, no Indian civilian has set foot on the 6,543-metre main summit of the Garhwal peak.

Until a group from Krishnagar decided to pack its bags ? with around 10,000 ft of rope in them ? and scale new heights in August. At the end of a 17-day arduous journey, they were on top of the world (read, Shivling, often likened to Matterhorn, the challenging peak of the Alps).

?Over a thousand people climb Everest each year, but not even a few hundred attempt the Shivling summit,? says Debasish Biswas, member of the eight-man team from Mountaineers? Association of Krishnagar, which made the climb.

A 2003 attempt to scale the main peak ? Shivling?s other peak, the south-west, is 6,501 metres ? by South Calcutta Trekkers Association had been unsuccessful.

?We had come back from the summit camp at 5,850 m,? recalls Basanta Singha Roy, who was part of the ?03 team. The success of the August expedition was even sweeter, as Singha Roy led the charge that peaked on August 30.

?The main difficulties are ice walls (serac in mountaineering terms) which can collapse while climbing, rock walls and avalanches. All of these can injure and even kill,? explains Singha Roy.

The group followed the ascent route ? the West Ridge ? that had been taken by the first successful Shivling climbers in 1974.

?We had earlier planned the trek in May, but the non-availability of Sherpas pushed it back to August,? explains Singha Roy.

The post-monsoon climb helped the team avoid rough weather and enjoy the scenic beauty, en route. All that is now on video that the team is screening on demand.

The association has undertaken 15 climbs so far, including Kamet, Chowkhamba-I and Srikailash.

Despite their busy schedules ? Biswas is an income-tax officer while Singha Roy is a banker ? it?s the thrill of scaling peaks that binds the members together.

?There is a lot of risk involved and often we don?t tell our families all the details, but till date, none of us has sustained major injuries, and there has been no loss of life,? says Biswas.

More than the risk, the paucity of funds is a bigger hurdle. ?The Shivling mission cost us Rs 2 lakh and we still have to pay back Rs 80,000 that we borrowed from the bank? But it?s very different for city clubs,? rues Singha Roy.