| Climbing in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in the Eastern Himalayan states of India is still an explorers dream. Not only are the cultures so different and vibrant, but in order to access some of the peaks, one needs to go through some daunting rain forests specially in the case of Arunachal Pradesh.
Sikkim has easier access from Delhi to Kolkata and then onto Bagdogra, from where one takes the road to either West or North Sikkim to make ascents. Sikkim has borders with Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan and all visitors are required to have an ‘inner line’ permit.
The application procedure is much the same as elsewhere in India. However, there are additional peak royalties levied by the State Government of Sikkim .
Most of the areas in Sikkim are close to the International Border and the clearance of the Ministry of Defence is also mandatory or else the Military units may not permit access.
Permits for the ‘alpine summits’ in Sikkim are easy to obtain and some of these peaks are Brumkhangshe South 5635m, Brumkhangshe North 5450m, Lama Ogden are in the Northern part of Sikkim which are alpine summits whilst in West Sikkim, there are other interesting peaks too.
The Home Department of Sikkim has designated five newly opened alpine peaks to encourage small expeditions.
West Sikkim: Frey Peak 5830m (Chaunrikiang valley), Trinchakang 6010m (Thansing valley), Jopuno 5936m (Thansing valley)
North Sikkim: Lama Wangden 5868m (Lachen), Brumkhangshe 5635m (Yumthang)
The peak fee is relatively modest at USD$350 for a team of four.
For the other peaks, the 3 month time line is required for application procedure and peaks like Kabru North 7395m, Zemu peak 7730m or peak 7033m south of Pauhunri are possible too as these are virgin peaks.
Some successful expeditions assisted by Ibex are for leading mountaineers and brand ambassadors such as Mark Richey, Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, John Varco, Pete Takeda, Doug Chabot, Sue Nott, Michael Kennedy, Mugs Stump, Peter Croft, Paul Gagner, Willie Benegas, Jonathan Degenhardt , Jonny Copp from the US. John Cleare, Mick Fowler, Allen Fyffe, Bob Barton, John Barry, Roger Payne, Ian Parnell, Kevin Thaw, John Dunne, Iain Peter, Mike Woolridge are from the UK. From Europe, we have assisted mountaineers like Robert Fargeas, Don Arturo Bergamaschi, Jean Claude Marmier, Francois Marsigny, Bernard Domnech, Pierre Begin, Marcus Schmuck, Karl Schrag, Gianni Passinetti, amongst others. David Lim from Singapore and climbers from Japan are Taniguchi Kei, K. Hiraide as well as the Ichimura, Sato and Amano team.
There are several peaks including Mt. Khangchendzonga which have been declared as "sacred" and the State Government does not permit scaling of such peaks under any circumstance. Kanchenjunga (main, south and west summits), Mt Narsing, Gabur Gangtsen (Kabru Dome and north and south summits), Pandim Peak, Mt Simvo, Goecha Peak, Fork Peak, Paohunli and Mt Siniolchu. |
