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Expedition to Mt. Cho Oyu flagged off

         New Delhi: Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major flagged off the Indian Air Force Platinum Jubilee Celebrations Mountaineering Expedition Team to Mt. Cho Oyu today. An impressive ceremony was held at the Air headquarters here. Mt. Cho Oyu, is the sixth highest peak in the world and stands astride the Nepal/Tibet border, just 30 miles west of Mt. Everest. A team of 15 Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel are taking part in the expedition. Expedition to Mt. Cho Oyu is part of the major events planned as the IAF celebrates its Platinum Jubilee this year. The team led by Wing Commander R.C. Tripathi will leave for the expedition on April 19. The climb route is from the Tibetan side of the Nangpa La pass, which used to be an old trading route to Nepal. The expedition team will enter Tibet via Kathmandu and Lhasa and thereafter move over the Tibetan Plateau to the northern side of the mountain. After a three days march the team would reach its Base Camp. They will establish three higher camps before attempting to reach the final summit some time by end of May 2007. Earlier, the IAF had created history in the mountaineering fraternity by hosting the tricolour on Mt. Everest on May 30, 2005. The IAF personnel (including females) have been pursuing mountaineering activity as a part of adventure for more than three decades. Today IAF has a nucleus of qualified mountaineers ready to take on the challenge of climbing any peak in the world. Homi Major encouraged the mountaineers and wished them all success.
-April 17,  2007