Firstever Indo-Lankan mountaineering expedition flagged off

New Delhi, Sep 5 (UNI) To enhance cooperation with the Sri Lankan Army and keeping with its tradition of scaling new heights over newer regions, the Indian Army today set on a mountaineering expedition to Mount Stok Kangri in Leh region in Jammu and Kashmir with the neighbouring island nation.

Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen S P S Dhillon flagged off the first ever Indo-Sri Lankan joint mountaineering expedition marking a new chapter in the mushrooming army to army relations, according to the Defence Ministry here.

At 20,000 feet, Mount Stok Kangri is part of Stok Kangri massif, which is nearly 20 km South-East of Leh. It belongs to one of the most beautiful peaks in the Ladakh region of India, and is the highest peak among the known peaks in the Stok Kangri massif.

Apart from being technically challenging, it offers a spectacular perspective of the central expanse of the Indus Valley, which also has several other renowned peaks like Gulap Kangri (19729 ft), Matho West (19650 ft) and Kantak (17410 ft).

The expedition team led by Lt Col I S Thapa, SM, VSM, includes four officers, three JCOs and 12 others, besides eight men, including four officers of the Sri Lankan Army.

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