Pune, Mar 7 (IANS): On the eve of the International Women's Day-2023, the Pune-based Giripremi on Tuesday announced an all-women expedition to scale the technically-challenging Mt. Sudarshan peak in Uttarakhand.

The all-women team plans to conquer Mt. Sudarshan - standing at 6,529 metres - in August-September, said Giripremi's senior mountaineer, Umesh Zirpe, who will train the women along with Ushaprabha Page.

Ranked a "technically-difficult summit" and nestling in the Garhwal Himalayan range, Mt. Sudarshan is visible from the Gangotri Temple.

"The Giripremi Team comprises veteran climbers like Smita Kariwadekar, Sayali Budhkar, Sneha Talwatkar, Ritu Chawla, Padmaja Dhanavi, Purva Shinde and Sneha Gude. They will attempt the ascent from the Shwet Barmak-side of Mt. Sudarshan," said Zirpe.

He said that the route to the base camp of Mt. Sudarshan passes through the Rathvarna and Gangotri glaciers near Gaumukh, but the most challenging part of the climb is a 1,500 feet tall ice wall just below the peak summit, considered a major obstacle.

Incidentally, the first successful climb on Mt. Sudarshan took place in May 1981, and the all-women's team had earlier completed successful climbs of Mt. Gangotri 1 peaks (7,138 m.), and Mt. Kang Yatse 1 & 2 (6,496 m. & 6,270 m.) in Ladakh.

According to Zirpe, this will be the first all-female team that will attempt to scale Mt. Sudarshan, which is off the beaten track of the usual 8K metres-plus favourites like Mt. Everest, Mt. K2, Mt. Kanchenjunga, etc.

"However, India has many others falling in the most difficult or challenging categories, and Giripremi is making attempts to popularise these little-known mountains with such expeditions," Zirpe added.