New Delhi, Aug 18 (IANS): To provide a new dimension to mountaineering in India, the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) has embarked on a unique project to enhance the skill of a climber with 'Climbathon 2014' that started earlier this week and will continue till the end of the month.

The event, which involves climbing in and around the massive Bara Shigree glacier in Himachal Pradesh, is being participated in by 50 climbers from different parts of India and neighbouring countries.

IMF president H.S. Chauhan, himself a veteran mountaineers himself, said Monday these climbers would be there for a total of three weeks during which they will be fine-tuning their skills needed to climb challenging mountains.

“Mountaineering as a sport is moving towards climbers attempting technical routes and operating in small teams which is also referred as alpine style climbing. To achieve success through this format as well as operate safely mountaineers need to be highly skilled to move in various type of terrain which includes rock, snow and ice. This is precisely the objective of Climbathon which is intended to give participants the skills to operate comfortably and safely in complex mountain terrain," he said.

The instructors who are facilitating Climbathon 2014 are from various mountaineering schools in India which include the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering at Uttarkashi, Himalayan Mountaineering Institute at Darjeeling, Sonam Gyatso Institute of Mountaineering at Gangtok, Atal Behari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Sports (ABVIMAS) in Manali.