The Panchachuli (पंचाचुली) peaks are a group of five snow-capped

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

n peaks lying at the end of the eastern

Kumaon Kumaon or Kumaun may refer to: * Kumaon division, a region in Uttarakhand, India * Kumaon Kingdom, a former country in Uttarakhand, India * Kumaon, Iran, a village in Isfahan Province, Iran * , a ship of the Royal Indian Navy during WWII See also ...

region, near the Dugtu village in Darma valley. The peaks have altitudes ranging from to . They form the

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

between the Gori and the Darmaganga valleys. Panchachuli is also located on the Gori Ganga-Lassar Yankti divide. The group lies from Pithoragarh. The first ascent of this range (Panchchuli 1) was done by an Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) team in 1972, via the Uttari Balati glacier, led by Major Hukam Singh. The five peaks on the Panchchuli

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

are numbered from northwest to southeast. The highest peak is Panchchuli II, which was first scaled by an

Indo-Tibetan Border Police The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is a border patrol organization of India deployed along its borders with Tibet Autonomous Region. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces, established in 1962 in the aftermath of the Sino-Indian ...

expedition, led by Mahendra Singh, on 26 May 1973. One theory of the group's name is derived from the legendary

Pandavas The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledg ...

's "Five Chulis" (cooking hearths).

Five peaks of Panchachuli

Panchchuli Peaks at Sunset, near Munsiyari, Uttarakhand

Panchachuli-1 (6,355 m)

The first ascent of this peak was done by an Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) team in 1972, via the Uttari Balati glacier, led by Major Hukam Singh. The coordinates of this peak are Latitude 30°13'12" and Longitude 80° 25'12".

Panchachuli-2 (6,904 m)

This is the highest peak in the group and the highest peak lying entirely in the Kumaon region. It was first climbed successfully by an

team, led by Mahendra Singh, on 26 May 1973. The team climbed from the Balati plateau and via the southwest ridge to the summit. The coordinates of the peak are Latitude 30°12'51" and Longitude 80°25'39".

Panchachuli-3 (6,312 m)

Though this peak has been not climbed, there have been a few expeditions and attempts to do so. The first attempt was in 1996 via the Dakshini Balati Glacier on the

Munsiyari Munsiyari ( Kumaoni: ''Munsyār'') is the name of the sub-division headquarters, a conglomeration of revenue villages and it also refers to the entire region as Munsiyari Tehsil and Sub Division in the Pithoragarh District in the hill-state of ...

side. This attempt ended after an accident and an avalanche occurred. The second attempt was done in 1998, by a large Indian Army expedition, led by Colonel Bhatt of the Engineer Corps of the Indian Army, via the Duktu Glacier on the Dhauli Ganga river side. This too was not successful as the team summiting had an accident on the final approach ridge.Personal Communication from an Expedition Member - Ms Malika Virdi (May–June 1998) Other reports of a successful climb have not been independently verified. The coordinates of this peak are Latitude 30°12'00" and Longitude 80°26'24".

Panchachuli-4 (6,334 m)

Panchchuli Peaks, near Munsiyari, Uttarakhand

The first ascent of this peak was made in 1995 by a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

expedition led by

John Nankervis John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

. The expedition members who summited were; John Nankervis (Wellington), Peter Cammell (Auckland), John Cocks (Dunedin), and Nick Shearer (Oamaru). Peter Platts (Christchurch) assisted the expedition as far as Camp 2. The coordinates of this peak are Latitude 30°11'24" and Longitude 80°27'00".

Panchachuli-5 (6,437 m)

The first ascent of this peak was made in 1992 by an Indo-British team jointly led by mountaineers

Chris Bonington Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL (born 6 August 1934) is a British mountaineer. His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest. Early life and expeditions Bonington's father, w ...

and

Harish Kapadia Harish Kapadia (born 11 July 1945) is a Himalayan mountaineer, author and long-time editor of the '' Himalayan Journal'' from India. He has been awarded the Patron's Medal of the Royal Geographical Society, the Life Time Achievement Award fo ...

from the South Ridge.

Stephen Venables Stephen Venables (born 2 May 1954) is a British mountaineer and writer, and is a past president of the South Georgia Association and of the Alpine Club. Mountaineer In 1988, Venables became the first Briton to ascend the summit of Mount Everest ...

was one of the members of the team who successfully summited, but had an accident during his descent. A daring rescue operation by the

Indian Air force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

helped evacuate him to safety. The coordinates of this peak are Latitude 30°10'48" and Longitude 80°28'12".

Approaches to Pancha-Chuli

# Eastern approach: via the

Sona Glacier Sona Glacier is the Himalayan glacier situated in the eastern part of Uttarakhand in the Pithoragarh district of India. Geography Sona Glacier is located at the base of five peaks of Panchachuli in the Lassar Yankti - Darma valley. With Meol ...

and

Meola Glacier Meola Glacier or Athasi-Balati Glacier is the Himalayan glacier situated in the eastern part of Uttarakhand in the Pithoragarh district of India. Geography Meola Glacier is located at the base of the five peaks of Panchchuli in the Lassar Ya ...

, Darma Valley, Dharchula. # Western approach: through the Uttari Balati Glacier via Balati Plateau.

References

External links

''The Himalayan Journal'' - Pach Chuli Group ascents
{{Authority control Geography of Pithoragarh district Mountains of Uttarakhand Six-thousanders of the Himalayas