An Army Mount Kun Expedition team has returned to New Delhi after climbing the 7,077 metre peak in Ladakh and setting a record for the largest number of members of a single team to reach the summit in one day, the Indian Army said on Wednesday.

Lieutenant General Sandeep Jain, the Vice Chief of the Army Staff, flagged in the party in New Delhi. The 27 member team was led by Lieutenant Colonel Jay Prakash Kumar and summited Mount Kun on 17 July.

The climb to 7,077 metres

The route ran through extreme weather, heavily glaciated ground, steep ice walls and avalanche prone stretches. The party was made up of three officers, eight Junior Commissioned Officers and 16 Other Ranks.

Mount Kun is the second of the twin summits of the Nun Kun massif in the Suru Valley of Ladakh, standing just below its taller neighbour Nun at 7,135 metres. It is among the higher peaks of the Zanskar range on the Indian side of the Line of Control, a technical glacier and ice climb that mountaineers often take on as a step towards the 8,000 metre giants.


What the Army Mount Kun Expedition achieved

Every climber reached the top and unfurled the National Flag. The Army logged it as the highest number of members of a single team to summit Mount Kun in a single day.

A build-up to the 2027 Everest expedition

The Army Mount Kun Expedition forms part of the team's preparation for its maiden Indian Army Everest Massif Expedition, planned for 2027.

The Vice Chief's message

Lt Gen Jain commended the team for its courage, endurance, teamwork and mountaineering skill. He described adventure activities as a way to build leadership, resilience and team spirit among soldiers.

Part of a wider adventure calendar

That emphasis runs across the forces, where adventure and sport form part of the training and welfare work overseen by the Ministry of Defence. The services recently marked an all women tri-service circumnavigation and fielded soldier-athletes who led India's medal count at the Commonwealth Games.

The Army has kept up its own run of high-altitude climbs, among them an ascent of Point 5140 above Dras, records of which appear in official releases through the Press Information Bureau. Its post on the Mount Kun climb tagged the Defence Minister's office and the Army's sports and adventure wing.