Valley’s oldest mountaineering club looking up again

SRINAGAR:Counted among one of the oldest clubs of its kind in Asia the JK Mountaineering and Hiking Club JKMHC had become almost defunct after eruption of militancy in the state around 25 years back

Updated At : 05:55 AM Oct 20, 2015 IST

Scaling heights: Members of the J-K mountaineering club near the Nun peak at an altitude of 23,400 feet. Tribune Photo

M Aamir Khan

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, October 19

Counted among one of the oldest clubs of its kind in Asia, the J&K Mountaineering and Hiking Club (JKMHC) had become almost defunct after eruption of militancy in the state around 25 years back.

Of late, the club has come back to life with a range of activities like holding regular high-altitude treks to preparing the local youth to scale Mount Everest.

“For the last two years, we have conducted around 35 major treks. Moreover, we are getting an overwhelming response from people across social strata, especially after we started a page of our club on Facebook,” said JKMHC president Mahmood Shah.

The club was founded in 1934 by Eric Biscoe, son of Tyndale Biscoe, who had founded the Valley’s oldest school, named after him, in 1880. Shah said new members were joining in big numbers as the social media gave a marketing boost to the club.

He said members stayed in touch and planned events over Facebook while treks on Sundays had become popular.

“We will promote mountaineering in schools as we are overwhelmed by the response of youngsters. After climbing peaks between 5,000 and 6,000 metres, we are preparing them to climb higher ones. Our ultimate aim is to prepare them to climb peaks like Mount Everest,” Shah said.

The club recently undertook three major expeditions, including the 110-km ‘Himalayan Traverse’ from Nun Kun in Ladakh to upper Kishtwar in Jammu region.