Satopanth (7075 meters, 23212 feet)

Satopanth (7075 meters, 23212 feet), originally uploaded by The Wandering Hermit.

The Summit Pyramid of Mt. Satopanth lit up in alpenglow during sunset as viewed from high up on neighboring Vasuki Parvat in the Garhwal Himal in Uttarakhand India.

The 7075m high pyramid of Satopanth belongs to the select 7000+ mtrs club and is a spectacularly beautiful peak which is easily recognizable due to its unique summit plateau which stands out distinctly in the sea of sharp spires of the other peaks around it.

As compared to other climbing peaks in the Garhwal Himal it is technically less demanding and has fewer objective hazards than peaks of similar altitude.

Another factor which contributes to its popularity is its relatively easy access from the road head and Vasuki tal is as idyllic a basecamp one can hope for.

For the last few years it has been used for training young alpinists and mountaineers as it gently introduces climbers to that magic 7000 mtrs mark and is a useful training peak frequently used by UIAA and other International Mountaineering Clubs as well as the ones in India for conducting their advanced mountaineering courses.

Satopanth was first climbed in 1947 by the Swiss alpinists Andre Roch and Alexander Graven via the North East ridge, which they called ‘A Ladder to Heaven’, due to its
Aesthetic beauty and summit views.( This expedition also made First ascent of Kedarnath(6940 m), Kalindi Peak (6102 m), Balbala (6414 m), Nanda Ghunti (6310 m), and made a fine attempt on Chaukhamba (7138 m)..

It wasn’t till 34 years till the next ascent was made in 1981 but since then the speed and number of ascents has increased very much with over 10 ascents for the last 5 years every year.