A proud moment for Himachal Pradesh, the second Border Security Force (BSF) Mount Everest expedition, yet again, has a Himachali that too from Kinnaur district heading the team.

The BSF Mount Everest expedition that was flagged off from Delhi by Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Col Rajyavardhan Rathore on Tuesday, is led by two leaders, Assistant Commandant Padmashree Lovraj Singh Dharmasaktu from Uttrakhand and Deputy Commandant, Avinash Negi.

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The expedition consists of the team of 25 climbers including seven Himachali members.

The first expedition of BSF in 2006, was headed by the then BSF, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) SC Negi from HP, also hailing from Kinnaur district.

What was special in the last expedition was that SC Negi, became the highest ranking police official in the world to climb Mt Everest at the age of 56 years. At that time he also became the oldest Indian to reach the top. Padamashree Lovraj Singh Dharmadsaktu too also had been part of the team.

Avinash Negi (37) hails from Batseri village, Sangla in Kinnaur district is a trained Paraglider and a qualified skier. He has on earlier occasion successfully lead the BSF team and scaled Mount Jogin 1 situated at 21,360 ft in the year 2017.

“It has always been my dream to be on the top of the world,” Avinash Negi told The Statesman. Talking about the expedition he said, “We will start the 60 days mission in the first week of April from Kathmandu, Nepal gradually adapting to acclimatisation process. During this period the team will be trekking up to the higher reaches and will be setting up the base camp at an altitude of 17800 ft.”

“Before embarking on their final mission the team will attempt to summit Mt Lobuche (6,000 Meter) plus peak to tune body to local conditions. This exposure will help the team members to well acclimatise for higher camps. The team will take the traditional route of South Col for their summit,” he said.

The mission Everest 2018 is also associated with Clean Himalaya clean glacier campaign, he said, adding that the team aims to collect more than 1000 kg of non-biodegradable garbage between base camp and camp number four left by successive mountaineers and trekkers.

The trash will be brought to Kathmandu Nepal for proper disposal, he said, adding that this gesture is aimed to spread a message of Swaach Bharat mission to Himalayan countries and also sensitise the mountaineering community and locals towards cleanliness.

Negi said that the non-bio-degradable trash left by the mountaineers and trekkers on glaciers is also one of the factors contributing towards rapid melting of glaciers that is perennial source of the major rivers.

The team will pay reverence to Chomolungma (Mt Everest) goddess mother of the mountains and hoist Tricolour on top of the world highest mountain peak, he said.

Having rigorously prepared for the success of the expedition, the team members underwent 37 days pre-expedition training in Dhauladar and Pir Panjal Ranges of Manali Himachal Pradesh in the month of January and February 2018.