Vadodara: City-based mountaineer Hitesh Patel has scaled two Himalayan peaks above 6,000 metres in Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh within eight days, completing both ascents in Alpine Style without support teams, fixed ropes or pre-established high-altitude camps.Patel, along with two team members, undertook the expedition from Sep 1 to 8, summiting Mount Shinkun East (6,081 metres) near Shinku La on the Himachal Pradesh-Ladakh border and Mount Yunam (6,111 metres) in Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul Valley.The team faced technically demanding rocky and icy terrain, extreme cold and low oxygen levels during the climbs. After reaching the summits, the mountaineers unfurled the Tricolour.Following the two successful summit climbs, Patel also undertook an exploratory attempt on an unclimbed peak above Pangong Lake in Ladakh. Since there was no established route, the team pioneered its own route and reached an altitude of 5,800 metres, but stopped short of the summit.
