Thursday, Oct 30, 2025 22:15 [IST]
Last Update: Wednesday, Oct 29, 2025 16:40 [IST]
YUKSAM, : Two professional climbers from Spain have successfully scaled Mount Tenchenkhang (6,010 m) in West Sikkim, located within the Khangchendzonga Range inside Khangchendzonga National Park.
Pablo Gullon (53) and Victor Fernandez (54) successfully reached the summit on October 23 at 4:40 am. They accomplished the climb using the Alpine expedition technique, making this ascent the first recorded Alpine-style climb on Mount Tenchenkhang.
Both are professional mountaineers from Spain and undertook the climb using the alpine expedition technique, which involves ascending without fixed ropes or established camps, a faster and more self-reliant style of mountaineering.
Speaking to the media at Yuksam, the climbers expressed their happiness and satisfaction over the successful expedition. They described Mount Tenchenkhang as an ideal peak for short-duration alpine expeditions and shared their interest in returning to Sikkim with their families and fellow climbers in the future.
During the expedition, one of the climbers also reported a rare sighting of a snow leopard near their base camp above Thangsing. According to officials of Khangchendzonga National Park (KNP), this is the first snow leopard sighting by a visiting climber in the area.
Most previous sightings have been captured only through camera traps installed by the Forest Department. KNP officials informed that the snow leopard population in the region has been increasing, with recent surveys recording 21 snow leopards in the Sikkim Himalayas, including nine within the Gyalshing Range of KNP in West Sikkim.
The 15-day expedition began from Yuksam on October 14 and concluded on October 28.
Earlier in May this year, a team of three mountaineers from Germany had also successfully scaled Mount Tenchenkhang.
