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Rigzin Ladakhi born in 1932, started work as a Sherpa/Guide engaged by various Indian and Foreign expeditions in 1950 at the age of 18 when trekking and mountaineering in India was still in its infancy. Later he joined Peter Grew, the renowned British climber and explorer and accompanied him for 5 years. The Japanese learnt of Rigzin's expertise in the mountains and the Japan Alpine Worker's Federation persuaded him to organise their groups and for the next twenty five years he accompanied them on numerous mountain expeditions in the Himalayas. Later Rigzin assisted the Survey of India for 6 months on varied assignments. The last period of his outdoor work saw him organising trekking and mountaineering expeditions for 15 years with German groups led by Dr. Hemberger. He was also the President of the Manali Climbers Association in the year 1978. Among his many accomplishments are mainly: Among some of the major peaks Rigzin has climbed are the CB 13 (6264m) 13 times; Mulkila (6517m) 2 times; Deo Tibba (6001m) 20 times; Explored the Bara Shigri Glacier the largest snow field in Asia for 5 years. Besides these notable peaks Rigzin climbed another 18 peaks in the Himachal Pradesh region a number of times all of them successfully. The list is too exhaustive to be mentioned here. Early trekking expeditions were led by him to Bara Banghal; Padum in Zanskar; Tso Moriri Lake and Kargil in Ladakh; all these treks involved the crossing of high mountain passes all ranging from 4500m to over 5000m. At that time there were no professional trekking agencies in Manali. His sincere efforts in organising and accompanying successful expeditions and treks resulted in his being awarded two prestigious medals - The Austrian Bokhum Medal in 1972 and the 2nd International Purkersdorf medal. He has also received accolades and appreciation letters from Cambridge University - 1955 Like his father and brother Sampel too was a mountaineering enthusiast. After completing his education he went on to complete his basic and advanced mountaineering courses; basic, intermediate and advanced Skiing courses from the W.H.M.I. Manali. He also completed courses in White Water Kayaking; basic and advanced courses in water sports and an Avalanche Rescue course in Japan. Like his brother he too joined the W.H.M.I. to work as an Instructor for three sessions. Later he led expeditions to some of the major peaks in the region including the tough 6078m high CB 14 in Himachal Pradesh and Nun in Ladakh -7135m among others. Since 1985 he is involved in organising trekking and mountaineering expeditions and Jeep Safaris in the state and neighbouring Garhwal. He has also explored trekking routes in these parts of the Himalayas and in the far eastern Bhutan Himalayas. Today Marco Polo India offers the adventurer and traveller, the very best of professional services that are a result of years of adventure activities and tours in the Indian Western Himalayas. Our staff comprise of veteran mountaineers and trekking guides besides an efficient camp staff and expert cooks, pack pony men with sturdy ponies and other support staff whose main objective is to ensure that all goes well on all of our Tours, Expeditions and Safaris. So if you're planning a journey in the Indian Western Himalayas drop us a line or email us with your queries and programme and leave the rest to us for an exciting and memorable holiday. P.T. Angdu After having undergone the High Altitude Warfare
course and being adjudged the best trainee of the batch, Angdu went
on to complete his basic and advanced ski courses at the Army school.
He later joined the Ladakh Scouts a division of the Indian Army
and remained there for 7 years. An avid skier, he completed his
basic, advanced and MOI courses from the Western Himalayan Mountaineering
Institute at Manali. He went on to win the annual ski championships
for three consecutive years - 1985, 86 and 87. From 1992 to 1996
he forged ahead and continuously won the National Skiing championship
trophy. Wanting to share his expertise with others he joined the
Western Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Manali as a Ski Instructor
for 4 sessions. |
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