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Indo-Argentine Army Team Scales Mt Kamet and Mt Abi Gamin

The Chief of the Army Staff flagged in the joint Indo-Argentine mountaineering team in Delhi after it climbed Mt Abi Gamin and Mt Kamet in Uttarakhand.

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Indo-Argentine Army Team Scales Mt Kamet and Mt Abi Gamin — GK24 title card

Why in News

On 6 October 2026 the Chief of the Army Staff flagged in, at New Delhi, the Joint Indo-Argentine Army Mountaineering Expedition that had climbed Mt Abi Gamin and Mt Kamet in Uttarakhand in September 2026.

General Dhiraj Seth, the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), received the members of the Joint Indo-Argentine Army Mountaineering Expedition at New Delhi after the team came back from the Garhwal Himalaya. The climbers had stood on two seven-thousanders in the space of five days.

The two summits

The team reached the top of Mt Abi Gamin, which rises to 7,355 metres, on 17 September, and the top of Mt Kamet, 7,756 metres, on 21 September 2026. Mt Kamet stands in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. It is the third-highest peak inside India, behind Mt Kanchenjunga and Mt Nanda Devi.

Who went

The party numbered 35 and was led by Lieutenant Colonel Chirag Chatterjee. Of these, 25 came from the Indian Army and 10 from the Argentine Army. The expedition had been flagged off from the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi on 21 August 2026. On the way up the climbers worked through severe cold, strong winds, snowfields, steep rock and crevasses.

The third such outing

This was the third mountaineering venture the two armies have undertaken together. The first took them to Mt Aconcagua at 6,962 metres in Mendoza, Argentina, in January 2025. The second went to Mt Kun, 7,077 metres, in the Suru valley of Ladakh in August 2025.

ExpeditionPeakWhereWhen
FirstMt AconcaguaMendoza, ArgentinaJanuary 2025
SecondMt KunSuru valley, LadakhAugust 2025
ThirdMt Abi Gamin and Mt KametUttarakhandSeptember 2026

Why such climbs are run

Expeditions of this kind let two armies practise working side by side where the air is thin and the ground unforgiving. The Army says they have built professional cooperation, interoperability and trust between the Indian and the Argentine soldiers, and have given both sides experience of operating together at great height.

Points a paper setter will pick

  • Mt Kamet is the third-highest peak in India, after Mt Kanchenjunga and Mt Nanda Devi.
  • Mt Kamet lies in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand.
  • The team of 35 was led by Lieutenant Colonel Chirag Chatterjee.
  • This was the third joint expedition of the Indian and Argentine armies.

Important Facts

ExpeditionJoint Indo-Argentine Army Mountaineering Expedition, the third of its kind
Flagged in byGeneral Dhiraj Seth, Chief of the Army Staff, at New Delhi
Peaks climbedMt Abi Gamin (7,355 metres) and Mt Kamet (7,756 metres)
Summit dates17 September and 21 September 2026
Mt KametChamoli district, Uttarakhand; third-highest peak in India
Higher Indian peaksMt Kanchenjunga and Mt Nanda Devi
Team35 members: 25 Indian Army and 10 Argentine Army
LeaderLieutenant Colonel Chirag Chatterjee
Flagged off21 August 2026, Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi

Exam Point of View

Learn the two peaks with their heights, the dates of the summits, the rank of Mt Kamet as the third-highest peak in India and the two peaks ahead of it, the district and state in which it lies, the size and leadership of the team, the place and date of the flag-off, and the two earlier joint expeditions with their peaks and countries.

Practice Questions

Q1.DefenceMedium

Mt Kamet, climbed by the joint Indo-Argentine Army expedition, is the highest peak in India after which two mountains?

  1. A.Mt Kanchenjunga and Mt Nanda Devi
  2. B.Mt Kanchenjunga and Mt Saltoro Kangri
  3. C.Mt Nanda Devi and Mt Trishul
  4. D.Mt Nun and Mt Kun
Show answer

Correct answer: A. Mt Kanchenjunga and Mt Nanda Devi

Explanation

The correct answer is Mt Kanchenjunga and Mt Nanda Devi. Mt Kamet stands in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand and is the third-highest mountain within India, which places exactly those two peaks above it. The joint Indo-Argentine team topped it on 21 September 2026 at a height of 7,756 metres, four days after it had climbed Mt Abi Gamin. Option B is wrong because it replaces Nanda Devi with a Karakoram peak that does not sit in the order being asked about. Option C is wrong because Trishul, although a well-known Garhwal summit, is lower than Kamet and cannot stand above it in the ranking. Option D is wrong because Nun and Kun are Ladakh peaks and neither of them outranks Kamet. Candidates should pair the name of the peak with its district, its state and its position in the list of Indian summits.

Q2.DefenceEasy

Who led the Joint Indo-Argentine Army Mountaineering Expedition of 2026?

  1. A.General Dhiraj Seth
  2. B.Lieutenant Colonel Chirag Chatterjee
  3. C.Colonel Ranveer Jamwal
  4. D.Major Sita Sahu
Show answer

Correct answer: B. Lieutenant Colonel Chirag Chatterjee

Explanation

The correct answer is Lieutenant Colonel Chirag Chatterjee. He headed the party of 35 climbers, of whom 25 belonged to the Indian Army and 10 to the Argentine Army, and the group was flagged off from the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi on 21 August 2026. Option A is a tempting trap: General Dhiraj Seth is the Chief of the Army Staff and he flagged the team in on its return, but he did not lead the climb itself, and examinations often test precisely that difference between the officer who sends off or receives a team and the officer who commands it. Options C and D name officers who have no part in this expedition and are offered only as plausible-sounding distractors. Along with the leader, remember the split of the team between the two armies and the date on which it set out.

Q3.DefenceHard

The 2026 climb was which joint mountaineering expedition of the Indian and Argentine armies?

  1. A.The first
  2. B.The second
  3. C.The third
  4. D.The fifth
Show answer

Correct answer: C. The third

Explanation

The correct answer is the third. The two armies first climbed together on Mt Aconcagua at 6,962 metres in Mendoza, Argentina, in January 2025, then on Mt Kun at 7,077 metres in the Suru valley of Ladakh in August 2025, and the Uttarakhand outing of this year was therefore the third in the series. Options A and B are wrong because they ignore the two earlier ventures that the Ministry of Defence lists by name, peak and month. Option D is wrong because no fourth or fifth joint climb has taken place; the series has run to three. A useful way to hold this is by the pattern of the venues, one in the Andes of Argentina followed by two in the Indian Himalaya, first in Ladakh and then in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which peaks did the Joint Indo-Argentine Army Mountaineering Expedition climb?

Mt Abi Gamin, 7,355 metres, on 17 September and Mt Kamet, 7,756 metres, on 21 September 2026. Both lie in the Garhwal Himalaya of Uttarakhand.

Where does Mt Kamet rank among Indian peaks?

It is the third-highest peak in India, after Mt Kanchenjunga and Mt Nanda Devi. The mountain stands in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.

Which earlier joint expeditions have the Indian and Argentine armies undertaken?

Two. Mt Aconcagua at 6,962 metres in Mendoza, Argentina, in January 2025, and Mt Kun at 7,077 metres in the Suru valley of Ladakh in August 2025.

Sources