Siachen Glacier, world's highest battlefield.
© C.L.A.W. Global
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C.L.A.W. invites people with disabilities to a Siachen Glacier expedition

As part of Operation Blue Freedom: Triple Elemental World Records, C.L.A.W. Global opens registration to all Indians with disabilities.
Written by Rohit Singh
6 min readPublished on
C.L.A.W. Global is an India-based organization helping people with disabilities follow their passions in adventurous activities.
The organization was started by Major Vivek Jacob (ex-Indian Army, Special Forces) who retired after suffering a spinal cord injury during a military skydive in 2015. The organization, which stands for Conquer Land Air Water, has worked with people with disabilities across India to help them partake in activities like scuba diving, with some trainers and instructors also being people with disabilities.
The team’s larger goal is on Operation Blue Freedom, a dedication to giving people with disabilities more opportunities to engage in adventurous activities and thereby improve on their physiological and psychological being.
Operation Blue Freedom: Triple Elemental World Records is a series of world records being attempted by the team in 2021 of collectives of people with disabilities achieving great feats on land, in air and under water.
Operation Blue Freedom

Operation Blue Freedom

© C.L.A.W. Global

The team has encouraged open participation from all people with disabilities, requesting them to register on claw.global before 1st August for the upcoming land expedition to Siachen Glacier.
We speak with Major Arun Prakash Ambathy, director of C.L.A.W. Global, about the record attempt to Siachen Glacier.

Could you tell us a little about the expedition to Siachen Glacier?

The expedition is launching on 15th August. Training has already commenced but we have reopened a small window so more people can sign up by 1st August. Currently we have 20 people registered who are in training and we are opening up slots for 20 people more to participate.

Could you share the schedule of the attempt?

The itinerary involves reporting to New Delhi on 12th August. The participants will be with us from 12th August until 17th September. People will arrive on 12th August. On 13th August there will be an endurance test. On 14th August we will conduct medical examinations. On 15th August we conduct the vehicular flagging off; the vehicles will take four days to reach Leh. Then we train in Leh for four days, drive to Siachen base camp and train there for another four days. Then we conduct another set of endurance and medical tests at Siachen base camp. After this we begin to acclimatize for the attempt in a place called North Pullu, and after that we start the expedition.

Itinerary of the Siachen Glacier expedition

Dates (2021)

Event

Location (Ni Halt)

1st August

Cut-off date for signing up for world records

10th Aug

Announcement of selected participants

11th to 15th Aug

Endurance Test at Delhi; Medical Test at Delhi

New Delhi

15th Aug

Flag-off of vehicle convoy with the Land World Record team at New Delhi (Tentatively - Subject to availability of Hon'ble Raksha Mantri)

Ni Hlat; 15th Aug at Chandigarh; 16th Aug at Manali; 17th Aug at Patsio; 18th at Leh

Acclimatization ('A')

A1 - 17th August - Patsio (Day 1 of Stage 1 Acclimatization since mov is by road); A2 - 18th August - Leh (Day 2 of Acclimatization)

18th Aug

Land World Record team reaches Leh

Leh

19th to 21st Aug

A3 to A5 - Acclimatisation at Leh

Leh

22nd Aug

A6 - Move from Leh to Siachen Base Camp

Siachen Base Camp

23rd to 26th Aug

Stage 2 Acclimatisation and Training of Operation Blue Freedom Team (people with disabilities) at Siachen Base Camp

Siachen Base Camp

27th to 30th Aug

Stage 3 Acclimatisation and Training of Operation Blue Freedom Team (people with disabilities)

Noth Pullu

31st Aug

Move to Siachen Glacier Base Camp from North Pullu via Hunder (For Pre Expedition Medical Check)

1st Sept

Launch of Operation Blue Freedom - Land World Record (ex - Siachen Glacier Base Camp)

Ni Halt:-

Move from Base Camp to Kumar Post

1st Sept at Camp 1; 2nd Sept at Camp 2; 3rd Sept at Camp 3; 4th Sept at Kumar Post

5th Sept

Kumar Post (15,632 ft) - 1 Day Halt

Kumar Post

6th to 9th Sept

Descend from Kumar Post towards Base Camp

Siachen Base Camp

10th Sept

Adm Day at Base Camp

Siachen Base Camp

11th Sept

Drive from Siachen Base Camp to Leh via Hunder (For Post Expedition Medical Check) (Ex 102 Bde)

Leh

12th Sept

Felicitation at Leh

Leh

12th to 16th Sept

Launch 'Freedom Drive' from Leh to Delhi - Drive through key places connected with War Wounded Veterans, Disabilities and 1971 War

Leh - Kargil - Dras - Sonamarg - Srinagar - Jammu - Pathankot - Ambala - New Delhi

17th Sept

Reach Delhi for felicitation

New Delhi

Where is the expedition to? Is it a peak or certain elevation?

The expedition is to a place called Kumar Post which is at an altitude of 16,000 feet. It is like the centre of Siachen Glacier in some ways. There are many landmarks in and around Siachen Glacier because there are ridges, but you could say Kumar Post is like a central point.

What are the plans for the water and air attempts? Do people registering for the Siachen attempt also have to participate in the other attempts?

The water world record will happen in October and the air world record is planned for November. People can sign up for that as well. For the land world record we are primarily looking for amputees (upper and lower limbs) and people with visual impairments. If you are a person with a spinal cord injury or you have difficulties with walking, like if you have polio or muscular dystrophy, and you require a wheelchair for mobility, then we would definitely invite you to sign up for the water world record. Of course, people from the Siachen attempt don’t necessarily have to participate in the other attempts.

Who is the Siachen attempt open to?

The record attempt to Siachen Glacier is an Indians-only expedition because it is an active battlefield and military-sensitive zone. So foreign internationals may not participate in the expedition. However, it is not an expedition for veterans or armed forces personnel only. This attempt is for all Indians with disabilities, whether that is man or woman.

You’ve had people with disabilities as part of the training team for previous activities. Is that the case for the Siachen attempt also?

That is the case even here. On the panel of the trainers, we have people with disabilities. The panel of the doctors conducting the medical examinations also have people with disabilities. There is a mountaineer who lost his leg in combat. He is one of the trainers and he is also part of the expedition.

What is most important for people to know about this Siachen attempt?

We are trying to reach out to people with disabilities across the country to let them know about the attempt. We want them to know that the Indian Army has given special permission for this attempt. We want them to know the details of the attempt, the fact that it is happening for the first time. It is a world record of people with disabilities for the first time collectively scaling the world’s highest battlefield.
  • Last date for sign-up: 1st August
  • Expedition launch: 15th August
  • People with disabilities can register on: https://claw.global/
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