Fast track permits. 113 Himalayan peaks were pre-cleared for 2009, m eaning th at obtaining per­

m its should only take tw o -th ree weeks. You still need to fill o u t an application and o th er fo r­

malities, b u t now you can arrive on a tourist visa, so the hassle is quite reduced. These 113 peaks

include some o f the plum s like Shivling, M eru, Bhagirathi, Satopanth, Thaley Sagar, N anda Devi

East, Trisul 1, N anda Kot, N ilkantha, and C haukham bha in U ttarakhand; N un, Kun, Pinnacle,

W hite Needle, Z I , Z3, and Z8 in Zanskar. In H im achal Pradesh m ost o f the peaks from CB 9 to

35, W hite Sail, Papsura, Deo Tibba, M enthosa, and Phabrang are included, am ong m any

others. We are now try ing to

reduce som e o f the o th er restric­

tions, such as use o f GPS and

satellite phones, and availability o f

detailed maps.

M a n d ip S i n g h S o i n ,

Ibex Expeditions, India