J&K ADGP joins course at Manali’s Atal mountaineering institute
Jammu and Kashmir Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Garib Dass has enrolled in the Basic Mountaineering Course (BMC) at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports in Manali, beginning Thursday.
According to institute Director Avinash Negi, this is the first mountaineering clourse of the season, with several more scheduled up to October 2026. He said that the participation of a 1997-batch IPS officer and IIT graduate added distinction to the course.
Negi said that 110 trainees from across India, including 25 women and one foreign participant, would attend the 26-day programme. He added that the curriculum combined indoor and outdoor training to develop technical skills, physical endurance and mental resilience. Modules included physical conditioning; rock craft such as climbing, rappelling and rope handling; snow and ice craft including ice axe use, crampons and glacier travel; theoretical sessions on navigation and route planning; and extensive field training in mountain terrain. The participants would also be trained in survival skills, first aid, high-altitude medical awareness, rescue operations, load ferry techniques, camp setting and team-building exercises.
Negi said that training was conducted under experienced instructors to ensure high safety standards and environmental responsibility. The participants were also sensitised to Leave No Trace principles, mountain ethics and sustainable practices aimed at protecting fragile ecosystems, he added.
He said that such courses pushed individuals beyond their comfort zones and helped reconnect them with nature, which was particularly important in today’s digital, indoor-oriented lifestyles. “Mountaineering builds physical strength as well as mental toughness, decision-making ability, crisis management skills and teamwork,” he added.
“The institute also promotes self-employment and adventure tourism by equipping the youth with skills in mountaineering, aero sports, water sports, winter sports and disaster response,” Negi said.
