British-Indian Suitilla

Suitilla ('Peak of Needles') has been described as 'one of the finest unclimbed peaks in the Kumaon, if not the whole of the Indian Himalaya'. It is located in a fairly remote restricted area, 15km from the Tibetan border, not far from Pan Chuli. The walk-in was hampered by late monsoon conditions (and the unexpected arrival of a black bear), arrival at Base Camp coinciding with heavy snowfall which prevented a serious attempt at climbing the NW Face, the intended route. Singh then contracted a severe viral infection, and he and his wife, Sabharwal, left the expedition. Undeterred, Little and Lowther relocated to the south side, and succeeded in making an alpine­ style ascent of the 1,100m S Face, climbing continuously for 22 hours (15 up and 7 down), topping out on the horrendous cornice of the 6,373m West summit. However, restricted military maps indicate that the East summit (marked as Suj Tilla), linked to the West by a serious, corniced knife-edge ridge, is slightly higher at 6,394m.