INDIAN ARMY ON WORLD'S HIGHEST & MOST INHOSPITABLE BATTLEFIELD - SIACHEN GLACIER скачать в хорошем качестве

INDIAN ARMY ON WORLD'S HIGHEST & MOST INHOSPITABLE BATTLEFIELD - SIACHEN GLACIER

The Siachen Glacier is located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalaya Mountains at about 35.5°N 77.0°E, just east of the Line of Control between India-Pakistan. India controls most of the Siachen Glacier itself, including most tributary glaciers. At 70 km long, it is the longest glacier in the Karakoram and second-longest in the world's non-polar areas. It falls from an altitude of 5,753 m above sea level at its head at Indira Col on the China border down to 3,620 m at its terminus. The Siachen Glacier lies immediately south of the great watershed that separates China from the Indian subcontinent in the extensively glaciated portion of the Karakoram that is sometimes called the "Third Pole." The glacier lies between the Saltoro Ridge immediately to the west and the main Karakoram range to the east. The Saltoro Ridge originates in the north from the Sia Kangri peak on the China border in the Karakoram range. The crest of the Saltoro Ridge's altitudes range from 5,450 to 7,720 m. The major passes on this ridge are, from north to south, Sia La at 5,589 m, Bilafond La at 5,450 m, and Gyong La at 5,689 m. The average winter snowfall is 10.5 m and temperatures can dip below −60 °C. Including all tributary glaciers, the Siachen Glacier system covers about 700 sq. km The glacier's region is the highest battleground on earth, where India and Pakistan have fought intermittently since April 1984. Both countries maintain permanent military presence in the region at a height of over 6,000 metres (20,000 ft). The site is one of the most eminent examples of mountain warfare. Both India and Pakistan have wished to disengage from the costly military outposts. However, after the Pakistani incursions during the Kargil War in 1999, India abandoned plans to withdraw from Siachen unless there's an official recognition of the current line of control by Pakistan, wary of further Pakistani incursions if they vacate the Siachen Glacier posts without such recognition. Since September 2007, India has opened up mountaineering and trekking expeditions to the forbidding glacial heights. The first group included cadets from Chail Military School, National Defence Academy, National Cadet Corps, Indian Military Academy, Rashtriya Indian Military College and family members of armed forces officers. The expeditions are also meant to show to the international audience that Indian troops hold "almost all dominating heights" on the important Saltoro Ridge and to show that Pakistani troops are not within 24 km of the Siachen Glacier. Ignoring protests from Pakistan, India maintains that it does not need anyone's approval to send trekkers to Siachen, in what it says is essentially its own territory. In addition, the Indian Army's Army Mountaineering Institute (AMI) functions out of the region.