The Arwa Group is a set of three

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 pea ...

n peaks, named Arwa Tower, Arwa Crest, and Arwa Spire, situated in the

Chamoli district Chamoli district is a district of the Uttarakhand state of India. It is bounded by China's Xizang Autonomous Region to the north, and by the Uttarakhand districts of Pithoragarh district, Pithoragarh and Bageshwar district, Bageshwar to the eas ...

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...

state, in northern

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. They are situated on the south side of the southwest branch of the Arwa Valley, south of the dry lake Arwa Tal, and northwest of

Badrinath Badrinath is a town and nagar panchayat in Chamoli district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is a Hindu holy place, and is one of the four sites in India's Char Dham pilgrimage. It is also part of India's Chota Char Dham pilgrimage c ...

. To their south lies the Bhagirath Kharak Glacier. Lying near the border with

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

, these peaks have restricted access, and they have not been frequented by climbers until recently. However their steep, rocky profiles offer an extreme challenge to high-level rock climbers. The three peaks lie close together and share a base camp. Reaching the base camp in the Arwa Valley, at an elevation of 4,350 m (14,270 ft), requires a three-day trek from Badrinath. All these peaks are on the Arwa-Bagneu divide and can also be approached from the south.

Arwa Tower

The Arwa Tower is a peak with a huge rocky ridge along with a steep granite wall. The summit is a needle-like tower on the east ridge. The

massif A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...

is flanked by many steep buttresses. The First ascent of the Tower was made by

Britons British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, w ...

Mick Fowler Michael Fowler (born 1956) is a British rock climber, ice climber, mountaineer and climbing author. He is internationally noted for his alpine climbing and was awarded the Piolet d'Or three times, with Paul Ramsden (climber), Paul Ramsden, in 2 ...

and Steve Sustad on 14 May 1999, via the northwest face. In May 2002, a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

expedition led by Antoine de Choudens (with 11 members) climbed Arwa Tower by two different routes: a first ascent of the south face, and a new route on the northwest face. On 9 June 2007 Stephan Siegrist, Thomas Senf and Denis Burdet succeeded to climb the previously thought impossible to climb over-hanging north face route for the first time.

Routes

*North West Face. *South Face - French Route *North West Buttress - Pilier Guilhem Chaffiol *North Face/East Ridge *South Face - French route

Arwa Spires

The Arwa Spires are a series of stupendous rocky spires which offer highly challenging rock climbs. The spires have two main peaks, namely the main (or east) and west peaks. (However, there is some doubt about which peak is higher.) They are situated southwest of Arwa Tower. The first ascent of the east spire (to the base of a small summit pinnacle) was made in October 2000 by a British expedition led by

Kenton Cool Kenton Edward Cool (born 30 July 1973, ) is an English climber and mountain guide. He is one of Britain's leading alpine and high altitude climbers. He has reached the summit of Mount Everest 19 times—the most of any non-Nepali. His ascents ...

, via the east ridge. Andy Benson and Pete Benson made the first summit climb, followed five days later by Cool, Ian Parnell, and Al Powell.

Routes

*North East Ridge *North Face, Right Hand Couloir *North East Ridge *North Face - Fior di Vite *East Ridge - English route *Capisco to West Summit

Arwa Crest

Arwa Crest is the crest-like peak in the Arwa area. It is situated to the west of the Arwa Tower. The easiest route is via the north face. The first ascent was made, using this route, in 2002 by a French team including Philippe Renard, Grégory Muffat Joly, Laurent Miston, and Antoine de Choudens.

Routes

*North Face - French route *East Ridge

Nearby peaks

Kamet Kamet () is the second-highest mountain in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, India, after Nanda Devi. It is the 29th highest mountain in the world. It lies in the Chamoli District of Uttarakhand. Its appearance resembles a giant pyramid topp ...

* Nilkantha * Chaukamba

Nearby glaciers

* Bhagirath Kharak Glacier * Arwa Glacier

References

{{reflist Tourist attractions in Uttarakhand Geography of Chamoli district Mountains of Uttarakhand

Arwa Tower

Routes

Arwa Spires

Routes

Arwa Crest

Routes

Nearby peaks

Nearby glaciers

See also

References