Mountaineering in India is a challenging popular concept; given the country’s entire north and north-eastern borders is the highest mountain range in the world, the mighty Himalayas. The Indian Himalaya covers the country’s north and north-east parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. India is also bounded by the eastern section of the Karakoram mountain range. These ranges have triggered the challenge and popularity of mountaineering and climbing in India. The apex body for mountaineering in India is the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF), established in 1957 to organize, support and provide a base for expeditions for mountaineering, skiing, rock climbing and trekking at high altitudes. It is affiliated to the International Federation of Sport Climbing.

The Mountaineering Institutes in India
There are numerous Mountaineering Institutes in India affiliated to IMF. The institutions are:

Nehru Institute of Mountaineering

Himalayan Mountaineering Institute

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports

Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering & Winter Sports

National Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports

Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering

Pandit Nain Singh Surveyor Mountaineering Training Institute

Sonam Gyatso Mountaineering Institute

High Altitude Warfare School

Nehru Institute of Mountaineering: Set up in 1965, it is rated as the most prominent mountaineering institute in Asia. It provides various courses like adventure course, Basic Mountaineering Course, Advance Mountaineering Course, Search and Rescue Course (the only institute in India providing this course), Methods of Instruction Course etc.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute: It is the largest adventure sport training centre in India today. Set up in 1961, it offers adventure courses across the state. One can undertake a Basic Mountaineering Course, Adventure Course, Snow Skiing, Water Course, etc.

Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering: IISM was set up in 1969 with the main focus on snow skiing. It also provides mountaineering courses along with other courses like water skiing, parasailing, paragliding, adventure courses, etc.

Pandit Nain Singh Surveyor Mountaineering Training Institute: It is a newly established mountaineering institute situated at an altitude of 2,200m in Munsiyari, Uttarakhand. The institute is named after the great surveyor Pandit Nain Singh Rawat who played a major role in the Great Trigonometrical Survey (GTS) in mid-nineteenth century.