Mount Kamet (7,756 m): History, Route & Climbing Guide
The giant that broke the 25,000 ft barrier.
Kamet is the second-highest peak in Uttarakhand and the third-highest in India in our dataset. Here is the Meade's Col route camp by camp, the honest difficulty, the season, the 2026 permit and Inner Line rules, and the story from 1855 to the first ascent of 1931 and beyond.
- 7,756 m summit (25,446 ft)
- About 4 weeks from Joshimath (estimate)
- May–Jun Sep–Oct
- 5 camps via Meade's Col
- 2026 open (Uttarakhand list)
Mountains of India › Uttarakhand › Mount Kamet
Last verified 2 Nov 2026
How high is Mount Kamet, and how do you climb it?
Mount Kamet is 7,756 m (25,446 ft) high, in the Zanskar range of the Garhwal Himalaya, Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, near the Tibet border. It is the second-highest peak in Uttarakhand after Nanda Devi. Teams drive to Ghamsali in the Niti valley, then climb the East Kamet glacier to Meade’s Col and the north-east face. It is open in 2026. See all 7,000 m peaks in India.
Status, checked 2 November 2026: open. Kamet is the highest of the 83 peaks (5,700–7,756 m) that Uttarakhand opened in February 2026. Indian climbers apply on the state’s UKMPS portal and pay no state fees in 2026; foreign teams pay only the IMF fees. An ITBP expedition to Kamet and Abi Gamin was flagged off in August 2026; no result has been published.
Its real record. On 21 June 1931 Kamet became the first summit above 25,000 ft (7,620 m) ever reached, and it stayed the highest summit climbed until Nanda Devi in 1936. It is often called the first 7,000 m summit, but that honour belongs to Trisul, climbed in 1907. Our timeline of Himalayan first ascents puts both in order.
Kamet is a big pyramid with a flat summit area and two tops, standing beside its ridge-linked neighbour Abi Gamin (7,355 m). Its East Kamet glacier feeds the Dhauliganga and its West Kamet glacier the Saraswati, both tributaries of the Alaknanda. For the bigger picture, see our guide to the mountains of India and the full list of India’s highest peaks.
Route from Ghamsali, camp by camp
From Joshimath, the check-post town, the road runs up the Dhauliganga to Malari and on to the ITBP post at Ghamsali (3,350 m), about 83 km in all. The walk-in follows the river to Sepuk (3,700 m) and Raikana (4,200 m), then base camp at about 4,650 m near Vasudhara; the state’s route data calls the base camp Dobla Tal.
Above base camp, the route climbs the East (Purbi) Kamet glacier: Camp 1 (about 4,960 m), Camp 2 (5,360 m) on the upper glacier, Camp 3 (about 6,050 m) above a rockfall gully, and Camp 4 (about 6,650 m) above a rock-and-ice wall. A crevassed icefield leads to Meade’s Col (about 7,100 m), the summit camp, from where the last section goes up the north-east edge of the north face on steep, often icy snow. Camp heights are from the 2003 Indian Navy expedition in the Himalayan Journal and vary from year to year.
| Camp / point | Altitude | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Joshimath | 1,875 m / 6,152 ft | Check-post town and formalities (height approximate) |
| Ghamsali | 3,350 m / 10,991 ft | Road-head and ITBP post, via Malari |
| Sepuk | 3,700 m / 12,139 ft | River camp on the Dhauliganga |
| Raikana | 4,200 m / 13,780 ft | Acclimatisation camp |
| Base camp | 4,650 m / 15,256 ft | Near Vasudhara ("Dobla Tal" in state data) |
| Camp 1 | 4,960 m / 16,273 ft | Lower East Kamet glacier (5,040 m in 2006) |
| Camp 2 | 5,360 m / 17,585 ft | Upper East Kamet glacier |
| Camp 3 | 6,050 m / 19,849 ft | Above the rockfall gully and ice wall |
| Camp 4 | 6,650 m / 21,818 ft | Above a rock-and-ice wall |
| Meade's Col | 7,100 m / 23,294 ft | Summit camp after a crevassed icefield (about 7,100 m) |
| Kamet summit | 7,756 m / 25,446 ft | North-east edge of the north face |
A typical plan (estimate, not a fixed schedule)
- Days 1–2 · JoshimathFormalities at the check-post, Inner Line paperwork and a first night at height.
- Day 3 · Drive to GhamsaliUp the Dhauliganga via Malari to the road-head at 3,350 m.
- Days 4–5 · Sepuk and RaikanaWalk-in along the river to 3,700 m and 4,200 m, with time to acclimatise.
- Day 6 · Base campBase camp at about 4,650 m near Vasudhara.
- Days 7–12 · Camps 1 and 2Load carries up the East Kamet glacier to about 4,960 m and 5,360 m.
- Days 13–20 · Camps 3, 4 and Meade's ColFix rope through the gully and the ice wall, then move up to the col at about 7,100 m.
- Days 21–26 · Summit windowSummit day from Meade's Col to 7,756 m, with spare days for weather.
- Days 27–30 · Down and outClear the camps, walk out to Ghamsali and drive back to Joshimath.
Itineraries vary with the outfitter, group and weather; rest days are added when needed.
How hard is Kamet?
Our dataset grades Kamet technical: the normal route is a relatively straightforward snow and ice line for its height, but it is a full high-altitude expedition. Climbers on record describe a rockfall gully below Camp 3, a crevassed icefield to Meade’s Col, an ice wall of roughly 75 m, avalanches off the neighbouring peaks, and temperatures of −25 to −36 °C with wind chill. Summit day starts from about 7,100 m.
You should arrive with an earlier 7,000 m summit or at least a solid 6,000 m record, and good glacier and fixed-rope skills. In Himachal, the natural steps are Deo Tibba (6,001 m), then Mulkila (6,517 m) and Reo Purgyil (6,816 m). Read our altitude sickness guide before you go higher.
- ExperienceEarlier high-altitude summits, ideally above 6,500 m, and time on big crevassed glaciers.
- TechniqueCrampons and ice axe on steep icy snow, fixed ropes, jumaring and crevasse rescue.
- FitnessWeeks of load carries between five camps and a summit day from about 7,100 m.
- AcclimatisationA slow walk-in from Ghamsali and staged rotations to the upper camps.
- TrainingA Basic and an Advanced Mountaineering Course; Indian teams also follow IMF rules on team qualifications.
Best time to climb Kamet
May to June and September to October. Uttarakhand’s peak page gives a wider window of April to October and calls the post-monsoon months the best. Recorded summits cluster in mid to late June: 12 June 2003 and 24 June 2006.
Plan for a long expedition: the 2006 team reached base camp on 31 May and the summit on 24 June. Build in weather days, because fresh snow loads the slopes under the col and slows the icy final section.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
BestPossibleClosed / not advised
Permits for Kamet in 2026
Indian climbers apply on Uttarakhand’s UKMPS portal. Kamet is on the state’s February 2026 list of 83 open peaks, and all state fees are waived for Indian climbers in 2026. IMF rules for Indian teams still apply.
Foreign nationals need IMF permission, applied for at least 90 days ahead, with a liaison officer and insurance. Above 7,000 m the IMF base fee is US$1,000 for a team of two, plus US$500 for liaison-officer equipment, and per-member charges apply (IMF peak-fee page, as of 1 Oct 2026). More in our IMF permit and peak fees guide and mountaineering in India for foreign climbers.
Inner Line. The Niti valley is an Inner Line area near the China border: Indians need an Inner Line Permit from the SDM Joshimath (an online system was announced in 2025), and foreigners need a Protected Area Permit. Permits are arranged with the expedition; confirm the current rules with the Chamoli district administration. The approach also crosses the buffer zone of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve.
What to pack
- Insulated mountaineering boots rated for 7,000 m and above, with crampons
- A mountaineering ice axe, a jumar (ascender) and a descender
- Climbing harness, helmet, carabiners and slings
- Expedition down suit, and a sleeping bag for −30 °C or colder
- Windproof and waterproof shell jacket and trousers
- Summit mitts plus liner gloves
- Glacier sunglasses (UV400), goggles and sunscreen
- Headlamp with spare batteries for the pre-dawn start
- Trekking poles for the walk-in and moraine
- Two insulated water bottles and a personal first-aid kit
Climbing history of Kamet
1855: the Schlagintweit brothers climbed high on Abi Gamin, believing it was Kamet. 1907: Longstaff, Bruce and Mumm reached about 6,100 m.
1911–1913: C.F. Meade made several attempts; in 1913 Meade and the guide Pierre Blanc reached the col that now carries his name. 1920: Kellas and Morshead climbed above the col.
21 June 1931: the first ascent, by Frank Smythe’s British expedition. Smythe, Eric Shipton, R.L. Holdsworth and Lewa Sherpa reached the top on the 21st; Raymond Greene and Bill Birnie, with Kesar Singh, followed two days later. It was the first summit above 25,000 ft, and on the way back the team came upon the Valley of Flowers.
6 July 1955: the second ascent and the first by Indians, a Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) team led by Nandu Jayal with Ang Tharkay, Da Namgyal, Ang Temba and Hlakpa Dorje.
2003: an Indian Navy team climbed Abi Gamin on 11 June and Kamet on 12 June; its Himalayan Journal account is the source of the camp heights on this page. 24 June 2006: ten climbers summited on the Himalayan Club Kolkata Section’s 75th-anniversary expedition.
2008: Kazuya Hiraide and Kei Taniguchi made the first ascent of the south-east face in alpine style. 2010: an avalanche during an Indian Army expedition killed two officers. 2012: a French team climbed the south-west face (“Spicy Game”), which won a Piolet d’Or in 2013.
2024: ITBP climbers summited Kamet and Abi Gamin. August 2026: a new ITBP expedition to both peaks was flagged off; no result has been published yet.
Other Uttarakhand peaks of a similar height
-
Uttarakhand7,816 m25,643 ft
Nanda Devi
-
Uttarakhand7,434 m24,390 ft
Nanda Devi East
-
Uttarakhand7,355 m24,131 ft
Abi Gamin
-
Uttarakhand7,272 m23,858 ft
Mana Peak
Kamet: questions people ask
What is the height of Kamet?
7,756 m (25,446 ft). Its prominence is 2,825 m.
Where is Mount Kamet?
In the Zanskar range of the Garhwal Himalaya, in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, close to the Tibet border. The road-head is Ghamsali in the Niti valley, reached from Joshimath via Malari.
Is Kamet the highest peak in Uttarakhand?
No. It is the second-highest, after Nanda Devi (7,816 m), and the third-highest peak in India in our dataset.
Who first climbed Kamet?
Frank Smythe’s British team on 21 June 1931: Smythe, Eric Shipton, R.L. Holdsworth and Lewa Sherpa first, then Raymond Greene and Bill Birnie two days later.
Which was the first 7,000 m summit ever climbed: Trisul or Kamet?
Trisul, in 1907. Kamet’s record, set in 1931, is the first summit above 25,000 ft (7,620 m).
Who were the first Indians to climb Kamet?
A Himalayan Mountaineering Institute team led by Nandu Jayal, which made the second ascent on 6 July 1955.
Is Kamet open for climbing in 2026?
Yes. It is on Uttarakhand’s February 2026 list of 83 open peaks. Indian climbers apply on the UKMPS portal; foreign teams need IMF permission.
How hard is Kamet to climb?
The normal route is not a steep technical face, but it is a full 7,700 m expedition: five camps, a crevassed glacier, a rockfall gully and steep icy snow above Meade’s Col.
What is the IMF fee for Kamet?
For foreign teams, peaks above 7,000 m carry an IMF base fee of US$1,000 for two climbers plus US$500 for liaison-officer equipment, and per-member charges apply (as of October 2026). Indian climbers pay no state fees in Uttarakhand in 2026.
Which rivers rise from Kamet's glaciers?
The East Kamet glacier feeds the Dhauliganga and the West Kamet glacier the Saraswati; both flow into the Alaknanda.
Dreaming of a 7,000er? Start in Himachal
Suzu arranges climbs in Himachal only, so we do not sell Kamet. If it is your goal, Himachal expeditions are a good way to build the record it needs: Deo Tibba first, then Mulkila or Reo Purgyil. Tell us your dates, team size and experience, and we pair you with a registered Himachal outfitter and certified guides. Price: Get Quote.
Keep exploring
Sources
- Wikipedia — Kamet
- Uttarakhand Forest Department — Kamet (mountaineering site)
- Uttarakhand UKMPS — apply for a mountaineering permit
- Himalayan Journal 60 — Kamet and Abi Gamin, the twin challenges
- Himalayan Journal 63 — Kamet 2006
- American Alpine Journal 2009 — Samurai Direct, Kamet south-east face
- ETV Bharat (Feb 2026) — Uttarakhand opens 83 Himalayan peaks
- Indian Mountaineering Foundation — peak fees for foreign expeditions
- The Statesman — online ILPs for Indo-China border areas in Uttarakhand
- The Pioneer (Aug 2026) — ITBP flags off Kamet and Abi Gamin expedition
