The Arwa Group is a set of three Himalayan peaks, named Arwa Tower, Arwa Crest, and Arwa Spire, situated in the Chamoli district

Chamoli District

Chamoli district is a district of Uttarakhand state of India. It is bounded by the Tibet region to the north, and by the Uttarakhand districts of Pithoragarh and Bageshwar to the east, Almora to the south, Garhwal to the southwest, Rudraprayag to the west, and Uttarkashi to the northwest...

 of Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...

 state, in northern India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

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

Tibet

Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

, 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

Massif

In geology, a massif is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole...

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

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Mick Fowler

Mick Fowler

Michael "Mick" Fowler is a British mountaineer. He was awarded the Piolet d'Or and Golden Piton with Paul Ramsden for their 2002 ascent of Siguniang , was voted "the Mountaineer's Mountaineer" in a poll in The Observer, and was described by Chris Bonington in 1981 as "the most successful...

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

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 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 June 9, 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 Cool

Kenton Cool is an English mountaineer, alpinist and UIAGM mountain guide. Kenton is one of Britain’s leading alpine climbers with record hard first ascents and nine successful Everest summits, including leading Sir Ranulph Fiennes' 2008 and 2009 Expeditions...

, 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.