It lies in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, 10 kilometres (6 mi) southwest of the Hindu holy site of Gaumukh (the source of the Bhagirathi River).

It was first climbed on 24 June 1979 via the northwest couloir and ridge and thence across the shale band of the North Face by an Anglo-American team comprising Roy Kligfield, John Thackray, and Pete Thexton.

The key difficulty in the direct routes is a notorious band of shale near the summit, which presents rotten and dangerous rock.

They climbed in an 11-day push from base camp to summit, including time spent waiting out bad weather.

She was the sole climber in the five-member women's team from the Alipore-based Kolkata Albatross Adventure Society to reach the summit.