Siachen glacier is part of a territorial dispute over what Islamabad calls the Northern Areas and New Delhi calls Kashmir. Once, only mountaineers ventured here. Chances are slim he will be hit by a bullet or shell burst. He is 20 times more likely to succumb to AMS, fall into a crevasse, or freeze to death like thousands before him. A group of soldiers is pressing around us with bear hugs and steel mugs of sweet milky tea.
All new arrivals get a heartfelt embrace regardless of acquaintance or rank.
It is easy to spot the men who have been up here the longest. The sun-blackened faces, peeling cheeks, and beard lengths are subtle indicators compared to the gray scale of the men's survival parkas. They are issued white, like mine. But after a few months they start to turn black from the kerosene stoves. There is a spectrum of soot shades in between.