Leader of Ealing Lib Dems rose to new heights this summer in the Himalayas!

Leader of the Opposition Liberal Democrat Gary Malcolm: update on his climbing expedition to the remote Kang Yatse 2, in the Indian Himalayas.

On Thursday 21st August the Leader of the Ealing Lib Dems Councillor Gary Malcolm proudly achieved the summit of Kang Yatse 2 after a gruelling 14 hour ‘slog’ starting off at midnight in the dark.

The weather was perfect. Kang Yatse stands 6,250 metres high in the Indian Himalayas. Councillor Malcolm commented that the team of sherpas and the wider team were magnificent, and that you cannot do this type of climb this alone, it needs a team.

Many of the slopes were angled at 70% which is steeper than most of Mount Everest.

Gary Malcolm’s step count reached 243,000 steps (about 115 miles) in the last two weeks to build up altitude acclimatisation. Due to the high altitude and the thinness of the oxygen (at 6,000 metres there was only half the oxygen available making it difficult to function) it is standard practice to ascended higher each day and then to return to a lower altitude to camp. This is to allow the body to acclimatise to the low oxygen levels.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Gary Malcolm, Leader of the Opposition, said: “This was an amazing experience and shows that with grit and determination we can all rise and achieve a positive result. This was my toughest climb ever, physically and mentally. I look forward to the coming year in which the local elections will be taking place in May 2026 when the Lib Dems hope to engage even more residents in challenging Ealing Labour’s complacent 15-year reign.”