Gen. Curtis LeMay, chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, met National Geographic photographer and mountaineer Barry Bishop at a Washington cocktail party, where Bishop's description of the view from Mount Everest's summit inspired the idea of placing a surveillance device on a Himalayan peak.
Notes on verification
Corroborated by multiple independent sources including Kohli's memoir, NYT investigative reporting, Caravan magazine, and other journalistic accounts spanning 2007-2025, all consistent on the core narrative.
Sources
- How the United States Lost a Nuclear Device and Recovered an Indian Friend (warontherocks.com)
- https://dyatlovpass.com/nanda-devi (dyatlovpass.com)
- https://thebetterindia.com/253759/nanda-devi-nuclear-device-expedition-captain-manmohan-singh-kohli-central-intelligence-agency-america-intelligence-bureau-india-secret-government-mission-raini-uttarakhand-glacier-burst-history-myster/ (thebetterindia.com)
- https://caravanmagazine.in/reportage/river-deep-mountain-high (caravanmagazine.in)
- https://sashaingber.substack.com/p/when-the-cia-lost-a-nuclear-device (sashaingber.substack.com)
- https://m.thewire.in/article/history/sonam-wangyal-from-surviving-a-chinese-ambush-to-the-nanda-devi-mission (m.thewire.in)
- https://defector.com/cia-climbers-cold-war-nanda-devi-nuclear-device (defector.com)