EXPEDITIONS AND NOTES

1. Dhaulagiri VII (Putha Hiunchuli)
2. Ganesh V
3. Slovenian Expedition to NE Nepal, 2008
4. Damodar Himal, 2008
5. Kanjiroba, 2008
6. Two First Ascents in Geladaindong Massif of Tanggla Shan
7. Dobzebo and the Battle of Mountains
8. Thalay Sagar Expedition, 2008
9. The North Face Direct of Kalanka
10. The First Ascent of the Southeast Face of Kamet
11. Gangotri Col
12. Gramang Bal
13. Getting High On Hagshu La
14. An attempt on Nya Kangri
15. Gaddis of Gadderan
16. Vignettes from the Swat Valley

 

 

 

In early April, Blue Eisele, Curtis Gray, and I went to explore the Dhaulagiri range to try a new route on the north side of Churen Himal (7372 m). But first, we needed to cross the Himalaya on foot from south to north. This is perhaps the longest approach in Nepal - about 150 miles and 10,700 m of ups and downs to the Kaya khola valley. We left the road head near Beni with a staff of three and seven donkeys, clearly understanding that we could bypass it all by chartering an aircraft.

On day five we traded our weary donkeys for tougher ones and kept pushing along. In all, we crossed six passes. Three were above 4200 m and had plenty of pre-monsoon snow - into which the donkeys collapsed when they punched through, causing us to shuttle their loads. On day 10 we descended into the arid, Tibet like region of Lower Dolpo, leaving the lush jungles behind us — surprised we had gotten this far.

We followed the Barbung khola to Kakkotgaon and were utterly confused about where to go next — as the Kaya khola was a massive series of waterfalls coming down from unknown origins. We had virtually no information about previous expeditions and had useless maps. We guessed (but still don't know for sure) that only 4-5 expeditions had climbed Churen Himal or Putha Hiunchuli (its western neighbour at 7239 m) from Kakkotgaon. Upon some local advice, we headed to a pass where nothing looked promising. At this point our staff wouldn't continue, the donkeys were gone, and Curtis bailed out of the expedition entirely. Blue and I were left to triple carry our kit in order to progress.

On day 21 we finished our carries along an exposed ridge and placed base camp on grassy fields 600 m above the Kaya khola underneath what we thought was Putha Hiunchuli. We watched the approach to Churen get bombarded from rock fall, and the unclimbed northwest face looked BURLY. So, we started up Putha alpine style. No one was in sight - even our liaison officer had never made it past Kathmandu. When we stood on the summit after an easy two-day push, we saw Putha in the distance and realised we may have accidentally made the first ascent of a peak later referred to as Turka Himal (c. 5791 m).

We rested, then packed for an eight-day push and took a guess as to how to get to the mountain, getting sufficiently lost in the process. At our second camp we saw evidence of others and figured they had passed while we climbed Turka. On day three we met the French expedition. They had chartered a plane and hired a dozen porters, high altitude workers, and a climbing guide. Blue and I passed them with packs on our backs and put a high camp at 6400 m on the east ridge.

Summit day was an agonising blend of pot-holing and total uncertainty, but at 4.45 p.m. we stood atop the highest mountain we'd ever climbed. This may have been the first alpine style ascent of the mountain from the north.

Six days later we reached the Juphal airstrip and took the easy way back to Kathmandu. By then, Blue and I had covered some 250 miles, about 15,000 vertical metres and worked nearly continuously for over 40 days — seeing only two other westerners the entire trip. When we arrived in Thailand, we took a real vacation for a change.

SUMMARY

The ascent of Putha Hiunchuli (7239 m) in 2008.

 

 

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Ganesh V (6770 m) lies at the eastern end of the Ganesh Himal, visible from Kathmandu. The northern flank, technically in Tibet, was climbed by a large Japanese expedition in 1980, and later the south face was climbed by a Slovenian team. Until 2007, these were the only routes on the mountain. Our recent climb established a new route on the mountain.

At 4 p.m. on 15 November, Frederic Degoulet, Julien Dusserre, Mathieu Maynadier and I reached the top of the third point (6741 m by GPS) of Ganesh V, having climbed the east ridge. We named the mountain as 'Gorilla Peak', because we could see the face of a gorilla in the summit rocks when looking from the east.

Our route from base camp was 6.5 km long, with a vertical interval of2700 m (1240 m of technical ridge climbing) Difficulties encountered included 3-4 km of cornices, 75° snow mixed climbing to M5 and Rock to 6a.

After a 15-day acclimatisation trek along the paths of Gosainkund lake (the sacred lake of Shiva), we met our team of 10 porters and cooks in the village of Tatopani. It was the last village we would see for 23 days. Our acclimatisation was uneventful, other than our change in diet to dal bhat (rice and dal), traditional Nepalese food that caused intestinal problems. Following a pattern of three days at altitude, then three days rest, we established our advanced base camp at 5500m, sheltered by a small cliff.

Our first bivouac was at 6200 m, where we left a cache of bivouac equipment, food and gear.

After one final rest at base camp we decided to sail to sea and try for the summit.

The expression is fitting, as a marvellous sea of clouds accompanied us, as though we were sailing on an ocean of cotton. However, these clouds eventually began to change into wet cumulus, dropping snowflakes in the afternoon. The change in weather forced us to adapt, as the climbing became more mixed and was swept by small snow slides.

Sometimes we had to stop for a few hours to wait for a clearing, in order to get oriented. On the evening of the fourth day, when we bivouacked at c. 6500 m, we were informed that 100km/hour winds were forecasted for the following day till evening. The temperature was already low, each night dropping to -20° or -25°C, and we realised that further drop would prove unbearable.

Knowing that we would not have a second chance, we set our hearts on the most easterly of the three summits of Ganesh V. This was the rockiest and in our opinion the most beautiful.

On the fifth day we climbed 250 m of granite (mixed and 6a) to the top, about 30 m lower than the main summit.

The forecast allowed enough time for a quick descent, and the immense joy of successfully reaching the top made us forget, during the bivouac that followed, the cold and the fear of being ripped off the wall by the wind. It was late on the sixth night that we reached base camp, where we were greeted warmly by Kamal and Rai, our cooks, who were happy to join in our celebrations.

SUMMARY

An ascent of Ganesh V by new route, on 15 November 2008

 

 

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At the end of September, the Slovenian Alpine Association organised an expedition to the Kangchenjunga area in remote northeastern Nepal. Six alpinists -Tine Cuder, Matej Kladnik, Aleš Koželj, Boris Lorencic, Mitja Šorn and Miha Valic- were chosen as a team led by Tone Skarja, a leader with great experience in the Himalaya. Damijan Mesko was the expedition's doctor.

The main goal of the expedition was Kangbachen (7902 m), the fifth highest peak of the Kangchenjunga massif. But because of broken moraine on the Ramtang glacier, the base camp couldn't be reached with porters, so the team decided to set up base camp on the Pangpema plateau and chose new goals from there.

Aleš Koželj and Mitja Šorn made their acclimatisation ascent close to the south pillar of the middle peak of Drohmo. They reached the ridge in two days and joined the previously known route (Doug Scott and Roger Mear in 1999) in a few places. Like the previous party, they too failed to reach the main summit (6886 m) and only ascended to the secondary summit in the Drohmo ridge — 6855 m. They reported to have climbed difficulties up to 80°/60°, 800 m. They had good snow conditions so they could descend via an alternative route.

After an unsuccessful attempt of the north face of Wedge peak and Kiratchuli, Aleš Koželj, Tine Cuder and Matej Kladnik tried once again the south face of Drohmo. Mitja Šorn had to stay in base camp because of a toothache. They spent the night at the foot of the wall and on the next day in eight hours, climbed a new route to the East peak that has probably never been climbed before. They had relatively good conditions and descended to the base camp on the same day. Difficulties on the 900m long route 'Smrdljiva sled' (Stinking trail) were estimated around TD+, VI/4+, M4.

Boris Lorenčič and Miha Valic acclimatised themselves at the Pangpema Peak (6068 m) and then made a first ascent of the unnamed Peak 6630 m on the Pathibara southeast ridge. The steepness of the snowy slopes they had climbed reached 45°. After three days they returned to the base camp well acclimatised, although they couldn't examine the southwest face of Pathibara — Pyramid peak (7140 m), because the weather became very cloudy every afternoon.

After a few days of rest, the weather stabilised enough and they set out for the remote basin under the southwest face of Pathibara that has not been climbed before. On the next day they climbed to the glacier plateau under the wall and examined the imagined route. They spent the night at an altitude of 5900 m. On the first day they climbed 50-60° steep snowy slopes. They spent the night on a narrow shelf under the rocky band (IV, 20 m) at 6900 m and reached the summit on the next morning. This was a first ascent of Pathibara from Nepal and probably the second ever ascent of the main peak (a Korean-Japanese expedition in 1993 first ascended it from Sikkim). They descended via the same route and returned to the base camp after five days. The walking on broken glaciers was very strenuous, but the weather and climbing conditions were really good.

SUMMARY

Ascents in northeast Nepal on Drohmo, Pangpema and Pathibara in 2008.

 

 

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WHEN YOU COME back home from an expedition to Nepal, often you are asked just one question: 'Summit or no Summit?'.

You then realise how difficult it is to express the many facets of this life so far away from our normal lives. All the delights and difficulties encountered along the way, sometimes so far from the images associated with alpinism.

And when our interrogator dares ask about the summits we climbed, what disappointment when the summit's altitude was laughable and its name unheard of.

There is a look of incomprehension... why travel so far to climb insignificant peaks that nobody knows?

What can you say? Apart from putting the question the other way round... 'why climb only the big summits; that have no surprises, that everybody knows?'

What appeals to me in the Damodar 2008 expedition is precisely this particular kind of mountaineering; of discovery and exploration.

What I like is to set off without knowing where I am going, with infinite horizons ahead. What I like is to share these special emotions and encourage other alpinists to dare step out of line.

'Mustang Phu' is an incredible trail, somewhere between mountaineering and hiking, accumulating nuggets of simple joys.

In Autumn 2008, we wanted to experience the pure delight offered by this stunningly beautiful trail once again, taking the time to improve our knowledge of the Damodar Himal.

It is a tiny mountain range, almost insignificant, interspersed between the kingdom of Mustang and the valley of Phu. And I very much love these mysterious in-betweens.. !

What will we tell them when we come back?

That 'Mustang Phu' really is the extraordinary journey that, last year, we had but a glimpse of.

That it is exhilarating to cross the kingdom of Mustang, treading in sacred footsteps, listening to the spirit of Ringzum Gonpo, Sago Namgo and the 'spirit catchers'.

That our delight in these mountains was crowned with some great achievements on these ridiculous summits.

• On 11 October 2008, Marie-Christine Cler and Paulo Grobel climbed Sonam Himal and Karsang Peak, 'Mary's bosses', 6225 m, the two small summits north of Saribung pass - easy panoramic ascent, grading II/F snow.

• On 13 October 2008, 'Le Belvedere d'Alfred' (Alfred's viewpoint) 6226 m, a summit in the centre of the Damodar glacier was summitted by Vincent Stellato, Pascal Pueyo, Jean Milteau and Paulo Grobel (the eastern ridge, grading II/PD snow).

• On 14 October 2008, the Kumlun, 6365 m, north of the De Hults pass was climbed by Paul Vulin and Paulo Grobel. Route was named: 'Honorez la vie'...(Honour life), grading II/D, snow, starting from the west slope of the pass at 6273 m, pursuing on the south slope of the northwestern ridge.

We thus confirmed that this was the ideal route for the crossing from Mustang to Phu with the ascent of the Saribung peak.

But we also perceived the extreme fragility of these remote territories characterised by wilderness. They deserve to be approached with awareness and respect, which is a form of excellence in the practice of mountaineering.

And, inevitably, I will go back there to initiate another Mustang Phu, to play once more at mountain and frontier hopping for the sake of this incredible trail.

See: http://www.paulogrobel.com/05_expes/Fiches_PDF/cr_mustan2phu/cr_M2P_asc.htm for pictures and text (in French)

SUMMARY

Explorations and climbs in the Damodar Himal of Nepal.

 

 

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This was an expedition with an unexpected denouement. We managed to reach neither the base camp at the heart of the massif, nor, of course, Patrasi Himal, our main objective. We had been short of 200 m of rope to get over the steep, snow-covered pass, which would have enabled us to reach the valley of Jagdula khola. Our equipment which had travelled 'by land' had still not arrived. Nevertheless, we did a good job!

Access to the base camp of Kanjiroba now poses less of a problem - it is no longer necessary to go up 'impassable' gorges. In fact, we took a new route, which we named the 'Honeymoon trail' in remembrance of the epic adventure of a team of young British Alpinists and Alison and Tom Wedgwood who were on their honeymoon. A touching story....

No need to mention that 'the hard part of Kanjiroba is the approach' any more. As peace has come back to Nepal, it is high time we got interested in the as yet unfrequented mountain range.

Having been unable to attain the Patrasi, we concentrated on the southern part of the massif first visited in 1953 by Herbert Tichy with the first ascent of the 6045 m high Dudh Kundali. Tichy had named it Dui Tal Chuli, curiously translated as : the celestial torch between the two lakes.

On 11 and 12 November, we went across the southern ridge of the Dudh Kundali and named it 'a torch for Tibet', grade III/AD+ with snow.

Michelle Quatrini, Philippe Wagner, Yveline Gobil, Victor Lapras, Hugues De Varax, Chhotemba Sherpa and Paulo Grobel were the climbers. The passage could be compared with the Rochefort ridge in the Mont Blanc range. We used Alpine technique, without a fixed rope.

On 13 November, we succeeded in crossing the Dudh Kundali (Jean Berthet and Paulo Grobel). Ascent was from the south ridge and descent from the 'bumpy ridge', the western ridge, to Lake Jagdula. The traverse is a form of Alpinism that is very rarely practised in the Himalaya, which is a pity. It is such a great pleasure to walk along a beautiful ridge beneath blue skies.

Then, at the end of our stay, to complete our knowledge of the massif, we opened an Alpine hiking tour from lake Jagdula to Jumla via Lubdu valley and the village of Chotra.

We crossed a big glaciated pass at 5488 m, the Tichy pass, and, on the way, succeeded in climbing a small snow-covered peak at 5518 m.

To conclude : This expedition confirmed the particular appeal of the Kanjiroba massif. At the height of the tourist season, we did not meet a single expedition. And above all, the inhabitants of Hurikot were the most gracious of hosts.

It is important to go ahead and step out of line. Not only because of the tremendous pleasure, but principally because the political and social benefits are so important for the future of Nepal. In these regions where poverty is widespread and tourists are rare, the economic impact of an expedition is of real importance. It is a way of making our activity as Alpinists count. Our presence this far west, outside the realms of trendy travel, allows a more efficient distribution of the economic effects of tourism in the interior of the country. This is one more reason to make the mountains of western Nepal better known.

SUMMARY

Explorations and climbs around in the less frequented area around Kanjiroba in the western Nepal.

Additional information can be found on the website

http://www.paulo-grobel.com/05_expes/Fiches_PDF/cr_kanjiroba/cr_kanjiroba_2cb.htm

 

 

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The snowy massif of Geladaindong of the Tanggla Shan is 50 km long north to south and 20 km wide west to east, covering a circumference of 670 square kilometres with ice and snow engulfed by more than 40 glaciers. Thawing glaciers combine to form many rivulets which converge into large expanse of swamps with lakes and foster the source of the Yangtze river (Chang Jiang).

Lying in the Amdo County of Qinghai Province which is in the middle section of Tanggla Shan, the 6621 m Geladaindong is located at 90°E and 33.5°N and circled by more than 20 high peaks exceeding 6000 m. Being the fringe of the ancient Mediterranean (Sea) in Tertiary Period, it began to rise sharply later on and was not shaped as what looks now until the end of the Quaternary Period (some 15,000 years ago).

An early French explorer and traveller, Gabriel Bonvalot, described the mountains in the source of the Yangtze river (Chang Jiang) in his narrative of the journey (1889 — 1890) where he traversed deep Central Asia north to south — De Paris au Tonking a Travers le Tibet inconnu, 1891 (Across Thibet, 1892,English translation).

January 14 - We encamp at the foot of the pass which we shall have to scale in order to cross an enormous chain of mountains, which we name after that distinguished Frenchman Dupleix (the original French edition states nous donnos un des plus beaux noms de France : nous I'appelouns chaine Dupleix), We are at a greater altitude than ever, some of the peaks beside our camp being at least 20,000 feet high.

January 15 - We cross a pass at about 16,500 feet, following a gentle slope, and to the west see the glaciers extending down to a valley, which we shall follow, marching over ice. In the mist we catch a glimpse of snowy peaks, which we calculate to be at least 26,000 feet high, and throughout the whole of this region there is a multiplicity of small lakes and pools. The hills, the soil of which is very friable, bear traces of melting of the snows and of the inundations which follow, and there is abundance of ice.

January 16 - As we march over the frozen river, deep and broad, and its surface so slippery that our men can hardly keep their feet, we cannot help thinking that the Dupleix Mountains must be the origin of a great river, or at all events, one of its principal sources. It is, of course, impossible to say positively, but my belief is that we are at the sources of the Yang-tse-Kiang.

The Dupleix mountains are Geladaindong massif. As his diary suggests, Gabriel Bonvalot had already found Geladaindong massif more than 100 years ago and recognised the source of the Yangtze river. However the mountains region remained unknown for a century, and to enter the least-known mountains and river sources, we had to await the open-door policy of new China launched by Deng Shaopin in late 1970s.

The forerunner which first began as an exploration of unfrequented Geladaindong massif in the true source of the Yangtse river and an attempt on climbing the major peaks including the highest summit Geladaindong 6621 m was a Japanese party. They began negotiation with the China Mountaineering Association in 1982 to obtain a permit to have access to and reconnoiter the region, and succeeded in the first ascent of Geladaindong, the highest peak in the massif, in 1985. 22 years later, unnamed Peak 6543 m, a sister peak of Geladaindong was first scaled by another Japanese party in 2007.

Geladaindong (6621 m) in 1985

The society of Mountaineering Research on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Kyoto University Exploration Club challenged the Geladaindong massif in 1985. Their objective was to climb three major peaks of the Geladaindong massif - Geladaindong (6621 m), Jianggendiru (6564 m) and Gaqiadiru (6513 m) of the Tanggla Shan; to explore the true source of the Yangtze river and to conduct Japan-China joint geologic research.

Japanese members :

- Leader - Prof. Yukio Matsumoto (56), two deputy-leaders - Prof. Tamio Nishida (42) and Prof. Masatake Matsubara (43), 12 members (22 - 43) and five media reporters (27 — 47)

Chinese members :

Three members from Geologic Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, two liaison officers, two interpreters, three cooks and 11 drivers.

Approach

On 25 July, all the members departed from Xining in ten Nissan patrols and one truck carrying 4.5 tons of gear and supplies. Passing by the southern bank of the Lake Qinghai, on the following day they arrived at Golmud in the Qaidam basin. They spent a couple of days for acclimatising themselves to high altitude at about 5000 m near the Kunlun pass.

On 1 August they moved to Toutouheyan (4533 m, called Tanggla too) from Golmud driving through the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. They stayed three days to make necessary preparations. On 5 August, all the members resumed their caravan to march towards the destination. At Yangxiping they left the Qinghai-Tibet Highway and entered a mountain track to the west. On the way the Nissan patrols were stuck in a marshy ground. Passing a high pass they reached a river bank of the Changkung Qu, where Geladaindong, which means 'a mountain soaring sharply to the sky', came into sight. The vehicles again stopped mid stream of the Changkung Qu, but they could manage a narrow escape pulling them out from water and camped nearby.

On 6 August after crossing several small streams, they set up base camp at 5280 m in a river bank of the Gar Qu. There were many blue poppies and edelweiss there. After serious discussion, they decided to choose the northwest ridge as a climbing route to the summit from a glacier in the headwaters of the Gar Qu.

Climbing

On 11 August, they ascended side moraine on the right bank of the glacier and then entered the glacier. C1 was at 5680 m on the eastern side moraine on the glacier right beneath the east ridge.

On 12 August, K. Kurachi and two other members ascended an ice plateau with many crevasses on the upper glacier traversing upwards from east to west and chose a place for C2 at 6100 m just below a col between Geladaindong and a nameless peak of 6293 m on the northwest ridge. C3 was set up on 13 August. The following day was bad weather and no route paving and load ferrying was possible but 10 members came to C2, seven members at C1 and the remaining members stayed at BC.

On 15 August, Kurachi and three other members departed from C2 for the summit attempt. They followed the northwest ridge, which had an enormous cornice on the left having a sheer drop straightly to the Geladaindong glacier. When they overcame the spur and reached a snow plateau, there was a snow storm. They waited two hours expecting the fog to fade out, but the condition of whiteout did not change. They bivouacked in a snow cave hoping for good weather on the following day. On 16 August, as the whiteout continued, they descended to C2. On 18 August, two members made the second ascent of peak 6293 m north of the main summit which had been first climbed by the other six members on 15 August.

On 19 August, six members headed by Kurachi left C2 at 7:20 a.m. and followed paved pitches to trace the three rock spurs digging out fixed ropes buried in fresh snow. At 1:30 p.m. they reached snow plateau leading to the summit. The plateau continued to the summit about 100 m higher. All the six members stood atop Geladaindong at 3:06 p.m.

A brief supplementary report by Lindsay Griffin on a climbing chronicle of the Geladaindong.

After the successful Japanese ascent of the northwest ridge in 1985, there is no confirmed report of an ascent of Geladaindong until 1994, when the route was repeated by an expedition from the Beijing University Mountaineering Club. This was billed as the first Chinese ascent of the mountain, but the names of the summiteers have not been identified.

The peak was visited again in 1997 by a small American party; Dan Luchtel and William Rom, guided by Mark Newcomb. These three approached the mountain from the same direction as the previous two expeditions and found evidence of the 1994 visit both at base camp and higher on the mountain. On the 5 September, while the other two climbers were resting, Newcomb carried equipment to the proposed site of Camp 1 and then continued to the foot of the northeast face at 5800 m. He then soloed a line directly up the snow/ice face above and into a couloir at c. 6300m. The steepest part of the couloir and the crux of the climb was a short section of 55-60° ice. He exited more or less onto the sharp summit and down-climbed the northwest ridge. On 7 September, all three climbers spent the night at the c. 6100 m col at the start of the northwest ridge and the following day reached the summit for the fourth overall ascent of the mountain. The Americans reported the ridge to be technically straightforward, so it seems likely to have been climbed subsequently by Chinese mountaineers.

Unnamed 6543 m peak in 2007

A local party from Tottori Prefecture in Japan succeeded in the first ascent of an unnamed peak 6543 m, one of the major peaks in Geladaindong massif. The 6543 m peak is 5.4 km southwest of Geladaindong in the headwaters of the Gangjiaquba glacier. The team was called the China Qinghai-Tibet Friendship Mountaineering Expedition. They stood on the summit on October 2.

Members : Japanese : Yoshiharu Murakami, (65) leader, Eishi Sato (65), deputy leader, Osamu Kato (59) climbing leader and two members Tamiyoshi Hashimoto (50) and Mizuho Sato (65). Chinese : Qiao Haisheng.

Climbing

They took their climbing route on the Gangjiaquba glacier with no crevasses south of the main peak of Geladaindong 6621m. On 2 October Osamu Kato, Yoshiharu Murakami and Tamiyoshi Hashimoto began ascending from C2 at 7:00 a.m. while it was still dark. Strong winds were prevailing above the C2. At 6100m Murakami gave up climbing and the other two ascended to a col at 6200m. There was wide and gentle slope of snow plateau in the western side of the col that shared watershed and headwaters of the source of the Yangtze river. Because of strong winds on the northwest ridge, they entered the south ridge side to the right but Hashimoto was exhausted and resigned from further progress. Then Kato soloed and reached the top at 3:25 p.m. They returned to C2 at 6:50 p.m. and further descended to C1 at 8:30 p.m. On the following day, they gathered at the BC.

SUMMARY

Two first ascents in Geladaindong massif of Tanggla Shan.

 

 

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Attempt in 2007

A three-member Kanseigakuin University expedition, led by Kenro Nakajima, made the first authorised attempt on the East Ridge of Dingjung Ri (6196 m) in March, 2007. Mayuko Demoto (f), Naoki Tanaka and the leader Nakajima approached the trekking route toward the Nangpa la via Thame and established base camp on the Menlung Glacier at 4950 m on 3 March.

They fixed 500 m of rope on the southeast flank of the East ridge after setting up a high camp at 5435 m. On 12 March, the three made a summit bid which ended at a high point of 6000 m. Six days later, on 18th, Demoto and Nakajima made another attempt. They reached at 6132 m but exhaustion and the lack of fixed rope for a difficult traverse section caused them to retreat.

The First Ascent in 2008

Nakajima returned to the mountain again in March, 2008 with Hiroki Yamamoto and succeeded in the first ascent. They established base camp on 7 March at the same place as 2007. It was a vast snowfield a year before. This year, there was no snow but comfortable meadows. The mountain also had less snow and ice.

They set up a high camp at the foot of the route on 8th. Climbing on the flank with little snow, was disturbed by occasional falling stones but they fixed 300 m of rope and emerged onto the east ridge. They launched their summit bid from a high camp on 15 th and gained the highest point of the previous year two hours earlier than expected. They had to climb over a false summit and a knife-edged snow ridge in the final part of the route.

It was 11:30 a.m. when they got to the virgin summit. Rising clouds forced them to descend and they reached the high camp in only four hours, at 3:30 p.m. There was still enough time to continue descent to base camp. They evacuated camp and with over 30 kgs of load on their back, they reached base camp in the dark. Exhausted and hungry after 16 hours of struggle, they were warmly welcomed by the Nepalese staff at base camp.

SUMMARY

Dinjung Ri (6196 m), Rolwaling Himal, Nepal - the first ascent by the east ridge, 7-16 March 2008, by Kenro Nakajima and Hiroki Yamamoto.

Additional Notes by Lindsay Griffin, Editor Climb magazine.

A little to the north of Pt. 6196 m, Dingjung Ri (6249 m) lies on the border south of 6625 m Panbuk Ri (and a little north of the Menlung La) and has no known recent ascent. But there is a certain ambiguity when it comes to the naming of both Pt. 6249 m and Pt. 6196 m. On the new list of permitted peaks announced in 2002, Pt. 6249 m, as designated on the HMG-FINN map, was called Dingjung Ri. In fact neither 6249 m nor 6196 m are named on this map.

The old Schneider's Rolwaling map has the heights of these peaks as 6320 m and 6249 m respectively, naming the latter (Pt. 6196 m on the FINN map) Dingjung Ri. This is repeated on the Japanese maps to the area, and the Japanese climbers mentioned above certainly refer, not illogically, to Pt. 6196 m as Dingjung Ri. It is unlikely that the authorities know which is the true Dingjung Ri though, Pt. 6196 m might be best described as 'Dingjung Ri South'.

Pt. 6249 m was actually first climbed as long ago as 1955 during Alf Gregory's very productive Merseyside Himalayan expedition, which climbed many peaks in the Rolwaling region and made a reconnaissance of Gauri Shankar. Peter Boultbee and Denis Davis, who crossed the Menlung la west into Tibet and made an ascent of Ripimo Shar (6647 m) from the north, also moved north up the Menlung valley and climbed Dingjung Ri from the west.

They were barred from reaching the summit of this then unnamed peak by an enormous crevasse, over which they were forced to execute a big jump. As Kang appears in so many peak names, they felt it apt to name the peak after one of the world's great jumpers, the Kangaroo, and called the peak Kangkuru, a moniker that stuck for many years (and appears as such on the Japanese maps).

 

 

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Though Thalay Sagar had been climbed by expeditions from various nations no Indian team had yet made an ascent. With the aim of being the first successful Indian team we organised an expedition to this mighty peak. We hired 29 porters at Uttarkashi to carry our loads from Gangotri to the base camp i.e. Kedar tal. The trek started from Gangotri (3139 m) on 15 August 2008 towards south. Transit camp was established on the true left bank of Kedar ganga in between Bhojkharak and Kedarkharak at 4270 m. On 16 August base camp was established on the bank of Kedartal (4668 m).

From base camp to Camp 1, the route leads towards south. We stayed at base camp on 17 August for rest, acclimatisation, rearrangement of our ration and getting our equipment ready. For the next two days we carried loads to Camp 1. We proceeded through the lateral moraine ridge. After trekking for about an hour and half over the moraine ridge, we entered onto a glacier. Then we proceeded again over a boulder zone. Ajay Bhattacharjee, Subrata Brahma Biswanath Saha and myself, along with four Sherpas and a cook occupied Camp 1 (4877 m) below Bhrigupanth peak on 20 August.

The first one and half hour trekking ahead to Camp 2 was through the lateral moraine towards south. It was an easy walk over the boulders. Another one and half hour trekking was upwards through the northern rocky slopes of Thalay Sagar. We took three hours to reach Camp 2 and two hours to return. on the next day we were confined to Camp 1 due to bad weather. On 23 August, four Sherpas and I occupied Camp 2 (5334 m). Subrata and Biswanath, who returned to Camp 1 after escorting Ajay to base camp, also occupied Camp 2 the next day. It was situated at the junction of the north slope of ice and rock of Thalay Sagar. From there we got clear views of the Jogin group of peaks towards the west and base camp area towards north.

Route to Camp 3, summit camp, was through ice, snow and rock wall and along the route, we fixed about 1220 m of polypropylene rope. First we climbed up an ice wall and entered into a crevasse zone towards south. Then we moved towards southwest on a snowfield. After proceeding over the snowfield, we started climbing the north wall of Thalay Sagar, fixing ropes all along. Gradient was about 60° to 70°. Due to huge crevasses, we could not climb quickly and we had to climb up to the bottom of rock wall of Thalay Sagar avoiding them. For ensuring our safety from avalanches from the hanging icefall of the west ridge, which connects Jogin group of peaks and Thalay Sagar, we avoided an easy high gradient snow gully to reach Camp 3. We preferred to climb the difficult rock wall of the snow gully instead.

We took three days to fix ropes till Camp 3 (6400 m). We also ferried loads simultaneously while fixing ropes. 27 August, 2008 was our rest day. From Camp 2, we traversed the bottom of the vertical north rock wall towards southwest and after climbing up 500 m, we turned towards south. From there the route was mixed with rocks, ice and snow. Rock pitons and snow stakes were used. We found many old ropes on this route. We took nine hours to reach and occupy the summit camp. It was established on a snow slope and on the junction of snowy west ridge which connects the Jogin group of peaks and the vertical rock wall of Thalay Sagar. We pitched two tents on a vast snow slope. When we reached the summit camp, high-speed winds were blowing.

On 29 August, we started at 8.00 a.m. for opening the route to the summit. After climbing 65 m over the snow slope towards east, we faced the vertical rock wall. We tried to avoid the vertical rock wall and found a route at the bottom of the rock wall. Sometimes we managed to avoid the wall by traversing. We started fixing ropes on that rock wall. It took five hours to fix 150 m of climbing ropes. We feared the highspeed wind, which we had had to face previous day. So we returned to the summit camp at 2.00 p.m. but there was no wind.

Next day in two hours we reached the previous day's position and then we started climbing up a snowy ridge. It was an easy climb but more risky. On both sides of the ridge were sheer drops. Again we started traversing at the bottom of the vertical wall of Thalay Sagar. Now we faced a vertical wall, which is about 30 m. It was very difficult and risky to fix ropes on this wall but Sherpas managed to do so through a chimney like crack and after fixing total 400 m climbing ropes throughout the whole day, we returned to summit camp at 6.00 p.m. That day also, we did not face any high speed wind in the camp.

We had already fixed about 550 m rope from summit camp to last rock wall of Thalay Sagar. Only 100 m snow wall was left. So we planned to ascend Thalay Sagar next day i.e. on 31 August. But it began to snow at night and continued till morning so we could not proceed for the summit on 31 August but were forced to stay in tents due to bad weather.

On 1 September, 2008 Pasang Sherpa, Pemba Sherpa, Phurba Gyalgen and myself, prepared ourselves for the Thalay Sagar summit attempt at 3.00 a.m. We were worried that the weather would obstruct our plan to reach the summit. The rope was already fixed, so we had an idea about the probable time it would take to summit so we started at 4.10 a.m. At that time weather was good but too cold and dark. First we started climbing towards east over the snow slope and then we tied ourselves on the fixed rope and started difficult climbing with the help of Jumars.

After an hour of climbing, we viewed the morning sun rays on Kedarnath and Bhartekhunta peaks towards south. Down below, we could see our summit camp on the snowy ridge. Towards west were the peaks of Gangotri group and Jogin group and towards northeast, was Bhrigupanth, so close, it seemed that we could touch the peak from that point. Darkness prevented a view of base camp or Kedartal towards north. For the next hour we were busy photographing and climbing over the sharp snowy ridge or traversing rock walls. At 7.00 a.m. we reached the top of last vertical rock wall of Thalay Sagar. Up to this point we had fixed ropes. Then there was just low gradient snow slope which we started climbing. From there we could clearly see our base camp i.e. Kedartal and as I noticed the sunrays, I knew that it was 7.40 a.m. as this was the moment sunlight touched our base camp. After 10 minutes we reached the top of Thalay Sagar (6904 m).

The top of Thalay Sagar was a semi circle. The north side is corniced and the other three sides are snow slopes. We stayed for an hour and half on the top, taking pictures and identifying peaks as the weather was clear. We started climbing down at 9.20 a.m. and reached summit camp at 11.50 a.m. where Tashi Sherpa greeted us with hot drinks. We were able to take back all climbing ropes except pitons and some karabiners. .

On 03 September, we repacked our loads and left base camp and reached Gangotri in the evening on the same day.

SUMMARY

Ascent of Thalay Sagar by an Indian team from West Bengal.

 

 

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Kalanka (6931m) is one of the peaks which is located on the outer rim of the Nanda Devi sanctuary and lies just east of Changabang. The first ascent of the mountain was made by Ikuo Tanabe's four-member Kamiichi-Hosokai expedition from Japan in 1975. They approached the Rishi Ganga gorge, crossed over Shipton's col to gain the col between Changabang and Kalanka and climbed the west ridge. The summit was reached by Noriaki Ikeda, Tsuneo Kouma, Kazumasa Inoue and the leader Tanabe on 3 June. The first ascent of the north face was made two years later when the 14-member Czechoslovak expedition, led by Frantisek Grunt, climbed to the col by the Bagini glacier and repeated the west ridge. Jozef Raconcaj and Ladislav Jon reached the summit on 20 September.

The north face direct had been attempted several times; in fact, recently by the world's strongest climbers but had still remained unclimbed. Fumitaka Ichimura, Kazuaki Amano and myself, of Giri- Giri Boys, succeeded in making the first ascent of the route in alpine style in autumn, 2008. It took us 11 days (round trip) from base camp including three days of sitting out of snow storms higher on the face.

I was lying in a damp sleeping bag and had eaten only 20 gm of mashed potatoes. We were pinned down for three days by the snow storm at the 6600 m bivouac site that we called 'Hotel Kalanka'. We had been short of fuel and foods for five days. Altitude, low temperatures, exhaustion and poor provisions had weakened us but we still held up through these hardships. We saw a small patch of blue sky in the evening. Maybe tomorrow, we would be able to resume our climbing. Next morning, with snow still falling lightly, we launched our summit bid, on the remaining 300 m of the face.

As we couldn't find any suitable slopes around our base camp, we had to acclimatise on an unnamed 5800 m peak to the south of Saf Minal. I had worried about my condition after the acclimatisation period. I hadn't been sure of my strength as I suffered various symptoms of high altitude sickness on the upper slopes. But I managed to overcome the uneasiness, keeping in mind our purpose - the north face of Kalanka.

We left base camp with a 30 kg sack on each back and reached ABC at 5100 m on 14 September. The north face still looked severe but I felt we would not be totally rejected by the face. Next day, on 15 th, our first day on the face, we went by a roundabout route to the left as the lower slabs were covered with unstable snow. We climbed cautiously on mixed terrain with poor protection. As we couldn't find any suitable ledge, we dug a tiny ledge on the snow spur at 6000 m, as late as 9:00 p.m.

Next day, we made a long traverse to the right to gain the direct line to the summit. We couldn't take enough time to rest, eat and hydrate as the route was very demanding. The night was spent sitting on a tiny 50 cm ledge at 6100 m.

On the third day, we were on the mixed terrain which we thought was the crux of our route. It began snowing and climbing became a fight against frequent snow showers which caused us to climb in minimum visibility. By nightfall, we dug a ledge for our small tent at 6550 m and fell asleep at 1:00 a.m. on the 18th.

We woke at 4:00 a.m. but were forced to wait until 8:30 by falling snow. After one and a half pitches of climbing we found a terrace better than the previous night and set our small tent there. We called it 'Hotel Kalanka'. We were imprisoned here for the next three days by snow storms.

On the eighth day (22nd), we awoke before dawn but the continuous snowfall forced us to stay inside our damp sleeping bags. We started our summit bid at 9:00 a.m., finding the snowfall lighter. We gained only 150 m in a gully of deep snow after a four-hour struggle. We realised how weakened we were. We reduced our gear to speed up our climbing. With only a thermos and a waist bag, we dashed across the last 150 m of the face and reached the summit after three hours, at 6:00 p.m.

We rappelled in a hurry with head lamps to the bivouac and reached there at 10:00 p.m. to spend our fourth night at 'Hotel Kalanka' without any food. We gained ABC next day and ate and drank our fill. We saw the light in our base camp through mist and darkness. It was the end of our long trip on the formidable north face of the mountain.

SUMMARY

Kalanka (6931 m), Garhwal Himalaya, India. The first ascent of the direct route on the north face called 'Bushido' (1800 m, M5+) in alpine style, 14-24 September 2008, Fumitaka Ichimura, Kazuaki Amano and Yusuke Sato.

 

 

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Kamet (7756 m) is the second highest mountain in the Garhwal Himalaya of India after Nanda Devi. It was first climbed in 1931 by Frank Smythe's British expedition via the Purvi (East) Kamet glacier, the Meade's Col and the northeast ridge. It was then the highest summit ever climbed by mankind. The mountain had been climbed many times since then from various directions, though its southeast face remained untouched for many years.

This formidable face rises almost 2000 m above the head of the Purvi Kamet glacier and has been observed at every opportunity by parties who repeated Smythe's original route. The only known attempt on the face was by John Varco and the late Sue Nott in 2005 though they were forced to abandon their try due to bad weather.

It was in 2004 that we first tied a rope to each other in the Karakoram. We climbed a spur on the Northwest face of Spantik (7027 m) and the West face of Laila Peak (6200 m) near the Gondokoro la. Next year we climbed variations on the east ridge of Muztagh Ata (7546 m) in Xinjiang and the north face-northwest ridge of Shivling (6543 m) in Garhwal.

Naturally we thought that once we could climb the face of 6000 m peak, it will be possible for us to attempt the face of a higher mountain. We found a line in the obvious couloir that cut in the centre of the southeast face of Kamet after examining many photos. In the meantime each of us bagged two 8000 m peaks on different occasions, i.e. Manaslu and Everest for Taniguchi and Gasherbrum II and Broad Peak for Hiraide. We thought that we were ready to attempt a face at high altitude.

Acclimatisation and Reconnaissance

We established our base camp (4700 m) at the confluence of the Raikana and the Purvi Kamet glaciers on 1 September. The acclimatisation trips were made in two stages. During 4 - 7 September, we made a roundtrip to the foot of the face at 5750 m to find that avalanche danger was not as serious as in the couloir. During 10th-16th we climbed the normal route to 7200 m above Meade's Col by which we reconnoitered the route and made a cache of some foods fuel at 6600 m for our descent.

As it was difficult for us to access expensive weather forecasts regularly, we preferred to receive daily forecasts from Joshimath through our SAT phone. We learned that during that period, it would be fine on Kamet when the wind blew from the southwest in Joshimath and the bad weather would come when it blew from the north/northeast. We let the snow storms at the end of September go past, spending time at base camp. During this period, our friends on the north face of nearby Kalanka were forced to sit out storms for three days at the bivouac high on the face.

We had reduced our gear, food and fuel to the minimum. We prepared four days of food and fuel plus for some extra days, for our assault. In fact, it would take us seven days to climb the route and we never had to worry about provisions.

Climb to the Untouched Face

Finally the weather cleared on 25 September. We departed from base camp and plodded in deep snow on the glacier. It took us twice the time to break trail in the fresh snow which was 1m deep at Camp 1 and 1.5 m at camp 2. Fortunately we found our cache that had remained dry under the deep snow despite the the fact that the tent was half broken. We established ABC (5900 m) at the foot of the face on 28th.

We began climbing the next day under a completely blue sky. Crossing over the bergschrund, passing through the left slanting gully, we simul-climbed most of the lower section of the face and roped up at the upper snow patch. We had estimated that the route has three cruxes. Our first day ended at the base of the first crux at 6600 m as planned. It took us one and a half hour to dig out a small ledge.

Next day, on 30th, we climbed a mixed terrain of loose rock and ice. The south facing wall caught the full sunshine in the morning, which caused frequent spindrifts and falling stones. They continued even at night. We made a bivouac at 6750 m on a tiny snow ridge which felt a little bit better than the previous night.

Next day, we attempted the second crux that had been assumed in our reconnaissance to be the hardest section of the whole route. It was harder than our estimate. There continued a loose mixed terrain. We were already at 7000 m and the altitude had a detrimental influence on us. We couldn't complete the section in a day and had to make a bivouac at 7000 m halfway up the section. It was already in the midnight when we crawled into our small refuge to sleep.

We were welcomed with a clear sky after spending a short and cold night. There were only two pitches of mixed climbing to finish the second crux. The enormous third crux was lying in wait for us above two pitches of snow slopes. It was much bigger than our expectations. We decided to bivouac earlier at 7100 m to rest and prepare for the next day. We had to massage our toes which felt cold at this altitude.

On 3 October, we completed the third crux. It consisted of one pitch of rock and ice and three pitches of ice before emerging into the 'banana couloir' at 7250 m. We were intent on climbing the couloir on the next day though we couldn't reach the summit and made our sixth bivouac on the snow ridge at 7600 m. It was only 150 m to the summit.

The seventh day, on 5 October, we saw a mad red sky to the east. We were grateful to be favoured by a long spell of fine weather (eight days). We easily emerged onto the final snow slopes leading to the summit when we veered right of the ridge above our bivouac. We reached the highest point at 10:00 am. We were welcomed by a 360 degree fantastic panorama of the mountains of Garhwal Himalaya.

We descended to the cache at 6600 m that day and regained our base camp before the dawn of 8 October. Our adventure was thus complete. We left base camp two days later on 10 October. It was time to go home.

SUMMARY

Kamet (7756 m), Garhwal Himalaya,India. The first ascent of the direct route on the Southeast face called 'Samurai Direct' (1800 m M5+ AI5), Kazuya Hiraide and Kei Taniguchi.

 

 

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Garhwal is one of the most important regions of the Indian Himalaya. This small district is roughly rectangular and situated almost in the centre of the Himalayan main chain. On the western part of Garhwal lies Gangotri glacier, which is bound by the two parent rivers of Ganges - Bhagirathi on the west and Alakananda on the east. Owing to its vastness and complexity, Gangotri glacier system is also called Gangotri complex.

The Gangotri glacier flows from southeast to northwest direction and terminates at the snout known as Gaumukh from where the Bhagirathi emerges. There are seven major tributary glaciers. Maiyandi, Swachhand, Chaturangi and Raktavarna feed the main glacier from northeast while Ghanohim, Kirti and Meru merge from southwest. A maze of high peaks around the main and tributary glaciers form massive walls and thus separates the adjacent valleys from each other.

The first extensive survey of Gangotri complex under Major Osmaston was completed in 1936 which helped to rectify most of the anomalies in the old maps. The Austro-German team under Prof. Rudolf Schwarzgruber came to this complex in 1938. Equipped with the new map, they climbed half a dozen virgin peaks including Sri Kailash (6932 m).

Subsequently various mountaineering teams arrived in and around the Gangotri complex and climbed several other virgin peaks.

Apart from the surveys and climbing difficult peaks, ventures were also undertaken across the high formidable walls of different watersheds by mountaineers and explorers for an access and also to find short routes from one valley to another. These explorations are well documented.

The quest to explore passages through the great boundary walls of Gangotri complex, were mostly limited to the main watershed between Alakanda - Saraswati and Bhagirathi rivers. Chaturangi glacier, the longest tributary of Gangotri was by far the best option for these crossings at several places.

The 1938 Austro-German team was the first to traverse the entire length of the Gangotri glacier. Surprisingly for many years, no team tried to repeat the feat either to attempt the Chaukhamba group of peaks from the west or to gain Meade's col from the head of the glacier.

After four and a half decades, a small team from the Kolkata section of the Himalayan Club, led by Joydeep Sircar, the then local secretary, arrived at Gangotri in May 1984 with an intention of traversing the Gangotri glacier up to its head. I was a member of the team. I had also the privilege to traverse the southern slopes of the great ring wall forming the southern boundary of the Gangotri glacier two years earlier.

Barring attempts to cross the Auden's col and futile attempts made on the Meade's col, no one was interested in penetrating the long and complex southern rim of Gangotri glacier, particularly from the peaks Bharte Khunta on the west and Chaukhamba III on the east, which forms the important watershed between Gangotri and Kedarnath valleys.

On the ridge between the peak Bharte Khunta (6578 m) and Kedarnath (6940 m) there is a depression which looks like a col. Far below the col on the southern side Chorabari glacier flows, which is the main source of Mandakini - the principal river of Kedarnath and its adjacent valleys. From Chorabari, the climb to the col is extremely difficult. On the other hand, to go down vertically from the col to the Chorabari seems impossible. Hence this col can be considered useless for regular crossings from Gangotri to Kedarnath or vice versa.

As we were hitherto unaware of any attempt to cross the high walls guarded by at least half a dozen lofty peaks, separating Gangotri valley from Kedarnath, I along with my friend Barun Ghosh (since decd.) started traversing eastward from the southern base of Kedarnath on 14 September, 1982. Although our main objective was to trace the legendary route from Kedarnath to Badrinath, I took the opportunity to keep a sharp vigil on the dividing range for probing a weakest point on the line of defense to pass from one valley to the other.

From behind the temple of Kedarnath, we climbed up 1220 m steadily to land on a snowfield strewn with boulders. Then we crossed Mahapanth khal (4620 m) - a pass on the ridge extended to the southeast from the peak Mahalaya (5892 m), a close neighbour of Kedarnath. We then traversed the crevasse ridden long Bishali glacier and climbed up to Bishali col (4755 m) on the divide between Bishali and Kaleon glacier. The stupendous rocky south faces of the peak Sumeru Parvat (6330 m) and its adjacent unnamed peak (5752 m) with the long buttresses projected towards the glacier, looked frustrating. We then crossed the small Kaleon glacier and climbed up through mixed slopes of scree and ice to gain Yeonbuk col (4850 m). The col is situated on the ridge just south of Yeonbuk (5953 m). From this high point I looked back and scanned the westerly ridge from Yeonbuk which initially passes through the unnamed peak and then rises steeply to Sumeru Parvat on the northwest. To my utter surprise, I found a clear gap between the unnamed peak and Yeonbuk. I hurried to further south to get a better view. The distance to the base of the gap from the col where I stood was hardly 400 yards and the elevation is about 300 m at an angle of maybe 60°. From the base, a couloir leads to the crest of the ridge where it is slightly depressed.

The gradient to the depression on the ridge is not very steep and the ascent to this col (5486 m) is also about 300 m. It appeared to me that it would take approximately three hours to reach to the crest from the Yeonbuk col. It was indeed temptingly close! But our objective was different. So after a photo session, we went down steeply to Mandani valley, crossed Duara khal (4176 m) and arrived at Ransi village en route to Madmaheswar in four days.

In 1984, our objectives were mainly to traverse the entire length of the Gangotri glacier and to reconnoitre the route to the Meade's col (after 1938) and to attempt a few peaks including Mandani. Besides I had, of course, the other objective, to probe the northern face of the great watershed for ascertaining crossing points to Kedarnath valley, particularly through the colon the west of Yeonbuk, which I had seen in 1982.

We established our base camp (4550 m) at Lankaban, close to Kirti-Gangotri junction and Camp 1 (4750 m) on the medial moraine opposite to Ghanohim bamak.

Camp 2 (4950 m) on the main bed of Gangotri glacier, opposite Swachhand glacier, was occupied on 31 May 1984. I arranged to ferry further loads from my Swachhand camp to replenish Camp 3, established at the junction ofMaiyandi and Gangotri glaciers at 5150 m. Calculating the time available to me, 1 then decided to climb Peak 5745 from the south and connected with a crescent shaped ridge to the peak Yeonbuk on the southwest. The peak was fairly steep, hence to save time I could glissade straight to the base during my return journey.

The sky was speck-less. At 9.30 a.m., I left Swachhand camp with my lone porter and soon began to climb the steep slopes. The condition of the snow was good so we did not rope up. It was a 'mid-day rush' as termed by Joydeep afterwards. My sole objective was to peep onto the other side from the top of the peak to confirm the line of ascent from the Yeonbuk col to the crest of the ridge where my new found collies. But alas! There was a bergschnmd about 50 m below the top. We tried to negotiate it through a flimsy ice bridge"The scorching sun had already melted the ice considerably. The bridge would definitely collapse under our weight and drag us to the depth of the crevasse. So we decided to turn back. Now we could see the Swachhand glacier up to its head. I was spellbound at the most unusual view of the east face of Kharchakund. It seemed so near!

We glissaded pitch by pitch more than half the way and returned to the camp in the afternoon. Although I failed to look behind from the top of the peak, I could see clearly the dome shaped Yeonbuk and my targeted col immediately west of the peak, eveI1 from my camp site. The line of descent from the col looked encouraging. It was an easy angled snow covered ice gully, which would take hardly a couple of hours to hit the bed of the Gangotri glacier. So my reconnaissance in 1982 proved useful. I 'Yas naturally excited. I christened the col as 'Gangotri' as it would provide an easier access to Gangotri from Kedarnath than the only col so far discovered by J B Auden in 1939 on the extreme west of the southern rim of Gangotri complex.

Our Camp 4 (5337 m), the final camp, was established opposite to the peak 6638 m and Chaukhamba IV. From the west these two peaks look like twins. Unfortunately the high altitude supporter, accompanying the upper glacier pmty, went down with a splitting headache. The head of the Gangotri glacier was, however, reached and the prominent depression (Meade's col) on the northwest ridge of Chaukhamba I was reconnoitered. To the east of the Meade's col, there is an icefall almost Climbing the icefall vertical through would be dangerous. A line of steep ascent to the left of the icefall looked promising. So the party forced their way up the soft snow. But the progress was very slow as the seracs hurtling down from above, were deadly. So the unequal struggle was given up after reaching half way to the elusive Meade's col.

Next couple of days saw a small party attempting Mandani (6193 m) and Peak 5775 m to the west of Mandani but without any success. From the slopes of Mandani, we could see the intricate Maiyandi glacier which was last penetrated by a pair of climbers of the Austro-German team while climbing Swachhand on 23 September, 1938.

To sum up my probing, 1 would like to comment that the Gangotri col (5486 m) was found to be the weakest point on the entire southern boundary wall of the Gangotri glacier. This col could be well utilised by enthusiastic climbers as a high altitude trek route between the holy temples of Kedarnath and Gangotri. They may even complete a circuitous journey (Parikrama) using the Auden's col.

The exploration was over and the route has been suggested. Would any motivated team now come forward to achieve an objective that has never been gained before?

Notes:

• In 1995, a British expedition led by Simon Yearsley attempted Chaukhamba 1 from Bhagirath Kharak glacier. They successfully gained Meade's Colon 3rd October and camped there. But the route to the peak proved too dangerous.
• Subsequently in 1987 and 1989, the Himalayan Association of Kolkata made two tmsuccessful attempts to climb the Peak 6805 m from the Maiyandi glacier.

SUMMARY

A reconnaissance ofGangotri col (5486 m), from both the sides of the Gangotri-Kedarnath watershed.

 

 

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A team of five members of the Irish Mountaineering Club set out from Dublin in August 2008 to attempt to climb Gramang Bal (6248 m) in Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh. Our objective was selected following advice from our colleague Paddy O' Leary who had been close to the mountain in 1993 and again ill the early 2000s.

We based our plans on Paddy's information, 1:50,000 maps and Google EaI1h. We intended to climb from Morang, on NH 22, via Timchhe Thach to Timchhe. There we would cross the ridge near point 4560 m and contour slightly downwards to the banks of the Rovang khad where we planned to set up our base camp on the bank of that river. We hoped to lose the minimum possible height in going to this site to reduce what we would have to gain on the other side. From this camp we hoped to get onto the east ridge and follow the ridge to the summit. Little did we know that we would be doing more exploration than climbing!

We spent two days acclimatising at Kalpa before moving to Morang for two more days acclimatisation while waiting for our porters to arrive for the carry to base camp. We used our acclimatisation days to reconnoitre the route to base camp but what we found on the ground did not match our expectations. Instead of ascending via Timchhe Thach as planned we took the advice of herds and shepherds and followed the Khokpa nala to the Timchhe ridge. At this point there was no water for our camp and we were cut off from the east ridge by a precipitous descent to the Rovang khad.

We retumed the next day with our cook Ram Singh and met herds who brought us to point 4560 m where there was an excellent site for our camp. This would have been impossible for us without Ram's language skills. Water was available here from a pipeline, which runs to Morang from a pool at the foot of the glacier from which the Rovang khad flows. We had no time to reconnoitre the descent to the river where we had planned to site our base camp and decided to stay at Timchhe /Point 4560 m. The disadvantage of this site was that it influenced us toward the northern, glacier, side of the mountain and away from our preferred route up the east ridge.

The next few days were spent investigating the approach to the mountain via the glacier as far as the head of the lower section of the glacier. On the first day cloud descended on us and we "could see nothing beyond 50 m so we did not learn much from this journey. It snowed that night but not any serious amount. In the following days we reached the lower section but were not encouraged by what we found.

To get there we had to pass under cliffs on our left, which generously distributed stones on the ground below and any passers by. If we set up camp at the head of the lower glacier, we would have two options to reach the upper glacier. The first would be an ascent under the hanging seracs described as ice walls on the map. The other option was an ascent of the ice field to the left of the glacier with a difficult exit through the headwall. Having reached the upper glacier there then followed a steep ice field which led to the cornices on the summit ridge.

In total these'sections would have involved 1300 m of technical climbing. The objective dangers of the ascent under the seracs were unacceptable to our team. The apparent difficulty of the ascent up the slopes to the left of the icefall seemed to indicate that we could not make our way up there while carrying the equipment and supplies for a higher camp upless we fixed equipment which we had not got. It became clear that we would have to give our attention to our originally planned line of ascent.

Before we could rethink our plan an even bigger problem faced us, our water supply dried up. For a day or two we and our cook and his helper made the five km round trip to draw a supply from the pool which fed the pipeline but eventually even that dried out. The only other source of water was the Rovang khad which required a three-hour round trip with a 400 m descent and ascent.

There was no point in us spending our time drawing water to maintain a base camp with no time left to explore and climb so we reluctantly decided to call a halt to our venture. It was ironic that while we were able to walk a few metres across the ridge to where we could see Morang and use mobile phones to summon the porters for an early carry out yet we could not survive in this location without the basic requirement - water.

It was very disappointing that on the day that the porters arrived the water staIied to flow again but by then it was too late. Three of our five-person party had descended to Morang to reduce the demand for water at base camp.

During our water-earrying days we explored some of the ground in the vicinity. Our planned site for a base camp on the banks of the Rovang khad was not very practical. The ground between there and Timehhe was very steep scree and would have made an extremely difficult day for porters. The ground beside the river was uninviting and full of boulders, which would have made setting up a base camp an exercise in earthmoving rather than digging.

On another day we descended more than 400 m straight down to the river and here we found a suitable site for base camp even though it was much lower than we would prefer. This site would open the approach to the east ridge while still leaving the option of the north face ascent. The main question is how to get to it.

It might be inefficient to climb to 4560 m and then descend to 4100 m to set up a base camp but there may be an option of ascending the Rovang khad from Tirung gad. From the potential base camp site there is a wide track a couple of hundred metres long to the river bank. When Paddy O' Leary tried to reach this area by following the river he was stopped by a rock wall and it seemed that there was no way through. The fact that this big track exists and is not continued on the other side of the river would seem to indicate that there is a way through which must be known to local herds or shepherds. Enquiries locally could clear up this question and might open up the best way to the northern and eastern approach to the mountain.

Our journey was, in one way, a disappointment because we did not get to the summit of the mountain we approached so confidently. Yet we went home happy. We got great pleasure from being some of the few non-locals who have been into this beautiful and remote area. At the same time we were aware that what is to us a new frontier is a familiar back-garden for the herds and shepherds of the neighbourhood. By tapping their knowledge the key to the mountain should easily be found.

The Irish members of the expedition were Eric Corkery, Moira Creedon, Niamh McGreen, Sé O Hanlon and Naomi Sturdy.

SUMMARY

An attempt on Gramang Bal, 6248 m in Kinnaur.

 

 

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Primarily there are two passes that connect the Zanskar valley across the Great Himalayan Axis to the Kishtwar valley. The higher pass, Umasi la at 5340 m is a popular route with at least few trekking groups crossing it from Padam to Sumcham every year. I had crossed Umasi la several years back. Meanwhile, the lower one, Hagshu la is rarely visited by trekkers or outsiders. I wanted to find out the reason. Our indefatigable Harish Kapadia confirmed that no trekkers had crossed Hagshu la on record in the last decade at the least and what clinched the deal for me was that he personally knew of none who had ever crossed the pass. Finding a small window in late June — July of 2008, my wife Namita and I bundled our ever-ready sacks of gear in the back of a bus and headed for Manali. From Manali we joumeyed over road to Leh and from there to Lamayuni. My plan being that we would first do the popular Lamayuni — Pad am route and then explore some side valleys and glaciers of Zanskar in and around the area of Ringdom, Panikhar. etc and then cross Hagshu la and exit from Atholi — Jammu.

Lamayuru — Padam went without a hitch and a description of this route is commonly found hence I will skip this phase and take you straight to the village of Chebra, from where we hired our porters and started for Hagshu la. Chebra is a quiet and quaint village by the Doda river. With three local porters (father, son and uncle) leading the way, we crossed Doda river in the moming and climbed up to Akshoo village, wheJ'e a gaggle of children giggled at us from the ridge. The trail crossed the Sumche nala over a bridge and we reached the local Doksha (temporary habitation of yak and cow herders). After a sumptuous filling of cheese, milk and curd we went ahead. The trail was easy along the nala, with the Hagshu peak filling up the distant horizon right ahead. Gradually the trail climbed through boulders and knee-sized bushes. The landscape changed dramatically as we gained altitude. Soon all signs of green were left far behind and below while stark brown and black filled up on all sides. We halted at a depression for a cup of tea. EventualJy we left solid ground and climbed along the lateral moraine on the left bank of the Hagshu glacier. After nearly seven hours of walking thro!,tgh moderate grounds, we arrived at the campsite of Chandal (4430 m), 'where a patch of green next to a flowing: brook offered us modest space for the tents. Under the watchful eyes of at least 50 gigantic sized yaks we pitched our tents. We learned that it was a place where the villagers left their yaks to graze through 'the summer months and gain as much weight they could. Though forbearing and ominolls in appearance the yaks left us alone and vice versa.

The morning glow on Hagshu peak, which reared it~ head like a cobra ready to strike, lit up the entire place as we broke camp and went down onto the glacier. The bullet proof hard ice made us slip and we walked gingerly as if walking on eggshells. The pass did not look far, yet I knew that it was at least a few hours away with several huge moraine and ice fields in between. Hopping and climbing in and out of the tottering rock moraines was hard work and disorienting as well. Mercifully, despite the altitude, the gradient remained less than 40 degrees and we managed a fairly moderate speed. Once the moraines ended, we stepped back on the glacier and walked along its right bank. Sprinkled with glacier tables and streams, through which we weaved as if in a maze, the glacier was bordered with peaks of unrivaled symmetry. Soon we reached the bottom of a 60 m ice wall that would take us to the upper ice field. We again broke for tea and snacks. By now we had been on the move for six hours. Hagshu la is a very well hidden pass and one doesn't see it until you tumble on the cairn. Our porters informed that the pass was still far and it was better to fill up our stomachs with something. The darkening clouds above did not seem friendly and I wanted to get over the pass and down to the other side as quickly as possible. But in the mountains one learns patience. So we had tea and snacks against some of the most unusual sights possible.

The ice slope was made up of hard-and-pack snow and with our boots we simply crunched up. Several gaping crevasses leered from the sides. The upper ice field once again stretched endlessly towards the ever receding horizon. We continued climbing. By now the first draught of a blizzard hit us from the front. At the end of the ice field suddenly we tumbled onto a sizeable slab-rock field. Our boots, which so far, had perfect purchase on hard ice, now slipped and we scrambled for a hold on the slippery rocks. Rounding a bend, we sighted our lead porter gesticulating and behind him a tattered flag fluttered in lhe falling light. We had reached Hagshu la. At 5100 m, it was a high pass but what made it more interesting was the way it fell off on to the other side into Kishtwar. Apparently, I could not see any descent from the cairn as there were sheer drops of scree and rock slabs on all sides. Gargantuan peaks, mostly unci imbed, bore down upon us. Slightly out of breath and nearly nine hours since we had started in the morning, we could only gape and gasp in wonder. On enquiring, our porters showed us a sheer face on to our south. dropping otT straight into the glacier below, as our descent route. Try as much I could, with my three decades of mountain experience, I failed to discern any trail over the face that seemed on the verge of a mammoth collapse and it was a miracle that it hadn't dropped off yet. But it would and who knows when! Our three cheery porters simply let go at the top and disappeared from sight, trying to outrun the massive landslide of rocks they had triggered in their wake. This sight of absolute madness did nothing to add to our confidence.

Gingerly, almost on a tip-toe, we slipped and slid on the slope which to my estimate was 60 degrees at its gentlest. The 300 m drop took an eternity to cover. The bottom 50 m was encrusted with ice and letting go of all caution, both of us took ample advantage of our goretex pants, glissading and sliding all the way down to the fiat glacier below. When we stood up and brushed our clothes of the ice and stared back the path down Hagshu la we could only wonder how come we hadn't broken anything! The dusk was falling fast and falling furiously. The glacier seemed to drop once again out of sight as our porters had already done. The hard ice bore no preceding footprints for us to follow. Soon we had to leave the ice which fell off vertically in a cascade and we took to the rocks. A long exhausting day with no end in sight and every rock trying to throw us off... it was certainly not the pleasantest day of our lives. Then a boulder stirred and Tashi Angduz, our versatile porter from Abran, materialised out of the thin air and guided us across another stretch of sheer ice face followed by a rock wall that led up to a cave at a place locally called Segamgam. We pitched our tent inside the cave that offered an ama~ing sight of the glacier and stream ahead. We had to be careful while using the tent though, since a careless step out could hurtle us into a hundred metres of nothingness. We were at 4660 m and a 12 hr long day had dehydrated us considerably. The nearest water source was around 150 m down and we had to conserve water as best we could.

The next morning, we woke up into a deepening mist and fine snow drizzling from atop. The way ahead snaked through one of the most horrific moraines I had ever traversed. We were constantly skidding up and down seemingly endless moraine fields with countless crossings of Hagshu nala. At few places snow bridges made our task easier. Finally we reached the grazing ground ofSemo Oangsa at 3970 m where a lone shepherd occupied a high cave with his herd. We camped right next to the river, amidst bright flowers and tall grasses. It was a breathtaking campsite, the best so far in this trek. We befriended the shepherd, who told us about the place. He offered us goat milk and Namita churned out vermicelli pudding by night fall. He also cautioned that his dog could bite any of us at night; hence we might not want to come out of the tent for any reason. Though his dog kept barking at a safe distance almost through the night, his sheep crowded our tent from all sides, causing a virtual collapse. We learned next morning that our tent was right at the centre of their resting ground.

The trail eased out along the river. The valley narrowed and widened out periodically and became greener with eve'ry passing hour. The weather had improved considerably. We ambled down gleefully through one of the prettiest valleys of the Himalaya, happier in the knowledge that what we had just accomplished, very few had done before. The valley widened out of proportion at Bhujwas, where the trail from Umasi lajoined and we could see the rearing summits of Kishtwar Shivling and Shibs Pahar. An hour later we sighted the first house of Sumcham. We found refuge at a friend's place who was delighted to see us after a long time. Very soon, Namita had a long queue of patients with complaints ranging from hay fever to tooth decay. While she tended them, I strolled out on the rooftop and witnessed yet another majestic sun set to the west painting the sky with myriad colors of yellow and gold.

The trail eased out along the river. The valley narrowed and widened out periodically and became greener with eve'ry passing hour. The weather had improved considerably. We ambled down gleefully through one of the prettiest valleys of the Himalaya, happier in the knowledge that what we had just accomplished, very few had done before. The valley widened out of proportion at Bhujwas, where the trail from Umasi lajoined and we could see the rearing summits ofKishtwar Shivling and Shibs Pahar. An hour later we sighted the first house of Sumcham. We found refuge at a friend's place who was delighted to see us after a long time. Very soon, Namita had a long queue of patients with complaints ranging from hay fever to tooth decay. While she tended them, I strolled out on the rooftop and witnessed yet another majestic sun set to the west painting the sky with myriad colors of yellow and gold.

SUMMARY

A trek across Hagshu la

 

 

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Since 2001, when I visited the Arganglas valley in East Karakoram, Nya Kangri (6480 m) remained a prominent peak on our to-do list. A beautiful pyramid of snow and ice, the peak dominates the entrance to the valley.

The Himalayan Club sponsored our four member team consisting of Vineeta Muni, Rajesh Gadgil, Rajan Rikame and myself to attempt the peak in June — July 2008. We flew into Leh on 15th June and after three days of preparations and acciamatisation, we set off across the Khardung la into Nubra valley on 18th June.

As we flew into Leh, the clouds ominously hung over the entire region. We hoped this would be a passing phase since June was considered a good time to climb in East Karakoram. We stayed a night at Tegur before starting our approach march on the 19th June. Eleven horses carried our food and equipment for the next three days till we established base camp at Phonglas on the true right of the river at an altitude of 4600 m.

Light rain accompanied us on the walk in while it snowed on the higher reaches of the mountains. We hoped the weather would clear by the time we reached base camp and start serious climbing.

Nya Kangri had never been attempted earlier. We had photographs of the peak from our earlier expeditions in the valley and from the top of Rdung Ring peak, which we climbed in 2005. We planned to attempt Nya Kangri from its south ridge. A small glacier originating from the south face of the mountain fed a stream coming down to base camp.

We recceed a route to ABC near the snout of the glacier at 5400 m. It was early in the expedition and we were struggling with the altitude. Accompanied by light snow during the days, we ferried loads and occupied ABC on 25 June.

The approach to the south ridge of Nya Kangri was from a 700 m gully flanked on one side by a rocky ridge and by a huge hanging glacier formed at the base of the southeast face of Nya Kangri. It was a challenge to find a route through the gully which would keep us safe from the consistant rock fall from the ridge to the west of the gully and from potential avalanches from southeast face of Nya Kangri.

On the 26th we opened route through the gully and fixed four rope lengths to 5800 m. The route looked good and was safe for most of its distance from any objective hazards.

We hoped to establish Camp 1 on 28 June. However as we started off early morning, thick clouds hung over the entire region. We just about reached our previous high point and the weather broke with strong winds and snow fall. We secured all the equipment at a safe location and beat a hasty retreat.

The weather gods were not kind to us and the next two days it snowed heavily. The entire region was plastered with snow. On I July the weather cleared. However, we stayed put for the day to allow the snow to settle. Two avalanches came frighteningly close to our route up the gully. I was apprehensive of the conditions on the mountain.

With few days; left to retun, on the 2nd we decided to make one final attempt to establish Camp 1. We left early moming to cover ground as quickly as possible on the snow before it got soft with the heat. The fixed' ropes had to be dug out of the snow in many places. We reached high point of 5900 m. and started climbing towards the final slopes below the south ridge of the mountain. We had to cross a narrow chute of snow before we reached the base of 200 m. slow slope below the proposed Camp 1 site.

However, crossing the chute became a struggle, the accumulated snow was loose and unconsolidated. Below was hard ice and rock. It was difficult to make progress since the soft snow gave way at every step. Perched precariously at our high point, I reassessed the situation and our climbing route ahead. Even after the struggle, if we managed to cross the chute, we still had to negotiate the 200 m snow slope below the proposed Camp 1. Since the snow was loose and unconsolidated, the slope became very prone to slab avalanche. The risk level being very high, I decided to call off the climb. We reluctantly started our way down, removing all the fixed rope and equipment on the climb.

We had a good time amidst the mountains of East Karakorams. However the weather was most disappointing and what was considered as a period of clear skies and ideal climbing conditions tumed out to be like the monsoon of Mumbai!! When we called home, we got to know that it had not rained at all in Mumbai during the peak monsoon time. Leaves one wondering what to expect next..... snowfall in Mumbai?

SUMMARY

An attempt on virgin peak Nya Kangri (6480 m) by team from
Mumbai in July 2008.

 

 

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IT IS a tale from the ancient time. A tribe, known as Kirat in ancient literature, lived in an ancient kingdom, Bramhapura, in the lap of soaring Dhaula Dhar range of the Himalaya in a valley of river Ravi. The kingdoms' presiding deity — a fierce mountain Goddess, Brahmani, protected the kingdom jealously. Above Bramhapura, on the peak of Manimahesh Kailash mountain lived Lord Shiva.

One evening, a yogi with his eighty-three disciples came to pay obeisance to Shiva. When they reached Bramhapura darkness had fallen. So they decided to rest for the night. When this news reached Devi Brahmani she became furious. How could lowly mortals stay in her land without her permission! She immediately came down from her perch and ordered the yogis to leave. But it was dark and the mountainous terrain was unknown to the yogis; so they prayed to Shiva to save them from the wrath of the Devi. Shiva appeared and appeased the Devi under condition that henceforth all pilgrims to Manimahesh would offer puja in her temple first and only then they could proceed to Manimahesh.

Thus propitiated, Devi permitted the yogis to stay for the night only; they would have to leave in the morning. But when Devi came back to check in the morning; there were no sign of those yogis; instead she found eighty-four stone Shiva Lingams.

Of course, this is a pure legend but somewhere in this legend is hidden the story of a silent foray by the people of the plains to these mountainous terrains and establishing themselves by displacing the aborigines.

Now the question is, are these the people who in the later ages became known as 'Gaddis'? The answer is not simple.

But first Gadderan — the land of the Gaddis, has to be defined.

Gadderan : The area under the modem Bharmaur Community Development Block spread over an area of 1,79,728 hectares¹ (1779.28 square kilometres) is usually identified with the ancient Gadderan. According to 2001 census, there are 252 revenue villages under the block, inhabited by 37,240 persons.

The roughly east-west elongated Gadderan is bounded by two well defined snowy mountain ranges - the Dhaula Dhar range on the south and the Pir Panjal range on the north with altitude ranging from 1330 m to above 5750 m.

Origin of the Gaddis: Before examining the origin of the Gaddis, a look into the history of the state of Bramhapura is necessary.

During the early Christian era, 'From the Indus to the sources of the Ganges, the outer range of the Punjab Himalaya was divided-up among numerous native states, each under its own hereditary chiefs.'²

Bramhapura was such a principality but ruled by whom? It seems
that nobody is certain, 'There are no sources of information to help us to determine who the original inhabitants of the mountain area now included in the Chamba State were.'³

There are four time frames for the entries of Gaddis in this region.

1. The earliest Gaddi migration came during the reign of Meruvarman (around AD 680).
2. Brahman and some clans of Rajputs migrated to the upper Ravi valley during the reign of Ajayvarman (AD 760-780)
3. As per as a popular saying among the Gaddis 'Ujreya Lahore, te baseya Bharmaur' meaning, after Lahore was destroyed (possibly by Muslim invasion) Bharmaur was populated.
4. Gaddis ofBharmaur have migrated to this mountainous interior of the Ravi valley in the 12th century and they are the descendant of the old Gadhiyas, who were well spread in the north-western India.

All experts are unanimous that Gaddi is a generic identity⁴.

'The tenn Gaddi is a generic name which includes Brahmans, Rajputs, Khatris, Thakurs and Rathis'.⁵

But 'the Gaddis offer a striking contrast in several respects to other inhabitants of the State. The Gaddis are a semi-pastoral and semiagricultural tribe.'⁶

Thus, the Gaddis are a separate clan and they are generic in nature and include all the castes that inhabit this region.

Gaddi houses : Each Gaddi house has an open courtyard called khalyan paved with thick slate and enclosed by a parapet wall. It is a multipurpose open space for mooring the cattle and to act as a sun bathing deck for the womenfolk.

Houses are usually two or three stories. The upper floors are residential. The first floor is called obri, the second floor, bhor and the third, if constructed, is called mandeh which is often open on two sides and used for storing grass, firewood etc. Each floor is a compact all purpose large hall divided into living, sleeping, store, kitchen etc.

The Gaddi family is not ajoint family, 'It is unusual for the married brothers' wives to occupy the same fireplace. Traditional joint families are unusual.' ⁷

These houses have some unique features, which are rarely found elsewhere in the Himalayan interior - every floor of these houses has an independent kitchen; for construction, except for the employment of professional carpenters, no skilled or unskiIIed labour is employed from outside the community. The entire construction work is done by community participation.

Three major ceremonies are observed during the construction of a house: at the time of laying of the foundation, the ridgepole and on completion.

During the ceremony of laying of the ridgepole a goat is sacrificed and its entrails are suspended from the balcony as a ritualistic offering to the god of the hearth. Though such sacrificial ritual is common in the Himalayan interior, suspending entrails from the verandah is very typical to Gadderan.

The religion of Gaddis: The Gaddis are followers of Lord Shiva. Probably, settlers who in later ages were known as Gaddi, had brought their religion along with them.

But their religion also shows some influence of animism (due to their dependence on nature and its forces) as well as the influence of local aborigine gods and spirits. They worship Nag, Sidh and Autars to ward off their evil influence. Batal, the spirit of springs, rivers and wells is worshipped; so is Jogini, the spirit of rocks. Gunga, the spirit of cow-disease is also propitiated. Minor Gods associated with crops like chinia, maize, wheat, pulse and barley are Devi, Chaund, Kailung, Kathura Nag and Sandholu Nag respectively.

Beliefs and Customs : The Gaddis, like other communities, have certain beliefs and customs. Ploughing, sowing and reaping begin only on lucky days — Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. If wheat fails to grow on a terraced field, that field is not ploughed the next year and left fallow until a goat is sacrificed there.

For a new field to be taken up for cultivation, an auspicious day is first fixed and a goat is sacrificed before the plough is put on that field.

Gaddis love fairs and have seven major fairs.

An annual pilgrimage to Manimahesh Lake (4170 m) is held in the month of Bhadon (August) throughout a fortnight (from Radha-astami to Janmastami — the birth date of Shri Krishna).

How these dates, very important in Vaisnavite tradition, came to assume such importance in a Shaivite religion could be an interesting point for researchers. A peculiar feature that I noticed in this annual pilgrimage is the participation of large number of Kashmiri Hindus. They do not go to Amarnath which is much more revered than Manimahesh and more accessible to them. They simply told me, 'this annual pilgrimage is their custom for generations'. Despite a pretty tough trek through dangerous terrain and harassment at the hands of border police (ever since terrorism crept in Kashmir, all residents are treated as terrorists), they come only to Manimahesh and never go to Amarnath. This implies the possibility that Gaddis also have some strains of 'Kashmir' in their blood.

Economic Activities: Gaddi economy is directly controlled by the habitat. This is clearly evident from the land use figures of Bharmaur tehsil. Agricultural activity is backward and pastoral pursuits did not emerge as the main occupation of the whole region. In spite of government incentives for agricultural and horticultural development, Gaddis still practice transhumance (migratory lifestyle) as their principal occupation. They have no alternative but to rear profitable livestock since the production of crops within the region is very limited and for a short duration.

Small size and fragmentation of land holdings are also major limiting factors. In Kugti, the highest village one farmer on an average possesses plots scattered over 8 to 10 different places ⁸, making it very difficult to plough.

Position of Gaddi Women in the Gaddi society: In pastoral societies usually, the position of women is not very high as has been reflected by several studies. ⁹ But in Gaddi society the women are placed in a far higher position than in any other society of the plains. This originates from economic needs.

In Gadderan, agriculture production is limited for scarcity of cultivable land, shorter sowing season, absence of irrigation and severe cold and snow. To compensate the agricultural deficit, Gaddis had to depend on pastoral practices. Presence of naturally rich grazing field facilitated pastoral practices but due to this, the male members of the family had to move with the flock. In the absence of the male head of the family for long periods, the women folk were free to associate with others of their choice - male and female, from their, as well as from other communities. As a consequence relationship between Gaddi women and men is free and equal. The modem Gaddi women are quite literate and highly vocal.

Gaddi dress : The male dress of Gaddis, which is said to have been bestowed on them by Lord Shiva himself, consists of a loose woolen overcoat (Chola), a long and a strong rope (Dora) of around 150ft length weighing around 2kg and a hat (Topa). Under the chola they wear a loose woolen pajama. Inner gannents are of cotton which absorbs sweat in their long march with their flock of sheep.

The Chola is tied up with the Dora at the waist in such a way that a special space is created to keep new-born lamb and is carried in that pouch like a kangaroo mother. In the innumerable folds of the Dora are stored an axe (kulhari), a flute (ban sari - Gaddis are famous for their musical flair), a flint-iron (runka), a leather pouch (mandua), small smoking pipe (chi lam) , an iron sickle (darat) and other items, indispensable for a wanderer's life.

A male Gaddi carries load on his back but never on his head. This practice of carrying load separates Gaddis from the other pastoral tribes like Gujjars.

The Gaddi damsels are considered to be some of the most beautiful of all hill women for their rosy complexion, sharp features, oblong faces and graceful supple bodies. They are also famous for their proverbial modesty and chastity.

Besides his flock of sheep and goat, a Gaddi aspires for a lovely Gaddani, as this folksong says:

In conclusion, we may say that the Gaddis have remarkably adapted to a mountainous, rugged environment primarily through pastoral practices and secondarily through agriculture.

Historical conditions and events influenced their society, so also the ecological conditions. The area remained comparatively isolated till the 7th century and after that Gaddis came to settle in waves till the 12th century.

But the juggernaut of modernity, commercialism and market economy has irrevocably changed the simple 'Gaddi way oflife'.

Gadderan, no doubt, have been reaping the benefits of economic development. But along the way, Gaddis seem to be on the verge of losing their identity as an indigenous and a unique community.

Notes:

1. Census report 1991.
2. History of Punjab Hill States, volume I : J. Hutchinson and J.PH Vogel. Department of Language and Culture, Himachal Pradesh.
3. Gazetteer of the Chamba State 1904: Punjab Sates Gazetteer Volume XXIIA: Indus Publishing House.
4. "All traditional inhabitants of the Gadderan area are now defined as Gaddis. Thus 'Gaddi' has come to stay as a generic identity rather than a class and community distinction. " Gaddi Land in Chamba : Its History, Art & Culture: O C Handa. Indus Publishing House.
5. History of Punjab Hill States, volume I : J. Hutchinson and J.PH Vogel. Department of Language and Culture, Himachal Pradesh.
6. Gazetteer of the Chamba State 1904 : Punjab Sates Gazetteer Volume XXIIA : Indus Publishing House.
7. Report on Scheduled Castes and Tribes — A study of Gaddi Scheduled Tribes and Affiliated Castes : William H. Newell. Shimla, 1961.
8. Eco-degradation and future Pastoralism: Gaddi of Himachal Pradesh : Sumit Mukherjee : Journal, Indian Geog. Foundation (1994).
9. The Nuer by Evan Pritchard and The Position of Women in a Pastoral society by Dupire as quoted in Himalayan Ecology, Transhumance and Social Organisation: Gaddis of Himachal Pradesh : Veena Bhasin : Kamla- Raj enterprise: Delhi

SUMMARY

Introduction to life of the Gaddis of the Himalaya.

 

 

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Swat valley had acquired the sobriquet 'Paris of Balistan' in the first quarter of the 20th century. But for the outdoors sportsmen the valleys charms by elsewhere. First and foremost was its incomparable natural setting, in comparative easy reach and secondly, for its well earned reputation for providing the cream of Chukor hunting in Asia.

As for its natural setting, a book at the pre 1947 map of India will show that the junction of the watersheds of the Karakorams with the Hindu Kush range creates a broad camel hump. At the right edge of the hump lies the K2 (Godwin Austen) 28,250 ft. (the highest summit after Everest). A little farthest west is Nanga Parbat's 26,660 ft. pinnacle and a bit more west juts on the skyline the smooth pyramid of Rakaposhi, 25,550 ft. Yet another giant summit is the Masherbrum as it arises in the leewards of K2 and Nanga Parbat.

When the sun tips above the horizon it first kisses the summit of K2, then Nanga Parbat, Masherbrum and finally Rakaposhi. That is the unique spectacle which the guests of the Walis (kings) of Swat would witness from the several chosen vantage points on a ridge above the Waliahad (palace) at Saidu Sharif (Mingora), the capital town of the State. In the evenings, the interplay of sun light on the summits was witnessed in the reverse order and finally a star-studded sky.

The Indus which runs here, forms the base line of the hump and the natural, southern boundary of Balis tan. A multitude of tributaries of the Indus have their head-waters in the cauldron of one of the world's massive glacier systems descending from K2 and its associates. The three prominent tributaries emanating are the Gilgit, the Swat and the Chitral rivers.

In the northern half of the hump also lay the chieftainships of Gilgit, Hunza and Haga which between 1880 and 1914 earned more than a score Victoria Crosses for gallantry to the soldiers for carrying the Raj to these remote niches. The tales of exploits carried by the fugitives from these fabled lands were also the stuff of much of Rudyard Kipling's 'Plain Tales from the Hills' and his poetry. Lieut Winston Churchill too launched into a writer's life while soldiering in these outposts of the Raj.

During the hey-days of the Raj, shikar had become the magic word such that no other sport ever engaged its devotees so completely. And among the fraternity of the feathered-game shikaries there was the most demanding of all. They further believed that the last stop for Chukor shikar on earth was the Swat valley and the most affable and indulgent patrons of this sport were the Walis of Swat.

The Wali was at-home not only to other fellow princes or big-wigs of the Raj for the favour of providing Chukor shooting but was as much forthcoming to the impecunious young officers of the Indian army who wanted to indulge in the sport. Major General James Elliot, a Gurkha Regiment officer, writing in The Field had left a fascinating account of a conversation between the Wali and two subalterns.

After dinner, the guests had being retired to the drawing room for cigar and cognac. Now a covey ofChukors after being engaged by the shikaris will settle a good distance away, out of the instinct for survival. But nevertheless they give away their location through loud cackles (Chukchukchuk) lasting several minutes. Two among the guests were puzzled by this behavioural aberration. The Wali had a good laugh and said that on the Frontier he (chukor) speaks only in Pushtu so let me tell you what he says:'

'When a covey has been dispersed, each individual member may be heard proclaiming his own and anxiously enquiring after all his fellow's whereabouts. The tone varies. First he says, "I am here; I am here," then he asks "Who's dead? Who's dead?" And when he is informed of the untimely decease of his pet brother or favourite sister, or perhaps his eldest son and heir, he responds "Oh, lor, Oh, lor" in quite a mournful tone.?'

Lavish hospitality was a matter of honour with the princes of India. No effort and expense was ever spared to ensure that the honoured guests had a memorable outing and were housed in utmost comfort. The Walis of Swat even provided running hot and cold water for the bathtub when electricity and basic amenities were at least 50 years away. Now one European lady had the uneasy premonition that she was being watched as she stepped into the tub. And she was dead right.

There were two huge galvanized-iron water containers by the outer wall of the bath-tub. They were constantly fed by the ice-gold glacial water. However, under one container was a deep pit with a strong log fire which brought the water close to boiling. The 'Hot & Cold' inlet pipes were connected to two wide funnels. A Khidmutgar would position his eye on a discreet crack in the roof and would pour hot or cold water into the funnels to conform to the bather's desire!

This episode was perhaps the inspiration for the carricature appearing in several sporting magazines of the time with the caption simply 'Hot & Cold'. But the fraternity had little trouble in constructing the text and the locale!

The last practitioner of the sport in the spirit of the Swat-Chukorshooting tradition was the Field Marshal President Ayub Khan. He was driven as much by the pull of the sport as by his filial obligations. For, his eldest daughter fell in love and married his dashing, handsome ADC, who was also the heir of the Wali of Swat!

SUMMARY

Recalling early days in the Swat valley.

 

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