Mountaineering and related activities in the

INDIAN HIMALAYA

India 1990
HARISH KAPADIA


So much is happening in the Indian Himalaya that it is difficult to cover
it all immediately. I begin with some important climbs of 1989 which
escaped attention last year.

First, two peaks in the east. The fifth ascent of Pauhunri (7125) on the
Sikkim - Tibet watershed was made on 1 November 1989. Base Camp (5099m) was
established at Chholamo, with two more camps at 5343m and 6209m on a col
500m of rope was fixed. From this northern col the peak was reached in 7½
hours by Nawang Kalden, Nima Wangchu and Pasang Lakhpa, all instructors at
the Sonam Gyasto Mountaineering Institute at Gangtok, Sikkim. The 21-member
expedition was led by Sonam Wangyal.

In Arunachal Pradesh, Gori Chen II (6488) was climbed by an Assam Rifles
team led by Commandant N Sherpa on 6 October 1989. This 20-member team made
Base Camp at Chokarsan on 2 October. Establishing two more camps, a party
led by Naik Sonam Lepcha Scaled an unnamed peak (6247m) on 4 October.
Finally they followed the SE ridge over Pk6247m to reach the summit at
1.30pm. This is a rare climb in this difficult area where no mountaineering
party has been allowed.

There may be some good omen in this for mountaineers. The government is
considering the selective opening of these areas in the future. In 1991 a
strong Indo-Japanese team has permission to attempt the Kangchenjunga E
face, while another Indo-Japanese team will raft down the Brahmaputra from
the border across Assam.

In Gangotri, three South Koreans made an ascent of the W face of Bhagirathi
III (6454m), a first-ever big-wall, alpine-style ascent by South Koreans. A
British team failed on the E ridge of Meru (6300m), but two of their
members made a rapid ascent of Bhagirathi II by the E face. Nearby,
Shivling West (first scent by Bonington-Fotheringham) was climbed by the
Americans via the SE ridge-E face in September 1989.

Far in the west, Carl Schaschke led a British team which climbed an unnamed
peak (6230m) in Kishtwar. A scottish team led by Graham Little was active
in the area north of the Dharland nala, Kishtwar during September 1989.
They climbed ‘Rohini Shikhar’ (5990m) and ‘Sentinel Peak’ (5950m). These
were perhaps the last climbers in these areas, for political troubles will
rule out any visits to Kishtwar and Kashmir for some time to come.

The summer of 1990 began with sad news. As I was trekking up to Tapovan in
Gangotri, a helicopter ferried out the body of a Spanish climber who had
died of oedema at Base Camp. Another three-member Spanish team left for
meru leaving behind a note but failed to return. No trace of them has been
found despite searches. On Sudarshan Parbat, an Indiana climber succumbed
to oedema bringing the total number of deaths in Gangotri in Maya 1990 to
five. The rest of the team climbed Sudarshan Parbat (6507m) on 30 June.

(GRAPH)

But things improved, and some excellent climbs followed. One of the best
climbs was again the W face of Bhagirathi III by two Yugoslavs, Silvo Karo
and Janez Jeglic. In six days they climbed a new line on the 1300m face,
with five bivouacs, reaching the summit on 7 September 1990. (To top it all
they immediately left for Everest, which Janez climbed on 7 October!)
Nearby Bhrigupanth (6772m) was climbed on 26, 28 and 30 August Dr S Mate,
Mohan Patel, Ms Chandraprabha Aitwal, Sange Dorje and Sange S climbed the
peak. Five members, including the leader Dr D T Kulkarni, made the climb on
the 28th, followed by another four members on the 30th. This was the sixth
ascent of Bhrigupanth and the fourth by the south route. A two-member
British team led by Robert Blackburne failed to climb this peak.

Other British teams were also active in the area. A four-member team
attempted the pillar of Bhagirathi III, to the left of the Scottish route.
They were stopped by altitude sickness. On Shivling another British team
attempted the N face after the original objective,. Thalay Sagar had proved
either too difficult or too dangerous. A team of II RAF and 10 Indian
mountaineers attempted Kamet by the W ridge. Two summit bids were thwarted
only 130m below the top by high winds and extreme cold.

Nilkanth (6596m) by its southern approaches has attracted British climbers.
After the abortive attempt in 1989 (Duncan Tunstall), a nine-member team
led by Roy Lindsay attempted the SE ridge. They reached the second pinnacle
at 5730m. An American attempt was also beaten back a little earlier.

Abi Gamin (7355m), Sri Kailash (6932m), Kedar Dome (6831m) and Satopanth
(7075m) were climbed with regularity by both Indian and foreign teams.
Other peaks attempted were panchchuli II, Nandabhannar, Mukut Parbat and
Yanbuke.

Two important climbs were achieved by Indian teams on peaks that had
defeated many in the past. Swargarohini I (6252m) is a small but
technically challenging peak (in fact a group of five peaks) which has been
attracting mountaineers for decades. J T M Gibson and many other parties
have attempted it from different sides. Eight mountaineering instructors
from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi, UP, achieved the
first ascent on 3 May 1990 on their training course. They made Base Camp
(4300m) in the upper Ruinsara valley on 25 April. Advanced Base (5000m) was
located on the way to the eastern col of the peak. Challenging
rock-climbing followed on a steep rock wall with the aim of locating Camp I
on the eastern col. However, Paucity of time did not allow that and all the
trainees were sent down. Finally, the instructors started for the peak from
ABC itself on 3 May. They went over the rock wall with the help of the
ropes fixed earlier, reaching the col at 10 am. The slope eased above the
col. They continued in two ropes of four climbers each and climbed over a
series of snow-plateaux. They overcame a final bergschrund 25m below the
summit, reaching the cornice five metres below the peak. The summiteers
were Sqn Ldr A K Singh Negi, Chewang Norbu and Surat Singh Chauhan. Each
was a highly experienced climber. This was a finest first ascent, fittingly
in the Silver Jubilee year of their Institute.

Later a team sponsored by the Indian Mountaineering Foundation, led by S P
Chamoli, climbed Swargarohini II (6247m) and III (6209m) in June.

(GRAPH)

A two-member team (Harish Kapadia and Monesh Devjani, with two porters)
From Bombay explored the Jadh ganga-Mana gad area in May. This was the
first visit since J B Auden’s in 1939. From Bhaironghati they entered this
restricted valley bordering Tibet. Going east, Base Camp was established at
4200m. Advanced Base was a little ahead to Tridhara. After a detailed recce
of this unknown area they climbed ‘Nandi’ (5795m) on 28 May 1990, with
Pasang Bodh and Yog Raj. This peak is north-east of Trimukhi Parbat
(6422m). On 30 May Monesh Devjani and Pasang Bodh climbed Trimukhi Parbat
(6280m) by the steep E face. Both climbs were first ascents. Finally, on 4
June all four reached ‘Saraswati Col’ (5900m) at the head of Mana gad. The
possibility of the existence of such a col was mentioned by J B Auden. This
unexplored high col leads from Mana gad to the Saraswati valley
(badrinath). It overlooks the Mana pass. The team brought back excellent
records of many unclimbed peaks in the area and also found many marks of
snow-leopards and bears.

Continuing in the same vein, a four-member Indian expedition from Bombay,
led by Ajit Shelat, explored the unvisited Kalla Bank glacier, north of the
Nanda Devi sanctuary. ‘I’ wo attempts were made on Lampak (6181m) by the SE
ridge. A high point of 5880m was reached. Both attempts were aborted
because of bad pre-monoon weather.

Kagbhusang (5830m) is a small but challenging rocky peak near Kamet. It was
climbed by Eric Shipton in 1931, after his first ascent of Kamet. Now a
seven-member team sponsored by the Himalayan Club scaled the peak on 28
September 1990 without the help of Sherpas or high altitude porters. >From
the Deoban glacier on the Banke Plateau, E Theophilus, Depinder Kapur and
Divyesh Muni reached the top at 5pm after 10 hours of climbing over steep
terrain. Most of the route above Camp I was climbed using rock-shoes, and
the rock-climbing was mostly VS and HVS with one pitch of E1 as per British
standards.

With so much happening in the Garhwal, the talk of closing theGangotri area
was alarming. It was argued that trekkers and mountaineers caused little
ecological damage compared with lakhs of pilgrims who visit the holy
shrines. Saner counsel prevailed and, though stringent conditions will be
imposed, they will in no way affect mountaineers and climbing teams. Talk
of opening the Nanda Devi sanctuary remained inconclusive.

In the other areas, one important climb was achieved in Sikkim.
Chummankhang East (6050m) was climbed by a party led by P M Das of the
Sonam Gyasto Mountaineering Institute, Base Camp (4200m) was established on
3 June, only two hours beyond the roadhead at Yongdi near theTista river.
They followed the SE face and ridge, establishing Camp I at 5200m. On 13
June they made the first ascent of the peak in a six-hour push. 300m of
rope was fixed. The main peak of Chummakhang (6212m) (also known as Laschi)
was first climbed by H W Tilman in 1938. In 1946 T H Braham and party were
beaten back by the difficulties of the icefall and heavy snow. The present
expedition is the only party reported on his peak since then.

For to the west, Dharamsura (6445m) saw two ascents, by an Indian team from
Calcutta on 18 June, and by the British (Captain Adrian Phillips) on 29
June. Another British team (S J Bell) failed in two attempts on 29-30 June
to climb Shigrila (6247m) in Lahul. Ali Ratni Tibba (5470m), the famous
shapely pinnacle, beat back a spirited four-day Indian attempt (Mohit
Oberoi) on 19 May.

A sever-member Indian team led by Dhiren Pania made for fourth ascent of
Shigri Parbat (6526m) at the head of the Bara Shigri Glacier in Lahul. They
established camps at concordia and climbed the S face to a prominent col.
The summit was climbed via the SW ridge by Dolphy D’Mello, Vasant Dalvi,
Tikam Ram Thakur and Singhi Ram on 24 August. This peak was first climbed
by joss Lynam in 1961.

Other smaller climbs in Lahul included M5 (6370m) and Fluted Peak (6137m),
and in Spiti there were ascents of Chau Chau Kang Nilda (6303m), Marshu
Rang (5639m) and Kala Rang (5913m), and an attempt on sudh Parbat (6200m).
All these were by Indian teams.

In the scholarly fields, Exploring the Hidden Himalaya (Soli Mehta and
Harish Kapadia) was published by the Himalayan Club. It covers the Indian
Himalaya and many unknown peaks in it. A large number of books on the
ecology and environmental aspects of the Himalaya were published in India
this year. As usual, some are excellent but many cover no new ground.

During the year A B Ghoshal, Hon Treasurer of the Himalayan club, passed
away. M L Saha, a noted authority on the Himalaya, died in Calcutta. Both
had done a lot for the range. For away in the UK Gordon Osmaston and J B
Auden died. Both had a strong affiliation with India. Osmaston was in the
Survey of India and responsible for the survey of many areas of the Indian
Himalaya. J B Auden was with the Geological Survey of India and had
explored Gangotri, the Jadh ganga and Lamkhaga valleys along with Nepal. A
high and difficult col leading from Rudugaira to the Bhillangna valley,
crossed by him, is named ‘Auden’s Col’. Both will be remembered here for
their love of India.

As the helicopter ferried the body Spanish climber, I was talking to a
middle-aged lady from South Indian who had spent the full winter at Tapovan
(Gangotri) for spiritual gain. With few resources she stayed in a cave to
experience what was written in the ancient Indian texts. According to her
experience it is only by respecting nature that one can understand its
strength. Where well-equipped mountaineers had perished, she had survived
the worst with humility. Any lessons for us, mountaineers?