NANDA DEVI, 1964

CAPTAIN N. KUMAR

Most people interested in mountains have heard of Nanda Devi which has been described by Longstaff as the Himalayan counterpart of the double-crowned Ushba, and of its Sanctuary, ringed in by a 70-mile white-topped curtain from which rise a dozen or more peaks over 21,000 feet, and which itself is never less than 17,000 feet except where it is broken on the west by the Rishiganga cutting its way through a narrow impassable gorge to join the Dhauliganga below Lata village; also of the various attempts which were made to reach the mountain itself, until Shipton and Tilman succeeded in doing so in 1934.¹ An Anglo-American expedition reached the summit in 1936.² A French expedition, with Nandu Jayal as a liaison officer, attempted to climb the West peak and traverse the ridge between, in the East peak, but failed.³ In 1957 Jayal led an Indian expedition which got to within 500 feet of the summit and in 1961 Gurdial Singh's party gave up an attempt due to bad weather.

Gurdial Singh did the spade-work for this expedition also, but two days before it was due to leave he dropped out and I was fortunate enough to be able to take over the leadership from him. The team consisted of C. P. Vohra, Nawang Gombu, Capt. H. Bahuguna, Capt. B. P. Singh, H. P. Gairola, J. N. Chaudhuri, Capt. S. C. Nanda and Major Kewal Krishna, our doctor. We took with us six Sherpas from Darjeeling: Dawa Norbu, Sona, Gyalbo, Angnima and Nima Mingma. As we knew there was an acute shortage of porters in the Garhwal area plans were made to lift part of the stores from Joshimath to a site near the Inner Sanctuary by helicopter. The main body would go by the usual route and having selected a suitable site would guide the helicopter to that place.

The party reached the roadhead on May 8. We found it difficult even to recruit enough porters to move from roadhead to the Inner Sanctuary and the party had to be split into two. The first party under Vohra left Lata on May 9. The second party left three days later. The Dharansi cliffs were still covered with snow and this made going very tricky, with the result that the first party took three days to reach Dharansi from Lata Camp. On these Dharansi cliffs one of the porters of the second party slipped and fell some 300 feet. He was badly shaken but escaped with a few cuts on his head. The medical load which he was carrying went down into the Rishiganga. Seeing this porter fall, six Dhotials, never very courageous, deserted the party without even asking for their wages. The second party accordingly had considerable difficulty in ferrying the loads left by these deserters. From Dharansi to Deodi the going is normally good but due to bad weather, the first party had a difficult time and had already lost two days by the time they reached Deodi. The Ramani nullah was shallow and fordable, and the snow bridge on the Rishiganga was still intact. The second party, however, took the lower Deodi route where a log bridge exists.

Wireless contact was made with the first party at Ramani and it was decided to postpone the helicopter flight from May 19 to May 21. Any further delay in reaching the Sanctuary would have meant short rations for them, as they were carrying only two days' reserve. The party made good progress from Ramani onwards and reached the Sanctuary Camp on the 18th. They had a tough time crossing the slabs, which were snow-covered, but they made excellent progress and their timing into the Sanctuary was, I believe, the shortest on record, not counting mine which was made in 15 minutes by the helicopter. On May 20 the helicopter, piloted by Flt.-Lt. Chaudhuri and Pilot Officer Masters, arrived at Joshimath. I was very amused to see both Pilots in their pyjamas, but I dare not even smile, lest I started on the wrong foot with them. Their camp at Gauchar had been uprooted by a hailstorm and all their belongings had been blown away. Though they had spent a sleepless night inside a wet, cold 3-ton truck they had arrived in time! The flight in a helicopter through the Rishi gorge into the Sanctuary was the most memorable one for me. I had wonderful views of Dunagiri, Kalanka, Changabang, Trisul, Nandagunti, Bethartoli, Maigthuni, Devisthan, Maiktoli and the many other peaks encircling the Sanctuary. The most majestic and romantic of them all is, of course, the Goddess Nanda Devi. We were perhaps the first to have so wonderful a bird's-eye view of all these peaks within 15 minutes. When we reached the Sanctuary, it was not difficult to spot the helipad made by the advance party.

By May 23 all the stores had been dumped in the Sanctuary Camp and, thanks to the helicopter, we were able to take with us about 1,000 fresh eggs and 500 lb. of vegetables-luxuries on the mountains and especially in the Nanda Devi Sanctuary. Owing to shortage of porters, stores from the Sanctuary Camp to Base Camp had to be carried in three shifts. Base Camp was established on the 24th and on the 25th Gombu and Chaudhuri tried to establish Camp I but were beaten back by the weather and were stranded in a snowstorm for three hours. Camp I was established next day at a height of 19,000 feet. There is probably only one way to climb this mountain and that is by the South-east ridge. It has been referred to by Tilman as Coxcomb Ridge and is so steep, narrow and thin that one can never lose one's way but there are very few camp-sites on it and as a rule the ice had to be cut through to the mountain to make a suitable platform for even the smallest of tents. Bahuguna relieved Gombu to establish Camp II. He left Camp I on the 30th but, unfortunately, his companion B. P. Singh and one of the Sherpas fell out as they were not yet fully acclimatized. The route from Camp I to Camp II lies on an extremely steep and narrow part of the ridge. On the left is a steep precipice and on the right a straight fall into the glacier. The going was made more difficult by knee-deep snow. Bahuguna made most of the route to Camp II at 20,200 feet and this task was finally completed by Vohra on June 1. The route from Camp II to Camp III lies on a knife-edged ice-cum-snow ridge and on this route rope had to be fixed throughout. Camp III was established by Gombu and B. P. Singh and two Sherpas on the 6th, at a height of 21,200 feet.

Two of the Sherpas suffered altitude sickness at Camps I and II and the task of ferrying most of the loads to Camp III was very difficult. I tried to make these porters sleep at Camp I and carry to Camp III but they were ill at Camp I also and next day returned to Base Camp. Our carrying capacity had dwindled considerably and in desperation, I tried a relay system, by which some porters took loads to Camp I and returned and the next batch who had come empty-handed from Base to Camp I lifted these loads from Camp I to Camp II. In the same way, we succeeded in carrying loads to Camp III. It was a remarkable achievement for the porters to go from Base Camp (16,000 feet) to Camp III (21,200 feet) in one day, carrying loads from Camp I or Camp II. But for their help and determination, the success of the expedition would not have been possible.

Gombu and Bahuguna established Camp IV on the 9th on the same site as Jayal's last camp. They found various remnants of his stay there including a tin of Swiss cheese which our doctor passed fit for consumption. From below, the rock-face between Camp III and Camp IV seems almost impossible. It looks like a polished face devoid of any kind of hand- or foot-hold, but in actual fact it does provide quite good footholds and handholds and the rock is so soft that it is easier climbed with crampons on than without.

The plan now was that Vohra's party, which was already on its way up, would join Gombu's party at Camp IV on the 11th, establish Camp V on the 12th and attempt the summit on the 13th. Unfortunately, the weather turned extremely bad and both parties had to return to Base Camp. Vohra's party was caught in a strong blizzard and the narrow, steep ridge was extremely dangerous. Once Gairola was lifted by a strong gust of wind and was heading for Nanda Devi Glacier below, when Vohra arrested his fall. Visibility had become so poor that they were forced to remove their goggles. It was a question of saving either one's life or one's eyes. When the party reached Base Camp, all of them were suffering from acute snow-blindness. The weather remained bad but we were still hopeful of making the summit because we were quite convinced that even in the worst of monsoons we were bound to get the four days clear which we needed to climb the peak. Bahuguna had developed a blind spot in his right eye at Camp IV and was advised by the doctor not to do further climbing. This was a great set-back because he was one of my ' sum- miters '.

On June 16 the weather improved and the first support party consisting of B. P. Singh, three Sherpas and two porters started off. In addition to carrying loads to Camp IV it was to make the route for the summit party, as the ridge route had been completely obliterated by the continuous snow-fall of the past six days. The summit party, consisting of Vohra, Gombu and Dawa Norbo together with second support party led by Gairola, left Base Camp on the 17th morning. All these parties reached Camp III on the 17th. The porters did a magnificent job ferrying most of the loads to Camp III. All the Sherpas went to Camp IV and three of them went higher. On the 18th we at Base Camp saw eight antlike figures climbing up the rock-face above Camp III. Everything seemed to be going according to plan. On the 19th the summit party with Sherpas Sona and Gyalbo in support moved up to Camp V. The going was along the steep rock ridge, made difficult in places by fresh snow. After about three hours the party reached a huge wall of ' White Rock', above which Camp V was established at a height of about 24,500 feet, the highest camp ever put on this mountain. This camp was higher even than Nanda Devi East.

CAMP IV

CAMP V

(Reproduced by kind permission of the Indian Air Force)

Aerial view of Nanda Devi with Nanda devi east on the right.

The butane gas carried for Camp V fell down the ridge accidentally and landed some 8,000 feet below. Luckily, the party was carrying the emergency one-man cooker, borrowed from an Army Unit, which came in very useful, though it was not enough to make sufficient fluid for the three of them. On June 20 the party left Camp V at 7.15 a.m. The weather was excellent. The team felt fit, even though they had not slept well the previous night. The going was good but altitude was beginning to tell on them. They reached the 'Yellow Rock', the point from which Jayal's party returned in 1947. Vohra, who was suffering from acute pharyngitis, felt that he was delaying the party and jeopardizing the chances of others getting to the top. He remembered that Tilman had taken nine hours to reach the summit from the last camp. Accordingly he gave up some 600 or 700 feet below the summit but insisted on Gombu carrying on. Gombu was reluctant to do so but Vohra encouraged him to have a shot at reaching the summit. After leaving Vohra, the party climbed about 400 feet where they found two snow ridges. Gombu climbed the left one which brought himjto the base of the 'White Rock' that encircles the ice and snow-plateau of the summit. This rocky portion is steep and loose. After climbing it, they walked up 100 feet of hard snow before they stepped on the summit of Nanda Devi at 11.30 a.m. They stayed there about half-an-hour and returned, leaving the national flag hoisted on an ice-axe. By June 22 everyone was at Base Camp. To avoid any controversy in future, I asked the Indian Mountaineering Foundation if an aerial photograph could be taken. On the 23rd an aeroplane came, the pilot saw the tricolour still fluttering on the summit, and the photographs were taken.

On the 24th Capt. B. P. Singh, along with one Sherpa and two porters, climbed the virgin peak of Devisthan II (21,420 feet) from Base Camp to the summit on the same day, a performance comparable to Longstaff's famous ascent of Trisul in 1907.⁵

On the 28th at Deodi Angnima became very ill and vomited blood. He was being carried on a porter's back to Dibrughata for evacuation by helicopter but unfortunately he died while still on the way, just below it. A death in one's party is the saddest thing that can happen to an expedition and the fact that we were only two days away from civilization made it all the sadder. Angnima had won the high recognition of a Tiger Badge on Dhaulagiri and on this expedition he had carried to Camp IV. He was one of the bravest of Sherpas.

On June 30 we were back again at Lata.

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