ASCENT OF RATABAN AND CANOEING/ RAFTING THE MANDAKINI AND ALAKNANDA RIVERS

COL BALWANT S. SANDHU

A JOINT expedition between the Indian Mountaineering Foundation and Outdoor Pursuits Centre of New Zealand was organized with the following objectives:—

1. Ascent of Rataban, 6166 m
2. Recce/Ascent of Ghori Parbat
3. Canoeing/Rafting down the Mandakini, Alakananda/Ganga from as high as possible and down to Hardwar.

The team consisted of 7 men and ladies from India and 8 from New Zealand. All canoeing and some climbing gear also came from New Zealand. The two MIWOK type rubber rafts were arranged in India. Leaving the canoes and rafting gear to fetch up later with Mahindra Singh, we left by rail for Bareilly and trucked via Ranikhet- foshimath to Govind Ghat. The local tourist porters mate dumped us in three days via Gangria, Valley of Flowers to beyond the Tipra Kharak.

Ascent of Rataban — See Sketch 1.

During reconnaisance and acclimatization Camp 1 was occupied by Dingle, JC, Lakha and Pushkar on 28 August. The party occupied Camp 2 on 30 August, and fixed rope above Camp 2 on 31 August. 1 and 2 September one of a pair of clever alpine cats did Graeme out of the 1/2 m of salami he had hoarded away in an ice-cave.

The first summit party — Dingle and Pushkar — left at 0515 a.m. on 3 September, John followed after half-a-hour and I left at 0630 hrs. Push and Ding were traversing towards the summit ridge and John had reached the top of the ropes when I began jumaring up. An occasional stone whistled down. I was half-way up the Second rope when I heard rockfall above: one stone hit my helmet and another my right bicep leaving it numbed. I climbed to the top of the rope: my arm was now stiff and useless. I called to John whose water I carried and waited. After some time I secured the sick arm to my body and descended to Camp 2 where Ray and Lakha attended me. Later in the day, Gadre tripped moving from Camp 1 to 2. She rolled down about to m and was helped back to Camp 1 by JC and Chandra. She had broken her collar-bone. Both of us along with the doctor descended to Base next day.

John joined Pushkar and Dingle but gave up about midday and decided to wait for them. They climbed to within 100 m of the summit and due to failing visibility, exhaustion and exposure on the very steep ice turned back. Everyone was back in camp by 0730 p.m.

Next day Lakha and Raymond left at 0530 a.m. and were on the summit of Rataban at 3.30 p.m. They descended in poor visibility and reached Camp 2 by 11 p.m. During the ascent first one and then the other heel of Lakha's boots came off and he had problems keeping his crampons on. Both his hands were frost-bitten. He and Gadre were evacuated to Joshimath.

On 6 September, Graeme, JC and Chandra left for the summit at 7.30 p.m. They climbed all night and were on the summit by 8 a.m., 7 September. They descended by 3 p.m. The cold and the views had been stunning. A fourth summit bid by Stu, Ali and Tony was aborted on 9 September. The mountain was vacated by 10 September.

Ascent of unnamed peak at the head of Tipra Glacier

After three days of rain and snow, the party went up in three groups to the holiday camp — a dump for recce of Ghori Parbat that Stu had set at the head of Lari Bank¹ and in alpine style climbed an unnamed peak. The ascent was particularly gratifying to Pushkar who had missed a second chance on Rataban and had returned after evacuating his patients the evening before. He, with John and Chandra, made a brilliant ascent of the Unnamed peak 5334 m.

Members were down in the base by midday and reached Ghangaria by evening. By 16 September the team was back in Joshimath.

Canoeing and Rafting of Mandakini and Alaknanda Rivers —

See sketch 2.

Five one-man fibre-glass canoes and two rubber rafts MIWOK arrived at Rudraprayag by Jonga/Trailer on 21 September. After a visit to Kedarnath, the source of river Mandakini, the team camped below the kund and the canoes were launched in the river 28 km above its confluence with Alaknanda on 23 September. Graeme, JC, Ray, Ali and Stu were in the canoes and they practised a whole afternoon.

On 24 September the first ever canoe run began. The river was bony (too many rocks) and unfit for the raft. Rapid after rapid was ridden and almost all the canoes were damaged by being dashed against the rocks. The speed and turbulence of the water surprised the canoeists who capsized often and despite wet suits and helmets were bruised. The boats attracted large crowds and were pulled out in the afternoon for a camp below Tilwara. Emergency repairs to block leaks and cracks were carried out during the night.

Next day was a repeat of the previous day. Stu and Ray led through most of the rapids. Dingle's and Ray's boats were damaged and were loaded in the truck. The rest of the boats entered Alaknanda at 5 p.m. on 25 September. The entire length of the river, less a portion of 100 m above Rudraprayag, had been canoed. We stopped for the night at Rudraprayag.

On 26 September one MIWOK raft was inflated and launched with Mahindra as the oarsman and John, Pushkarchand, JC as passengers. The river tumbled furiously. Through rapids, waterfalls, eddies and boulders the canoes flashed like scimitars. Luckily the rapids were now fewer and the canoeists had time to glide down the quieter reaches and 'read' the river — approach, entry, exits so that the canoe could be steered in balance into the smoothest water along the line of least resistance. Sometimes it was necessary to beach and walk to a vantage point to plan a proper course of action.

Dingle's rough sketches of the rapids made during the 'Ocean to Sky' expedition of 1977 were studied and since the river had changed a lot, had to be confirmed by detailed ground reconnoitring.

 

The raft was slow and for its bulk and lack of power, a captive of the current. The canoes would shoot a rapid and wait in the slack water for the raft to tumble through before going on. And since one man rowed, he was tired soon.

After the first day on Alaknanda, Mahindra was sunburnt and the raft was beached 10 km short of the day's halt. Next day while the raft was brought in, basic lessons in canoeing were run for the Indian members. A day's rest improved everybody's sunburn and gave us a welcome respite. Mahindra had fever but gallantly offered to continue on the raft.

It was now decided to inflate the second raft and ride it without fixed frames, oars and oarlocks. John, Push, Meggie and Chandra rode the raft and paddled it with 4 short single-bladed paddles brought from New Zealand. The raft proved to be more manoeuvrable, faster and thrilling than the fixed-frame raft and kept up with the canoes. The frame raft, captained by Mahindra and with JC and I for passengers, was pulled out below Srinagar when Mahindra developed fever and could not continue.

The bank support rode in the truck, fed us a snack tiffin of bananas, coffee and anything else they could buy on the way. After lunch we would survey progress, decide on the night's halt, change crews if someone wanted to go out and come back to the river. The bank support was usually handled by Viju Gadre and any other indisposed member; Viju did this competently.

The water was rather big in Alaknanda. There were fewer rapids and falls but what there was, was big. The kayaks and the raft beached on approaching a waterfall and 'read' the river from a vantage point — approach, entry, exits and breakout; location of rocks, suspected underwater obstructions. Stu or Raymond usually shot the rapids first and breaking out into slack water waited for the raft and the canoes.

The kayaks capsized often and were eskimo-rolled. Occasionally a canoeist did not succeed. He pulled his spray skirt off, freed himself from the canoe, hung on to the upturned canoe until another canoeist paddled him ashore.

Once the raft capsized: after the midday break near Bhagwan village on 27 September, we heard the roar of an approaching waterfall wild saw the kayaks beach. We beached and read the river for a half- hour. The river fell about 10 m, was met by a standing wave that broke over itself creating a haystack. The water frothed for 200 m. Ray carried his canoe upstream and paddled across the river to look at the other side. Satisfied what lay the other side of the cataract he waited for Stu to ride through. Stu paddled furiously to get to his entry point, the centre of the 'V' where the largest amount of water fell through. The kayak glided smoothly down, hit the stopper, was held a moment and was through and was lost in the foaming waters. It appeared briefly on top of a crest and flashed away amidst a series of stoppers. Ray followed; paddling the kayak with long low rhythmic strokes; slid down, rode up the haystack, hung for a moment and shot through. Half-way down the cataract he was turned round and carried on backwards until reaching an eddy at the tail of the rapid.

John and his crew had finished reading the river. The choice of lining the raft across the boulder was rejected in favour of riding the cataract. To the right of the haystack was a boulder which checked the water-spout, bounced it round and disgorged the water somewhere in the depths of the river. We had to avoid being thrown on to this boulder. We paddled hard to gain a perfect entry and gradually edged the raft off-centre until we slid down the waterfall. The drag of the hydraulic jump now led the raft to the centre of the haystack. In this lateral movement the raft lost its slight momentum that would ordinarily have carried it up and through the stopper. The raft rode up the haystack, stood on its tail and flipped on its back. Chandra, JC, Maggie and I held to the raft but John and Pushkar who steered the raft sitting on its tail were thrown clear. The raft, rid of its weight, flopped out of one trough into another, heaving and buffeting until the end of the cataract. I saw John flash past me and plucked him back. Miraculously Pushkar, having been somersaulted into the water, found himself seated on top of the upturned raft.

The two canoes helped us beach and right the raft. No paddles or equipment was lost. No one was hurt. Chandra had swallowed a bit of water and my camera now full of Ganga water was ruined for the trip.

It was an hour to the camp halt at Pali. Long enough to analyse and assimilate the 'why* of the mishap and the important lesson not to let go of the upturned craft and most important, not to lose one's head. We had all been good: very good.

Next day we rode the river as usual: met a hearty welcome from the pujari at Devprayag who remembered the earlier upriver expedition. And relaxed in the slow motion of the Ganga, now muddied by Bhagi- rathi; in company with frogs and water snakes. Kayaks found the leisurely pace trying. JC and I changed places. I merrily paddled off to my first kayak ride down the Ganga. Round a bend reared a rapid. I looked back for beaching signals, faced the canoe into the rapid and rode through. And then through another rapid where an eddy trapped me and I capsized. Ali helped me beach and later I ferry glided out behind Dingle.

The rapids were fewer and bigger:

Longer ground reconnaissance preceded shooting of each cataract.

After one particular rapid both the rafts were trapped in an eddy. The paddle raft was out and away after once circling the .eddy. The oar raft circled the eddy for over half-an-hour and eventually, John rock climbed the bank and towed the raft out. We now came to the largest rapid on the river at the junction of Hiyuni Nadi: a test according to our Indian river experts. After detailed, deliberate reading of the cataract we chose to ride the cataract. Mahindra had decided not to ride this rapid. The oar raft skipped an earlier one also, and advised us against riding this one. Stu, followed by Ray and Ali shot the rapid. Ray, Stu and Ali left their canoes below the cataract and joined us in the raft - Pushkar, Chandra, John, Ali, Ray, Stu and I. Once we entered the cataract, the river dragged and buffeted the raft like a tiny cockleshell. Ali and Stu acted as ballast while the rest of us paddled through trough and crest until the J km long cataract was crossed. Ali and Stu jumped off to gather their canoes. We bailed much water out of the raft and watched the antics of the barge-like oar-raft being carried across boulders past the cataract. Last of the big rapids was behind us when we reached Laxman Jhula. I surprised a Sadhu defecating behind a boulder and was upbraided for defiling the Ganga!

Last day of the expedition happened to be my birthday. Stu offered me his kayak and I canoed down the quiet river, across gentle rapids. Later Pushkar took courage and had his maiden ride in a canoe. He was joined by Prabhu and Kohli and all of them floated down the shallowing Ganga rather reminiscent of the shikaras in the Dal Lake. At the barrage the New Zealanders got back into the kayaks. A thorough reconnaissance revealed that the canoes could go through Gates 7, 2 and 3, and we did - with me multiplying dollars into rupees I shall have to pay for destroying Stu's kayak. At Hardwar we pulled out the canoes and deflated the rafts.

Conclusion

With skill and courage the first ever canoe and raft run down the Mandakini and Ganga by a mixed group of girls and men from two continents had been done. And the first mountain cum white water expedition of the Himalaya was over. That the venture was not lethal was a tribute to the skill of members and to providence.

Team:

India: Balwant Sandhu, Miss Chandra Aitwal, Miss Viju Gadre, Jagdish Dhondiyal (JC), Capt Lakha Singh, Mahindra Singh and Capt Pushkar Singh (doctor).

New Zealand: Graeme Dingle, Stu Allan, Ray Button, John Watson, Antony Parker, Miss Joan Straker, Miss Ali Ward and Miss Margaret Button.

 

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