HINDU KUSH, 1963 AND 1964

G. F. WHITE

From 1962 until 1964, I was serving as the Municipal Engineer for the Peshawar Municipal Committee in Peshawar, West Pakistan. During this time I had the good fortune to make two excursions to the Hindu Kush in North-west Chitral. During the spring of 1963, my wife, Betsy, and I planned our first expedition to the Hindu Kush with nine students and three professors from the Peshawar University Mountaineering Club. At the last moment, another American, Peter Farquhar, got leave from his teaching job in Pokhara, Nepal, to join us.

On July 5, 1963, we left Peshawar in a chartered Government Transport bus. In Chakdarra we changed to a private bus. This bus took us to Dir Town. A small truck took us to the top of Lawari Pass which divides the states of Dir and Chitral. After walking 13 miles we got another truck that took us to Chitral Town. From Chitral Town we three Americans went ahead of our Pakistani friends to scout out the route. We were able to go another 20 miles by jeep to the town of Morai. Twelve miles more on foot brought us to Reshun.

From Reshun, Pete and I made a dash up to 12,000 feet on the slopes! of Buni Zom, a very prominent 21,000-foot peak to the east of Reshun. The photo taken of it by Finch in 1938¹ had shown some possible routes but from the point we reached we could not see any feasible climbing routes for our large party. The same day we returned to Reshun. In Drasan, our Pakistani friends joined us and we continued over the 12,000-foot Sarth An Pass to Zandragam, at the foot of the Rosh Gol Valley. Here, with the assistance of Moli Jan, the chief of the village, we hired 25 coolies and five high-altitude porters. We placed our Base Camp at 11,000 feet in the Rosh Gol Valley at a location that can only be described as a climber's paradise. To the west were two 20,000-foot peaks and one 21,000 feet. To the north, at the head of the valley on the Afghan border, were two 23,000-foot peaks, to the west were Saraghrar, 24,110 feet, 19,977-foot Ishpan- dar Sor and another slightly lower peak. As far as we knew, only Saraghrar had been climbed.¹ We found a route to Ishpan- dar Sor and its neighbouring peak. Pete, Betsy, Professor Farzand Durrani, a student, Ali Nawaz, and I along with Moli Jan and four high-altitude porters established Camp I on a moraine at 14,000 feet and Camp II at 16,500 feet, just below a saddle connecting the two peaks. From this saddle, corniced snow ridges led to both summits. From Camp II, we had a spectacular view to the south-west of Istoro Nal and Tirich Mir, the highest peak in the Hindu Kush. On the morning of July 17, just as we were preparing to shift our camp up to the saddle, a runner came from Base Camp with the message that Professor Wali Mohammad Khan, Chairman of the Geology Department at Peshawar University, had died in a fall from a cliff near Base Camp. The whole University group decided to turn back and we reluctantly descended also, since we depended upon the group for porter, food and support.

Route of Hindu Kush Expedition, 1963-64

From this visit to Chitral, we had realized the unlimited extent of the unclimbed peaks in the area, so during the winter of 1963- 1964 we planned another expedition to the area around Tirich Mir. We knew that the Norwegians had official permission to climb the East Peak of Tirich Mir but we hoped that they would not mind if we tried the West Peak. To have a stronger party than the previous year, we invited four old climbing companions from America to join us. My wife was unable to go because we were expecting our first child, but she helped with the planning of the food and equipment. Stu and Barbara Krebs drove from Europe and Pat and Clarice Caywood flew from their army post in Korea. On June 9, we left Peshawar in a truck for Dir State. We retraced our route of the previous year until just before Reshun, where we turned to the west towards the Barum Gol Valley and the Barum Glacier, south-east of Tirich Mir. In two days from the main valley we reached the Norwegian's low Base Camp. The leader of the Norwegians, Professor Arne Naess, was very unenthusiastic about having us come on to the South Barum Glacier to attempt the West Peak which he had climbed in 1950. This year they were attempting the unclimbed East Peak via a buttress on the south side of the mountain from the South Barum Glacier. He said that he did not mind if we did some exploration on the North Barum Glacier. In 1938 J. R. G. Finch had found that access to the great ridge above the North Barum Glacier looked exceedingly difficult² but this was the only approach to Tirich Mir which was open to us.

North Barum Glacier, East Peak of Tirich Mir & Kunotak

We placed our Base Camp at 12,800 feet, on the edge of the North Barum Glacier and dismissed all our porters. We told them that in about five weeks we would descend to the nearest village and contact them for the return journey. Having learned Pushto during my stay in Peshawar, I was able to communicate with the porters and our lack of a liaison officer was no disadvantage.

For two weeks we acclimatized ourselves, climbing three 17,000- foot peaks to the right of point 19,256 or Kunotak on the main east ridge of Tirich Mir. By this time we were able to see that the only way to get to the higher peaks was via the North Barum Glacier. We had made one trip to the Norwegian high Base Camp at 14,000 feet on the South Barum Glacier which was, in contrast to the chaotic mass of the North Barum Glacier, a great smooth expanse of snow on which they were able to ski from camp to camp.

On July 1 we tackled the lower part of the North Barum Glacier. There was no question of going up the middle of the glacier. Of the two sides, the left side (looking up the glacier) seemed the safer. After surmounting a 150-foot rock cliff at the bottom of the glacier, we were able to reach the edge of a large level expanse at 14,600 feet. This appeared to be an ideal spot for our Camp I. From here the glacier divided into three distinct branches. We decided that the right-hand branch offered the best approach to the upper slopes of Tirich Mir and Point 19,246. During the next three days we carried loads to the 14,600-foot plateau and established Camp I. Carrying approximately 50 lb. apiece, we ascended the middle of the upper right branch of the glacier above Camp I. At the top of this glacier we encountered the most difficult climbing of the entire expedition. On one vertical ice-wall we had to use three ice screws and to hoist up our packs one by one. At the top of this glacier there was another plateau. Here we placed our Camp II at 17,300 feet. We had supplies for about five days, so we decided to see how far we could push up towards the East Peak of Tirich Mir. The next day we climbed up a minor ridge which led to the main east ridge of the East Peak. At about 18,000 feet, a combination of deep gaps in the ridge, powder snow, cornices and dangerous avalanche conditions made us decide that this route was not practical for us. We retreated and camped on a small platform. The following day we shifted our camp across a long plateau to the base of a gully that led up to the east ridge of Tirich Mir. On the morning of July 9 we climbed this gully to the ridge and turned east to climb point 19,256 which has the name Kunotak on the Survey of India quadrangle map. All five of us arrived at the summit at 9 a.m. and enjoyed a marvellous view; we could see both summits of Tirich Mir, Istoro Nal, Noshaq, Saraghrar, and the two peaks we had tried to climb in 1963. We could also look straight down at our Base Camp at the foot of the south face of Kunotak. The next day we arrived back at our Camp I and while I went down the valley to arrange for the porters, Pat and Stu made a 22-hour climb of a 18,700-foot peak which is the first prominent point below the East Peak of Tirich Mir on the south-east ridge. They ascended this peak from the upper left-hand branch of the North Barum Glacier.

On July 13 we left Base Camp with 12 porters ; four days later we arrived in Chitral Town, and after two more days in jeeps and buses we were back in Peshawar.

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