BETWEEN ANJUMAN AND MUNJAN VALLEYS

Central Hindu Kush—Afghanistan

WOLFGANG FREY

[A short note by Mr. Frey has been received on the comparatively lesser known regions between the Anjuman and the Munjan rivers.

Appended to this brief account of the area, and a history of the expeditions which have climbed there, is an excellent sketch-map and a panoramic view taken from Peak 5,644 m. (outside the sketch-map) lying on the right bank of the Munjan in the Darrah-i-Parshui area.

The photograph faces the north-west over the Munjan Valley. The climbed peaks are marked with a filled traingle- the unclimbed peaks are left unfilled—Editor.]

1. The Koh-i-Yajun (Peak 6,024 m.) and Surrounding Region

The region between the rivers Anjuman and Munjan began to arouse interest when it became known in 1965 that there are three peaks of over 6,000 m. in the region. These were formerly thought of as being very high peaks of well over 5,000 m. but not as ⁴ over six-thousand-peaks \ Only when the advance copies of a map in the scale 1:50,000 published by the Cartographic Institute in Kabul, Afghanistan, appeared in 1965, were these peaks ranked as belonging to those over 6,000 m.

One of these three, Koh-e-Safed Peak, 6,001 m., was climbed in 1963 by members of the Stuttgart Hindu Kush Expedition. The second one, Koh-i-Yajun Peak, 6,024 m., climbed by members of the Hiroshima University Hindu Kush Expedition in 1967 ; the third one, Shah-i-Anjuman Peak, 6,026 m., was scaled by the Ogaki Hindu Kush Expedition in 1968. With this achievement the last peak over 6,000 m. in the Central Hindu Kush region has now been conquered.

I will now sum up the history of explorations of this region and of Koh-i-Yajun Peak, 6,024 m., briefly, as a guide to future chronological study. The peaks that have already been climbed are shown in the attached sketch-map.

The following expeditions took part in the exploration:

1. Northern Afghanistan Expedition, 1965
2. Cambridge Hindu Kush Expedition, 1966
3. Hiroshima University Hindu Kush Expedition, 1967

The members of the Northern Afghanistan Expedition, 1965, came via the Bandaka group of mountains and, after walking up the Munjan Valley, turned their attention to the mountains in the surroundings of the village Nau (see sketch). After climbing a peak of about 4,800 m. on the orographic right side, they changed over to climbing the orographic left side. The Northern Afghan Hindu Kush Expedition of 1965 was the first one to attempt climbing the mountains between the rivers Anjuman and Munjan from the side of the Munjan. They succeeded in making first ascent of:

Koh-i-Wihgi Peak, 5,860 m., on September 25, 1965, by J. Murray and B. Serff from the west.

The Cambridge Hindu Kush Expedition, 1966, attempted to approach the mountains around the Koh-i-Yajun from the side of the River Anjuman. They marched through the Darrah-e-Abi. They could not, however, find an approach route to the highest mountain, Koh-i-Yajun, from that side. They achieved the following first ascents:

Peak 4,801 m. ‘The Mound' on July 21, 1966, by J. Ashburner, H. Edmundson and P. Newby.

Peak 5,206 m. 'The Pinnacle' on July 25, 1966, by J, Ashburner, H. Edmundson and P. Newby via the west ridge (ascent and descent).

Peak 5,550 m.-5,600 m. ‘Scramblers Peak' on July 26, 1966, by J. Ashburner, H. Edmundson and P. Newby via the east ridge.

Peak 5,319 m. ‘Wave Peaks '—I, II, III, on July 30, 1966, by J. Ashburner, H. Edmundson and P. Newby via the north face to Peak I, traverse to II and III and back the^ame way.

Peak 5,959 m. 'Rast Darrah' on August 1, 1966, by J. Ashburner, H. Edmundson and P. Newby via the north face and across the east ridge, return by the same route.

Only in 1967 was the first ascent of Koh-i-Yajun achieved by the Hiroshima University Hindu Kush Expedition. They attempted the ascent from the Munjan side and were successful.

Members of this expedition reached the foot of that mountain via the Darrah-i-Yajun, which flows into the Munjan not far above the village Nau. They climbed:

Koh-i-Yajun Peak, 6,024 m., on August 3, 1967, by A. Funabashi and M. Ishida via the Yajun Valley and the south flank across the west ridge.

They also climbed:

Peak about 5,700 m. on August 5, 1967, by M. Manusaga and T. Hirai via the Yajun Valley from the east.

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