NETHERLANDS HIMALAYAN EXPEDITION, 1967*

(WEST NEPAL)

DR. J. A. NOORDYK

At the end of September 1967, a group of seven left the rainy shores of the low countries, availing themselves of the excellent services of Air-India. For five of us this was the second visit to Nepal.

We had adorned ourselves with the rather grandiose name of ' Netherlands Himalayan Expedition, 1967but it sounded sweet in our ears.

Only a few days' preparation in Kathmandu was necessary and on October 4 we flew to Pokhara, where we met our Sherpas. Sirdar Phu Dorji II and Mingma Tsering were new to us. But our cook Penuri and Tenzing Gyaltso were old friends, as were some of the Sherpa porters. We had planned to do some exploring around the Phoksumdo Lake, which lies directly to the east of the Kanjiroba Himal {vide John Cole, Himalayan Journal 1965, p. 135).

In order to justify our adventure we planned to do some geological work, to collect insects and to take photographs and films of the daily habits of the population. And, should the opportunity arise, undertake some minor climbs. From Pokhara we travelled westward through lovely foothills, which presented unique views of the Annapurna range.

At Beni we crossed the Kali Gandaki and went up the valley of the Mayangdi Khola along the south slopes of the Dhaulagiri. Beyond Lumsum we went over a 12,000-foot pass to Dhorpatan in the valley of the Uttar Ganga. Then we headed north and travelled five days through very thinly populated country.

We crossed the great Himalayan range at the Jang La (15,000 feet) and descended towards Tarakot in the valley of the Great Bheri River.

When it came to crossing this pass, the local porters proved to be very difficult indeed. The weather had deteriorated and there had been a heavy fall of snow. We were not able to provide these porters with warm clothes and adequate shoes, so they dropped their loads in the snow and disappeared towards warmer regions!

Fortunately, we met a small caravan with horses, which we were able to hire to carry our deserted loads across the mountains.

We crossed the Bheri River at Dunai where the military check post is situated, then continued northwards up the Suli Gad River and camped above the valley at Rohagaon. Even in such a far away spot we found proof of the energy with which the Nepalese Government effects its educational programme, for we were met by a young teacher who invited us to visit his school and witness the results of his efforts.

Two days later we climbed the ridge towards Phoksumdo along the tremendous waterfall which drains the lake and arrived at Ringmo village. The lake is marvellous to behold ! It is a stretch of water, the colour of a dark turquoise, set in the midst of snow-clad mountains, the highest being Kang Jeralwa. On the old Survey of India map it is named Kanjiroba, which is confusing as there is a Kanjiroba Himal further to the north-west.

The inhabitants of Ringmo repeatedly assured us that its name is indeed Kang Jeralwa and that Kanjiroba is a different group of mountains near the Sisne Himal. The height of Kang Jeralwa was determined by Tyson at 21,850 feet, which is less than that indicated on the Survey of India map (22,800 feet).

To the south-east of the lake there are two mountain groups whose names we were also able to determine: the Kang Tayga (Snow Saddle) group above the Bugur La (Survey of India map: Basya Bhanjyang) and the Norbu Kang (Snow Jewel) group which is situated some miles to the east near the Numa La (Survey of India map: Numala Bhanjyang). We estimated the highest tops of these two groups at about 21,000 feet.

The population of Ringmo village adheres to the Bon religion. This religion claims to be the original religion of Tibet and flourished before the coming of Buddhism. Like the Buddhists these Bon Po (Po means people) have prayer flags, prayer wheels, little stupas or chorten and their Gompas and lamas. The whole region abounds with lovely unknown peaks and we climbed up some slopes to about 18,000 feet to take photographs.

THE KANG TAGYA (SNOW SADDLE) ABOVE THE BUGUR LA

THE NORBU KANG (SNOW JEWEL), EAST OF THE KANG TAGYA

THE ICE-WALL OF THE KANG JERALWA NEAR THE PHOKSUMDO LAKE

As many of these mountains are by no means easy to climb and as it is a walk of three weeks from Pokhara to reach them, only a few of them have been climbed (expeditions of Dr. Tichy, Tyson, the Countess Gravina). We walked about this region for a week before returning to the valley of the Bheri River and, eventually, to Pokhara.

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