THE INDO-BRITISH HIMALAYAN EXPEDITION—1969

MAJ. H. V. BAHUGUNA

A blizzard had been raging the whole night. We were tired after a long day's work having plodded through knee-deep snow with a weight of 60 lb. on our backs. A Base Camp at a height of 13,000 feet should have been a comfortable place to be in, but was not under the existing snow conditions.

Our party of ten members, five British and five Indians, had left Delhi for Manali on 20 April. Our journey to the Base Camp was quite eventful—trouble with both weather and porters, who were forever increasing their demands.

Four British members, Randall Williams, Martin Sinker, Alan J. Smith and Dr. Nicholas Allen, had come to India by the overland route, while the fifth, David Challis, flew into India. Dave Challis, an experienced mountaineer, had climbed extensively in the Alps and the Andes and was the deputy leader. Nick Allen, a doctor-turned-anthropologist, is a good rock climber. Martin Sinker, an engineer from Cambridge, could scramble up any rock face with ease and grace. He used to receive a mass of correspondence as he was to get married shortly—which he did on the 9th of August. Alan Smith, a mechanical engineer, who teaches at Sandhurst, was our treasurer and made certain that everything was brought to book and no one wasted even a paisa. Randall Williams, a graduate from Oxford, is an instructor at the Outward Bound School at Devon.

Of the four Indian members, Capt. Khullar and myself were from the Indian Military Academy. Capt. A. L. Sharma of the Army Medical Corps is Medical Officer at the H.M.I., Darjeeling. Pranesh Chakravarty, an employee of the Bengal Government, had climbed Mana in 1966, while Ramdas Prabhu of Bombay was a keen and enthusiastic mountaineer.

Porters were difficult to get. Those we managed yelled and grumbled, demanding all manner of compensation and did not appear happy with even Rs.10 per day with food. They were taking full advantage of our helplessness and their mercenary attitude was in direct proportion to our urgent needs.

Chamba area

On the evening of 1 May the bad weather showed signs of abating and we were happy to find our porters coming to us. We were ultimately able to leave on the 4th and 7th of May in two batches, having left behind 30-porter loads in Manali. We crossed the Rohtang Pass and descended into the desolate and dry Lahul Valley. Our journey to Udaipur lay along the right bank of the Chandra-Bhaga (Chenab). As we kept going down the valley the countryside became greener and prettier with flowering apricots, spruce and pine. Sissu, a small village that we passed, was interesting in its own way. There was colour, music and joy in the small hamlet which seemed to keep up its exhilaration in spite of the fear of avalanches and snowy blizzards. The village could boast of running tap water and a flourishing pub where the local villagers congregated, drinking ‘Lugri’ a local brew, and swaying to the latest musical hits from Hindi films.

On reaching Udaipur we divided ourselves into two parties. Nick, Alan, Pranesh and Ramdas with Sherpa Pasang were to attempt Duphao Jot (20,011 ft.) while Martin, Randall, Sharma and I with Sherpa Chinzum were to attempt Baihali Jot (20,602 ft.). Meanwhile Challis and Khullar had already left to reconnoitre Menthosa (21,140 ft.) and Phabrang (20,250 ft.). As all these peaks on our schedule were unclimbed and unexplored, they offered a great challenge and a lot had to be done in order to meet it.

Baihali Jot-Duphao Jot

The apparent route to these summits lay along the ridge joining the two. On 21 May Martin, Randall and I left Base Camp at 5 a.m. and started climbing up a spur which led to the ridge. We inched our way in the soft snow and by 3 p.m. reached a point 17,000 feet high. One look at the ridge from this point made us change our minds and we decided to abandon this route. It was a razor-sharp ridge which ran down a rock face of 200 feet, and then rose steadily to a steeple-like top of 19,000 feet. What lay beyond we did not know but we guessed it could be no better. We returned to Base Camp and were back in our tents by 7 p.m.

Nick and Pranesh on Duphao Jot had established an Advance Base Camp on 23 May. They skirted the foot of the ridge, circumventing the avalanche debris and climbed a narrow rocky shelf. Pasang led the way up a 400-foot gully and fixed a rope of equal length. They traversed across a steep snow-field, passing under a threatening ice wall, and went 200 feet up a gully which emerged on to a flattish snow-field where their Camp I was established. On the 25th the party made an early start at 4 a.m. The climb for a thousand feet was simple until they reached a hanging glacier. Skirting round the right of the glacier, they went up a sharp snow gully. Nick took the lead from Pasang and guided the party up the dangerously corniced ridge till about 100 feet below the summit where they were confronted by a patch of 20 feet of ice. Cutting steps the party moved up and reached the summit at 4.30 p.m. The party on return did get benighted, but luckily for them it was moonlit and they managed to reach camp by 9 p.m.

The story of the ascent of Baihali Jot was a little different. On 29 May Martin and I left Base Camp and left our loads at Advanced Base Camp established at the foot of the icefall. We crossed a large bergschrund and an array of crevasses and climbed up skirting the icefall on slopes threatened by avalanches. We came to a 300-foot snow gully which was full of precariously balancing seracs, ready to fall any moment. After negotiating a 20-foot ice pitch we reached the crest of the icefall, beyond which lay the cwm of Baihali Jot. On 20 May Randall, Martin, Sharma, Sherpa Chinzen and I left Base Camp and established Camp I in the cwm beyond the crest of the icefall.

We left Camp I at 5 a.m. and started our ascent up a steep slope of very soft snow. For 2,500 feet we kept moving slowly but steadily in a straight ascent till we reached an ice patch where the steep incline eased. An ice peg belay was taken and Martin led us 100 feet to the top of the ice. Another 50 feet and we reached the summit at 12.45 p.m. Though the summit itself was not satisfactory as it was not very clearly defined, we were happy to have reached it. The weather was getting bad, and after a brief rest we started our journey down. Going down was more difficult and exhausting than what it was on the way up. We got back to our camp at 7 p.m. quite exhausted and worn out.

D. K. Khullar and Dave Challis had in the meantime carried out a reconnaissance of Menthosa and Phabrang, and during this period had also climbed a virgin summit of 18,977 feet.

We had worked hard to climb Duphao Jot and Baihali Jot. We had battled against persistent inclement weather, we had ploughed and plodded through unending soft snow. In fact, for a month that we had been in the mountains we had had only six days of good climbing weather. We were racing against time. We had to be back at Udaipur by 10 June which meant that Menthosa and Phabrang had to be attempted and climbed within a week. This deadline had to be met in view of the various commitments of the British members of our team and their fixed date of departure for the U.K.

The attempt on Menthosa had to be given up just 100 feet short of the summit. At this point we were confronted with an ice wall. As we started working our way up the wall the weather took a turn for the worse and once again thwarted our plans. It began to snow which reduced visibility to about 10 yards. There was no break in the weather and there was no ray of hope that we could see. Groping our way and feeling more than seeing it, we were back at Camp I by the evening with plans for another effort from the right ridge. Next morning the mountain was covered by a thick mantle of cloud. We had been beaten in the race. Time was against us and the weather gods had decided to keep us away from our mountain!

The Phabrang party had no better luck with the weather. They had reached a col at 17,500 feet from where rose an ice wall of 2,000 feet. They had to hack and cut steps to make headway, which retarded their progress. Considering the conditions prevailing and the weather being what it was, it was decided not to attempt Phabrang up this face. Khullar had thought of attempting it from the western ridge, but there was no time to explore and the weather was showing no kindness. The party returned to Udaipur.

We were back in Delhi by 18 June from where we had set out on our exciting expedition. Each member of the expedition had the satisfaction of climbing a virgin peak. We had a rich and unforgettable experience. With good weather and perhaps a week more we might have climbed Menthosa and Phabrang.

What has indeed been the most satisfying experience is the admirable team spirit that manifested itself throughout the expedition. An unbreakable bond has been established between the British and Indian members of the expedition. Throughout our stay together the British and the Indian members worked as an integrated group. There was complete temperamental conformity. We lived and worked together, ate the same food, pitched our tents and climbed together and shared the same fears and hopes. The achievements, whatever they were, were those of the entire team.

ON THE SUMMIT OF BAIHALI JOT

CAMP I ON BAIHALI JOT

BAIHALI JOT (LEFT) AND DUPHAO JOT (RIGHT) AS SEEN FROM THE BASE CAMP

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