SHAH FULADI (5,135 M.), 1971

MASAHIKO KAITSU

The two of us, Kiyoshi Hara and myself, were the members of the Japanese Chongra Peak Expedition to Pakistan in the summer of 1971. And on our way to Europe after this expedition, we stayed in Kabul to buy official maps of Afghanistan from the Afghan Cartographic Institute. After some formalities with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I got four sheets of 1:250,000 map. One of these sheets covered the Koh-e-Baba range which is the western end of the Hindu Kush range and very close to Bamyan. The height of it is not so high. Even so, the highest peak of the range named Shah Fuladi is 5,135 m„ but this rarely visited range contains many mountain groups completely unknown and unclimbed, and many pretty glaciers and rock walls some of which are more than 600 metres in height. The accessibility is very easy. In our case it took only three and a half days, by bus and then on foot from Kabul to the foot of Shah Fuladi. Above all, we were completely exempted from any troublesome duty of getting permission from any authorities.

So this Koh-e-Baba range is without doubt full of charm for mountaineers and unorthodox expeditions, like ours, or for the travellers who want to appreciate the mood of an expedition mixed with sightseeing.

For about ten hours we were packed in a small dirty bus from Kabul to Bamyan. The road was, of course, unpaved and crossing through a high pass and desert area; the bus groaned in agony

After a night in Bamyan at a local inn, we left for the Koh-e Baba range with equipments of a 110 metre rope, a small bivouacking tent, two pairs of crampons, two ice axes, three ice pitons, one stove and food for five days.

The road along Dara-i-Syalayak was of dirt but broad enough to be jeepable. The scenery was interesting. We saw many caves in mud cliffs which must be the same kind as that at Bamyan. At each village people came out and asked us where we were going. We could see green strips of vegetation only along the river, the rest was only brown soil and sand desert

At a bridge at Sina we left Dara-i-Syalayak and followed a small stream. The sunlight at midday was so strong that we were dried up in the throat and body. We stopped our march at three o'clock in the village of Katasan. There seemed to have been very few expeditions in this region, because soon after we arrived most of the villagers, including women, came out and watched us intently.

Next day we followed the same stream for about two hours, and then a broad grazing field stretched out before our eyes.' Only four mud houses could be seen. Maybe most of the herds of sheep and goat had gone down to the lower villages by this time, only a few cows and sheep were grazing around. From the western end of this field we crossed a small hill and went down to a small frozen stream. It seemed to lead us to the foot of the mountain. But soon it was getting dark. Again we had to pass a night far below our target. In spite of the horrible heat during the day, the temperature went down below freezing point in the night. This must be one of the particular features of the inner part of Asia.

From the western end of this field we crossed a small hill and went down to a small frozen stream. It seemed to lead us to the foot of the mountain. But soon it was getting dark. Again we had to pass a night far below our target. In spite of the horrible heat during the day, the temperature went down below freezing point in the night. This must be one of the particular features of the inner part of Asia.

On 31 October we trod the valley bed which was dried up then. A three-hour walk, passing a small lake, brought us to the foot of Shah Fuladi. Unfortunately, flakes of snow began to drift at that time, and we were already on the glacier covered by scree, so we had to look for a possible camping sight and pitched our small tent. Soon the scenery around changed into white. We could not believe such a sudden change of weather in a land of such monotonous geographical structure. This must be the first heavy snow this season!

Approach route to Shah Fuladi

The Northern face of Shah Fuladi, 5,135 m.

Next morning the fresh snow was glittering on the high ridges and the temperatures were quite low. It was already 7.35 a.m. when we left our camp with chilled toes in our double boots.

Soon the hard ice emerged from below the scree. That ice was rippling as if the actual waves had frozen abruptly. I suppose that at first there must have formed neve penitentes by sublimation and that these had melted little by little into hard ice. This kind of ice was not difficult to walk upon but a little bit tiring because we had to go up and down each ripple.

After two hours it got steeper and we found ourselves on rock- ice mixed wall. Though I felt the necessity of roping-up, we climbed without rope for the sake of speed. We were climbing the north-east face and so always in the cold shade. We were regretting our underestimation of this mountain, but could do nothing.

At the uppermost part of this wall, we met a steep face of loose rock with little snow. There we roped up and traversed on to the ridge. This roping up was useless as an actual safeguard, but was a great mental help; the slope was so steep and loose that we could acquire no stable position, even if we put long ice pitons into the loose rocks.

When we came up on to the summit ridge, the shining sun warmed us and we revived.

From here an easy rock ridge went up to south-east. After two or three humps of rock, we reached a shoulder of Shah Fuladi. Our barometer indicated 5,060 m. The route to the summit was visible at close hand and did not seem difficult except for the final 50 metres of the summit tower, but we had to go back from that point, because our climbing equipment did not seem to be enough to overcome that rock tower and our little clothing did not seem to permit us bivouacking. It was 2.00 p.m. when we began descending.

In the uppermost part of the rock-ice mixed wall we roped and climbed down the ascent route, but soon detoured to the left bank of the glacier. It was covered by scree and finally we got down to our camp at 4.30 p.m., but there both of us felt a little headache and nausea, so we took only cups of soup for dinner and laid down to a sleepless night.

Next morning we enjoyed sunshine up to 10.20 a.m. and then left the glacier camp. In spite of our late start we hurried on our road down and could reach Bamyan by 7.30 p.m. But the hard walking of this day in doubled boots exhausted us and we found big blisters on the soles of our feet at the end.

We were on Shah Fuladi mountain for a very short time- but it really was the extreme end of the Hindu Kush range, and we had enjoyed fully the calm and beauty of this lonely mountain range.

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