KABRU DOME EXPEDITION — 1981

VASANT LIMAYE and SHASHANK KULKARNI

WE ORIGINALLY planned to attempt Pandim in the West Sikkim. The expedition was thrown into confusion when we received a telegram that the Government of Sikkim had refused us permission to attempt Pandim (21,953 ft) just 15 days before the scheduled departure from Bombay. On subsequent telephonic conversation they informed us that our request was turned down on the grounds that Pandim lies in the proposed Kangchenjunga National Park, Ultimately we were informed that we may attempt Kabru Dome (21,650 ft) in the adjacent Rathong valley. The Dome was first attempted by C. R. Cooke in 1935. After climbing Kabru North Solo, he left for the Dome next morning with a Sherpa. But they had to return due to lack of time. Subsequently B. Biswas of Calcutta, is said to have climbed it in 1964, but the only published report is An Indian expedition led by Mr. B. Biswas climbed Kabru Dome (21,650 ft)' in H.J, Vol. XXV, p. 207. Instructor Ang Temba is reported to have reached up to 19,100 ft on Kabru Dome along with a ladies' advanced training course organized by the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling.

Our party of five members Yasant Limaye, Shashank Kulkarni, Raja Deshpande, Chandrashekhar Tambat and Amita Kulkarni left Bombay as scheduled on 21 September with our objective now changed to Kabru Dome. We reached Pelling on the 23rd night, and all our exhaustion of the previous 15 days was washed away when we saw the sun-bathed, snow-clad range from Kangchenjunga to Kokthang rising just in front of us on the northern horizon. No other place can beat the beauty of Pelling with its monasteries, beautiful houses and the views that it offers. It boasts of Pemeyangtse monastery which is the second oldest in Sikkim and is very colourful and neatly kept.

One bureaucratic snag still remained to be cleared and that delayed our departure from Pelling. We had still not received a clearance from the Ministry of Defence to attempt Kabru Dome. We were advised to wait for 2-3 days. We requested the Governor of Sikkim to intervene in the matter. With his support our expedition was cleared by the Ministry within hours and we received a message to that effect by 27th September.

With all these things behind us, on 28th the total of about 520 kg of the expedition load was transported to Yoksum (5600 ft) by jeep, while the members walked. Next day with eight yaks, we marched to Bakhim (9000 ft) through a leech-infested thick jungle in heavy downpour. When we reached Bakhim in the evening we were drenched and tired, and enjoyed the comfort of the forest rest house her.,-. The climb from Bakhim to Dzongri (13,000 ft) was very steep and demanding, but next morning it offered us very good views of Pandim, Kangchenjunga and Kabru. From Dzongri we got down to Rathong Chu (marked as Choktsering Chu on some maps) and started the long and gruelling climb to the HMI base camp site. The altitude was now affecting the members and we reached the base camp in thick clouds, heavy wind and bitter cold.

On 2 October Vasant and Shashank left the base camp with our two high-altitude porters Leba and Kancha to find a suitable site for an advanced base camp along East Rathong glacier. They found a very beautiful lake at the base of Kabru Dome and chose it as a camp site and returned to the base. Later we located this place on the map as Ome Cho (15,760 ft). It is also known as Dudh Pokhri by the local people and is considered to be a sacred place. It is on the true left bank of East Rathong glacier and is about 500 ft above the glacier. On the 3rd Raja and Chandrashekhar walked along the true right bank of tie glacier so that they could have a head-on look at Kabru Dome. After looking at the icefall in the gulley between Kabru South and Kabru Dome they concluded that we should be able to find a route through it, and returned.

On the 4th Raja and Shashank occupied the ABC. Next day they walked along till the end of the glacier and entered the icefall. They climbed up and down over the ice slopes carefully. It was a new experience for them and they enjoyed it very much. As they climbed higher and higher the icefall became more and more difficult but they could progress. At about 12.30 p.m. they turned back and reached the ABC by 2.45 p.m. On the same day they were joined by Amita at the ABC. In the evening after dinner they discussed the proposed route through the icefall. It certainly looked possible to tackle the icefall, but the progress would, be very slow. Additionally, the campsites were few. So they thought that it was worthwhile to recce an alternative route through a gulley that was directly above the camp.

On the 6th they left the camp a little late. They had hardly gone up some 500 ft when they heard shouts from below. They guessed rightly that the porters had ferried the required load to ABC and they had to be paid off. So Shashank returned to the camp while Raja continued alone up the gulley. He returned to the camp by afternoon with a very encouraging report. He could find a way through the gulley and had reached up to about 17,500 ft comfortably and discovered a good camp site. Same day the entire expedition was at the advanced base camp and by now our Sherpas Karma and Mingma had joined us.

Next day Vasant and Shashank recceed the route beyond the gulley. Within two and a half hours they were at the point that Raja had reached the previous day. This was an ideal place for our Camp 1. One of the ridges emanating from the Dome ended just above the camp site. The massif of the Dome was to the left of this ridge and there was a vast snowfield at the base of the massif. They decided to traverse this snowfield and reach the gulley between Kabru Dome and Kabru South. The snowfield looked broken with crevasses but they were able to find their way through them till they reached the final crevasse, which was about 10 to 15 ft wide and ran right across the field. They got down into this crevasse and attempted to climb on the other side. As they were tired by this time, they returned but were confident that it could be climbed. Others ferried load to Camp 1 that day.

On 8th Chandrashekhar and Mingma occupied Camp 1, while the others ferried loads. On 9th they crossed the crevasse field. They had to rush through the debris of an avalanche that had rolled down from Kabru Dome. When they reached the gulley between Kabru Dome and Kabru South after climbing a final snow-wall, they were disappointed to see that there was no smooth snow slope in the gulley but it was a fierce icefall, They estimated this altitude to be about 18,500 ft. The icefall started from the glacier at 16,000 ft and stretched up the gulley till 21,000 ft. It was too late for them to enter the icefall. Hence they decided to pitch Camp 2 at that place and returned to the Camp 1. Same day Raja, Shashank and Karma had moved to Camp 1.

Next day Shashank, Mingma and Karma occupied Camp 2 while Raja and Chandrashekhar ferried loads for them. This was the worst of all the camps. They spent all the afternoon trying to melt some snow over tire solid fuel stove that they had carried. Most of the tablets of the fuel had absorbed moisture and they used to explode when heated. In the morning they were not able to get out of the tent before 7.30 a.m., since they were in the shadow of Kabru Dome and it was bitterly cold. Finally when they got into the icefall, they made good progress initially, but soon they were stopped by a giant crevasse and had to retrace their way for about 50 ft. Now they moved closer to the slopes of Kabru Dome and continued. This route led them to a snow-hump in the middle of the icefall. It was not possible to go beyond this hump since it was steep in all directions and one could not judge the depth of other gaps around. They returned almost to level of the camp and attempted to go closer to the wall coming down from Kabru South. Here also they had to j ive up after going for about 100 ft. Ultimately around noon they gave up and returned to the camp. To quote C. R. Cooke, "There can be few icefalls even in the Himalaya which can show such a spectacle of titanic ice monsters wrestling with each other down such a gradient,'³ Same afternoon, they loaded themselves with all the things at Camp 2 and returned to the advanced base camp.

 

During the march from Camp 1 to Camp 2 they had examined Mir ridge coming down from Kabru Dome and ending just above Camp 1, and they felt that one may be able to reach the peak via Ibis ridge. Hence on the 12th Raja and Vasant left the advanced base camp, to attempt it. But after reaching up to about 19,000 ft they saw that the ridge ended below the hanging glacier coming from llu? top. The ridge was exposed and prone to avalanches and hence they gave up with all the seemingly possible routes explored and finding none, they packed up the advanced base camp and returned 1o the HMI base camp with decision to attempt some of the minor peaks around.

Raja, Shashank and Mingma left the base camp at 5.45 a.m., on 16 October with an intention to climb Palung (18,167 ft) on the main divide between Prek Chu valley and Rathong valley, and also to reconnoitre a route to Forked Peak (20,400 ft) situated on the .same ridge. Palung is locally known but the peak is not named om the map. It has been climbed several times. They reached the col on the ridge by about 8,30 a.m. by a gulley, They rested here for some time and continued towards Palung along the ridge over bare rocks. After a while, the ridge smoothened out and was covered with snow. They put on their crampons, roped up and continued. The ridge narrowed with exposure towards the Rathong glacier. They descended a little on the opposite side and climbed up a steep snow- wall, By then the clouds had gathered and their progress was slow since the route was exposed and steep. By noon they reached below the rock wall at the base of the final summit pyramid. Here they debated whether to continue or turn back since the last 500 ft looked rather difficult. But they decided to continue since they did not envisage any difficulty while returning. The rock wall was climbed with care with the help of fixed rope and after a tricky traverse, they reached the final snow slope. They climbed this slope along a clearance between snow and rock with extreme care since a slip would have taken them 4000 ft down to the river. Only one person moved at a time with the other two properly anchored.

They reached the top by about 2.00 p.m. They were very much disappointed since they were totally in the clouds and could not see a single peak around. They waited for about half an hour hoping to see at least Panclim which was in front of them across the PreK Chu valley. But no luck. One could not proceed to Forked peak from this side because the ridge connecting Palung and Forked peak was very sharp and narrow. Additionally, there was no place for even one tent anywhere along the ridge.

They started back at about 2.30 p.m. and were below the summit pyramid by 4.00 p.m. ready to rush down to the camp. But alas the snow had become so soft by this time that they were sliding down with it. They had to remain roped up and move only one at a time, They continued at snail's speed and by the time the snowy part of the ridge was over it was 5.30 p.m. and the sun had set. By the time they reached the col and continued to descend via the gulley, it was pitch dark. Unfortunately they did not have any torch with them but Raja had his diary on him and Shashank found a matchbox. They burnt a piece of paper to indicate to the worried people in the camp below that they were returning. After climbing down another 1000 ft they burnt another piece which was in fact seen by Karma in the camp. The summiteers were met by Chandrashekhar and Karma with torches, water and biscuits and were treated with coffee-brandy by Vasant in the camp.

After Palung was climbed Vasant, Chandrashekhar and Karma left the base camp to attempt Frey (19,130 ft). This peak was first climbed by Frey and Tenzing Norgay. Frey had died while descending and hence it is named after him.¹ Subsequently it has been climbed many times. From the base camp they first crossed two moraine ridges and then climbed an unstable scree slope of about 1500 ft. They pitched a camp at about 17,000 ft on a rock terrace at the base of a snow plateau. Next morning they left the camp around 6.00 a.m., climbed tihe initial ice-slope and entered the south gulley which was about 20 ft wide with steep crumbly rock faces and small rock pinnacles on both sides. The gulley itself was very steep and icy at places. It extended for about 500 ft ending into a rock face. Vasant stopped here. Chandrashekhar and Karma continued the steep climb till they were within about 400 ft of the top. It was already 2.00 p.m. and the clouds had filled up the valley and therefore they painfully decided to return. Descending was not easy since it was a steep gulley prone to stone falls. At 6,00 p.m. they reached the camp. Next day they returned to the base camp.

On the 20th we packed up all our gear for the return march. Same day HMI advanced course reached there and we had some interesting discussions with the instructors and trainees. On the 21st we went straight down to Bakhim, and reached Yoksum on 22nd and on the 23rd we were in Felling. On the same day the Dalai Lama was visiting Pemeyangtse Monastery. We enjoyed, tbe colourful ceremony. On the way back we spent two days at Gangtok and returned to Bombay on the 29th.

 

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