BOOK REVIEWS

1. HIGH HIMALAYA UNKNOWN VALLEYS.
2. ANCENT FUTURES.
3. 1OO HIMALAYAN FLOWERS.
4. CHRONICLES OF THE DOON VALLEY.
5. LAST DAYS.
6. THE BUTTERFLIES OF SIKKIM HIMALAYA AND THEIR NATURAL HISTORY.
7. THE WATER PEOPLE.
8. HISTORY OF GARHWAL 1358-1947.
9. PAKISTAN TREKKING GUIDE.
10. NEPAL — THE FAR WESTERN REGION.
11. PEOPLE IN HIGH PLACES.
12. SUSPENDED SENTENCES.
13. BEYOND RISK: Conversations with climbers.
14. ON THE EDGE OF EUROPE.
    THE HIGH MOUNTAINS OF THE ALPS./a>
15. MOUNTAINS — An Anthology.
16. THE CLIMBING CARTOONS OF ^HERIDAN ANDERSON
17. FLOWERS OF THE WESTERN HIMALAYAS.
18. QOMOLANGMA — SAGARMATHA 1988.
    MOUNT EVEREST MASSIF.
    A GUDE TO MOUNTAINEERING IN CHINA.

 

 

 

HIGH HIMALAYA UNKNOWN VALLEYS. By Harish Kapadia, Pp. 335, 17 Sketches, 24 maps, 1993. (Indus Publishing Co., New Delhi, Rs. 350).

For many years Harish Kapadia's chronicles of events in the Himalaya have been indispensible, in the Himalayan Journal and annual up to date summaries he has kept us abreast of climbs in India and throughout the Himalaya.

Nevertheless few were adequately prepared for the variety, detail and sheer utility of his joint book with Soli Mehta — Exploring the Hidden Himalaya (Hodder and Stoughton, 1990). Arriving on the desk about the same time as Jill Neate's High Asia (1989), it opened vistas for trekkers and mountaineers. Even those familiar with Kenneth Mason's Abode of Snow (1955) Trevor Braham's Himalayan Odyssey (1974), narrow 'Expedition books' about specific trips and the Himalayan and other journals found themselves in a new world.

Now Harish has produced yet another work, a compendium of essays recording numerous expeditions and exploratory treks spread across his huge Himalayan experience. From Garhwal, through Kumaon, into Nepal and Sikkim and back across Himachal Pradesh they range, and on to Spiti, Zanskar, Ladakh and up into the Eastern Karakoram. Their time span is thirty years, selection from about 48 ventures, even a few in winter.

To summarize an experience so kaliedoscopic is difficult. Its scope is beyond ready absortion. Orit is crushed by its Odysseyan immensity. Harish has gone to the Himalaya several times a year for three decades, survived his own serious injury and countless adventures to tell the tale, when few manage it once.

One key lies in the man, evident warmth, enthusiasm, delight in novelty, respect for these fastnesses, pleasure in and loyalty to companions, whether from Bombay, Manali or abroad. This shines from the pages, always the excuse for another venture, the reason everyone rallies, plans and labours to achieve their goals.

Another is a record of achievements, including the first ascents of large numbers of Himalayan peaks of which most know nothing, and the delight in crossing little known watersheds, recovering ancient and discovering new connections. These are judgements and skills beyond the ordinary as celebrated by Eric Shipton and Bill Tilman in the past.

At the same time the book serves the mountaineer who wants to leave the crowds and climb something new. Most chapters present endless possibilities for novelty. This entails missing 'camping and carping' together in the 8000 metre base camp ghettoes, along with the camp followers, TV crews, charlatans, and free lunches, but modest sociability can go hang, ir^favour of stunning vision. Utility is compounded by sketch maps and sketches, scholarly references to sources, criticism of past misrepresentations, and evidence of attainable truth. A summary of known climbing activity in the East Karakoram is a particular boon. Photographs are not included, a matter of production costs it would appear. Yet utility is not the real point. Inspiration is the core.

Harish's writing suggests many of the requirements for success. Bureaucracy is teased and overcome, costs moderated, teams built, distances covered, setbacks endured and outmanoeuvred. Too driving approach risks nemesis, too relaxed impotence. Joy helps! Finally there is success or defeat, pleasures of return, philosophical acceptance of outcomes.

As I accompanied Harish and his friends on a happy Indian-British expedition which climbed Chong Kumdan I and several smaller peaks in 1991, it is appropriate to say little more. There was much more than climbing the mountains, in that empty high altitude wilderness of the upper Shyok. Suffice to say we were happy, exploring near the Chong Kumdan Dam as well as high on the summits. With a meticulous plan, we were fortified and lubricated in the wilderness by lightness of heart, despite other bones littering the 'skeleton trail', a politics which keeps young soldiers juxtaposed in boredom to no great purpose, and our own eccentricities.

Fundamentally that, like this book, was a symphony.

Paul Nunn

Harish Kapadia is the Sunil Gavaskar of Indian mountaineering, a prolific scorer, whose contribution to his chosen sport has raised the reputation of India in the eyes of the world. Kapadia's chief contribution has been to give Indian mountaineering a genuinely deshi base and build on the traditional Hindu regard for the Himalaya rather than ape the West with its external quest for altitude records. Unless you enjoy the mountains there is no point in climbing them, but sadly in a Third World setting, climbers scrabble to reach the top in order to secure better jobs while their bureaucrat sponsors cosy up to the political bosses after the tricolour is flown atop Everest. These shady motives lead fo false claims, official cover-ups and environmental pollution since the sole aim is the macho success on the mother of all peaks. Kapadia's distinction has been to return to the Himalayan range the chivalry due to the divine Devi and his book is a fine testimony to a long courtship in the rarefied boudoir of the Mountain Goddess.

Appropriately you will find this true devotee of the Himalaya near the Mumba Devi temple in Bombay. But surprisingly you will have to look in the wholesale cloth market where Harish sits crossed-legged like the Buddha disguised as a Gujarati Seih Most remarkable of all for his trading background is how his family on Cumballa Hill support his mountaineering endeavours. His wife Gita has done the striking sketches for this book of his explorations and their two sons are named after Sherpa companions. Behind this extraordinary exception to the cautious joint family philosophy of obviating all risk in life is Harish's father, who blessed his son's talents as a dimber, explorer and natural expedition leader.

Chris Bonington's 'oreword has summed up India's pioneering mountaineer unerringly. (It must be remembered that as an expedition leader Bonington is considered amongst the very best.) He remarks on the meticulous planning, reliable relationships with tried porters, a breadth of knowledge and warmth of personality that Kapadia's name always evokes. He also mentions his profound concern for good food, surely the most basic of expedition needs. Harish's gourmet credentials are legendary among his friends. A few years back on passing through Mussoorie after a trek he asked me to take him to Happy Valley where he established a Guinness Book record by consuming 35 momos! On another occasion when I had written about the Gulati Brothers dhaba-restaurant in Pandara Park which had gone in for some superb Himalayan panoramas by the artist Serbjeet Singh, I had a phone-call from Bombay. It was Harish asking for the menu!

This book is a must for any serious student of Himalayan lore. Kapadia proceeds beyond where most trekkers turn back. His mountaineering skills are realistic enough to know just how far an Indian climber can go without the huge investment in the latest equipment that foreign teams bring with their sponsorship. Quality climbs rather than octausand fixations are a feature of his book and always his eye is for the unclimbed route or aesthetic peak that the ordinary Indian adventurer can have a go at without the rigmarole of applications to offidaldom with father's name (if any) in triplicate.

Another indispensable feature of this book is the sound maps done by Arun Samant. Only last week a Swiss climber back from an attempt on Bandarpunch told me, 'When you see Harish, thank him for the map. It saved my life.' The range of his travels along the Himalaya must put Kapadia in the ranks of the greater explorers but such Is the laid-back geniality of the author that it is hard to equate him with the enormous ego of Sven Hedin or slightly pompous status of Swami Pranavananda. A'perusal of this collection of travels reprinted from the Himalayan Journal (of which Kapadia is now editor) reveals that only the Arunachal Himalaya is left out of the author's itinerary, so far. (No doubt with the easing of border tensions he will cover this area to make his profile of the Indian and Nepal Himalaya complete.) His journeys are a fascinating mix of full-blown expeditions, winter whip-rounds, family outings and serious exploration of Karakoram glaciers. The early enthusiasm for big peaks led to some hard lessons learned in the Nanda Devi Sanctuary. The loss of Nitin Patel and Ang Kami on Bethartoli opened his eyes to how orthodox opinion cannot accept anything but success, while his own accident on Dcvtoli — which put him between crutches for two years - mellowed his ambitions from the lure of vertical achievement to the more speculative satisfaction of mountain exploration.

His years spent in the inner line areas of Ladakh chaperoning British ustads seem less relevant to the common mountain user than the more recent account of the thrilling Panch Chuli area where he accompanied Bonington and nearly lost that other British climber of outstanding character Steve Venables.

Throughout these treks the reader is given hard local information almost impossible to come by elsewhere and likely peaks are pointed out to stimulate other parties who may follow. I certainly wait for a Kapadia write-up before I set out on a trek. His local lore invariably makes the trip more interesting and that much easier.

One failing is that the author does not think in English and his use of idiom tends to be infelicitous if not open to misinterpretation by those unfamiliar with the subcontinental habit of omitting an article where English custom demands (and inserting one when unrequired!). But this shortcoming, one could argue, is the best proof of Harish Kapadia's overriding virtue: his entire affair with the mountains is Indian in inspiration. Objective, sdentific yet aware of the effect of the moon on local weather patterns, Kapadia's comprehensive coverage Is valued by the international climbing community. His rescue act has restored the spirit of sportsmanship to Indian mountaineering. These collected explorations can be considered one of the most significant Himalayan publications since Kenneth Mason's Abode of Snow, a classic that presented the bare-bones this book by Kapadia has fleshed out.

Bill Aitken

 

 

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ANCENT FUTURES. By Helena Norberg-Hodge. Pp. 204, 27 b/w photos, 1 map, 1992. Paperback. (Oxford University Press, New Delhi, Rs. 150).

In the late seventies, when John Lall and I were labouring to produce The Himalaya: Aspects of Change (Oxford), for the India International Centre, Delhi, we sought to tap senior Indian and international experts in many fields for their contributions. Near the end of it, a young Helena Norberg-Hodge came into our ken, and became the youngest contributor, with a chapter on 'Ladakh: Development Without Destruction.' No bird of passage from the West, she is now an authority in her own right on the eco-development and culture of Ladakh, after a decade and a half of persistent, passionate efforts.

This book is many things. It is, in parts one and two, on Tradition and Change, an excellent sociological account of both these phenomena in Ladakh since 1975, without sociological jargon. It is a story of an earlier harmonious culture. It is a story of the assault on it by outside forces. It is a story of the development dilemmas of our times. Her writing is simple, specific, concrete. It is easy reading. It has the pathos of another lost culture in its last days. It is a charming story of a beautiful people ruled by Buddhist compassion and wisdom; kind, tolerant, prudent, philosophic. Close to nature, close to each other, happy children of a barren harsh high mountain land, the author sees their easy, loving life as an 'unchoreographed dance'.

Remembering that this review is for the H.J., for mountaineers and trekkers not for either the general reader or the social scientist; this book is recommended reading for those who climb for more than height above sea level, those who wish to savour the life and culture of Ladakh, which may have things in common with other societies of a Tibetan-Buddhist culture in the northern Himalayan belt all the way to Bhutan. I wish this book had been written earlier for me to read when I was in Ladakh in 1986; when I also saw something of the author's commendable work. A paperback of only 192 pages, it would be as valuable as a camera in one's rucksack. It is, indeed, more than a camera, with a life-like account of the author's experiences in Ladakh over sixteen years, picturing its people in home and farm and monastery; in the sacred and the practical, in happy tradition and in painful change. Every issue o£ the H.J. reminds its members of the original objectives of the Club beyond climbing, 'to extend knowledge of the Himalaya.....through science, art, literature and sport'.

To those, including the Communist regime in China, who have been under the impression that the role of Tibetan monasteries was feudal; the author provides a necessary correction from intimate knowledge, that it was a kind of societal 'social security' system. It ensured no one went hungry, and it gave social, cultural, and spiritual cohesion and meaning, a way of life which lived in harmony with itself and its environment, for a thousand years.

But slowly, the clear stream of traditional Ladakhi life flows into the murky turbulent waters of the lower, wider Indus in dealing with one of the world's most complex problems, the nature of desirable development of non-Western traditional people. We are in the middle of the Pacific on this larger canvas in the latter half of this book. Here she holds a mirror to herself, to her home society in the West, to her host society in Ladakh, and to other Third World societies. Ancient Futures is a very apt title for this underlying theme in the last chapter; if only we could find better ways of going into that future with some^ancient values. And that is a question yet unanswered, after more than 64 billion dollars have been spent on 'development' globally.

It is surprising a publisher like OUP has boobed. Reading Chapter three on 'Doctors and Shamans' after p. 44, one suddenly reverts to the previous chapter from p. 29. Thereafter chapter three is repeated. But, as the Ladakhis would say philosophically, 'Chi Choen?' (What's the point?) Ignore it, and be a good Ladakhi.

A. D. MODDIE

 

 

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1OO HIMALAYAN FLOWERS. By Ashvin Mehta. Pp. 143, colour illustrations, 1991. (Mapin Publishing Pvt. Ltd., NPS).

Last summer I had the good fortune to visit the Kumaon Himalaya for the first time. That expedition to Panch Chuli is extensively documented In the Himalayan Journal, Vol. 49, but the articles are reports mainly on the climbing that took place. The mountains were indeed very fine and the glaciers impressive, but for me the real treat was to trdvel through primal virgin forest and up onto alpine meadows that were probably identical to Smythe's famous 'Valley of Flowers'.

The flora of Kumaon is the perfect Everyman's compromise, encompassing most of the Western Himalayan species and a good smattering of flowers associated with Nepal and the far eastern Himalaya. Ashvin Mehta's beautiful new book is drawn from this wealth of variety, presenting a personal selection of 100 better known species. Most readers will be familiar with Mehta's earlier photographic study, Himalaya: Encounters with Eternity. His new book focuses down from the grand view to the jptimate but is printed to the same high quality.

The book is not a botanical reference work. For plant identification, one turns to the standard word by Polunin and Stainforth. Mehta's photos are deliberately subjective, artistic rather than botanical, frequently isolating flowers without accompanying foliage. Although each photograph is backed up with a precise botanical description, the book is essentially an introduction — an aesthetic celebration of the glories of the Himalayan flora, to titillate the beginner.

I was thrilled to see his massed pink polygonums, reminding me of the high meadows of Kishtwar, his close-up study of a blood red potentialla and his tight cluster of Iris Kumaonensis, bringing back a flood of memories from the Panch Chuli expedition. By contrast, I was disappointed by his Primula macrophylla, which did not seem to extract the deep, vibrant purple I recall. However, one has to remember that there are numerous variables, not only in the flowers themselves and the particular light in which they are photographed, but also in the colour film and the many processes that lead to the final printed page. By and large the colours seem vibrantly accurate: to give one specific example, the unique, exquisite electric blue of Corydalis kashmeriana is captured perfectly.

If I have one criticism, it is that sometimes the depth of field is so restricted as to leave nine tenths of the picture blurred. However, these photographs are not studio portraits — they were all made in the field, making do with available light and the blurring tendencies of wind. In any case, the book is not intended as a scientific study. The introduction and notes at the end are directed at the amateur like me, who can be driven to ecstatic rapture by the Himalayan flora, without necessarily knowing a great deal about it. Mehta's beautiful book certainly tempts me to return and he has made me desperate to find the wonderful crimson spotted Lilium polyphyllum.

Stephen Venables

 

 

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CHRONICLES OF THE DOON VALLEY. An Environmental Expose. By Prem K. Thadhani, 1993. (Indus Publishing Co., New Delhi, Rs. 500).

The most surprising thing about this book is the author's background. As a Mussoorie hotelier who has hosted Naomi Uemura (amongst other leading climbers) one would hardly expect his close respect (or the environment since the Himalayan hill station's bye-laws have lieen brazenly contravened by the splurge of building activity (mostly hotels) ripping off, quite literally, the hill sides. As the exception, Prem Thadhani's fight to contain the steady erosion of the hillman's heritage deserves acclaim. Without the intensity of identification he shows for Garhwali lifestyle there is little hope for any reversal in the downward trend that reaches the hills of their beauty and life. Mountaineers will be fascinated to read about George Everest who settled at Park Estate, Mussoorie. Apparently when he bought the estate he inherited a bibikhana (harem building) and vigorous debate <ontinues in Mussoorie between the Survey of India (who view their greatest Surveyor General as an upright model of Victorian primness) and the Anglo-Indian remnant (who still consider the bibikhana a basic blessing to any bachelor establishment). Any gentleman of that era who did not invest in 'country women' would be considered downmarket or gay. Thadhani was personally involved in the public litigation that put a halt to the worst of the minestone quarrying In the Mussoorie Hills. His is a voice worth listening to if only for the passion he brings to save the 'Queen of the Hills': Since independence she'lias been turned by greed into a pock-marked hag.

Bill Aitken

 

 

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LAST DAYS. By John Roskelley. Pp. 211, 33 colour illustrations, 2 sketches, 1 map, 1992. (Hodder and Stoughton, London, £19.95).

The book is about two of John's climbs, Tawoche in Nepal and Menlungtse in Tibet both of which are very technical, and demanding peaks. Fun and easy reading. John takes you along on these climbs to share the frustrations and rewards of attempting major Himalayan peaks. His understanding of the local customs and religions, strong family ties and simple logic adds flavour to the otherwise, technical iiduture of the expeditions. Of special interest is Roskelley's 'First Climber's Dictionary 1991'. e.g. 'fail.ure / 'fa(e)l-yer / n A state of mind resulting from a decision based on common sense rather than emotion.' In spite of the title, John says Tawoche threw dry wood on a flicker of desire and set it burning again. Menlungtse fanned the flame with defeat. 'I am going out a winner or I am not going'. Looking forward to John's next book.

Krishnan Kutty

 

 

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THE BUTTERFLIES OF SIKKIM HIMALAYA AND THEIR NATURAL HISTORY. By Meena Haribal. Pp. 217, 60 colour plates, 9 sketches, 1 map, 1992. (Sikkim Nature Conservation Foundation, Gangtok, Rs. 325).

This excellent book immediately reminded me of a piece we carried in The Alpine Journal in 1984 on the lepidoptera of the northern Andes. That was an unusual article for the Journal, and I was grateful for it for precisely that reason; it was a refreshment from the narrowness of pure climbing, a reminder of how much more there is to our celebration of mountains.

I feel much the same about this book. I cannot give a detailed review here; what small expertise I have in the field is restricted to British entomology. But it undoubtedly gives an immediate and clear insight into an aspect of the Himalaya which is a genuine delight.

The Butterflies of Sikkim Himalaya is, of course, more substantial than this might suggest. As part of a continuing series on the natural history of Sikkim the book is a concise but important summary of the current status of the majority of relevant species. Britain has a few dozen species of resident butterfly plus a handful of seasonal visitors, and most have now been studied comprehensively — some, indeed, minutely. Sikkim has perhaps 700 species, of which 400 are described here, and there is a great deal of work still to be done, despite the expertise of a succession of gifted amateurs from the 1850s onwards. But as a statement of 'work-in-progress' as It were, this book manages the difficult feat of being both serious and accessible to the non-specialist. It is a baseline for further research, but deserves to be sufficiently widely available to inspire the casual visitor. There is a whole new world here, and, in Sikkim as elsewhere, is in increasing need of support.

Philip Bartlett

 

 

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THE WATER PEOPLE. By Joe Simpson. Pp. 239, 1992. Paperback. (Abacus, London, £ 2.75).

The Editor asked me to review this book. When I asked him on the telephone what it was about, he was at a loss for a clear answer. Well he might be. Whatever it was, it was not a straightforward account of a mountain expedition by a mountaineer. But he thought it might be down my street. I was intrigued. Two days later I was reading the book on the Rajdhani train on my way to Kumaon. I found it compelling, imaginative, and in the new genre of writing between Salman Rushdie and Ben Okri; between fact and fiction, between reality and myth. Between the first and the last chapters in England, it is in the high ground of fertile mythology, the Himalaya.

The Himalayan region, specially Garhwal and the Karakoram, are the scenarios for story and mythology. The trekking and climbing are only an incidental peg on which to hang many things. First, the mysteries of the universe and the earth in the long evolution from gas, vapour, water, leading to 'The Water People', the water spirits. Second, the regaining of the world of sublime imagination, the playground of myth, from the world of hard rationality; and the contrast between the Western man's desire to 'believe' with proof, and the Eastern man's inclination to 'accept' with intuition: a sense of oneness with what the Hindu has called Prakriti, that mythical arena of Nature, deities and men, a unified world of intuitional experience over long ages, over continents and seas. The third is the strange experience of India, which is like looking into a mirror, a mirror so different from the Western, modernising world; and yet calling to something missing from contemporary civilisation.

The central piece and the heart of the book is in the chapter on 'Cycle of Spirits', a brillant piece of writing. It links sky and cloud, mountain and glacier, river and sea with water as the ruling element, 'creative and destructive', inhabited by water spirits. Glaciers become living things, dragons. Like the Kogi people of Columbia, many other peoples, including Himalayan people, believe that mountain summits and seas 'are linked by the cycle of water'. The water spirits drifted with the clouds in the sky, 'lazy in the heat of the sun'. They would be 'frozen and trapped' on high slope and glacier. They would then animate the gigantic glaciers and the crashing avalanches, with gravity in times of anger. They would be 'happiest in the rivers'. High mountains, with their ice and snow were like moving oceans. There were gods of the weather and of rain. There were ancient legends of Bhagirath bringing down the Ganges and Shiva's locks saving the world from a catacysmic deluge.

And besides the water spirits, the book has people, strange people, ordinary people, all kinds of people, fantasies of a woman called Alice, all strung together in a fascinating story of east and west.

Like many brilliant books, this may not be everyone's cup of tea. The reviewer himself sensed the theme of this book almost fifty years ago in the Zemu, one of the world's highest precipation areas, draining the eastern flanks of Kangchenjunga; sharing the same mix of science and myth as the Kogi people. It must be one of the world's great liabitats of Simpson's water spirits. I am sure many mountaineers will share the evocation of that same mix of science and myth, which Joe Simpson has so marvellously conjured up. His writing is vivid and picturesque. His pen is also a paint brush, his pages and paragraphs a series of paintings besides events and dialogue.

A. D. MODDIE

 

 

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HISTORY OF GARHWAL 1358-1947. By Ajay S. Rawat, 1989. (Indus Publishing Co., New Delhi, Rs. 250).

Subtitled 'An Erstwhile Kingdom in the Himalayas' this short history by 'the head of the history department at Kumaon University (Naihi Tal) fills a crucial gap in our knowledge of Uttarakhand. Still the only history in English is Atkinson's Gazetteer written more than 100 years ago and based on material collected by Traill 60 years before that. While Atkinson is excellent on Kumaon his knowledge of neighbourring Garhwal derives from Almora pundits (which is a bit like asking the groundsman at Old Trafford his opinion of the wicket at Headingley). Garhwal has been poorly served by British administrative pens and only the mountaineers Longstaff and Smythe have begun to do justice to its character and beauty. Rawat himself is a Garhwali married to a Kumaoni and with his special interest in forestry has covered a lot of Uttarakhand on foot. For scholars the chief value of this book is its updating of chronological assumptions using primary sources. The work is rich in recording the copper plates by which hill rajas stamped the imprint of their generosity in grants to temples and villages. This craft of the copper impress continues and pilgrims to the sources of the Ganga can still commemorate their visit to Gangotri or Badrinath with a small copper wafer embossed with the feet of the appropriate deity. Rawat is able to correct that other fascinating historian of Uttarakhand Dr. Shiv Prasad Dabral. His 10 volume work (in Hindi) is remarkable in that Dabral has printed it himself at Dogadda a village between Kotdwara and Pauri. A visit to Dabral's village is a marvellous tonic for here is a real scholar gypsy who had trekked all over Garhwal and turned his house into a beautiful museum of Garhwal culture. For mountain lovers coming across any account of the Garhwal dynasty — that separates history from myth — is rare. Ajay Rawat's book makes for a sound introduction.

Bill Aitken

 

 

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PAKISTAN TREKKING GUIDE. By Isobel Shaw and Ben Shaw. Pp. 420, maps, 1993. Paperback. (Odyssey, Hongkong, NPS).

This well-researched guide is the product of five years of travel across the mountain regions of Pakistan. Isobel Shaw has written two other guides to Pakistan, and she and her son's wide background Knowledge has been gained by previous residence in the country. Beginning with an introduction to the country's history, people, religions, languages, climate, flora and fauna, economy, politics, it goes on to inform potential travellers what to expect when they get there, from the authorities, 1 from the local populations, and how to avoid the obvious and the li'ss obvious pitfalls. Three principal trekking regions, Skardu, Gilgit, ,uk1 Chitral, are dealt with and journeys radiating in all directions from each are described in detail on a stage-by-stage basis. Practically .ill the treks mentioned are based upon pers.onal journeys, otherwise the information source is quoted. A great asset to these descriptions Is the provision of adequate sketch-maps. There is not a route of (he hundred or so described that cannot be found on one of them. The guide scores full marks for this. The picture given of the current scene emphasizes how far the country has moved ahead to meet the growing demands of modern tourism. The solitary rest-house where I stayed in 1962 situated on top of Kalam village has been swamped liy a multitude of 15 hotels. Chitral town whose first hotel was under construction in 1968 now provides 13, including a Hilton situated In one of the Kalash valleys to the South-west. I recall the absence of reliable maps as having been one of the main worries and attractions i if earlier journeys, providing the thrill of entering relatively untrodden areas. One was always ready for surprises; sometimes good, such as a welcoming hand from authorities big and small and the simple warmth of local people whose trust had been won. However, rare visits by eccentric individuals do not provide the economic benefits of modern tourism.

There is such a wide range of subjects covered that a few slips are inevitable. The Tibetan plateau, not the Deosai, is surely the world's largest. The Gilgit Scouts were raised in 1913. The nine small feudal states in the Gilgit region were merged into the Republic of Pakistan (some not without resistance) in February 1970. I do not believe that the existence of the Indus river prior to that of the mountains through which they flow has been sufficiently proved. A. F. Mummery was not killed on the Diamir face of Nanga Parbat. but in attempting to reach the north side of the mountain across the Diamir gap. It Is interesting, if a bit unusual, to see Francis Younghusband described as a British spy. Few publications ever escape wholly from the printer's devil, so I shall mention only four slips. Karakorams (p. 95) Baltitan |p, 104) North (should read East) of Skardu (p. 119) Spandik (p. 154 map).

Apart from an index and bibliography there are several useful appendices, Including glossaries for four of the main local languages. Where better than in a work such as this to preach the need for good trekking practices and environmental awareness. The sense of urgency in the message does not seem to me to be quite strong enough. The many virtues of this handbook and its immense practical value far outweigh any minor shortcomings. It is a comprehensive information- source for anyone contemplating a visit to Pakistan as a tourist, trekker or first-time climber. If it should help to swell the volume of trekkers visiting the country turning the flow into a flood similar to that sweeping through Nepal, it will bring great satisfaction to the Pakistan tourism Ministry and to the proliferating number of trekking agencies. It will also, presumably, have achieved the author's objective, although I detect in their voices an equivocal note echoing through the opening lines of the Introduction. Unless the changes that tourist growth may bequeath are wisely managed, the inheritance might turn into a mixed blessing for the mountain regions and the people who dwell there.

Trevor Braham

 

 

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NEPAL — THE FAR WESTERN REGION. A Travelling Companion for Travellers, Trekkers and Climbers. By Matthew Lindenfelser, 1993. (Tiwari's Pilgrims Book House, Kathmandu, £5).

We have all read much of late on the socio-cultura! and environmental damage to many Himalayan regions as a result of increased use by trekkers and mountaineering expeditions. It was because of this that in 1992 the Government of Nepal decided to diversify tourist interest from over-frequented areas (Khumbu, Annapurna etc.) by lifting all the restrictions that had formerly barred travellers from the far west.

This fascinating little booklet gives an excellent overview of this most unspoilt and underrated part of the kingdom, lying between the Karnali river and the Indian frontier. In a mere 48 pages (including 10 maps and 13 black and white or colour photographs) topography, climate, culture, permits and the various national and wildlife parks are neatly dealt with. Transportation into this remote area is covered in detail, with current fares and timetables listed. Until now it has taken four times as long to acess the area by road from Kathmandu than from Delhi, but the opening of the new Karnali bridge will significantly improve the situation.

Various attractive trekking possibilities are discussed; though this is still 'unexplored' country and there is much scope for improvisation. The mountaineer has been offered the exciting possibility of eight new peaks above 6500 m. Their brief history — for they are largely unexplored — and means of access are documented, but they remain tantalising outlines on the horizon of distant colour illustrations punctuating the text.

With real linguistic problems and an almost complete lack of supplies available in the hills, thorough organisation is the name of the game. The information supplied in this booklet, information that will not be found in any of the mainstream guides, goes a long way towards unlocking the door to new and alluring opportunities.

.Lindsay Griffin

 

 

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PEOPLE IN HIGH PLACES. Approaches to Tibet. By Audrey Salkeld. Pp. 256, 41 colour illustrations, 3 maps, 1991. (Jonathan Cape, London, £15.99).

The mystery of Mallory and Irvine's disappearance near the summit of Everest in 1924 has always been an issue for speculation and debate. Given Mallory's very considerable mountaineering reputation and the belief that the summit was possibly reached, the story of these two mountaineers has been invested with a romantic tragic heroism. A lot has been written both for and against the proposition that the summit was reached in 1924. Audrey Salkeld, with her interest in mountaineering history, recounts the various hypotheses of the time and later.

Tom Holzel, an American businessman, fuelled the controversy with an article in Mountain magazine in 1971. His hypothesis was that Mallory, the fitter and for more experienced of the two, had taken the oxygen supplies and made a dash for the top while sending the inexperienced Irvine down on his own. Holzel relied upon old evidence with a different interpretation to it, the ice axe found in 1933 and the rumours that a Chinese expedition had found a body In the mid seventies directly below and in line with where the ice <ixe was found, and now increasing evidence that climbers were making it to the summit of Everest without oxygen. Holzel decided on an expedition to Everest to explore the mystery of Mallory and Irvine — maybe the body or a camera might help to tell the story. The gradual opening up to mountaineering expeditions wanting to climb Hverest from the Tibetan side did help. He received permission for an expedition to climb Everest from the route he wanted — via the North Col in autumn 1986.

Getting an expedition off the ground is as much a matter of planning Its mountaineering aspects as of entrepreneural skill in securing finances for it. Holzel managed the latter in enterprising ways including the promise of putting the first American woman on Everest. As one who had corresponded with Tom Holzel for a long while and been equally interested in the Mallory-Irvine mystery, Audrey Salkeld was on the expedition as a historian and archivist and researcher.

The story of* the expedition is one largely of base camp minutae. The bulk of People in High Places, reads like the equivalent of Waiting for Godot. The original purpose of the expedition seemed forgotten (was it a feasible purpose anyway?). A great deal of activity is in evidence as the base camp and then the advanced base camp is set_ UP- There is also the camaraderie, sharing conflict and theft at the base camp, city of expeditions and visiting trekkers, parties. Through all this, to the reader, the purpose of it all seems unclear. It may be that Audrey, herself not being a mountaineer, sees the expedition from a more sedentary viewpoint. There is the tragic death of Sherpa Dawa Niro, a reminder of how unpredictable and dangerous life on the mountain is.

Poor weather, the onset of winter and the arrival of the evacuation date led to the expedition leaving without any significant achievement. There was no further light on the Mallory-Irvine story, no American woman on the summit. There was of course Audrey Salkeld's book after the expedition. But People in High Places is not a 'can't-put-downer.'

Naren Nanda

 

 

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SUSPENDED SENTENCES. By Jim Curran, Pp. 191, 22 b/w and 15 colour illustrations, 2 maps, 1991. (Hodder and Stoughton, London, £14.95).

In this macho world of mountaineering, where success means a lot and strong climbing ability is a sure passport to fame, very rarely would you find a book like this one. The author has been to many places like K2, Kashmir, Karakoram and China. He has written two books earlier, Trango, the Nameless Tower and K2 the Triumph and Tragedy. Curran has known personally many leading mountaineers, particularly in the British mountaineering world. Thus he could certainly boast about his achievements and contacts. But, here is an author who begins with quoting a critic who described him as, 'a hanger-on in the British climbing pub scene'. He makes no fuss about not being an 8000-m summitter. He writes about grief and pain as much as of the 'ephemeral joys of the mountains'. He writes about the loss of close friends, and about climbs, of course. I would rate this as one of the most honest books about mountaineering I have read in a long time.

Like many, Curran's interest in mountaineering was awakened with the news that Everest had been climbed. He continued with rock climbs but moving to higher ranges. The book includes 'stories within stories', as Curran likes to call them. Curran is a film maker and . has produced several mountaineering films which have been well received the world over.

His travels have taken him to 28 countries and seen him through many enduring friendships and he exhibits the same frankness and openness while discussing his friends as he does in writing about himself. In an early chapter he writes about Chris Bonington,

The book carries on with story after story like the one about the lost camera on the Barnaj trip, or film The Bat', about his friends like Don Whillans, Paul Nunn and many others. I would strongly recommend this book for those who feel that there is more to mountaineering than just climbing. It is not a sport but a way of life and Jim Curran is a true mountaineer in the classical mould.

I will leave you with my favourite paragraph from the book in which Curran quotes about a lecture by his friend Don Whillans,

Harish Kapadia

 

 

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BEYOND RISK: Conversations with climbers. By Nicholas O'Connell. Pp 300, illustrated, 1993. (Diadem Books, London, £ 15.99).

Nicholas O'Connell firmly believes that since 'climbing contains such a remarkable concentration of human experience, it can be seen as a microcosm for the rest of life.1 Beyond Risk is based on this axiom and so deals with its subjects on a relatively broad plane.

The list of climbers interviewed in this book reads like an abridged Whos Who in recent and contemporary climbing. The ambit is large and moves from Ricardo Cassin who put up some of the hardest routes in the Alps in the 1930's to Lynn Hill, a recent American rock-gymnast whose forte is competitive climbing. Cassin, born in 1908, continues to dimb even today because 'I like it'. The Himalayan scene is well covered. The story of the first ascent of Everest, despite all that been said about and done on that peak in later years, remains interesting, especially when Sir Edward Hillary puts it in perspective.

'After climbing Everest, I had no sense of anticlimax — I was just as keen on climbing. Everest was just the beginning.' Messner's well-known philosophy of climbing makes an interesting contrast to that other remarkable hard-man, Doug Scott. Chris Bonington states he is rational and clarifies, 'We all are intuitive. But I am slightly suspicious of the gut feelings. We all have gut feelings, and you translate that gut feeling as being right if you're alive at the end of the day, and not if you are dead'.

A streak of individuality expectedly emerges strongly from the hard-rock and ice climbers' Royal Robbins, Warren Harding, Jeff Lowe CI hate expeditions') and Wolfgang Gullich. Peter Croft wonders about rock-climbing in Yosemite: 'How can this much fun not cost anything and not be illegal ?', a question that has baffled many climbers all over the world and happily, they haven't yet had to look for answers. There are several other personalities featured in this book who have left their imprint on contemporary climbing — Walter Bonatti, Kurt

Each interview is preceded by a precise bio-data which helps the reader to appreciate the\contents of the self-portraits that follow. The breadth of the contents are not sacrificed for depth. O'Connelf achieves a very readable balance and what is more, does so in a very unobtrusive manner. The very possible monotony of a pattern is skilfully avoided. O'Connell makes one agree wholeheartedly when he says that climbers are animated by not a death wish, but a 'life wish, a desire to live — fully, intensely, completely.' He puts us, all of us, in his debt for having presented this passion so well.

Muslim H. Contractor

 

 

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ON THE EDGE OF EUROPE. Mountaineering In the Caucasus. By Audrey Salkeld and Jose Luis Bermudez. Pp. 260, 19 b/w illustrations, 3 maps, 1993. (Hodder and Stoughton, London, £18.99).

THE HIGH MOUNTAINS OF THE ALPS. By Helmut Dumler and Willi P. Burkhardt. Pp. 224, many colour illustrations, 1993. (Diadem Books, London, £ 30).

We in the Indian Himalayan mountaineering scene often wonder how a Westerner achieves such high standards of climbing. The Himalaya and high ranges are far away from them and are too high to repeatedly assault. In fact, many Indian mountaineers would put on crampons maybe once in a year. Getting acclimatised to snow and cold is always a problem for dirnbers from tropical, countries. In the above two books we learn about the ranges where a Western mountaineer develops his skills, practices regularly and becomes an expert. The Alps to a large extent, and the Caucasus give them the opportunity to practise the craft regularly. The High Mountains of the Alps is an excellent pictorial book covering 4000m-peaks. Ever since Mont Blanc's first ascent in 1786, 61 summits that exceed 4000m in the Alps have attracted mountaineers. This book covers them all. There are famous names like Matterhorn, Jungfrau, Grandes Jorasses and the Eiger. Every area and peak is represented by excellent colour pictures, brilliant sketch maps and small line drawings to illustrate different routes. A brief history is also recounted. This is not a guide book but a comprehensive reference work which would help climbers and delight connoisseurs.

The highest mountain in Europe is not Mont Blanc (or the Alps). This distinction goes to the Caucasus which stretches for 600 miles from the Black Sea to the Caspian, the central boundary between Europe and Asia. For many years members of the Alpine Club and British mountaineers have climbed in this range. This book covers many such climbs bringing it upto date till 1986 when a remarkable new route was,climbed on Ushba North. The book is well endowed with research about the range and the authors have unearthed many articles collected from different journals. Some of the articles are-written by well known names like Douglas Freshfield, T.G. Longstaff, John Hunt, George Band, Paul ISunn and Mick Fowler. Of these, Paul Nunn with Hamish Maclnnes pioneered the interest in the range in 1970. The book is completed with an appendix about the history of mountaineering in the Caucasus and a Caucasus bibliography. The work done by authors is complete and there can be no better tribute to this lovely range. Both, the Alps and the Caucasus are a natural stepping stone to the high ranges of the Himalaya — if 1 dare say so. Now we know where the Western mountaineers put on their crampons every week and practise and how they are so good at their art.

Harish Kapadia

 

 

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MOUNTAINS — An Anthology. Compiled by Anthony Kenny. Pp.
357, illustrated, 1991. (John Murray, London, £ 20).

Anthony Kenny casts a wide net while covering a subject which has fascinated millions through millenia. Beginning with the Judaic-Christian texts and Greek Classics, interesting counterparts of Himalayan folklore and mythology, he moves on to medeival mountaineering, providing copious amounts of interesting, if rather Eurocentric extracts. We thus meet Pope and Marco Polo, Homer and Butler among others, in this period and then move on to the Renaissance and the Age of Reason. The mountain climber as we recognize him today appears with the ascent of Mont Blanc in 1786, and then yields to the poets — Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley and Keats. There are travelogues by John Ruskin and Charles Dickens, followed by Whymper's ascent of the Matterhorn. The chapter on Aesthetics and Ascetics describes what must rank as one of the earliest controversies involving mountaineering. The latter chapters move to the heyday of Alpine climbing and the pioneering Himalayan efforts.

The mountain-lover who is prepared to acquire a wider perspective on his favourite subject will find this book rewarding. The author's research has produced a scholastic richness which will appeal to many it is fascinating to find both Herzog and Homer under the covers of one book.

Muslim H. Contrctor

 

 

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THE CLIMBING CARTOONS OF ^HERIDAN ANDERSON Text by Joe Kelsey. Pp. 143, illustrated, 1989. (High Peak Press, London, NPS).

We are always told that there is a lot of fun in mountaineering. This book of Sheridan Anderson literally shows the fun aspect of mountaineering. These cartoons are from a climbing cartoonist who has been associated with the British mountaineering scene for many years. 'He has illustrated several climbing manuals, magazines and books and his cartoons are well known. He has managed to poke fun at most aspects of climbing, from its participant's basic fears to the convolutions of their lives.' The cartoons cover caricatures of leading personalities of the mountaineering world. It is an art to laugh at others without hurting them. This can be achieved only by those who can laugh at themselves. I am sure Sheridan Anderson (1936-1984) must be a great humourist. This book is a fine testimony to his humour and art.

Harish Kapadia

 

 

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FLOWERS OF THE WESTERN HIMALAYAS. By Rupin Dang. Pp. 140, illustrated, 1993. (Indus, New Delhi, Rs. 145)

This pocket-guide covers some of the commonly observed flowers in the Garhwal, Kumaon and Pir Panjal ranges and should be useful to trekkers and climbers who are not inclined botanically but could yet like to know the name of that purple flower in yonder meadow. The book is well illustrated with colour photographs and informative captions. Also of interest is the chapter describing environmental factors responsible for determining floral diversity and composition. The quality of printing is pleasing and the get-up attractive enough to include it in one's kit bag. One must carp about the odious 'S' in the title — surely Rupin Dang will eliminate it in his forthcoming book on birds of the Himalaya ?

Muslim H. Contractor

 

 

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QOMOLANGMA — SAGARMATHA 1988. Editor Yoshichika, Shinohara. Pp. 161, many colour plates and b/w photos, maps, sketches,
1992. (Yomiuri Shimbun-sha, Tokyo, Yen 5150).

MOUNT EVEREST MASSIF. By Jan Kielkowski. Pp. 202, many sketches,
1993. (Explo Publishers, Gliwice, Poland, NPS).

A GUDE TO MOUNTAINEERING IN CHINA. By Chinese Mountaineering Association. Pp. 221, many colour plates, maps, sketches, 1992. (C.M.A., Beijing, NPS).

Three books, pictorial and full of information and reference about topics they cover.

The first book covers Everest, The China-Japan-Nepal Friendship Expedition, which climbed Everest from north and south side at the same time. Many mountaineers climbed the summit from different sides and some traversed the peak to descend on the other side. This book, in English, covers the activities both in text and many photographs.

The second book covers the entire Everest massif in great detail. Each and every route is marked on sketches and illustrated. The list of all expeditions from 1921 to 1992, selected bibliography and index complete the book. Both these books are an invaluable reference on the Everest.

The last book is the official publication of the Chinese Mountaineering Association detailing most peaks in China (Tibet). Photographs, maps and sketches introduce all the peaks. The areas are divided into different sections and ranges which are convenient to refer. This book, both in Chinese and English, is an invaluable reference.

Harish Kapadia

 

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