CORRESPONDENCE

1. 30th January 2000
2. 12th November 1999
3. 21st November 1999
4. 23 November, 1999
5. 16 December, 1999

 

 

 

Pre Vert
La Combe
CH-1359 Rances
Switzerland
Tel. (024) 459 1650

Mr. Harish Kapadia
72 Vijay Apartments
16 Carmichael Road
Bombay 400 026
India

30th January 2000

Dear Mr. Kapadia,

The initiative that you took to spend a couple of weeks in Darjeeling* meeting the Sherpas who still reside there will result, I much hope, in a Survey that would be of great interest not only to early HC members but to all present readers of the HJ.

So far as I know HC records of the Sherpas, which were instituted by H. W. Tobin with the founding of the Club in 1928, were maintained as one of the chief occupations of Tobin's successors as Hon Local Secretary in Darjeeling. When Tobin left in 1934, George Wood-Johnson took over, then J. W. Kydd in 1936-7. Between 193840 Mrs. H. P. V. Townend, as Secretary of what was then the Eastern section of the HC at Calcutta, did sterling work looking after the interests of the Sherpas and keeping their records up to date. In 1950, when the HC got going again properly, Ludwig Krenek as HLS Darjeeling in 1949-50 compiled a Sherpa Porters Register containing 175 names (including Ang Tsering b. 1910) which, for the first time, was published in the HJ (XVI 1950-1 pp. 121-133). From 1951-55, Jill Henderson as the Club's local Secretary, 'mothered' the Sherpa community in Darjeeling, and fought tooth and nail to ensure that their interests were protected.

But by then a big change was on the way with the opening up of Nepal, the migration of Sherpas to the new centre for expeditions in Kathmandu, and the dissolution of the Club's activities in Darjeeling as a recruiting agency for Sherpas. Of course a few Sherpas never left Darjeeling, such as Tenzing, Pasang Dawa, even Angtharkay who stayed until the end of the 1950s; and many others, encouraged by the establishment of the HMI. It would indeed be interesting for the HJ to publish a current review of the size of the Sherpa community who still reside in Darjeeling, providing a picture of their present activities; and whether any of the older men have passed on their profession to their descendants, as many well-known families of Alpine guides have done in Switzerland.

With best wishes,
Yours sincerely,
T. H. Braham

* Photos and details of 'The Sherpa Gathering' appear in The Himalayan Club Newsletter No. 53.

 

 

⇑ Top

 

THE HIMALAYAN CLUB
P.O. Box 1905, Mumbai 400 001, INDIA.
12th November 1999

Mr. O. S. Hong, Leader
Mr. Namil Kim, Sub-leader
1998 Korean Mukut Parvat East Expn.
C/o. Seol Metrocity Mountain Federation Rescue Team
No. 301 Woo Sung B/D, Sangsu-dong 271
Mapo-gu, Becul, Korea.

Dear Sirs,

Correction in H.J. Vol. 55, p. 93
1998 Korean Mukut Parvat East Expedition

Harish Kapadia has passed on your message, dated 4.11.1999 received by him through post.

I am glad to find that the issue has been now resolved. The Korean party had climbed in 1998 a peak which was lower and some distance away from the Mukut Parvat East, which was climbed by N. I. M. Expn. in 1999.

The peak climbed by your expedition may be termed as Mukut Parbat East-II, The height of this peak could be around 7000+m. There is no confirmed data available on this point at present.

A note on this subject of the ascent of Mukut East is attached, which will be published in the Himalayan Journal No. 56, next year.

This would set the records straight. However, this does not in anyway minimise the fine climb made by your expedition in 1998. It is hoped that your proposed expedition next year may climb Mukuti Parvat East and Abi Gamin, presumable from the West Kamet glacier.

Yours sincerely,
J. C. Nanavati

 

The Error on Mukut Parvat East

Korean Mukut Parvat Expedition led by Ok-sun Hong, reported the first ascent of Mukut Parvat East (7130 m) on 30 August, 1999, when two members of the team reached the summit.

However, it is now established that the point reached was not of Mukut East but a lower point on the divide. Just before the true Mukut East, which the party mistook as Mukut Main (7242 m).

2. Mukut Parbat massif is situated on the Indo-Tibetan border, North-West of Kamet (7756 m) in Garhwal Himalaya. The Korean Expedition approached Mukut Parvat East from the West Kamet glacier, via Badrinath, Gastoli and had set up the Advance Base Camp at 5300 m. C.1 and C.2 were set up at 5800 m and 6400 m respectively.

3. From Camp 2 a steep snow slope rose to a peak which the Koreans mistook as Mukut East 800 m of rope was fixed on this section beyond Camp 2. On 30th August summit party consisting of Dong-shin, Ho-sun, Tae-hoon and Ki-sung left Camp 2 at 7.00 a.m. and two of them (Dong-shin and Ki-sung) reached the summit at 5.00 p.m. and the other two had turned back earlier. They took photos in various directions as well as took a video recording of the views from the summit reached. One photo taken from this high peak shows true Mukut East, at some distance beyond and higher than the point reached. The climbers had misidentified this higher peak to be Mukut Main and therefore concluded the point reached by them to be Mukut East.

4. However, the error was brought to light by the 1999 expedition to Mukut Parvat East by Nehru Institute of Mountaineering led by Col. Ajit Dutt, Principal. The expedition submitted photos of their summit climb which showed the climb made by their summit party beyond the Korean peak, to the true summit of Mukut East. Their summit photos showed the main Mukut Parvat (7242 m) further west. It also submitted a photo looking down the peak climbed by the Koreans, which they had bypassed. Another photo recorded the finding of the Korean snow-stake near the Korean summit. The N.I.M. party had also followed the same approach through West Kamet glacier. In all 12 members reached the summit on 9th July and 4 climbers made the ascent on 11th July 1999.

5. The N.I.M. Expedition's photos were sent to the Korean Expedition leader for their views. After some correspondence the Korean Expedition leader and the sub-leader now confirmed that they had mistaken the Mukut East to be the Main peak and their point to be Mukut East.

6. Thus it is clarified that the N.I.M. party had made the first ascents of Mukut Parvat East (7130 m). The Korean Expedition climbed a lower dome, which may be termed Mukut Parvat East II.

J. C. Nanavati

References

Himalayan Journal Vol. 55, p. 93, 'Mukut Parvat East' by Nam-il Kim.

Himalayan Journal Vol. 56, Article No. 10, on N.I.M. Expedition (in this volume).

 

 

⇑ Top

 

JOHN AND EILEEN JACKSON
Pendref, Dwyran
Nr. LLA FA R P.G.
Anglesey, LL61 6 YD

November 21st 1999.

Dear Harish

HJ Vol. 54 arrived by sea mail.

I notice, the letters written by Gurdial Singh re. R. L. Holdsworth. Quite rightly he points out that R.L.H. did not visit 'Valley of Flowers' with Smythe but it was R.L.H. who inspired F. S. to become a plant 'hunter'. Holdsworth by the way was also a schoolmaster at Harrow and first taught Charles Bagot to ski when he formed a ski group called the 'Harrow Warmots'. R.L.H. used to visit the RAF Centre in Kashmir and did instruct for Charles Bagot at Gulmarg and Khilanmarg. You will see that I mention Charles Bagot (Lord Bagot) in the text of one of the two quick offerings I've enclosed for your perusal.

1. 'On Skis in Kullu, 1976' (See article in this volume)

With warmest regards and best wishes to you.

Sincerely,
Jacko

 

 

⇑ Top

 

Hinglaj Baug
HP - 175103

23 November, 1999

Dear Harish,

I have had time to look over the photographs 'From Gurdial Singh's Collection' in HJ Vol. 54. I had memories vividly brought back of Lt. Gen. Sir Harold Willams who, in 1954, got me a snow tent and a rucsack from the Himalayan Club for my trek into the Garhwal. It was on this trek that Gurdial invited me to join him on a pilgrimage to Kailash and Mansarovar. Photographs 56, 57 and 58 were taken on this trek. A pity, the photographs have not been placed in their chronological order. Regardless, it is wonderful having memories revised of events that had taken place 45 years ago. Kalyan Sing and Diwan Singh in photograph 55 were with us in 1954. I had taken a colour photograph of Dunagiri from the same point. It adorned the cover of the Illustrated Weekly. Some of the jawans from the Police Armed Constabulary accompanied Gurdial and self to the top of the mountain in the right background from where we looked across the Tibetan Plateau and worshipped Kailash on the distant horizon.

To conclude this note of appreciation, I was moved to see Ang Tharkay's photograph. In the '60s I had taken a group of boys to Everest base following the Hunt expedition route. It was Ang Tharkay who fixed up our team of porters at his 'Nanda Devi' Restaurant in Kathmandu. His wife was delighted in feeding the boys bowls full of streaming noodles!

With regards,

Yours,
Lavkumar Khachar

 

 

⇑ Top

 

ENVIRONMENT POLLUTIONS COMMENCE FROM HUMAN MINDS

Reading through Amir Ali's scanning of the Himalayan Journals I realise that the Himalayan Club's start was by men who were basically explorers and their writings contained a good deal of natural history matter. The readers of the day must have been exhilarated reading about ventures into the forested gorges of the eastern Himalaya, while the Imperial Great Design must have excited Englishmen as their countrymen brought to heel the truculent tribes of the arid borders of Afghanisthan. What a wonderful period it must have been to be an Englishman! Even the fact that much of the amazing surveys were conducted by 'natives' as was indeed the fighting to further the 'pacification' of unruly people, the satisfaction would have been there in the knowledge that the surveyors were trained by Englishmen and the fighters trained and led by them. Let us indeed salute these men and give them credit for being towering men who if they did succumb to the 'club' culture they were but being human as no man can act a superior being for all times. Having myself trekked through the Himalaya, having led youngsters onto snow, I realise the terrible loneliness one is assailed with, particularly when things go wrong.

But, even as we admire the fantastic tours de force into the cold upper reaches by men of seeming legendary proportions, and I would like the HJ to run out a serial on each of the great explorers and mountaineers, we must not get blinded to the fabulous men of our own extract: the great sages (alas many legendary) followed by near historical travellers that carried Buddhist philosophy across the vastnesses of Central Asia, and the very historic men of the genre of the Adi Shankara who set into motion the great pilgrimage right into the mountain fastnesses. How breath-taking are the pilgrimages made by thousands of lowland people flocking up the valleys to Jamnotri, Gangotri and Gaumukh, Kedarnath, Badrinath and still further, across onto the bleak Tibetan highlands to perambulate Manassarovar and Kailash? As a youth I marvelled at frail Bengali ladies of 60 plus walking the high trails wearing single cotton saris! I watched in wonder old pilgrims from Rajasthan bathing in the icy Mandakini before entering the Kedarnath temple; yes, bathing with several feet of snow covering that lovely valley! No wonder elders discouraged their youngsters from going to the Himalaya, having perhaps experienced the great cold and suffered frostbite or known of people who had. Unhappily, this great 'yatra', which today is so much easier to perform, has been converted into a circus of sorts. Nonetheless, the great sanctity is there and it is indeed exciting to see how the younger generation responds if motivated correctly.

If, in the Himalayan Journal we are reading false claims of first ascents by Indians - Nilkanth and very recently Nyegi Kangsang, the fault lies with the systems and possibly the moutaineering fraternity. Significantly these highly publicised and rightly condemned false claims were by men whose careers could be advanced through such claims. Just as I have been denouncing inducting the Armed Forces into civilian duties, I would urge the Army to desist from sending expeditions or, for that matter permitting serving officers to officially participate. They do not need to. The high Himalaya are their playing and fighting grounds. Imagine our men on the Siachen - each patrol could well be a foray for a mountaineer. At best, army men should from time to time invite civilians to join them for the fun of it!

As for the several training institutes, there must be peer evaluation. Advanced courses should invariably attempt peaks and difficult faces with very detailed reports following. Even if, say, Hanuman Tibba were to be climbed each year, for those getting to the top it would be a first time. Then, there needs to be evaluation courses for trainees so that a record is maintained of their continued involvement in the sport. I have strongly held views that each institute should encourage its trainees to train others in rock climbing, snow and ice craft to get them later evaluated at the parent institute. Even the best mountaineering instructor will age and cannot be expected to lead from the front. As a result, standards of training will, and have, declined. On the other hand, evaluation of good training by former students can be conducted by the aging instructors, whose growing experience could point out weak performances, and select the outstanding.

Reading the journals, I often wonder how many of those going onto the mountains bother to look around them. There is precious little on birds, on plants and of course very, very little on meteorological manifestations other than references to 'fierce gales' and 'drenching rain'. With so many men visiting formerly inaccessible areas, we should be able to get so much more information on natural history. Surely the HC and the IMF should sponsor mixed discipline ventures. unhappily, the Himalaya are being projected as rather harsh and unpleasant, their richness and great charm tends to get downplayed. This is why for instance, I find Harish Kapadia's latest panoramas so pleasing. We should have more such photography and, with the marvellous cameras available and which, I am sure, many mountaineers carry, we should expect outstanding photographs of flowers, ferns, trees and lichen encrusted rocks. Can there be anything more worthwhile striving to capture than a crimson tailed sunbird hovering in front of a bunch of crimson flowers of a Rhododendron?

Perhaps the HC might get its members to provide a selection of photographs to produce calendars and postcards — of course each member could commit to buy ten sets. Here is something HC and BNHS could collaborate in — thereby raising finances and aesthetics, we all are bemoaning the environment degradation but surely we are doing very little to develop a vibrant appreciation of the beauty of the Himalayan environment. I see less virtue in battling gales than in admiring a flock of Grandala foraging on the edge of permanent snow. For me, it is to watch birds and admire the flowers amidst glorious scenery that justifies the gasping ascents.

Lavkumar Khachar

16 December, 1999.
Hinglaj Baug,
Vashishta, H. P. 175103.

 

⇑ Top