THREE WEEKS IN PARADISE: EXPLORING THE ADI KAILASH RANGE

MARTIN MORAN

Imagine, at the dawn of the 21^st century, the explorer’s delight of discovering a yet untrammelled range of mountains with some of the loveliest scenery in the Indian Himalaya, where no peaks have been climbed and only two passes previously trodden by trekkers. Such has been my privilege in leading mountaineering groups to explore the Adi Kailash range of Eastern Kumaun in 2002 and 2006. Here there is still the challenge of finding your mountains, of quizzing the local people on their nomenclature, mythology and folklore, of nosing up hidden valleys unsure of where they lead, and of discovering potential routes of ascent on beautiful 6000ers. The curse of bureaucracy can also be a blessing, for security restrictions have preserved this range from the predations of mountaineers for nearly half a century. So it has been our good fortune to make the first incursions and sample pleasures such as Longstaff, Smythe and Shipton must have known a century ago.

The Adi Kailash range occupies the easternmost mountain wedge of Uttaranchal state, squeezed between the borders of Tibet and Nepal. The massif is bound on the west by the Darma valley and on the east by the Kuthi Yankti-Kali Ganga rivers. The range has received scant attention from explorers, due to a relative want of altitude compared to the ranges of Panch Chuli and Nanda Devi to the west, and the security veil that was drawn over this border area after the Chinese incursions of 1962.

Adi Kailash (also known as Chota or Little Kailash) is the only peak in the range which has any fame among Indian trekkers and pilgrims due to its sacred status and striking profile as viewed from Parvati tal and Jolingkong. Since the erection of a temple at Parvati tal in 1973 and the laying of a mule track to Jolingkong from Kuthi Adi Kailash has become an object of pilgrimage for several hundred Hindus each year, who walk 75km to see this peak of Lord Shiva and the lake of his second wife Parvati.

In fact Adi Kailash is merely an outlier of a substantial range of 6000 m peaks, stretching over an area of some 80 square kilometres, which has hitherto been wholly unexplored. The peaks are surprisingly impressive and dramatic in outline; few offer the possibility of easy routes to their summits and some will provide a stiff test for young alpinists.

The poor quality of the rock adds to the challenge. The massif is formed of vertically folded crushed sediments, including bands of limestone, one of which runs along the east side of the Kuthi Yankti valley. Some of the bands are full of fossils (mainly ammonites), and these were found at 5500m on Adi Kailash. Most of the rock is either loose or else compact and without cracks. One sees an occasional band of orange-grey gneiss outcrops to give more conventional rock climbing possibilities on one or two faces.

There is only one available topographic map covering the area, the American Military Service 1:250000 sheet NH-44, surveyed in 1955!! Detail is very scant and none of the mountains are named. The Indian military will not release any of their modern satellite maps to civilians. Recent satellite photo programmes, in particular Google Earth, are available through the web and have provided a much better topographic coverage.

The Story so Far
In 2002 we trekked the Adi Kailash yatra, up the Darma valley, over the Shin la and down the Kuthi Yankti. While camped at Jolingkong we climbed a 5800 m snow peak north of Shin La which we named Rajula (the princess), after the queen who led the Bhotia people several hundred years ago and who is still commemorated in a statue near Duktu in the Darma valley. A serious attempt on the Adi Kailash’s north face was halted above the crux rock band, where thick powder snow was encountered with no apparent adhesion to the bare rock slabs below. The diehards of the team eschewed the trek out down the Kali Ganga valley and instead battled over the Nama pass in the centre of the range to regain the Darma valley at Sela.

In 2004, under pressure of demand from mountaineers with pioneering instincts, I organised another trip to Adi Kailash. British guides Andy Perkins and Martin Welch took on the charge with a team of 7, armed with my suggestion that the south flanks of Adi Kailash looked to offer easier angled lines in sympathy with the pitch of the rock bedding planes. They made base camp at Nikurch Rama, 2 km south of Jolingkong, at the entrance to a large side valley and glacier system. This gave access to a high camp at 5400m from which Adi Kailash was ascended by the South-West Ridge at a reasonable Alpine AD standard. In respect to the Gods who dwell on this sacred pedestal the team did not climb the final 5 metres. Although maps had given heights of 6191m and 6321m the true height of the peak was found to be c. 5975m.

During the 2004 trip Martin Welch also climbed a 5700 m peak on the south side of the Nikurch Rama basin which he named Nikurch Quilla. The summit view revealed a mass of splendid unchartered mountains behind Adi Kailash. The highest of these looked an enticing challenge, a 6300m mountain named Nikurch Rama on a photograph published by the KMVN tourist organisation. The noble parent peak to Adi Kailash, lying to its south-west also looked worthy of aspiration. The seeds for a third visit in 2006 were sown but the bureaucrats did their best to scupper our plans.

‘Catch 22’ Over and Over Again
In 2005 the Uttaranchal State Government introduced a new raft of rules and charges for mountaineering expeditions. Whereas the IMF in Delhi immediately gave us outline permission to apply for an attempt on Nikurch Rama from the north-west, the office-wallahs in Dehra Dun did not reply to our initial request. Six months later they refused our official application, referring us to the Uttaranchal list of Open Peaks for further guidance. Any peaks outside the official 83 on the list were deemed not to exist!

I was relieved that Adi Kailash was included on the Uttaranchal list. With a subtle rearrangement of topographic nomenclature we entitled the parent peak behind Adi Kailash as AK II and Nikurch Rama miraculously became AK III. So with fingers crossed we reapplied. The answer? Yes; you can go to Adi Kailash but sorry; you can’t approach from the north-west via the Rama glacier. The ‘official’ route of approach via Kuthi and Jolingkong must be followed!

We duly paid nearly $6,000 in peak fees and awaited our visa clearance. With 10 days to departure no clearance had been issued. Frantic e-mails and calls to the Indian Home Ministry ensued. It seemed that clearance was being delayed due to the leader’s ‘conviction’ for innocently carrying a GPS on an earlier trip, as reported by the liaison officer to whom I had shown the device. Finally, we got our X Visas but were now threatened with a super-strict LO from the Intelligence Bureau who was unlikely to let us out of his sight, still less tackle the mythical citadels of AK II and III.

There are times in all this when you feel like throwing in the towel, but with marvellous help from my agent Mr Pandey the team arrived in Dharchula on 17 September and we obtained our Inner Line permits from the sub-District Magistrate. Soon we would be free!

Under the Wings of Api

The road head at Mangti nala lies some 30 km up the Kali valley from Dharchula and is a squalid collection of tin huts and decrepit jeeps liberally smeared with saturated mule dung. From here all trade north goes by the ancient trail through the vertiginous Kali Ganga gorge. Constant streams of soldiers, security officials and pack animals ply the track each day.

The valley opens out around the village of Budhi at 2550 m altitude. Here we were treated to a fully-charged tropical storm. Torrential night rains triggered a 500m landslide on the Nepal bank of the river. Remarkably, this was the last precipitation we were to witness for 21 days!

Each of the three days of our 60 km trek to Kuthi village brought new scenic delights, ever more luscious forests, plunging cataracts, delightful hamlets and unfolding views of the giant snow dome of 7100 m Api and its razor-edged subsidiary wings in Nepal. Throughout, the local people, Border Police and Army staff treated us with charm and courtesy. Tea stops became so frequent and protracted that each 20 km stage took over 8 hours.

Under grey skies we arrived at Kuthi at 3850 m and set up a base camp on terraces just a few hundred metres behind the village. From Kuthi we could explore all likely avenues to the south and east faces of AK III as well as reaching AK II up the main Jolingkong trail.

Life at Kuthi

The benefits of a base camp sojourn by a village were soon enjoyed. The local shop sold highly palatable Chinese whisky. Afternoon tea could be taken with Kunwar Singh at his hotel, chapattis shared with the charming young Bavita and her mother at their house. Our Indian staff was delighted with the arrangements and cook Naveen could purchase fresh green vegetable for our supper curries. We were also most relieved that our Liaison Officer, Joshi, was no stickler but an earnest young adventure sports instructor from Almora, who was only too willing to help us discover the lore and history of the village.

The name derives from the Hindi kutia, meaning hut. The saint Vyas is said to have lived here for a time when collecting the stories and exploring the scenes which he wrote in the Mahabarata. Kuthi’s kot or quilla (fort) lies on a rock outcrop just outside the village. Though long ruined, many of the fort’s walls are still standing. The fort was built and occupied by the Pandava brothers. The houses cluster under a limestone ridge, safe from winter avalanches, and offer superb vantage of the Kuthi Yankti valley and the rushing turquoise waters of its river. The Nama side-valley joins the main river in the gorge 1km below the village. The village is occupied from May to early November, when the populace move down to their ‘winter’ village near Dharchula. A small teahouse and lodging trade for pilgrims and security personnel offers cash supplement to the subsistence farming economy. Local folk have permits to go over the Lipu Lekh pass to trade in Tibet. The prosperity of the village has declined since the closure of the border in 1962, but the people remain vigorous agriculturists, proud of their traditions, and respectful of the wisdom of the Gods.

During our second day of acclimatisation the clashing of cymbals heralded a festival in the village, in homage to the old people of the community. Four goats were slaughtered, their hearts cut out while still beating and placed on the puja hearth. The carcasses were butchered and, to the accompaniment of loud drumming and cups of chang, the meat was divided between each of the villagers.

We took this opportunity to talk geography with the village elders. The unknown peaks that arrayed the western horizon were brought to life as Cheepaydang (peacock peak), Rajay Jue (horse peak), Yarpa Gyal (peak of the hanging glacier). Most interestingly, our Nikurch Rama (codename AK III) was identified as Brammah Parvat.

Shanti Kaki is the oldest woman in Kuthi, a strong-boned handsome lady with kindly liquid eyes. She is 77 and is the village historian. Over tea she showed us several handwritten manuscripts of local folklore which she had dictated and recounted her own travels before she was kicked by a horse and crippled. Besides five visits to Badrinath temple, she had once crossed the Nama pass to Sela in an epic journey of 20 hours. We learnt the story of Parvati tal, the holy lake above Jolingkong, of how Lord Shiva’s first wife Sati threw herself to her death here in the fire at a puja of the Gods from which her husband had been excluded. Shiva later brought Parvati, who was Sati’s reincarnation, to dwell here before the couple moved north to Holy Kailash in Tibet. Shanti Kaki was a prime mover behind the building of the trail and temple at the lake in 1973.

Meanwhile the weather settled to a splendid autumnal high, with cool dry air, soft breezes, rich sunlight and sharp night frosts. The valley birch woods were turning to a golden hue, the ground plants singed to crispy brown. It was time to go exploring.

The Nama Valley and Brammah Parvat

Our first reconnoitre took us up the Nama valley, a broad U-shaped glen of grazing meadows and thorny thickets, whose glacier once pushed down to a terminal moraine above the confluence with the Kuthi Yankti. The valley slopes frame the superb peak of Cheepaydang. European climbers will see a resemblance to the Aiguille de Charmoz above Chamonix, with its steep north ice-slope and the large pinnacle on its left skyline. Before reaching the receding Nama glacier snout we forded the river and climbed a lateral moraine ridge which curved up into the side valley of an unknown glacier. From satellite photos we knew that this glacier led to the South-East Face of Brammah Parvat. Our two porters left our team of seven at a stony camp below this glacier snout at 4600m.

At dawn we plugged a trail up a boulder-filled valley on the edge of the glacier until it was possible to move out on to the surface where boulders gave way to a light cover of frozen snow. At 5100m we stopped in the centre of the cirque and warmed our limbs in the morning sun. To our left the North Face of Cheepaydang plunged down over slanting sérac bands. Ahead, the SE Face of Brammah Parvat presented an unbroken 900m wall some 2km wide. I worked out the safest and most feasible route and, despite misgivings that the orange rock might be rotten, I tried to sell the line to my companions.

‘I think we could do that in three days, probably Alpine TD standard.’

“Does that mean we have to camp on the face?” they asked.

“Oh no, we couldn’t camp, but a couple of bivouacs should see us through,” I replied.

Enthusiasm for this plan took an instant nosedive. Access to the Rama glacier and the gentler west flank by which we had hoped to climb the mountain was barred by an imposing col. The brutish challenge of Brammah Parvat was quickly replaced in team affections by the gentler attractions of Adi Kailash’s parent peak, even though we’d have to walk 15km to get to it! In the Himalayas there is very strong logic in going for the easiest of your options, especially when your clients are paying your wages. Mike and James were on their 3^rd and 4^th trips with me and had yet to summit a 6000er, our most recent and painful reversal being at 7650 m on Kamet!


Ascent of Adi Kailash II
Three days later our band camped up Nikurch Rama ready for an assault on AK II. My co-leader, Martin Welch knew this approach to Adi Kailash from his visit in 2004. On 28 September we made a load-carry ascending 1000m to establish a summit camp in a snow bowl at c. 5400m. Our high altitude porter Mangal Singh had previously shown no interest in attempting the summit, but on the 29^th he declared unequivocally that he would join us after having a dream in the night in which Goddess Durga appeared and told him to make the climb. So we all moved back up to the snow bowl and set alarms for 1.00 a.m.

Martin Welch had fixed a rope through a loose rock band under the col between Adi Kailash and AK II. We jumared up this then moved together up 200m of firm frozen snow to reach the col at c. 5825 m at dawn. Turning to the left a 60° snow wall some 60m high barred our way. I led two pitches through this and as the morning sun touched a thousand Himalayan summits we moved along the ridge to a second step. With the top of Adi Kailash now well below us we continued up a simple snow ridge to a final rock outcrop. To our amazement the time was only 9am. It is rare that a Himalayan summit yields more easily than anticipated. Our group of 7, including a happy Mangal, gathered under the final rock and basked in the sun. We estimated our altitude at between 6100 and 6150m.

Without doubt the finest prospect in the view was that to the north-east. We sat on god-like perch looking down on the holy point of Adi Kailash and upon the blue waters of Parvati tal 1500 m below; whilst far beyond holy Kailash rose serenely on the Tibetan horizon. To have this great trinity at our feet was a marvellous and unique experience, beside which nothing else in the view - neither Nanda Devi, Panch Chuli nor the snaking ridge of Brammah Parvat to our south - could possibly compare.


Kundkang and Chatem La
With three days of our stay remaining a final foray was planned for those with residual energy. Martin, Mike and James had earlier discovered a remarkable hidden valley running under the south wall of Pandav Parvat, which drained into the Kuthi Yankti 2 km upstream from Kuthi village. The shepherds called this Kundkang (meaning ‘kitchen floors’). Having been abandoned by active glaciers the valley filled with melt water lakes and alluvium creating a series of level tables, which are today, cropped grass swards where high-altitude cricket could be contested!

We took bivouac kit up the Kundkang with options either to ascend Pandav Parvat by its hanging glacier or traverse back to the glacier under Brammah Parvat and try to reach the high col over to the Rama glacier. Unhelpfully, all surface drainage disappeared high in the valley. As evening shadows lengthened we trekked wearily onward and just when we started to fear a night without water we found a tiny puddle three inches deep. Filling our belly pans we bedded down nearby and watched a full moon rise to the east as we brewed soup and tea.

Having walked far beyond the cut-off for Pandav Parvat we were now committed to trying the col and set off at 3am in a temperature of minus 6°C. A steep and treacherous descent of cemented gravel moraine took us down to the glacier where we had climbed 10 days before. There are days when everyone in a party feels unwelcome lassitude or discomfort. As the temperature dropped to minus 13°C out on the glacier I became seriously chilled. Stephan was blanched with fatigue and John could not find a rhythm. They both quickly turned heel. Even 65 year old Mike, normally indefatigable, was struggling. Maybe the idea of reaching a new col failed to fire imaginations in the way that a summit might have done.

To heap insult to injury, the sun brought piercing heat and as the two of us approached the couloir under the col the snow crust played the devil, collapsing under every step. We climbed a 10 metre ice pitch to gain a broader gully above, but here Mike also gave up the game and abseiled off. Having hitherto felt no enthusiasm for this col, I had by now invested so much energy in the project that an angry determination to succeed took hold. In an hour and a half I soloed the gully, finishing up an exhausting 55° wall of snow to reach the pass, which must be close on 5700m in altitude.

On the far side steep and horribly loose rock gullies descended some 200m to the Rama glacier. I built a small cairn and turned tail, knowing that I’d pay a heavy price for the effort expended during the long walk home. Mike had waited for me on the glacier. Together we toiled back up the moraine and into the grassy oasis of the Kundkang, where we found a small shepherd’s shrine or ‘chatem’ (place of worship). So we provisionally christened the Chatem glacier and our new col, the Chatem la.

Later in the evening as the moon rose once more we met Mangal who had climbed to the base of the valley to relieve our heavy loads. Wearily we wandered back up the path to Kuthi in the twilight, our adventures over for another year

The Future for Kuthi
Walking back to Mangti nala over the following days we met road engineers surveying the route for future motor access. The Kali Ganga gorge is a formidable obstacle to such plans with thousand metre slopes of 50° average angle plunging into the river. Extensive tunnelling may be the only solution. Yet it is clear that the political and military will is there to get vehicle access to the Lipu Lekh pass, to match Chinese road building close to the border in Tibet. A branch road up the Kuthi Yankti to Jolingkong is being seriously considered, a project that would diminish the concept of the Adi Kailash pilgrimage. It was profoundly sad to think of the despoliation of the valleys, of the noise, the pollution, the erosion and the landslides that would ensue.

However, Shanti Kaki would quite like to have a motor road along with many of the Kuthi folk. Now, she has to be carried 60 km in a palanquin down the trail when the village moves back to Dharchula for the winter. It would be so much easier and quicker in a jeep. Without a road fewer and fewer of the young people would bother to come up to Kuthi in summer, preferring instead to stay near paid jobs and colleges in the towns of the foothills.

Gunji’s teashop proprietor Bheem Singh had a different slant on the issue. He lamented the ‘use and throw’ culture that would spread up from the plains and foothills. Why, after 40 years of Army presence in the valleys was there no proper medical provision for the local people? A road would hardly change that, he thought. We agreed that establishment of a commercial airstrip on the riverside terraces by Gunji, akin to that at Lukla in the Khumbu, would offer better model of development.

This could bring in pilgrims for Jolingkong and Holy Kailash as well as trekkers and eco-tourists, whilst offering a lifeline for the locals in medical emergency.

Such hopes may be mere fancy. Even if there is a mass campaign, I guess the Army will always have the final say. These beautiful valleys and their gentle people should be enjoyed while they remain untouched. A generation hence the grinding of gears, blaring of horns and belching of diesel engines may be the signature tunes hereabouts, drowning out the birdsong and the soughing breezes of today.

I wandered off through fields of swaying wheat towards Api’s alpenglow and tried not to feel selfish. Change is inevitable; it is the instinctive error of all romantics to resist.

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PEAKS, PASSES AND GLACIERS OF THE ADI KAILASH RANGE

Peaks North of Shin La

Rajula (c. 5850 m) (the princess) 80°37’E 30°21’N This snow summit lies 2km N of the Shin la and is easily accessed from the E by the side-valley which feeds Parvati tal, as followed on the first ascent by a 2002 Indo-British party (leader M Moran); grade PD+, snow to 50°.

Unnamed Rock Peak (c. 5900 m) 80°36’E 30°22’N A further 1 km N of Rajula on the retaining ridge between Darma and Kuthi Yankti valleys is this fine rocky peak, which sports orange rock buttresses on its SE flank, split by snow/ice couloirs. These give promise of high quality technical climbs.

Unnamed Peak (c. 6400 m) 80°34’E 30°24’N 2km further N there is an arresting peak of c21,000 feet altitude. A glacier on its SE flank offers a potential route which could be gained by from a side valley 5-6 km N of Parvati tal. It is unlikely that the Border Police would permit any attempt by civilian or foreign parties, as the peak is very close to the Tibetan frontier.

Trident Peaks (5400-5500m) A group of three rocky peaks form a lateral ridge dropping from the vicinity of the Shin La to Jolingkong. The westernmost and highest of these, Trident I, was climbed in snowy conditions by a British team (leader J Allott) in 2002 at AD standard, with access from the side-valley to the N. In a dry season these peaks are completely snow-free.

Jolingkong Peaks (5300-5550 m) N of Parvati tal a lateral ridge drops from unnamed peak to the Kuthi Yankti with three summits. Jolingkong I and II offer hard scrambles with some mixed climbing, while the easternmost and lowest, Jolingkong III, is a simple training ascent to a fine viewpoint (alpine F).

The Central Adi Kailash sector

Adi Kailash (c. 5975 m) (name means ‘old Kailash’, the seat of Shiva until he moved to Holy Kailash) 80°39’E 30°19’N This iconic peak has a pyramidal profile cut by a vertical rock band and a glaciated north face as viewed from Jolingkong. The N face was attempted by ITBP and by British party (leader M. Moran, 2002), the latter reaching a point just above the rock band at 5825 m. The first ascent was made by a British-American party (leaders A Perkins, M Welch 2004) via the SW ridge, gained from glacier valley to the south of the summit (grade AD-, snow to 55°).

Ishan Parvat (or Adi Kailash II) (c.6150 m) (Shiva’s mountain, previously unnamed) 80°38’E 30°18’N This is the higher snow peak 1km SW of Adi Kailash to which it is connected by a col of 5850 m, and was ascended by a Indo-British-German party (leaders M Moran and M Welch, 2006) at grade AD by NE ridge from the col (snow/ice to 60°). This is a dominant peak when viewed from Bidang in the upper Darma valley, to which it presents long and exceedingly narrow W ridge. Travellers crossing the Shin la can admire the 1200m N face of hanging glaciers.

Brammah Parvat (6321 m) (Brammah’s peak) (also has been known as Nikurch Rama) 80°39’E 30°17’N This enigmatic and confusing mountain is almost certainly the highest in the range and has been wrongly called Nikurch Rama. Local people in Kuthi say that Nikurch Rama refers to the grazing flats and ruined trading settlement which lie at the foot of the nala below its NE face, 2 km SE of Jolingkong. The summit is just visible from the lower end of the village. The peak is not visible from anywhere in the main Darma valley to the west. It is not known whether folk in the Darma valley have another name for the mountain.

The peak has a 3 km long summit ridge oriented from NE to SW and is in excess of 6000 m altitude throughout. There are 3 main faces:

- NE face: this is the fierce face above Nikurch Rama, and is a repellent triangular wall of nearly 1500 m height; snow/ice slopes of 60-70° angles are cut by a band of smooth overhanging rock at two-thirds heights - definitely a challenge for extremists!

- SE face: a rock and snow wall, 2 km wide and c900m high, dropping from the central and highest summit to the Chatem glacier. A central line direct to the summit looks feasible at alpine standard TD, but rock belays may be scarce. On the left of the face several modern-style ice couloirs lead to the SW end of the summit ridge

- NW Face: a steep glacier face ending in hanging séracs; unlikely to offer a safe or pleasant route.

The best chance appears to be by its W ridge, gained from the Darma valley and Rama glacier. Currently the State Govt doesn’t allow this line of approach.

Cheepaydang (c. 6200 m) (peacock peak) 80°39’E 30°16’N The peak lies 2 km SW of Brammah Parvat, across the high col of the Chatem la. From Kuthi Cheepaydang appears as an independent isolated mountain but in fact the peak is the NE terminus of a slender ridge, which rises half km SW to a higher crowning summit and continues for a further 1 km with an altitude in excess of 6000 m throughout. The S flanks drops 1400 m to the Nama glacier in steep rock ridges and slabby couloirs. The N Face is a pure snow/ice wall dropping to the upper Rama glacier at average angle of 60°. No route less than alpine TD in standard is likely to be found on this mountain.

Yungtangto (5850 m) (height of 18,500 ft [5638 m] given on AMS map) 80°37’E 30°15’N Named on recent sketch maps, this slender pyramid immediately catches the eye and dominates the W side of the Rama glacier basin, from which it can be directly approached. A final 500 m climb on steep mixed terrain from the glacier head to the summit looks practicable at alpine D standard. The W flanks drop directly into the Darma valley and are likely to prove rocky, steep and loose.

Pandav Parvat (c. 5750 m) (peak of the Pandavas) (alternatively known in Kuthi as Yarpa Gyal, peak of the hanging glacier) 80°43’E 30°18’N This striking peak straddles a substantial wedge of country between the Nama and Kuthi Yankti valleys above Kuthi. The five pinnacle tops represent the five Pandava brothers of Hindu mythology, who built the original fort at Kuthi. A hanging glacier on the SE flank offers the only simple route with fast easy access up the Kundkang valley from Kuthi and it is by this line that the ITBP probably made the first and only known ascent of the highest top in1999, alpine AD. The N flank can be reached from a side-valley 4 km south of Jolingkong, where a long exposed snow ramp offers a possibility of ascent. Any attempt on the dry SW side may founder in face of rotten rock.

Nikurch Quilla (5700 m) (fortress of Nikurch) This shale-capped peak lies 1 km W of Pandav Parvat and is well defended on all sides by battlements of orange rock buttresses. However, a line of weakness was found on its N side where a shale ramp and snow gully breach the rock tiers, offering a simple F+ route to the 2004 British-American first ascent party (leader M Welch) with access from the Nikurch Rama glacier. The peak has splendid views of the rest of the range.

Peaks South of the Nama Pass

Rajay Jue (c. 6100 m) (horse peak) 80°44’E 30°14’N: This beautiful mountain rises on the SE side of the Nama glacier and its turreted ice crown is visible from Kuthi village. The 1200 m NE face and the bounding ridges above the Nama glacier offer serious alpine challenges with several sérac bands and steep mixed terrain. The peak links to the higher snow massif of Pk 6196 m to its S (see below).

Pk 6196 m (20,330 ft) 80°43’E 30°13’N: A large snow massif with several subsidiary tops to its NE and W straddles the watershed between the Kuthi Yankti valley to the E, the Nama glacier to the N and the Mandab Nadi to the SW. No exploration has been recorded anywhere on this mountain, which has a beautiful glaciated face on the Nama flank. However, the most feasible route of approach appears to be from Sela village in the Darma valley via the Mandab Nadi, Basu campground and the Gunna glacier.

Pk 6178 (20,270 ft) 80°43’E 30°08’N : Most southerly of the peaks of the range and highest point of the big wedge of country between Kali Ganga and Darma valleys, this mountain is well-defended by steep approach valleys on all sides, and its summit is not identifiable from the valley trekking routes. An approach from the Kuthi Yankti valley to the NW via an alluring side-valley may give the best opening to mountaineers.

Border Peaks E of the Kuthi Yankti Valley

Sangthang (6480 m) 80°47’E 30°22’N : This magnificent snow peak is the highest point on the Indo-Tibetan border running along the NE watershed of the Kuthi Yankti valley. It was first ascended by an Indian team in 1968; it can be approached from the Bhitergwar side valley which branches off the Kuthi Yankti 4 km NW of Kuthi village.

Kunti Peak (c. 6000 m) 80°48’E 30°19’N : Named after Kunti - mother of the Pandava brothers - this border mountain is a worthy junior partner to Sangthang and rises impressively in a 2200 m sweep from Kuthi village. No attempts on the mountain are known. The difficulties of the SW Indian face look of the order of alpine D.

GLACIERS

Rama glacier - The biggest glacier of the range flows NW from Brammah Parvat and Cheepaydang to a snout some 4 km from Rama grazings in the main Darma valley. The glacier head is at c5400m and the snout is c. 3850 m. Much of the glacier below 5000 m is decaying. There are no records of any exploration of this glacier, although Survey of India surveyors may have visited the snout.

Lebong glacier - This short glacier lies on the W side of the Shin la and terminates at 4400 m above Bidang grazings

Nikurch Rama glacier - This glacier feeds the Kuthi Yankti and is ringed by Adi Kailash, Ishan Parvat, Brammah Parvat NE Top and Nikurch Quilla. The glacier splits into two opposing branches at 4800 m. The snout lies at c. 4500 m.

Chatem glacier - Named after a small shrine of worship for local shepherds above its N bank, the Chatem glacier drains the SE wall of Brammah Parvat with its head at c. 5400 m and snout at 4650 m. No visits were recorded until 2006.

Nama glacier - This 5-6 km ice-stream has carved a trench in the centre of the range and flows NE towards Kuthi. The glacier has three feeder streams and terminates in a mass of stone moraine at c. 430 0m

PASSSES

Shin la (c. 5500 m) (also known as Lebong pass) This is a traditional crossing from the upper Darma valley at Bidang to the Kuthi Yankti at Jolingkong. When snow-covered the W side is a PD/PD+ climb. When dry this side is a steep scramble with considerable stone fall danger. The Jolingkong side is easy snow or scree with a short glacier section. The pass is the key passage on the Adi Kailash yatra route but is found too taxing by many trekkers. The views on both flanks are exceptionally fine.

Nama pass (5250 m) This gives a magnificent high-level crossing between Kuthi and Sela and has been occasionally used by local people. The distance is 15 km with 1500 m of height gain on the Kuthi side and 2700 m on the Sela flank. The Kuthi flank is a beautiful valley walk succeeded by a long plod up the Nama glacier amid wild scenery. The Sela approach climbs a path up the Mandab Nabi valley to Basu grazings, then cuts up the branch valley N to a decayed glacier snout and finally cuts back NE up boulders and snow fields to a 45° headwall of snow. With glacier retreat the route is becoming rougher and two full days should be allowed for the passage.

Chatem la (c. 5650 m) This remote and technical col between Brammah Parvat and Cheepaydang offers passage between the Chatem and Rama glaciers and thus a link from Kuthi to Bidang. The col has a prominent medial tower and is visible from below Kuthi village. The low-point is the right-hand saddle. A final 300 m snow/ice couloir of 45-55° leads to the col. The pass was first reached by M. Moran in 2006 (alpine AD). The Rama side drops in very steep loose rock gullies for 200 m to the head of the Rama glacier.

PERMITS

Of all these peaks Adi Kailash is the only mountain included on Uttaranchal Government’s list of ‘Open Peaks’. While the central Indian Mountaineering Foundation is keen to approve expeditions to new peaks the State Govt currently refuses. Failing any change in rules, and there is currently much pressure for a liberalisation, mountaineers must either book Adi Kailash and hope they can explore neighbouring peaks on the same permit or else must explore the region as an exploratory trekking group. Trekking groups can obtain inner line permits to trek the Darma or Kuthi Yankti valleys from the sub-District Magistrate at Dharchula.



SUMMARY:

Exploring the Adi Kailash range, eastern Kumaun. A record of peaks, passes and glaciers of the area with ascents by the parties led by the author in the past.

Reference:

Moran, M., ‘Little Kailash Pilgrimage’, HJ Vol. 59, p 82.