Kamet, 2006

AVM Apurba Kumar Bhattacharyya (Retd)

75 th Year Commemorative Expedition

After missing out on a summit ascent on Papsura by a whisker in autumn 2005 [1], we were pondering ’What next?’ After considering some high peaks we then thought we could attempt Kamet (7756 m) and in the process commemorate the 75th year of its first ascent by the legendary Frank Smythe and his 1931 team. All the more, Frank Smythe had been a distinguished member of The Himalayan Club. Also the idea of having a summit date close to that of the first ascent of 21 June sounded very inviting. As a fitting tribute, our route be the same, via the Meade’s Col, if we were to climb Kamet 75 years later in Frank Smythe’s footsteps.

Starting from Kolkata on 22 May 2006, passing Joshimath (25 May) we cleared all formalities and collected required equipment. On 28 May morning, we left Joshimath for Ghamsali, a distance of 80 km. The road is along the Dhauli ganga and the drive was very picturesque. We crossed the Rishi ganga at Reni which once was the hub for Indian and foreign expeditions to the sacred Nanda Devi. The track to Lata Kharak was still visible but frequented now only by local people, ever since the Nanda Devi Sanctuary was declared a Biosphere Reserve and closed some 30 years ago. Discussions with the locals gave us the impression that although they had lost to an extent their incremental earnings consequent to the embargo on expeditions into the Nanda Devi Sanctuary, they felt that the declaration of this area as a Biosphere Reserve was in the long term right for the ecological preservation of the region. I was impressed by their level of awareness and innate sense of environment and preservation. With the active support of the local population, the forest authorities have now extended this Biosphere Reserve beyond Malari right up to the Niti pass on both banks of the river.

The road was dusty in patches due to the need to realign it, as a large stretch had been washed away by the river in the previous year. It was almost a four-hour drive from Jelum, where we halted for lunch, to Ghamsali and we reached our destination before dusk. The weather had turned cloudy and it rained in the evening. The head of the muleteers told us that two bridges had to be laid over the Sepuk and Raikana rivers to facilitate the safe passage of the mules. The alternative was for the mules to off-load our stores at the Sepuk river bank and from there to have porters carry the loads to the base camp in two stages, using multiple ferries. Apart from delaying our progress, that would have meant a lot more expense. Since we had provided for this in our plans, after negotiations settled on a sum of Rs. 3000. It appeared that the cost of construction of these temporary bridges has escalated as a consequence of what previous expeditions, including several foreign expeditions, had agreed to pay over the last two years. This cost did make a dent in a low-budget expedition like ours, where every rupee counted.

The weather was clear the next morning and our trek began. The first destination was a camp at Sepuk Kharak beyond the river, a distance of nearly 16 km, with constant climb all the way up. Four kilometers from Ghamsali lies the village of Niti, whose 150 or so houses were locked. The only people around were a few Indo Tibet Border Police jawans who were planning their patrol of the region. Niti is the last village along the Sepuk valley. The villagers of Niti had migrated to the lower reaches of the Alakananda valley and would return only at the end of June. A once prosperous village (due to border trade) prior to the 1962 Chinese aggression, it is today largely devoid of activity and lies almost dormant. The route up to Niti is being widened by the PWD into a motorable road. An iron bridge has replaced the old wooden bridge across the Dhauli ganga and hill-blasting work was in evidence between Ghamsali and the Niti village. Progress at what cost?, I wondered. The stretch to Niti was strewn with random piles of stone chips and boulders, and that slowed our pace along the route.

The six foot track beyond Niti is along the river, and it leads into a rather narrow valley which in turn opens up into a wide expanse, 3 km short of Sepuk. The final 3 km stretch is a straight walk with a little descent, which was a relief for us after the long up and down trek of over three hours. From a distance we could see the colourful mess tent, that was set up ahead by some members of the team, indicating our camp site, and there was an obvious acceleration of our pace to reach it. Just short of the Sepuk river, was the ITBP camp, and the PWD hut. We halted there, and the PWD workers generously offered us welcome glasses of hot tea. When I asked why they refused to accept any money (we must have had at least 40 glasses in all), their response was thought provoking as they said that they had no use for money at such a remote location! When I asked how I could help them, they requested us to leave behind left over rations that we may be carrying with us on our way back. I promised to surely do that. Time has stood still here, for the people were still practicing the age-old traditional bartering mode !

From Sepuk, one gets a glimpse of the track disappearing into the narrow gorge towards Niti pass, through which the Dhauli ganga flows. The weather was fine and the night was clear and peaceful. The Sepuk camp was at 3700 m. All of us were fit and ready to move to Raikana on the 30th morning.

The trek now involved a gradual climb through two big rocky scree areas and then crossing over a meadow up to the Raikana river. Unlike the previous day's long march, this trek was just a four-hour walk through an open valley. Walking through the meadow, I wondered if we would, on our return journey, find this meadow ablaze with alpine flowers. What a wonderful sight that would be. The PWD workers had already laid the bridge over the turbulent Raikana river. All, including loaded mules, crossed over to the camp site without any problem. The Raikana campsite is virtually on level ground and can accommodate several expeditions. The weather was bright and sunny and we lazed around taking in the sun. Debraj found a fossil, which prompted others to start their own fossil-hunt. We also found a fair amount of Primula macrophilla strewn along the depression zones. After lunch, we spent the afternoon photographing flowers, collecting fossils - an idyllic way of acclimatisation at 4200 m.

On 3l May, we left the Raikana camp to go to base camp. Looking down the slope from above, I thought about the two temporary bridges that would have been removed by the PWD workers, to be installed only on our day of return, thus leaving us totally isolated from the rest of the world. In the event and need for sudden evacuation, I realised how the speed of our return would be hampered. The thought prompted me to give top priority to such aspects as acclimatisation and other safety measures, without making my actions obvious to the team. We reached base camp at 11.30 a.m. The mules were dispensed with rather quickly as the muleteers were in a tearing hurry to return before the PWD workers began dismantling the two bridges at Raikana and Sepuk! At base camp, loads were sorted for higher camps and segregated for ferry over the next few days. The older base camp area was a little higher at 4800 m. According to Debi, it had been relocated to its present site in 1988, when the expedition led by Ms Bachendri Pal had to shift their camp due to massive erosion of the lateral moraine on the eastern edge, where the traditional base camp used to be. The survey map indicates too the existence of a Dobala tal (lake), whereas presently there are at least five lakes within an area of 2-3 kms.

The largest lake lies at the snout of the confluence of three glaciers. These glaciers are the East Kamet glacier, Raikana glacier and the North Raikana glacier. The lake has an approximate width of about 1.5 km and discharges its water through a narrow outlet from where it emerges as the Raikana river. The water of this lake is rather muddy whereas the water of the remaining four lakes appears stunningly blue and clear. In fact, very few glacier snouts would have such large lakes with chunks of ice masses floating on it like mini icebergs! The surface wind was strong and we decided to place a mini ‘Wind Sock’ to study wind direction and wind speed over the next one month.

We started ferrying loads and acclimatisation till evening of the 3^rd, when weather turned foul. The weather worsened the following day and no ferry was possible. Notwithstanding, I sent two Sherpas to Camp 1 to check the condition of the stores and also to dismantle the tents erected there earlier, to avoid damage. By 09.45 a.m., it stopped snowing. The wind picked up and about an hour later, the cloud cover lifted and the sun finally appeared. Rupjoy was not feeling well over the past two days in spite of medication. He developed symptoms of high altitude sickness and I decided to send him down the next day with the local guide Kapil. The nights of the 4th and 5th were stressful for us. I grew restless and not wishing to lose time at base camp, I decided to resume load ferrying, as well as the evacuate Rupjoy. I sent Kapil with him from base camp with a letter to the ITBP camp requesting assistance to Rupjoy at Ghamsali. Without the bridges, they had to cross the river over boulders via a longer route near Sepuk. Tapas, Subrata Santra and Sibnath stayed back at base camp to move to Camp 1 later. The last member of the ferry team returned to base camp by sunset. During the day, after going through the remaining loads, we decided to send yet another ferry on the 6th to make up for the time we had lost, though I was aware that the boys were tired after two days of hectic activity on an difficult moraine ridden track of more than 10 kms each way.

I had little choice though and had to send out a third successive ferry team. The plan was for Debajyoti, Tapas and Sibnath to occupy Camp 1 and establish a constant ferry of loads to Camp 2 with others in the team. Camp 1 was to act also as a communication relay centre since it was unlikely that base camp could be in direct contact with Camps 2, 3 and 4 by the VHF radio sets that we had obtained from the IAF. During the briefing, members were told that in view of the lost time, the earlier planned date of the summit attempt would now be around 23 or 24 June instead of 21. Also as part of the plan, the members reaching the upper levels were advised to leave summit camp as early as 02.00 a.m. when they made their summit push. On the 7^th morning, Subhasis said that he had had fever during the night and was not feeling fit. He was advised to rest at base camp. The others, together with the Sherpas, Debi and the cook moved to establish Camp 1. The radio set kept me informed of their progress and the establishment of Camp 1 at 5040 m late that afternoon.

On the 8 and 9 June, twenty-five loads had been ferried to the Camp 2 site that was established on the northeast edge of the glacier and east-northeast of Mana peak. Subhasis was still unwell and was asked to stay back. With Debraj (who had to return early to Kolkata) and Subhasis being virtually out of the team, I was left with only four climbers for the upper camps and the summit bid. Keeping my fingers crossed, I prayed that these four would remain fit over the course of our expedition.

On 10 June, the four selected climbers, our four Sherpas and two guides occupied Camp 2 with Kapil having joined the team from Camp 1 earlier. On that day, the Sherpas ferried four loads and returned, showing some extraordinary fitness and ability. On the 11th, the team including Debraj, who was still with us, ferried two loads and spent the night at Camp 2. Camp 3 was occupied on 12 June. Debraj and our cook Surinder returned to base camp on 13 June. While
Camp 3 was at 5490 m, the walk was along the glacier involved a steady descent to Camp 2. Between Camps 3 and 4, the climb involved crossing two gullies and a small glacier where it was necessary to fix ropes. Two rope lengths had to be fixed on each gully. Loose rocks tended to fall from one of the gullies in the late afternoon, and thus all possible precautions were devised. Camp 4 was established at 6100 m on 15 June. The 16^th was a day of forced rest, due to bad weather.

On 17 June, the crucial rock band route was opened by fixing five coils of rope-length, corresponding to about 300 m on the slope. The team ferried loads on the 18th in uncertain weather conditions, and the Sherpas and the high altitude guides ferried loads further on 19 and 20 June to the higher camps. The team was euphoric when they crossed the rock band and established Camp 5 at 6700 m. High mountain peaks and crests were visible all around them. They were now gradually moving up towards the upper realm of the mountain. I continuously had my fingers crossed and prayed for continuing good weather for the next three to four days. At Camp 5, the team came across the frozen remains of a dead climber. The body lies preserved at that altitude. On 22 June, after paying tributes to the departed soul, and leaving a packet of food besides the body, the team towards Camp 6 at the famous Meade’s Col.

The Meade’s Col is a huge icefield, and the approach is riddled with crevasses. The bright morning weather suddenly turned gray and it started snowing with the wind picking up. A little later, Gautam called on radio to say that due to the bad weather, they were camping about 500 m short of the intended camp site and below Meade’s Col. I moved to Camp 1 after closing down base camp since radio contact was better there. I told Gautam should the weather turn worse the summit attempt could be extended up to 27 June, but no longer, and the team would have to return to base camp by 30 June latest. But the weather gods relented and on 23^rd, the team left their interim camp and established a summit camp at a point slightly higher than the standard camp site so that distance to the summit would be reduced somewhat, or so they thought. The night was crystal clear with stars visible all above them. There was equal excitement both at the summit camp and Camp 1. The radio sets were switched on at both camps. From 02.00 a.m., we were eagerly waiting to hear from the summit team and every minute that passed seemed like an hour! Then suddenly the radio crackled and Gautam’s voice came through to say that all ten members had left summit camp at 02.35 a.m. about 35 minutes behind schedule. We wished them good luck. The Kamet slope and the south face were clearly visible. At 6.30 a.m., the team reached the main slope beyond the col heading towards the summit. It was very cold with the temperature recording minus 25 degrees C. The first ray of sun light had hit the Kamet summit at 05.10 a.m. The view was magnificent. From where we were, I felt that it was worth spending a fortune to witness such a beautiful view of the sun rising over the mountains.

Gautam called at 08.00 a.m. to say that they were making good progress and all of them were close to the summit, but due to deep snow conditions, the route opening was taking longer. I asked him to call again at 09.00 a.m. but there was no call. We frantically tried calling them, but there was no response. And then suddenly at 12.25 p.m. the radio set came alive, and Gautam said ’The Himalayan Club is smiling‘. That cryptic message told us that Kamet had been climbed ! We at Camp 1 started whooping with joy, though it took some time for us to absorb the fact that we had successfully scaled the mountain. A lot of effort had been put in by so many people and this was now the crowning moment of reward. The 2006 commemorative expedition was a success.

They had spent almost an hour on the summit admiring the view, taking photographs, with the pennants of The Himalayan Club, Kolkata Section, TATA Steel, the Indian Tri-Colour and the flag given by the Guru Shankaracharya at Joshimath when we had met him. All ten began their descent from the summit at about 01.30 p.m.. and as they descended, clouds drifted in from the west and the north and enveloped Kamet’s summit. They returned to the summit camp by 05.00 p.m. and reported that they were in good spirit and in good shape. On 25 June, the summit team returned to Camp 4 directly and the following day started for the lower camps. As the team began their descent Debojyoti, Subrata Santra and Surinder went up beyond Camp 2 to help carry loads and accompany them back. It was time for celebration and each summit member received a silk head band prepared by Subhasis and Shibnath, and also a special meal. The campsite had a festive look about it, and the celebration lasted long.

Retrun to civilisation was swift after the weather gods had been kind in granting us a small window of three clear days so crucial to our expedition to climb the summit. On the return journey, we came down from base camp to Ghamsali in one day covering a distance of nearly 29 kms. It was now a trekker's paradise walking down from Raikana to Niti where alpine flowers were in full bloom. The team collected specimens of these flowers and photographed them for the Club’s museum. We did not forget to leave surplus rations with the PWD workers at Sepuk.

Perhaps, I could not have a better gift at the twilight of my mountaineering career than the 75th year commemorative ascent of Kamet by our young team of exuberant climbers. For these boys who are now an integral and proud part of The Himalayan Club, the question will now arise, ‘What Next?’

Members: AVM Apurba Kumar Bhattacharyya (Retd), (leader), Gautam Ghosh (deputy leader), Debajyoti Bhattacharya, Jayanta Chattopadhyay, Subrata Chakraborty, Tapas Sanyal, Debraj Dutta, Subhasish Roy, Subrata Santra, Rupjoy Dewan, Pradeep Sahoo and Shibnath Basu.

Supported by: Sherpas Mingma, Lhakpa, Dawa and Lama. Devinder Singh Rana and Kapil Rana. (all reached the summit).

SUMMARY: The ascent of Kamet on 24 June 2006 by the Himalayan Club team (from Kolkata Section). The expedition was organised to commemorate the 75^th year of the first ascent of the peak in 1931 by Frank Smythe’s team. The expedition was sponsored by Tata Steel and supported by efforts of M.H. Mehta, then the vice-President of the Himalayan Club.

Environment:

On the environmental side, the story remains as pathetic as it has become in West Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh. The forest department of Uttaranchal which collects a deposit of Rs.5,000 (refundable) from each expedition team and is supposed to verify the garbage brought by each team before refunding the amount, seldom takes the inspection seriously. We noticed each camp site littered with garbage, empty jerry cans and even items like folding chairs strewn around, apart from the non biodegradable tetra packs littered along the trails between the camps. The culprits are the travel agents who leave their tell tale marks on the mountain and get away by paying tips to the clerks and obtaining a clearance certificate from the Forest Department. It is time that the lMF and the Uttaranchal Govt. take serious note of the degradation of the mountains by agents and expedition teams. The expedition, on our part, I am happy to report, disposed off a huge amount of garbage from these awful sites. We also brought back a mule load of waste material from the mountain and handed it over to the forest department at Joshimath.

Note:

One of the summiteers Gautam axed out a small piece of rock sample from the furthest point of the summit which I thought would be an interesting collection for the Club archive. On our return to Kolkata, I handed over a small piece of the rock for petrography & chemical analysis to Dr A K Talapatra, who was Deputy Director General of Geological Survey of India Dr. Talapatra helped us get a glimpse on the petrography and chemical analysis of this rock sample. An extract of his report is appended as follows :

‘A sample of light coloured granitic rock from Kamet peak was brought to Kolkata for laboratory studies. The sample was fresh and suitable for petrochemical analysis including major and trace element chemistry.

Geologically speaking, the terrain between Joshimath and Kamet peak via Malari, Niti and Raikana is covered by metamorphic rocks sporadically intruded by Tertiary and younger Granite (5-22 million years old). Kamet is one of the high peaks in Garhwal- Kumaun region of the Himalaya. It lies on the axial area of the Central Himalayan belt. The peak is composed of light coloured moderately coarse grained granites showing stumpy grains of Tourmaline associated with Quartz and Feldspar. The Quartz grains are smoky and show graphic texture indicating tensional condition under which the granite was emplaced. Tourmaline is mineral containing Boron which also indicates that the granitic Magma was emplaced within the country rocks under considerable gas pressure and the magma crystallized slowly to produce a coarse grained rock.

In order to ascertain the chemical characteristics of the granitic rock, collected from Kamet peak, the sample was analysed for major and trace elements by XRF method as given below’.

Table: Analytical results of granitic rock collected from Kamet peak on 24 June, 2006

Major element	In %	Trace element	Parts per million(ppm)
SiO2	75.14	Rb(Rubidium)	152.5
Al2O3	14.09	Sr(Strontium)	18.5
Fe2O3	0.87	Y(Yttrium)	5.7
MnO	0.01	Zr(Zirconium)	17.9
MgO	0.12	Nb(Niobium)	0.7
CaO	0.66	U(Uranium)	7.2
Na2O	5.35	Th(Thorium)	4.1
K2O	1.74	Ba(Barium)	39.6
TiO2	0.34	Ga(Gallium)	24.0
P2O5	0.06	V(Vanadium)	8.0
		Sc(Scandium)	Less than 5
		Ni(Nickel)	3.0

In the past 75 years many things have changed including perhaps the weather pattern in the Himalaya. Frank Smythe wrote in his classic book, Kamet Conquered, that R.L. Holdsworth had skied down all the way to the base camp during the same season, month and perhaps even the dates, as ourselves. There was snow then. Today the base camp site has moved a few hundred metres into the East Kamet glacier, yet there is no trace of snow right up to camp 2 and beyond. It was moraine all the way up the East Kamet glacier. At this rate of glacial melt, there may soon be multiple glacier snouts, one each for Kamet, Raikana and North Raikana glaciers with their rivulets meeting somewhere near the Raikana camp site. While we celebrate our successful ascent of Kamet, I strongly feel that this region too should be brought under the ambit of the greater Nanda Devi Biosphere protection, if we are to see better days for the region in the future.

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[1] H.J. Vol. 62, p. 126.