Indo - German Mukut Parvat Expedition

Group Captain (Retd) Ashutosh Chopra

Mukut Parvat is a 77742 m peak situated northeast of Badrinath in India, on the Indo-China border. The peak was first climbed in 1951 by a team from New Zealand which included Edmund Hillary and George Lowe. Its less frequented due its location and the usual bureaucratic issues of obtaining numerous permits for the climb.

The approach to the mountain is via Ghastoli, which lies about 17 km north of Badrinath on the new Mana Pass road under construction. A short 2.5 km stretch along the road gets you to the terminal moraine of the Paschim Kamet glacier and a continuous 600 m climb for another 4 km on it gradually shifting left to the lateral moraines getting you to Camp 1 at 4870 m. This site is sometimes also referred to as the ‘Green Kamet Base Camp’. The route to Camp 2 (5100 m) is along the left lateral moraine (true right bank of the glacier) gradually ascending about 200 m to the site, providing a grand view of Kamet and the first view of Mukut Parvat. Camp 3 (5350 m) (Our base camp) is located on the left lateral moraine and is about 4 km up the glacier after an ascent of about 300 m. A shift on to the main glacier, following its eastward curve into the valley surrounded by Mukut Parvat, Abi Gamin and Kamet, gets you to Camp 4 (ABC) (5800 m), after another 4 km and a climb of about 450 m. A stiff climb of another 760 m to Camp 5 (summit camp) at 6550 m gets you to Slingsby Col and the ridge leads westward to the east summit and then the main summit of Mukut Parvat. The ridge towards the east leads to Abi Gamin and through Meade’s Col to Kamet.

Our Indo-German team consisted of three Indian and three German team members, one liaison officer and three HAPS. Interestingly, other than one Indian member the entire team was over 45 yrs in age, with three members nearly 50 yrs old! Gp Capt Ashutosh Chopra was expedition leader, while Frank Eichhorn was the German team leader.

We reached Badrinath on 25 September 2014. The next morning, we planted two trees, gifted to us at Badrinath, next to a stream and then after breakfast set course for Camp 1. The hike was slow going as it required us to climb straight up the terminal moraine of Paschim Kamet glacier and as with any first day of an expedition, it wasn't easy. After the initial straight up climb on the terminal moraine the route leveled out to a gradual ascent Eventually, all the team members reached ’Green Kamet‘ base camp, at their own speed.

The base camp was on the right bank of Paschim Kamet glacier and is marked by a huge rock. As a couple of us felt that the large altitude change of 800 m on the first day of the climb was a little excessive, a couple of us stayed back at Camp 1 and spent the day lazing around when the rest moved on ahead to Camp 2.

30 September saw us moving up the glacier as it slowly arched left. The going was slow, as walking on unstable rocks and boulders was tricky and required our un-divided attention. The slow increase in altitude on this day was a welcome change. The right side of the valley loomed sharply above the glacier and a couple of avalanches fell as the mountain shed fresh snow that had fallen the previous night. While the altitude change for the day was just about 200 m, the numerous climbs and descents on broken glacier mounds in reality increased the actual climbing done to probably about double that figure. Views of glacial lakes and spectacular exposed sections of the glacier, provided encouragement to the tired body. In the afternoon, as usual, clouds came up the valley and light snow started to fall as we approached the site chosen for Camp 2. The camp was next to a glacial lake and though not visible on that day, provided the first views of Kamet and Mukut Parvat.

1 October dawned clear and bright. Kamet was clearly visible and a short hike up the glaciers left moraine gave us our first views of Mukut Parvat. Once again the going was slow and climbing up and down the glacial mounds was painstaking work. Huge sections of the glacier were broken, especially the section were a glacier coming down from the slopes of Mana met the Pachim Kamet glacier. Once again the clouds came in as we approached our Camp 3 which was to be the base camp for the expedition. The camp located just short of the point where the Pachim Kamet glacier turns southwards from its initial westward journey from Kamet's base. After good dusting with snow, the skies cleared up a bit in the evening, providing us impressive views of Mukut Parvat.

On the 3^rd we commenced our first load ferry to our ABC. A short descent brought us to the glacier and we steadily climbed it as it curved to the east towards the valley encompassing Mukut, Abi Gamin and Kamet. By now the layers of boulders and rocks on the glacier was reasonably thin and hard blue ice could be seen beneath. A steady process of melting made the surface of the glacier slippery in places and made for tricky climbing as we were not wearing crampons as yet. The glacier climbed at a steady rate and was broken in places with crevasses stretching across its width, but they were reasonably narrow and crossing them did not really pose any difficulty. After the glacier turned east, a large section of it was devoid of any rocks covering it and its surface was covered by sharp ice pinnacles created by differential melting of its ice. A short climb over a central moraine brought us to a nearly level stretch leading to our ABC. While we dumped our loads there, it gave us an opportunity to study the route up the steep ice precipice leading to the summit camp. As the sun slowly shifted behind clouds, we raced back to make it to base camp by sunset.

On the 4^th, at BC we all took stock of the situation, plans for the climb and load ferries were protracted. The 5^th saw us setting off to establish ABC. This time while the rucksacks were heavier, the progress upwards was faster as we were all well acclimatised and the breaks for rest were limited to just a couple. The steady crunching of short brittle ice pinnacles under our boots marked most of the climb of the day. By late afternoon we had reached ABC, which was to be our home at 5800 m for the next 9 odd days.

The next day most of the members decided to take it easy and allow the body to settle down at the new altitude, while our HAPs who were in good shape decided to take on a load ferry till mid-way to summit camp at Slingsby Col. The idea was that some load could be left half way and a reconnaissance could be made of the steep section of route from the glacier to the summit camp. This was also important so as to decide the exact route to be taken to Slingsby Col, as the area had rocks falling incessantly through the day. After the HAPs set off we monitored their progress through the powerful lenses of our camcorders and got our first opportunity to comprehend the difficulty of the task ahead as we watched their painstakingly slow progress up the slope. It was only after they got back, that we found out that the slow progress had been due to the fact that instead of the steep slope being covered in hard snow, it was actually covered with blue ice with a very thin layer of snow on top. Also worrisome on the day was the presence of very powerful winds on the summits of Mukut, Abi Gamin and Kamet. The presence of strong eddies in the clouds forming off these peaks presented a grave picture of what we were to experience in the coming days.

On the 7^th the entire team carried out an acclimatisation cum load ferry towards summit camp and we rested on the 8th. On the 9th we set off at about 6:30 a.m. towards summit camp. The initial part of our route took us laterally just short of Slingby Col and then we climbed up diagonally over a short stretch of ice to a section of the rock wall. It was steep going and the progress was slow. It took us about 2 hours to climb the initial 250 m and the sun soon came up making it rather warm. After the diagonal climb on the rock wall we came to an area where there was constant rock fall. At this place we had to wait while each member crossed over individually while the rest kept a look out for rocks. It was due to this section exposed to rock fall that the climb to Slingsby Col could not be attempted from exactly below it. The HAPs were in the lead and at about 12:30 p.m. the wind speed picked up rapidly. A steady howl could now be heard and the HAPs could not move upward due to the wind. They signaled their predicament and the entire team now had to stop to decide on the course of action. As the wind speed did not let up and it became apparent that the wind condition was actually unsafe, the attempt to reach the summit camp was aborted. A very dejected lot returned to ABC that afternoon.

Tired from the attempt the team rested on the 10^th to take stock of the situation. Most felt that they did not have enough energy left to attempt the climb again in the possibility of similar strong winds in the next attempt. The presence of steep hard blue ice which made the climb extremely difficult and slow, was another issue. While we rested and explored our options, it was finally decided that only Frank and Akul would make another attempt at the peak.

On the 11^th morning the HAPs set off early to catch what appeared to be the first window of low winds speeds. Their intention was to reach the summit camp before noon while Frank, Akul and one HAP would leave later to reach the summit camp at about 4 p.m. which appeared to be the second window with lesser wind speeds. They climbed up while the rest of us monitored their progress from the ABC. Late afternoon the summit camp checked in with their status report on the conditions above. They found the wind speeds to still be high enough to prevent any rope fixing and the ice conditions unsafe for climbing.

On the 11th morning the HAPs set off early to catch what appeared to be the first window of low winds speeds. Their intention was to reach the summit camp before noon while Frank, Akul and one HAP would leave later to reach the summit camp at about 4 p.m. which appeared to be the second window with lesser wind speeds. They climbed up while the rest of us monitored their progress from the ABC. Late afternoon the summit camp checked in with their status report on the conditions above. They found the wind speeds still to be high enough to prevent any rope fixing and the ice conditions unsafe for climbing.

12^th morning saw the summit team up early, but the winds were still strong. The steep slope of the climb to the east summit of Mukut consisted of hard blue ice under a very thin layer of powdery snow. The combination of high wind speed and slippery hard blue ice under a thin layer of powder snow convinced the members at summit camp to call off the climb. After taking a couple of pictures with the flags of our two countries and some to record the position of the camp in relation to the surroundings the team wound up the camp in haste to commence a descent at the earliest. By early evening Frank and Akul reached ABC and the HAPs followed an hour later. With the most difficult section of the expedition expected to be over the team had a merry rejoinder that evening and plans were made for the withdrawal from the mountain the next day.

While at ABC, one HAP and two porters had come up with some re-supplies. While the HAP was in good health and feeling fine, both the porters reported that they were feeling tired. While one of them recovered the next day, Kalam Singh felt tired most of the time and did not remain very active. On the 13th morning when we were to commence descent to base camp, his condition deteriorated. He appeared ataxic and was therefore administered medication for HACE. Seeing his condition three HAPs were assigned to escort him down and they rapidly descended to base camp. The team wound up the camp and followed them shortly and by evening the entire team was back at base camp. A reverse load ferry was to commence the next day. But that was not to be. Kalam Singhs condition suddenly deteriorated and he unexpectedly died while still engaged in conversation with his fellow porters during dinner. The setback was the start of a sudden turn of events that night. In the mean time, un-known to us, Cyclone HudHud had caused local weather in the area to suddenly change and a severe temperature drop during the night was followed by continuous snow fall.

On the 14th morning Gp Capt N.K. Dahiya and one HAP descended for Ghastoli to inform ITBP and the local Police about the death of Kalam Singh. On the same day the balance of our porters for the return arrived at base camp in shock. They had not expected the fine weather that we had experienced nonstop for 10 days to rapidly change as it had. They were all shivering from the intense cold and had an uncomfortable night. On the 15th morning the camp was wound up and a make shift stretcher was made by taking apart a tent to carry down Kalam Singh’s body. While this was being done, another porter, Kushal Ram Bodwal , reported that he was feeling very cold and was having trouble breathing. He was given medicine for HAPE and a feather jacket and a pair of extra socks to warm him up. He appeared to be fine initially and had tea and breakfast, but as the team started out from base camp to descend to Camp 2 he suddenly collapsed and died. The situation suddenly became very grave. With two deaths in two days and the weather having changed drastically it was clear that a quick descent was the only way to reduce any further exposure of the team to the elements. All the porters who had accompanied the team had acclimatised properly with us and these occurrences of suspected HACE and HAPE were un-natural. Most porters took this an omen for a fast withdrawal from the mountain.

What had been a tedious climb up on boulders and unstable rocks was now found to be very difficult terrain during the descent. Very soft powdery snow had fallen over that last 24 hours and had covered gaps in the rocks and made their surface very slippery. The going was slow with everyone constantly falling into holes or losing balance as they slipped and fell on the rocks. A large amount of our equipment had to be left behind at ABC and some more had to be left behind at the base camp as nearly eight porters were needed to carry down Kalam Singh’s body. The body of the other porter could not be carried and had to be left covered at the spot where he had collapsed. However, the snow and terrain conditions made it very difficult for even Kalam Singh’s body to be carried and after the porters carrying him fell down fell numerous times, they decided that it was unsafe to carry his body for the fear of another porter falling and injuring himself. Kalam Singh’s body was then covered by rock and the place marked for its retrieval. A very slow treacherous descent brought the team to the site of Camp 2. At this stage a large section of the porters fearing for their lives deserted us and descended further to Camp1.

Left with only our HAPs and six porters, it was now a very difficult task to carry the rest of our load for the descent to Camp 1. Double loads were carried by the balance of the porters and our HAPs and we now made a rapid descent. Unlike the previous day when it had been snowing this day was bright and having gained some practice is descending in our new conditions, we managed to maintain a much better speed in the descent. We reached Camp 1 by mid afternoon and after some lunch decided to continue the descent to Ghastoli, even if we were to reach there after sunset. We left Camp1 at about 5 p.m. and finally reached the ITBP camp at Ghastoli at about 9 p.m. at night. It was difficult descending in the dark over steep snow covered terrain, but no one wished to remain on the cold ice mountain that had taken two lives of our team.

With the help of the SDM at Joshimath and ITBP, the body of Kalam Singh was recovered at brought back to Badrinath for his last rites. The body of the other porter was buried in accordance with the wishes of his parents. Once again a mountain had extracted its price for attempting to scale it reminding us of our insignificance in its towering presence.

Summary
An Indo-German attempted Mukut Parvat (7742 m) near Kamet in September- October 2014. They reached Slingsby Col. Due to extreme winds and cold attempt was given up. On return two porters, Kalam Sing and Kushal Ram Bodwal died due to cold and winds.

Members: Group Captain (Retd) AC Chopra (leader), Frank Eichorn (German leader), Stefan Grub, Michael Konig , Capt (Retd) Rakesh Srivastava, Akul Chopra and Group Captain (Retd) NK Dahiya – (liaison officer)

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