The First Lady of Siachen - Fanny Bullock Workman

Brigadier Ashok Abbey

As the golden age of Alpinism came to an end in the Alps in 1865, the age of exploration of the Karakoram and the Himalaya was beginning to warm. During the latter half of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century in particular, exploration and climbing in the two highest ranges of the Asian continent and the world was fast gaining momentum. While many peaks and glaciers were discovered during this period, information on one glacier was still hazy, even after it was disinterred. This was the Siachen Glacier. Today, Siachen Glacier is one of the most well-known glaciers of the Karakoram and the world, primarily because of its strategic location and its vast mountaineering potential. Bustling with activity, there was however a time in history, when even at the beginning of the twentieth century, little was known about this hidden river of ice.

There were still many voids on the map which had to be filled, as the mystery of the majestic Karakoram range was slowly, but surely being brought to the fore.

Asiatic mountain exploration at that time, was primarily the domain of menfolk. These were ‘Gentlemen Explorers’ of the day, who helped demystify and unravel many mysteries of these exalted landforms. Famous explorers of the time, such as the Schlagintweit brothers, Colonel Godwin Austen, Sir William Martin Conway, Colonel Francis Younghusband, Dr. Tom Longstaff, Sven Heiden, and many others were men of great courage, character, and tenacity, whose will to explore the unknown were first, foremost, and all-pervading. There was however one lady, who was an exception to this primarily maledominated-explorer preserve of the time. She trumped tradition of the Victorian era in thought and action and soon became a prima donna, amongst a handful of woman explorers of the time, by her uncanny grit, determination, perseverance, and exceptional drive, coupled with the will to succeed. She carved a niche for herself as one of the foremost explorers of the time, second to none in her travels, intent, exploratory drive, and achievements. She was the first lady to climb and explore the great glaciers and the high peaks of the Karakoram. Her name was Fanny Bullock Workman, Fanny Bullock Workman the other half of the famous Workman couple.

The Siachen Glacier lies in the Karakoram range. This 400 km long and 260 km wide range, lies to the north-west of the Great Himalayan Range. Although it is the second-highest range of the world, its grandeur is second to none. The Gazetteer of Kashmir and Ladakh describes the Karakoram mountains thus¹.

Karakoram mountains or ‘black gravel’ mountains, are also called Mustagh (i.e., ‘ice mountains’), and are called the Bolor mountains by the people of Balti or Bolor. They form the natural boundary to the North of districts of Gilgit, Hunza-Nagar, Baltistan and Ladakh, and extend from the source of the Gilgit river to that of the main branch of the Karakash, their general direction being from north-west to south-east, i.e., about parallel with the Kailas range and the Himalaya.

The 76-kilometre Siachen Glacier is one of the longest valley glaciers in the world outside the polar regions. The glacier lies in the Siachen Muztagh of the Eastern Karakorams². The glacier takes its name from Sia, which means Rose and Chen is' the place off, thus Siachen literally means ‘the place of roses’. The rose bush is found in abundance, especially in the area of its snout. The glacier itself is a fascinating amphitheatre of glaciers and peaks and unquestionably, the finest climbing Olympiad for the mountaineer, looking for extreme challenges. It is the leading soprano amongst the glaciers of the Karakoram. Located strategically at the crossroads of high Central Asia, flowing from north-west to the south-east, the Siachen Glacier is bound by Baltistan to its west, Central Asia to its north and Aksai Chin and Depsang plains to its east and the Shyok River valley to its south.

The Gazetteer of Kashmir and Ladakh describes the Siachen Glacier thus³.

Saichar Ghainri - Elevation 11,700’, lower end. A large glacier at the source of the Nubra river. General Strachey, in the beginning of October, found the river issuing from it full formed, being 50 yards wide with an extreme depth of 1½ feet and very rapid. The glacier entirely occupied the head of the valley, rendering it impassable. Its breadth as its lower end was about three-quarters of a mile, and its length was such that after ascending perhaps 2 miles, he was unable to see the head of either of the two branches into which it is divided, 4 or 5 miles above the lower end. The upper part is much crevassed.

Fanny Bullock was born in 1859, into a wealthy, influential American family in Massachusetts. In 1882, after completing her education in America and Europe, she married William Hunter Workman, a Yale and Harvard graduate, 12 years her senior. William introduced Fanny to mountaineering and encouraged her to climb, which changed her life. Subsequently, the family moved to Europe. As the years went by, Fanny became a mother of two children. Although a caring mother, she never let her motherhood come in the way of her passion for adventure and climbing, which became a way of life for her. She climbed and cycled fervently in Europe, North America and Asia and followed her wanderlust for the outdoors.

In 1898, she began her tryst with the mountain world of the Karakoram and the Himalaya; this soon became a passionate affair. During the summers of 1898, 1899, 1902, 1903, 1906, 1908, 1911 and 1912, Fanny along with William Hunter Workman, made a remarkable eight trips in fourteen years, to Kashmir and the Karakoram, including the Nun-Kun massif. She covered almost the entire spectrum of the Karakoram range, from the Depsang plains and the Karakoram pass in the east, to the Hunza valley to the north west, virtually traversing the entire frontage of the Karakoram, but for a few pockets. Amongst many explorations and climbs, she climbed the untrodden peaks of the Skoro La glacier, the 21000 foot Koser Gunge⁴, and was perhaps the first woman to see K2. In 1902, she explored the Chogo Lungma glacier and in 1903, she climbed in the Hoh Lumba valley. She also climbed a 22567-foot-high mountain, an altitude record for a woman at that time. In 1906, she recorded the first ascent of the 6930 m Pinnacle Peak, in the Nun-Kun massif, the highest peak climbed by a woman at that time^5,6. In 1908, after exploring the 61 km long Hispar glacier and crossing the Hispar pass, Fanny explored the 60 km long Biafo glacier in the north west of Baltistan of the Great Karakoram.

Fanny was a lady well ahead of her time. Pragmatic, strong-willed, and outspoken, she was a champion of women’s rights. She broke the traditional English prudish mold and climbed with the mountain guides, reaching her chosen objective, and showing that women were as capable as men and that they could be equally athletic and domestic. Clad in her seemingly cumbersome heavy mountain clothing of many layers, heavy boots, tweed trousers and skirts, woolen putties, and her sun topie, along with her long shaft ice axe, she was a moving landmark in her all-exploratory journeys. She matched guides and was at relative ease with regard to the technical challenges of climbing, having ascended the Matterhorn, Mont Blanc and Jungfrau in the Alps. Together with her husband William Hunter Workman, whose unflinching and unwavering support took her to the heights she reached, Fanny set the bar rolling for the generations of women to follow. The Workmans were truly the first husband-wife team to explore the Karakoram and probably the world, as a ‘couple’. Their multi-talented combined skills were always a force multiplier for their team on their explorations.

In 1911, Fanny returned to Baltistan after an interesting journey from Kashmir, including crossing many rivers and streams in Zaks and surviving the swas on many occasions. She carried out an expedition in the Karakoram, wherein they explored the Karmading and the upper Korkundus valleys, the Sherpi Gang peak and the Dong Dong glaciers. They also explored the lower Kaberi glacier. Leaving the Saltoro valley they moved up to the Hushe valley, where they explored the Masherbrum, Khondokoro, Aling and the Chogolisa glaciers⁷. After exploring the Sherpi Gang region and the glaciers of the south face of Masherbrum, with still time in their hands for more mountain work, Fanny and William decided to head to Goma in the Saltoro valley⁸. This then was the beginning of their rendezvous with the ‘Rose’⁹.

1911 Exploration of the Siachen Glacier

The team left Goma on 14^th August. After traversing the Bilaphond glacier, they crossed the Bilaphond la at 18370 feet and the Lolofond glacier, they reached the Rose¹⁰. After exploring its basin and its two affluents, namely the Tarim Shehr and the Peak 36 glaciers, after a few days, they retreated to the Goma valley in late September 1911. During their short stay, they also climbed a peak of 21000 feet. Towards the end of her journey in 1911, despite their senior age, she felt a strong desire to return.

But the exploration of the great Rose was as yet only begun, and to me, the most important sensation of the time passed there in 1911, the one that, in spite of hardships and obstacles encountered, was ever tightening its grip on my soul, was what I must return to it, further examine its basin, force a way to and cull the secrets of its high sources, and have the glacier completely surveyed and its important peaks triangulated¹¹.

Finally, as she stood on the top of the Bilaphond la, she knew she had to return.

“No, I won’t come again,” I said, as I sat snowed in my tent for two days before returning over the Bilaphond La in September 1911. But no sooner had I turned my back to the Rose and reached again the top of the pass on that brilliant September 16^th, than my mountain-ego reasserted itself, saying tant pis to the obstacles, “Return you must.”¹²

1912 Exploration of The Rose

“Whatever the hardships, whatever the difficulties, let me O Allah, return thither again.” Her prayers were answered and Fanny Bullock Workman, then fifty-four years of age, along with her husband William, who was sixty-six at that time, returned to the Rose. The ‘Fanny Bullock Workman Expedition 1912’ was a ‘private expedition’ of which she was the team leader. Her main aim was to explore its high sources, map the glacier and fill in the existing voids, despite the glacier having been reached earlier.

The Siachen Glacier had attracted many travellers and explorers since 1821. Notably, Colonel Henry Strachy in 1848, was the first to see it and ascend its tongue for over two miles. In 1889, Colonel Francis Younghusband reached the foot of the east source pass (Turkestan la) approaching it from the north, from the Urdok glacier. Almost two decades later, the notable British explorer and climber Dr. Tom Longstaff, was the first to reach the Siachen basin after crossing the Bilaphond la and the Lolofond glacier¹³. After spending one day on the glacier, during which he took clinometer readings of the surrounding peaks, he descended to Goma through the Ghyari nala. After exploring the Chumik valley and the Gyong la glaciers, he crossed the Chulung la and via Chalunka and Charasa, and reached the head of the Nubra valley. He thereafter ascended the Siachen Glacier for about 15 miles, till he could identify one of the peaks of the Teram Kangri group, which he had seen from the Bilaphond la axis, thus confirming the convergence of both axes¹⁴. Enroute, he discovered the Terong valley. Dr. Longstaff’s exploration of proved that the Bilaphond la and the Nubra axis met almost at the centre of the Siachen Glacier and the
Teram Kangri peaks lay on the watershed of the great Central Asian divide. Yet the full extent of this glacier, its periphery, sources, extent, and its cross-linkages with other glaciers of the Karakoram was still a mystery. Fanny and William Workman now continued explorations, in order to fill in blanks on maps.

The expedition apart from Fanny, comprised William Hunter Workman, the commissariat, photographer, and glacialist of the expedition. Apart from two sepoys from the Indian army, the team comprised of Cyprien Savoye, chief guide and other guides namely Rey Adolf and Quaizier Simeon. Two Italian porters, Chenoz Cesare and Rey Julian, also accompanied the team. A hundred porters from the Goma valley were hired and they moved in two waves to support the expedition, along with twenty sheep.

This expedition was assigned the services of Grant Peterkin, from the Royal Geographical Society to carry out the Trigonometrical Survey. He was assisted by Sarjan Singh of the Survey of India, as a plane tabler. All triangulations during this expedition were carried out by using the five-inch Transit Theodolite from two bases. This greatly improved the accuracy of the readings and thereby the quality of the survey. Often, the survey team moved independently, on a different axis.

The team commenced moving up the Ghyari nala on 2 July, 1912. They crossed the Bilaphond glacier, after halting at Naram and Ali Bransa. Tragically, just before crossing the Bilaphond la the team lost Cesare Chenoz, due to a crevasse fall. Later, another coolie with the survey team, also lost his life, after he fell into a glacial stream. Despite these initial setbacks, the expedition continued, focused on their objectives.

A peak of 21000 feet, lying to the north west of the Bilaphond la, had caught the eye of Fanny in September 1911. Its ascent she thought, would give her a fine view of the Rose, but at the time the weather and the snow conditions were too unfavourable to climb the mountain, both on their way up and down. A high camp above the Lolofond glacier was established on a large plateau at 19000 feet. During their summit bid, they reached a rock ridge of 19900 feet. Finally, after ascending the last 800 feet, climbing at an angle of 60 degrees, the corniced summit was reached by Fanny and the three guides. From the summit, she could view the mountain on all sides. She named this peak Tawiz¹⁵. “I saw most wonderful things from this peak, which aided me in laying out the coming exploration of the Rose Glacier.” She recorded her summing up from the summit of Tawiz:

Perhaps the best summing-up of it would be to say we overlooked a vast area of over a thousand square miles of peaks and glaciers devoid of vegetation extending from one horizon to the other¹⁶.

After establishing their camp on the top of the junction overlooking the Rose and the Lolofond glacier, Fanny moved over to the promontory, at the junction of the Tarim Shehr with the Rose. On 4 September 1912, they set out from the promontory to climb the peak located at the junction of the eastern affluent with the Rose Glacier.

Two high camps at 15993 feet and 20800 feet were established. The summit of the 21840 feet high peak was reached, after a “sharp and a tiresome ascent and its sides scored by great gullies with ragged state walls.” She named this Junction Peak.

On 8 September, the party left to examine the Tarim Shehr glacier. They observed that it was 17 miles long from the junction with the Rose, with a varying width up to two miles. It was rimmed by peaks ranging from 21000 to 23000 feet high, both from the north, south and also from its terminal plateau in the east. As the team moved further east, the terrain friction increased considerably, and easy shale moraines changed into rough granite ones, which greatly reduced their speed of ascent. A high camp was established at 17000 feet.

As they moved further east, the glacier gradually rose for miles, but unlike Siachen’s other affluents, the upper ice field was heavily crevassed. The chief guide, Savoye strongly advised against proceeding any further for the safety of the party. They had reached a high point of 18300 feet, still six miles short of the col. From this high point, Fanny decided to retreat to their high camp, as her priority was first to reach the north and the west source of the Rose. South of their camp was another prominent snow peak of 22910 feet, which she named Laxmi. Fanny recorded:

We had wished to reach the end of the plateau, now quite visible, and see if any possible passage existed leading towards Nubra and the Remo glaciers, but this was no smooth, lustrous expanse, such as are some elevated plateaux in Himalaya, but a mountain devil’s snow continent set with depth traps to entice unwary men into their pitiless jaws¹⁷.

After the exploration of the eastern affluent, camp six was established on the north lateral moraine of the Peak 36 glacier, which is the largest west side feeder to the Rose. This glacier was sixteen miles from the north end. The southeast ridge emanating from Peak 33, connects Peak 35 and 36 and turns further south west dominating, the Bilaphond glacier and the Goma valley¹⁸. This forms the watershed between the Sherpi Gang, Dong Dong, and the Peak 36 glaciers. They established their camp seven at an altitude of 17602 feet, under the watershed ridge between Peak 33 and 35. They then moved up to explore under the great ‘active’ wall of Peak 35, and subsequently below the east ridge of Peak 36. Towards the north, they observed two high peaks of 24280 feet and 24090 feet which they named Ghent. Fanny was smitten by the beauty of Peak 35 and 36:

Whether seen from the Dong Dong glacier or from different places on the Rose and its affluents, one always feels inclined to pause and admire this mountain, so noble is its build, so supremely picturesque and beautiful its varied aspects. Like a few people one meets on life’s journey, it possesses a commanding personality¹⁹

On 18 July 1912, the team moved up the Rose towards its north source, along the north lateral moraine of the Rose. As they moved up, to their northwest, they crossed a majestic mountain peak towering above the Rose at an altitude of 23630 feet. This she named Mount Rose. Moving up further, they crossed numerous clear lakes on the Siachen. They ascended an altitude of 1442 feet, over twelve miles or one foot in every thirty-seven steps. Enroute, they also observed two native cairns, but saw no signs of any caravan movement. Looking back Fanny observed, that for the first thirty-five miles starting from the north reservoir, Rose was like a clear ‘glittering ice river’. Further up, they crossed the ‘Younghusband’s Saddle’, and continued north and northeast, keeping the King George V group, rising up to Peak 23 (26470 feet) to their north west²⁰. After ascending for four miles from their high camp at 18400 feet, which they called Spur camp, they stood at 20860 feet on the north watershed of the Rose:

After contouring and overcoming this hodge-podge of obstacles, we were greatly relieved to see an ice ridge ahead with distant peaks rising from beyond a void. The whole trajet in the deep snow and the mental tension produced by continual vigilance in avoiding chasms had become most exasperating, and we were glad that Nature was about to put an end to further advance and allow us to stand at last on the eagerly sought for north Rose water parting²¹.

Fanny observed that the main source of the Siachen Glacier was in the King George V group, the east ridge of which descended into the making it the watershed, of the Eastern Karakoram with Chinese Turkestan. She named this watershed Indira Col, after Goddess Lakshmi. Here she met other unexpected explorers, namely a ‘brown butterfly and a large sluggish wasp!!’

After a day’s rest at Spur camp, they climbed to a high plateau. From here they turned east for another two and half hours, to reach an exposed snow col at 19200 feet. This was the east water shed ridge, which Fanny named Turkestan la.

This col lies at the base of a long slate arete, and its height as measured by a hypsometer is 19,210 feet. Small tents could be placed on the rock of the state arete, but the place is exposed and unsuitable for camping. It bore no traces of having been visited by anyone before²².

In 1889, Sir Francis Younghusband had reached below the foot of this pass, coming from the direction of the Chinese Turkestan. The glacier on which he moved, was called the Urdok glacier²³. From Turkestan la, Fanny observed a high group of hitherto unknown peaks rising in Chinese Turkestan, well beyond the east wall of the Rose. With regard to the eastern profile of the ridge and its accessibility, she observed:

The col we stood on forms a semicircle and ends in the bergschrund festooned wall visible in the foreground. Directly below the col a sharp drop occurs, say of 2,000 feet²⁴.

The West Source glacier enters the main glacier at 17000 feet and is the western most affluent of the Siachen Glacier. As the team entered into the west source affluent from the south side, Fanny named a ‘streaked rock buttress of the mountain’, the Hawk, for its striking resemblance to the majestic bird. The upper portion of the glacier which is a ‘steadily ascending one’ rises to a gentle plateau, into its upper reaches, with ‘two beautiful snow cones’ dominating the far horizon, which Fanny named the Silver Throne, 23000 feet, and the Lower Silver Throne, 20230 feet. They were the first to reach the Silver Throne col at 19614 feet, located between the Silver Throne and the Lower Silver Throne, hitherto an unknown and an unmapped area. After moving southeast, they reached a snow plateau of foursquare miles, which was named the Silver Throne Plateau. From here they could observe the north face of the Ghent and the Gusherbrums (Gasherbrum) group and the massive north west ridge of the King George V group, connecting and rising to Peak 23 or Hidden Peak. The dominating Peak 23 was observed from within 30 miles down the Rose, as a motif majeure by Fanny.

As I said before, its great, eastern arete forms the north water-parting-ridge, and its eastern and southern flanks throw off the snows that produce the initial reservoir and upper neve of this glacier. Its high satellite peaks again drain the west source tributary, so that this group may truly be called the originator and large supplier of the Rose glacier²⁵.

Fanny also significantly observed that there was no complementary connection between Baltoro and the Siachen glaciers. Seeing the terrain and observing the connectivity between the two, Fanny summed up:

As the configuration of the mountains and glaciers of this region now stands, it looks as if a passage from the Baltoro to the Rose would have to be reserved for a future, venturesome aeroplanist²⁶.

Towards the end of the exploration of the West Source glacier, Fanny
was convinced that “a return must be made to the icy west head and a first traverse of its westerly water-parting made, thus linking the Rose and Kondus basins.”

After successfully carrying out exploration of the West Source glacier, Fanny returned to the Tarim Shehr peninsula to experience over two weeks of ‘monsoonish weather’. She was now determined to investigate the lower portion of the glacier towards the Nubra. She moved downward and in two marches reached the bend, where the Rose takes a southwesterly turn, not too far from the snout. However, due to a logistical crisis brewing up, which could compromise further progress of the expedition, Fanny decided to return to Tarim Shehr to address the issue. Finally, after getting adequate supplies of atta and wood from Ali Bransa, the order was restored. After coaxing and cajoling the Wazir Abdul Karim and motivating the coolies to move up the Rose again, which was no mean task, the expedition finally moved to the final stages of its conduct with adequate Burtsa, ration and with coolies happily wearing a mix of Pabus and nailed boots.

The caravan finally moved up north from Tarim Shehr for the last time. Their final climb took them to the west water parting at 18700 feet, which Fanny named as Sia la or the Rose pass. Under the majestic backdrop of the Bride Peak and the spectacular wings of the Hawk Peak, merging with the Rose, it was finally time to bid adieu to the Rose. In her final moments, Fanny remarked on the great beauty of the Siachen Glacier.

As rucksacks were shouldered preparatory to departure, the adorable, golden god of India rose over the great ice scrap, transforming the scene into one of transcendent beauty²⁷.

Standing on the Sia La for the last time, felt deeply emotional when it was time for her to leave the Rose.

We were sorry to leave forever the fascinations of the Rose Glacier. Its great basin framed in magnificent mountains and its long, white affluent entering east and west make a deeper impression of snow and rock-expanse and sublimity than is obtained on the other largest Karakoram glaciers²⁸.

The expedition caravan trudged down the slopes of Sia La, into the white folds of the Kaberi glacier below, for a challenging journey back, over another unknown glacier. Thus concluded the exploration of the Rose.

Throughout the expedition, Fanny was accompanied by three hardy crows, who had been their constant companions, from the start of the expedition at Ali Bransa. They were always at their energetic best and never showed any signs of glacial lassitude or mountain sickness. Fanny’s favourite companions on the glacier mysteriously disappeared after reaching the Kondus valley.

The Fanny Bullock Workman Expedition 1912 explored the Siachen Glacier, mapping nearly 850 square miles of glaciated, mountainous territory of the Eastern Karakoram. They measured 40 plus peaks, surveyed the glacier and all the chief affluents were from east to west and from north to south. They photographed profiles of the northeast ridge of Gasherbrum and its glacier for the first time and discovered new peaks in Chinese Turkestan. They saw, identified, and mapped peaks of the King George V group. They made two first ascents of peaks above 21000 feet. They discovered and explored the Silver Throne plateau, reaching the Silver Throne col. They made the first descent from Sia la, a newly discovered pass, to the head of the twenty-mile Kaberi glacier. Fanny was satisfied that “efforts were crowned with a degree of success which justify the expenditure of money, time and endeavour”.

The exploration of the Rose Glacier under the leadership of Fanny Bullock Workman was an extraordinary expedition, spread over two years and driven by a remarkable lady, who was determined to succeed and achieve her expedition objectives. Such was her commitment, that she missed her only daughter Rachel Workman’s marriage due to being away on the 1911 Expedition (she had lost her son, Siegfried, early). To the present generation of explorers and climbers, it is perhaps unimaginable that she and her husband, a relatively ‘senior couple’ could survive the icy wilds of the remote Karakoram, constantly braving the onslaught of altitude, fatigue, terrain, wind, and the ever-changing weather.

By her physical presence, she became the First Lady to ‘set foot’ on the Siachen, but by her exceptionally gritty conduct, she became ‘The First Lady of Siachen,’ whose remarkable detailed exploration of the largest non-polar glacier in the world, helped put in place its final geographical connect, and perspective with Central Asia and in particular, its rightful place in the Eastern Karakoram. Posterity must know that the lady who walked almost everywhere on the Siachen, more than a century ago was not a myth!

With time, the memory of Fanny Bullock Workman may have faded, but her indelible imprint left on the Rose, will forever stand tall, as one of the finest journeys of exploration, climbing, and human endeavour in the Karakoram.

Summary

This article chronicles undoubtedly one of the finest explorations in the Karakoram—Fanny Bullock Workman’s 1911-12 expedition on the Rose or Siachen Glacier.

Author Brig Ashok Abbey is a veteran mountaineer with over 43 years of climbing experience. He is a regular contributor to The Himalayan Journal.

Features Named and Heights Recorded (In Feet) on the Siachen Glacier by the Fanny Bullock Workman Expedition 1911-12

1. Unnamed Peak 21000 feet North of Bilaphond La - Tawiz
2. glacier east of Peaks 35, 36, and 33 - Peak 36 glacier
3. East Source glacier - Tarim Shehr glacier
4. Rock Promontory or Rock Pennisula - Tarim Shehr
5. Peak 20840 feet, south of the junction of Siachen
6. Glacier and Tarim Shehr - Junction Peak
7. Peak 22910 feet to the East of Junction Peak - Laxmi
8. Peak 24280 feet & Peak 24090 feet - Ghent I&II
9. Peak 24510 feet - Mt. Rose
10. North Source Watershed 20860 feet - Indira Col
11. East Source Watershed 19209 feet - Turkestan la
12. Peak 24350 feet, Peak 23270 and 21440 feet - King George V Group Peak
13. Peak 24350 feet - Queen Mary Peak
14. Peak 23270 -Lady Hardinge Peak
15. Peak 22160 feet - The Hawk
16. Peak 22000 feet - Silver Throne
17. Peak 20230 feet - Lower Silver Throne
18. Peak 19614 feet - Silver Throne Col
19. West Watershed Parting 18705 feet - Sia La

Nomenclature

1. Zak - An improvised raft made of willow wood and goat skins
2. Swas - Mud flood/slide
3. Tawiz - Magic Amulet
4. Bilapho / Bilaphond - Small bright coloured butterfly
5. Teram Kangri - Mountain of the Destroyed Town
6. Nala - A small stream
7. Tarim - Oasis
8. Teram - Destroyed
9. Shehr - City
10. Sia - Rose
11. Topie - Hat
12. Urdok - Duck
13. Ata - Wheat
14. Pabus - Local padded woollen boot
15. Atta - Wheat Flour
16. Burtsa - Wood
17. Peak 23 - Gasherbrum or Hidden peak
18. Peak 35 - Saltoro Kangri II
19. Peak 36 - Saltoro Kangri I
20. Peak 33 - Sherpi Kangri

 

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