The world is a fine place and worth
fighting for - Ernest Hemingway
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Back to Mountains and Memories
The
Arganglas International expedition
2001 Dedicted To Memory of Lt Nawang Kapadia A
team of mountaineers from India (4), U.K.(2)
and U.S.A.(2) climbed
in the Nubra Valley of Ladakh. The
area is situated near the Siachen Glacier in the East Karakoram.
The team made the first ascents of three peaks, explored 5 glaciers and
attempted two peaks. No mountaineering party
had ever visited this area. A large
number of peaks are located around these two glaciers which were photographed
and recorded. Leaders of the joint team were Sir Chris Bonington and Harish Kapadia. They had organised two expeditions jointly in the past in the Indian Himalaya. Sir Chris Bonington is the legendary mountaineer from the UK. The other British member was Jim Lowther, the two Americans were Mark Richey and Mark Wilford . Harish Kapadia has vast experience of exploring, climbing and organising expeditions in the Indian Himalaya. The Indian team included Divyesh Muni, Cyrus Shroff and Lt Cdr S. Dam of Indian Navy. Captain Vrijendra Lingwal of Ladakh Scouts joined the expedition a liaison officer. The
Arganglas region near the Siachen glacier is home to the Argans,
a community comprising the off-springs of Yarkandi or Kashmiri Muslims
who used to frequent the trade routes to Central Asia, (a region that
after Sept 11 has leaped back into the international spotlights) and the local
Ladakhi women with whom they cohabited. For
armchair adventurers all around the world, sharing the joy of this expedition
was just a click away. Pictures from a digital camera were being uploaded
and latest information on the expedition was provided on www.bonington.com, thanks to Bonington’s son
Rupert who runs a multi-media company in the UK. On a lighter vein members sang
praises of the satellite phone. “When the Scotch ran out at base camp
we could inform Leh to send some beers.” The
Base camp was set up in a dry lake bed at the foot of the Phunangama Glacier
(4800 m / 15,750 ft). Two advanced base camps were set up on the glacier. Teams
then divided in smaller teams and
operated as small independent parties from there. There
is phenomenal potential here for alpine style climbing on peaks up to 6800
meters. Abale (6360 m / 20,865 ft)
and Amale (6312 m / 20,708 ft) and other Peaks :
In between companionable bridge sessions, the other members had been
occupied with their own climbs and explorations. Shroff and Muni along with
Samgyal Sherpa climbed a virgin peak which they named as Abale (6360 m)
(‘grand father’) with its corniced summit in the Nono glacier just before
the heavy snows and clouds came swirling in. Satyabrata Dam, a navy officer from
Mumbai and the liaison officer Capt. Lingwal and Sherpa
Wangchuk climbed another peak Amale (6312 m) (‘grand mother’) The
British climbers, Bonington and Jim Lowther were forced back because of bad
weather from their attempt but
reached an unknown pass Konto La. First Ascent of peak Yamandaka
(6218 m) by its North Face and
descent by the Shingskam Topko :
The hi-tech
could not really minimise some of the risks, or the thrills of the unknown as
the two Americans or two Marks -- Mark Richey and Mark Wilford discovered. They had a tough but
successful climb of the North face of Yamandaka where they had to spend three
nights perched on tiny ledges chopped into the ice with just enough room to try
and sit or lie down. From the
day they arrived in BC below the Phunangma glacier, Mark Wilford and Mark Richey
were at once captivated by the obvious and direct line on peak 6218 m’ s north
face. The wall was estimated
to be about 4000 ft high and
a steep mix of rock and ice. On the 8th of Sept. two Marks
crossed the Phunangma glacier and set camp at the base of the face
beneath a huge boulder. From Sept. 9th to the 12th Marks climbed over 20 pitches of 60 meters each
of technical rock and ice on the face. All rock climbing was done with
crampons in full winter conditions. A fair amount of direct aid was employed
including 2 pendulums. They sack-hauled on most of the pitches and the second
jumared with a heavy pack. Several sections of frighteningly loose, stacked
blocks had to be negotiated. At one point, a television-sized rock, set loose by
hand pressure, nearly severed the lead rope. The ice climbing was mainly
confined to the initial four pitches of 45 degree snow and ice and then the
final three pitches of water ice up to 70 degrees and including the final
overhanging cornice. They braved snowfall on all days except the 11th and topped
out in a full blizzard which dumped nearly a foot of snow. They made three
bivouacs on the face, the first two were excellent platforms and they were able
to erect a small tent. The final open bivouac on the face was a narrow ledge
chopped into a 50 degree ice slope. Heavy spindrift during the night kept them
from much sleep. They also spent one night just below the summit. The actual summit was reached on September 13th after the
storm. Clearing skies allowed superb views of the surrounding mountains and
ranges, all unclimbed and unexplored except for the two peaks that
the Indians had just
summited. Due to the heavy snowfall their original plans of descent down the
North East ridge to the Phunangma glacier seemed excessively dangerous. Instead,
they opted for a descent down the South face of the mountain to a glacier system on the
opposite side of the range. In fact, the gentle disarming
glacier ultimately funneled its way down into a steep and terrifying gorge
leading all the way to the Nubra valley. By the time they realized this, they
were too exhausted to retrace path, already day 7 on 5 days of food. Finally, after ten hours of brutal
descent, they stood atop a huge water fall longer than their rope. Beyond, the
smooth canyon walls disappeared out of sight. Unwilling to make this final
commitment, they searched for an escape. One side of the canyon presented a
slight weakness. Wilford led up a
wall of huge blocks literally cemented in place with mud. As Mark put it
"It was the most frightening pitch I have ever climbed" Two more
vertical pitches of rock and 500 ft of scrambling led them finally to the Canyon rim and their 7th night out in the
Shingskam Topko Valley. The following morning, they
descended to the Nubra valley where they met a very relieved porter sent
down to look for us by Harish and Chris. That day expedition
companions were ready to send out the search helicopter. Back at ABC,
they had built a lovely temple and prayed for their safety. They named the
climb ‘Barbarossa’ after the
World War II German/Russian conflict and the book they
had been reading in base camp. The peak was later named “Yamandaka”
after a Buddhist God, who is
fearsome but at the same time benevolent. Argan Kangri (6789 m) the highest peak on the glacier and was
one of the prime aims of the expedition. However bad weather and poor snow
conditions did not allow an attempt on this peak till towards the last days of
the expedition. The expedition also reached Konto La (5920 m / 19,422 ft) a
col between Karpo Kangri (6540 m / 21,460 ft) and Pk. 6640 m at the eastern
head of the Phunangma Glacier. Explorations in the
Rassa and Yah Glaciers : Harish Kapadia and S. Dam with three porters formed an
independent team and left to explore the above two glaciers in the area. A camp
was first made in the Rassa glacier and from here they attempted
Thugu Peak (6158 m / 20,203 ft). and
then traversed to west to enter the Yah Glacier which is near the shapely
peak of Nya Kangri (6480 m / 21,260 ft). The glacier was full of rocky debris
and no water was available except near the snout. They
camped at the snout and proceeded along the glacier the next day.
Covering ground on soft snow and across crevasse they camped at the foot of the
pass at the northwestern head of the Yah Glacier. The steep
pass, Yah La (5770 m / 18,930 ft), was reached on 23rd
September but it was not possible to descend on the other side towards
the Sumur Lungpa as intended. The party retraced route back to the Arganglas valley and joined the main team the
next day. On September 11 the maelstrom that shook the world seemed to
have set off cataclysms in nature too. Fierce storms erupted and the snow never
really melted away. It was time to go home and the expedition was called–off a
week earlier than planned. With
memories of what both Sir Chris Bonington and Harish Kapadia asserted were of a
very happy, well-knit team, proving that international expeditions need not
necessarily mean endless squabbles, flag-waving and chest-thumping displays.
Cyrus Shroff in his unassuming manner summed up the experience, “We jelled
together from the day the international team landed in Mumbai. We were partying
from that day till the day we said our farewells. And yes, in between we did get
to climb a few mountains.” If
there were regrets it was because as Jim Lowther said, “We were here for
enjoyment, for pleasure, for a challenge, but this very playground for us is
also a battle arena (the Siachen) where men are fighting, sacrificing their
lives.” A full report on the expedition will be available at www.harishkapadia.com Back to Mountains and Memories
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