Wednesday, 10 March 2010 21:55
(From Panikhar to Rangdum, the valley of River Suru is the unmatched home to some of the most dramatic and challenging climbs in the world, easily accessible by road)
MY first trip to Ladakh had so much enamoured me of the land that I started searching for all types of books on the subject.
One of the books I found in the Public Library in Srinagar was the "Peaks and Glaciers of Nun Kun" written by Fanny Bullock Workman in 1909. Her group had explored the area extensively in 1906 and had climbed some peaks in the Nun Kun massif. The book was in old type with thick yellow pages and black and white brownish photographs.
Just the holding of the book in the hand would transport one mentally to the days when it was written! It describes the explorations of Workman couple in the Suru Valley in those early days. The book is extremely absorbing and the narration is excellent.
Those days going into Suru valley was a major expedition. It seemed like an expedition to Mount Everest! The group had to carry more than 12,000 pounds of rations just for coolies only. After having read the book the visit to Suru valley in a jeep seemed like time travel. A major portion of the book describes the hassles and the ultimate betrayal of porters taken by the team.
Somehow that trait of porters has not changed even after a century. It would be interesting to quote some passages from the book. "The next step in the preparations was mathematical. Calculating how many coolies would be needed to transport fifty loads of supplies and a hundred and fifty maunds (12,000 Ibs.) of grain for coolies was simple, but then followed the estimating of the amount of grain required to feed the coolies who were to carry the above, which amount again had to be carried by other coolies, who in their turn had to be fed, and their food must be carried by a third set, also to be fed. And so on in a diminishing ratio, until the problem assumed proportions that fairly staggered one's power of calculation.
A wise man of Srinagar said to us, `You cannot handle that route; the coolies will eat their heads off'. Indeed they did, and, when not content with that process, they pilfered liberally." They tried to send rations through Wardwan valley but coolies refused to cross the Bot Kol pass and ran way with the rations.
Ultimately, the team followed the Leh route via Kargil. It took them more than a dozen marches to reach the area which we can reach now in less than 6 hours! The book is now out of print. It would be very useful if someone could get the book reprinted. It could be fascinating reading for potential visitors to the area. The 7035 meter high Nun peak was first climbed by M a d a m e Claude Kogan famous French mountaineer in 1953. The expedition was led by Bernard Pierre. He has described the climb in detail in his book, "A Mountain called Nun Kun".
My first visit to Suru valley was in 1974, the year Ladakh was opened for tourism and foreign tourists were also allowed to go.
The Himalayan Alpine Association of Japan (HAAJ) was keen to send an expedition to climb the Nun peak. Some of their members came in September, 1974 to conduct a reconnaissance of the area.
They requested me to accompany them as I had just returned from my first trip to Ladakh. We started in my jeep next day and stayed for the night in Kargil.
Second day we drove Second day we drove towards Parkachik, the point up to which the road from Kargil to Zanskar had been constructed. The road was still very rough and beyond Tangole it was hardly visible. One had to drive through rough cut rocks. The journey from Kargil follows Suru River upstream. All along there are a number of villages.
The first important one is Trespone which has a beautiful mosque. In later years Pervez Dewan and I n tried to build a tower and a lake here but these proju ects did not materialise e due to reluctance of local d engineers. The major stop on this route is Sankho e which is the headquarter . of Suru valley. Here the n trekking route from Drass f through Umba la pass also s used to join. Now, the Army has built a road over e Umba la. In one of the valf leys here is the rock e carved figure of Buddha o which resembles Bamyan Buddhas destroyed by the . Taliban in Afghanistan o some years back. The I road crosses Suru River d over a steel bridge and o after passing couple of vild lages recrosses towards y the Panikhar plateau.
Immediately after cross. ing the river and turneing a bend one can see e the Nun Kun massif in d the distance. It is really r a breathtaking view! e Panikhar is a big vilh lage and is the hub of all s activities connected o with Nun Kun. After crossing the Panikhar plateau, the road goes across near the village of Tangole. This is the traditional route to Nun base camp. The porters from this place have been going with various expeditions from the start of climbing in the area. After a number of steep curves, the road flattens into the valley of Parkachik village which is just near the ice fall of the Khangri glacier. The village itself is located in a bowl shelte ed in a bowl sheltered from winds raging in the area sometimes. The icefall is dramatic. We had driven straight from Kargil without stopping anywhere and reached Parkachik in the afternoon. The Japanese Masato Oki and his friend put up their Alpine tents in a small green patch near Suru but I and my driver preferred the small but cozy home of Wazir Hussain, the local overseer working on the road.
He had met us on arrival and extended an invitation to stay with him.
After a cup of tea, he went up on the slopes with his double barrel gun and shot two mountain pigeons for our dinner.
The Japanese preferred their cold fish!
Next day we started early. Wazir Hussain had arranged a tough local guide for us. He took us across the Suru River which had very low water early in the morning.
Immediately across the river is a grassy and rocky cliff like formation. It is not very high but very steep. From a distance it had looked impossible to climb but when we reached near it we found a number of trails of sheep and goats that had been going up for grazing.
Dilawar, the guide took us up slowly. We had intended to descend on the glacier after crossing this ridge. It took us almost three hours to climb up. From the top we had a fantastic view of Nun and Kun.
The glacier with a central moraine looked like a long highway with a black strip in the middle. The sides were creviced but the centre seemed like a smooth road going straight up to the west wall of Kun. After locating a solid connection we descended on the glacier and walked almost half a kilometer towards Nun Kun massif. The Japanese took lot of pictures and surveyed the possible approach to the summit from this side. It looked quite steep and difficult. The descent took us almost two hours as we had to be very careful because of loose rock and slippery grass. By the evening, the river had more water and the Japanese could cross it only on the back of Dilawar. We were quite tired and after an early meal slept like logs. Next day we drove back to Kargil and thence to Srinagar. Subsequently HAAJ mounted an expedition to successfully climb the Nun peak. After few years, the formidable 8,000 feet west wall of 7086 meter high Kun was also climbed in a solo attempt by a tough Japanese climber Koichi Sakata. He had to bivouac on the wall face for 12 nights! Ours had been the pioneering reconnaissance which started a flood of expeditions to Nun Kun area in subsequent years and it became an important hub for foreign mountaineers. --(To be continued)
Ashraf's Adventures By M Ashraf | KT
Visit Ladakh | News
