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Nya Kangri Expedition 2008
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Until
1st of May the peak was not decided since previously the expedition was
part of Himalayan exploration organized by well known Sr. Since
we all had one day extra, I decided to join rafting in Indus on
the 7th of July. It was great fun. On the 9th we all returned back to
Mumbai by air. We visited IMF(Delhi) on the way to convey our 'Thanks'
in appreciation for the Government clearance for the expedition. We
also wished the Director, Wing Commander Vijay Dahia who is planning in
the same area for one of the peak climbing. Once we returned home all
our sunburn slowly vanished with some dark spots on our faces in spite
of using 50 SPF cream. This was one of the indication of the
Sun's gift from Leh to us, so that we might come back to the same peak
with better protection and planning. Overall it was great fun for us as
well good expedition experience. |
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Mountaineer Mr.
Harish Kapadia. Later the trio of our team (except me) decided to climb
Nya Kangri peak. The leader has identified this peak on 2001 after they
explored this valley and climbed many peaks. The photograph of the peak
was taken just as a curiosity by the team. Its shape looks like a fish
tail and hence it has been named as Nya Kangri at that time. In ladakhi
language Nya mean fish tail while kangri means peak. 
On the 14th of June we would fly to Delhi
& then to Leh the next day. We had an overnight stay at the YMCA
before we went to Leh the next day (15 th). The flight to Leh in the
morning had rejuvenated everyone. It was my first view of the
Himalayas. Many snow clad peaks were standing still in the clouds and
some were clearly visible. At 7:11am we landed at Leh airport and
welcomed by the peak Stok Kangri. Stok Kangri is the most frequently
visited peak by foreign expedition these days due to easy access and it
is above 6000m. It can be climbed in 2-3 days if you are well
acclimatized. When we arrived at an altitude of +12000ft, our leader
warned us to move slowly because we were at sea level the previous day.
This would allow us to acclimatize to the altitude. We
spent 3 days at Leh for all sorts of formalities, like inner line
permission and submitting the permit approval to the respective
authorities in Leh. We purchased food and packed up at Rimo’s godown. I
purchased traditional jewelry for which Leh is famous for.
They are prolific at this particular altitude. Vineeta
enlighted all of us with her famous Trans-Himalayan expedition route
which she took from the same area. She is blessed with good visual
memory and along with Divyesh & Rajesh, she passed along a
different route information. It was inspiring just learning
about the area and her experiences during her trek. The route goes via
the world famous Khardungla pass which is at around 17800ft.
Being a tourist attraction, we took a break for some photographs.
We could identifiy our peak 'Nya Kangri' from this pass easily. Because
it was my first visit, it was a joyous occasion for me. It took 7
leisurely hours to reach our destination hotel “Yarab Tso” in the Nubra
Valley. We crossed crossing the Shayok river on the way. 
The
next day (19th of June) we reached the approach march start
point. The peculiarity of this point is there is a 20ft Buddha’
sculpture carved from the rock. We rented 12 mules to carry our extra
luggage to the cave. All set, we four team members, 1 Sherpa & 2
other staff ( cook & assistant) started to head towards
intermediate BC(IBC) called Osekar, which is at 3875m. It was a 7hr
trek traveling 2-3 big mountains. The route in between was demolished
due to a landslide. This affected one of our mules which fell down with
a load. The next day we had a rest since I was the casualty of high
altitude and heat. It was a day to acclimatize for all of us. We
trekked another 5 hrs to BC (Phonglas) on the 21st along the right side
of the river moving towards North-West. In Ladakh grazing ground is
called GLAS. North-east of this valley the Arganglas area exists. The
name Argan was given to a community that grew from marriages between
local Ladakhi women and Muslim travelers who came to the area. The
Argan Kangri peak is dominated in this area. Also the Yamandaka, which
had been climbed by two intrepid Americans accompanying Bonington, lies
to the North east side of our Base camp but not visible from BC. It was
afternoon by the time we reached the BC. We saw a wild Yak on the way
standing in the middle of our route. We quietly passed by him. He was
standing still for a long time watching us an inviting us to capture
him with our camera. Due to warming (Ice melting) the water level has
already gone up making it hard for us to cross the river. We used mules
to cross the cold water river since our BC was on the left side of the
river. Our Target was in front of us to the North. The BC was at 4630m
as per our trusted device (GPS). We synchronized all our altimeter
watches. From the 22nd to the 25th we reached the Advance Base Camp
(ABC) site. The next two days load ferry (L.F.) & 25th shift
to ABC which is at 5430m.
Most of us did two
acclimatization L.F. to ABC on the 23rd and 24th. On the 25th, I rested
at BC while the entire team went to ABC for establishments. On the 26th
Rajesh took a rest at ABC. Divyesh and Samgyal tried to open the route
to camp 1 (C1) until 5700m, before I reached the ABC from BC with my
personal gear. The 27th was a rest day for us all. On the 28th we all
did L.F. to high point while Rajesh and Samgyal was supposed to
continue to open the route further in continuation with the last route
opening. Due to heavy snowfall and wind, they could not move further to
the last achieved high point. We all just dumped the load at one place
& returned to ABC. The next day on the 29th we again had bad
weather which continued until the 1st of July. The 2nd of July it was a
final attempt for us to clear the hurdle of the remaining route opening
The
next day we returned to BC. Further the next day we return back with
all load with the addition porters from BC to the road ahead (Yarab
Tso) on 5th of July. We celebrated our attempt at Yarab Tso hotel in
Tirit. On the 6th we all returned back to Leh by road. We cleared all
formalities with the agency. The Rimo owner Mr. Motup briefly
summarized our effort as “we do mountaineering to enjoy the
mountains & if one summitted, it’s a bonus". We happily
accepted the saying while dining at “Tibetan Restaurant” with Mr. Motup
in celebration of our safe return. We also visited the famous Dr.
Norboo of Leh who is researching on High Altitude sickness. He is one
of the well known and respectful personalities in Leh.