The Chief Districts
Though the Himalaya, in the widest sense of the term, extend beyond the Brahmapootra on the east and beyond the Indus on the west, we may impose these limits upon them for present purposes. Furthermore, only sections of these ranges are at present politically accessible to the mountaineer.
Practically the whole of the Himalayan region is covered by the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India on a scale of one inch to four miles. The sheets are obtainable in London.
It would be easy to criticize this map in detail. For reasons of finance and policy, the surveyors were ordered to cover a very large area each season and not to attempt detailed surveys of uninhabited areas. It would be, therefore, manifestly unfair to set up claims which were never made by the authors and then to demolish them.[29]
The Eastern Himalaya.
For Bhutan, it is best to consult Claude White’s Sikkim and Bhutan (Arnold, 1909). It would be necessary to obtain special leave from the Government of India to travel here; and the country is not very promising from our point of view.
Sikkim.
For Sikkim, consult Mr. Freshfield’s Round Kangchenjunga, and several papers by Dr. Kellas in the Alpine and Geographical Journals.
Sikkim is a region of tropical contrasts, merging on the north into Tibetan conditions. The vegetation is magnificent. The great peaks in the south are difficult; in the north much easier, where the isolated peak of Chumolhari (23,930 feet) has long challenged attention.
The starting-point is Darjeeling, reached by rail in a day and night from Calcutta, or in three days from Bombay. A call should be made on the Deputy Commissioner, especially if the climber intends to enter native Sikkim. At present permission would not be given to enter Nepal or Tibet, and probably not for Bhutan. Stores can be bought beforehand at Darjeeling, and a Buddhist cook should be, if possible, secured.
The semi-Tibetan natives of Upper Sikkim, and similar immigrants from north-eastern Nepal, are splendid material for glacier work. Dr. Kellas with these people found himself quite able to dispense with alpine guides. They are cheerful, smiling and easy for Europeans to get on with, fond of a joke, and, if handled well, honest and reliable. For the first part of the journey in the lower country temporary coolies can well be used.
Nepal.
In Nepal, though in certain circumstances the frontier is not inviolable, yet for a variety of reasons, not all political, an Englishman is not likely to be able to penetrate to any of the great peaks. At the same time, for the mountaineer as well as for the explorer, few journeys are better worth making than that up the valley of the Gandak, or the Kosi, into the heart of the grandest of all mountain ranges.
Kumaon and Garhwal.
To my mind this is the finest part of the Himalaya at present accessible. It is the most ‘alpine’ portion of the Himalaya, possessing peaks over 25,000 feet. The scenery, flora and fauna are exceedingly beautiful and varied. It contains much difficult ground, even below the tree-line. Most of the highest peaks are very severe. Towards Tibet the country opens out and the mountains are easier.[30]
The approach is by rail to Kathgodam. There follows a short drive to Naini Tal, where all ordinary supplies may be obtained. Thence a driving road to Ranikhet and a pony road to Almora, where fair supplies are also obtainable.
A formal permit must be obtained from the Deputy Commissioner of Almora, and two chuprassis will be told off to engage coolies from village to village. For Garhwal it will probably be necessary to get a separate permit and chuprassis from the Deputy Commissioner at Pawri.
When the base of operations is reached in Garhwal or Kumaon, it is advisable to engage a few local men as permanent coolies. The ordinary stages are worked by relays of coolies from village to village. In these, native flour (ata), rice, fowls, goats and, higher up, sheep can usually be obtained. A Mussulman cook can be obtained in Naini Tal. An army reservist—Garhwali or Gurkha—would be found of assistance. He should be provided with an extra broad pair of good nailed boots.
Gurla Mandhata (25,350 feet) is just over the frontier in Tibet. Access to it is at present barred by our own Government. It can be reached through Kumaon in a fortnight from Almora, and is probably easily climbable from the Gurla Glacier.[31]
In Garhwal the Rishi Nali with Nanda Devi (25,660 feet) is the centre of attraction.[32] Under present conditions it is not likely to be climbed.
Dunagiri (23,184 feet), an outlier of this group, is pretty certainly climbable by Graham’s route—the south-west ridge—from a bivouac at the head of the Tolma valley. Farther north, Kamet (25,443 feet), allied with bad weather, has so far defied repeated attacks.
Every variety of climbing is to be found on these mountains, and it is a region that seems to exert an extraordinary fascination on every one who has visited it.
In the matter of securing coolies for climbing purposes, it is well to remember that the Kumaonis are a poor lot; the Danpurias and Garhwalis are better; the partially Hinduized Bhotias of Badrinath Niti and Milam are good; the still more Mongolian people of Gharbyang, and of the north-west corner of Nepal, are splendid, and can be taken on into Tibet.
Tehri Garhwal.
This small native hill state, west of British Garhwal, contains some very fine peaks around Gangotri. It is reached from Lansdowne or Mussoori. To facilitate travel, an introduction should be obtained to the Rajah. The mountains present a most promising and practically untouched field for the mountaineer. As coolies, the local men in the north are probably pretty good.
The Simla Hill States.
Kangra, Kulu, Spiti, Lahaol and Bushahr embrace a very large mountain area, and offer unlimited scope to the less ambitious mountaineer. It is an ‘alpine’ region, but still on the Himalayan scale. The peaks rarely attain 23,000 feet. But probably more actual climbing can be obtained in one season here than in any other section of the Himalaya. General Bruce’s book, Kulu and Lahoul, should be consulted.
The entry is from Dharmsala or Simla. The latter, probably, will be easiest for new-comers to India, since there is a railway to Simla; and at Simla supplies and servants can be obtained.
Hindus, Buddhists, and nominal Moslems are met with, and for coolies, it would seem that the quality of the natives improves as we move north.
Chamba is a semi-independent hill state. The arrangements for travelling must be made with the Rajah. It is a difficult country, and not very promising. Manimais (or Mani Mahais), however, looks magnificent.
Kashmir and Karakoram.
The mountaineering literature on the Karakoram is voluminous, and it would be out of place to enter into details. A drawback to this region is the time it takes to reach the mountains. The railway runs to Rawal Pindi; thence by carriage or motor to Srinagar, two to ten days, according to the state of the road. From there it is a matter of coolie or pony transport, according to the time of year and the route chosen. The time taken from Srinagar to Astor (for the Nanga Parbat group) will be again about ten days; or from Srinagar to Skardu (for the western Karakoram) about a fortnight. From Srinagar to Leh takes about three weeks. The routes themselves vary considerably according to the time of year.
It may be remarked that there is a very promising 25,000-foot group, which can be easily reached from Panamik in the Upper Nubra Valley.[33] Unfortunately, our party was prevented by bad weather from making anything like a thorough reconnaissance. It would probably take two months to reach the foot of the peak from England.
The Kashmiris (mainly Moslems) on the whole are a poor lot, and as servants and followers they are apt to ill-treat and rob the up-country villagers. But both Baltis (Moslems) and Ladakhis (Buddhists) are splendid as coolies if they are handled properly.
The Hindu Khush, etc.
With regard to the Gilgit Agency, of which the native states of Hunza and Nagar form part, it must be borne in mind that permission to travel is difficult to obtain. The country is poor, and transport and supplies are hardly sufficient for the use of the garrison and the frontier officers, who have to be constantly on tour.
The seven distinct tribes inhabiting the Agency vary in quality from the point of view of the mountaineer. Most of the shikaris are splendid cragsmen, and some of the Hunza men are acquainted with axe and rope.
The Hindu Khush, extending from Hunza through Ishkoman, Punyal, Yasin, Ghizr and Chitral to the Afghan border, contains many, almost untouched, fine mountains and glaciers, culminating in the wonderful group of Tirich Mir (25,426 feet). But the conditions of transport and frontier policy will render access difficult for some years to come. Yet the region is a most interesting one and the scenery very varied, for it includes the water-parting between the Indus and the Oxus. Many aspects of the country, both physical and human, vividly recalled to me memories of the Caucasus.