Trip Notes - 2015 Pangong Peaks Exploratory
Our first night in the Changtang. We drove from Leh today, delayed by a day after a large rainstorm that washed out portions of the road over the 5300m pass that brings you to here, the western extension of the broad Tibetan plateau. We are a group of 4.
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| Our first camp in Pangong. |
This is Jerry Clayton's 4th trip with us, and he invited
two friends for the trip. Our plan is simple, we have a little less than two weeks, and a
short trek of about 5 days that traverses the Ladakh range. Along the
way, there are numerous 5000 & 6000 meter peaks, with glaciated
faces, granite ridgelines, and new routes to explore. We will make camps
along the route, and then climb the peaks.
Our team is 8 with Ram Lal (horsemen), Phuntsok (cook), Kunsang
(sirdar), and Gomba (assistant climbing guide). Ten horses will be
hoofing the expedition gear, and we will be carrying light packs, saving
our energy for the climbing.
Today's drive was fairly uneventful, with some detours between Karu
and Choglamsar, as the main road was washed out. Leaving the Leh-Manali
highway, we drove out of Karu, but not before having to hide the Brit,
Nick Godfrey, as he had mistakenly forgotten his passport in the hotel
and with a police checkpost to pass, they would want to see it if he was
spotted in the vehicle. Nick did his best backpack interpretation,
hiding underneath a yellow tarp and packs in the third seat of the
Scorpio jeep.
Passing through the checkpost without a hitch, we climbed toward the
Chang La, our first crossing of the Ladakh range for the trip.
Descending, we made it past our last checkpost, with Nick sighing
relief, and are now in our first camp next to the creek.
6/8/15 | Doksa camp | 4847m
A
three hour walk brought us to our camp today, with a textbook 300 meter
gain in altitude, the team is resting and acclimatizing. Jerry has
picked up a stomach bug somewhere along the way, and has started a
course of antibiotics to remedy. Nick went for a hike in the direction
we are planning to go tomorrow, and spotted a Tibetan wild ass (Kiang).
Everyone this morning had an oxygen saturation above 90 percent as we
left our camp down by the lake. Showers came through this afternoon,
but looked worse than they actually were, with only a few drops falling
in camp. Dinner is chopping and preparing in the kitchen tent next
door, and the quiet continues.
8/8/15 | 5349m | Bulchen Togpo BC #1
We've just descended from a climb of peak 6020m, with Cindy, Nick,
and Jerry all making the summit. Gomba Sherpa and I were assisting. The
curse is broken. This is Jerry's fourth trip with us and we've finally
made a summit with him, not without some spectacular trekking in the
past 4 years.
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| Our base camp for peak 6020m (Nikalu). |
We were just acclimatized for the climb, and we all were certainly
feeling the final meters to the summit. Cindy had a mild headache along
with Nick, but both had a good general impression, and continued to the
summit. From the summit ridge you could see the Karakoram, along with
Kang Yatze to the southwest. It was Cindy's personal altitude record,
with Elbrus being the highest that she had climbed.
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| On the summit of Peak 6020m (Nikalu). |
Everyone is now resting in base camp, which we approached yesterday
and everyone is really happy with. Glacial riverside, with nice grass
and plenty of room to spread out. It's nice to start at 5300m as
opposed to 5000m. That extra 300m | 1000ft makes a big difference.
Ram
Lal, the horseman, spotted Kiang (Tibetan Wild Ass) this morning. He
keeps an eye out as they sometimes can cause trouble with the horses. A
lone chough circled us on the summit this afternoon, and we spotted
marmots here and there as we climbed and descended.
In
the distant valley adjacent, we spotted many dzos grazing on the
abundant grass. Tomorrow we'll move further up the valley, into new
peaks and more climbing.
12/8/15 | 5143m | 1541 | Yar La Chumik
A
lot to catch up on, 4 days in the making. We've since risen up to
clear skies at Bulchen Togpo camp 1, went for a reccy of the upper
portion of the watershed, and then packed up camp and moved to "BC 2". It is no new camp for the Himalaya Alpine Guides, and this year is a local "doksa" camp that was
currently keeping more than 50 yaks, whom had "left their mark" amongst
the grassy green islets whereupon we'd erected our tents for the
night. A short trek to get there, everyone appreciated being 300 meters
lower for the night, camped at 5000 meters and breathing the extra
oxygen.
I
spent the late afternoon and evening scanning the maps and photos I had
taken on our previous summit, deciding on our next objective, and hence
the name of our mini expedition, the "Pangong Peaks Exploratory". We
were here to climb peaks.
Onwards.
We rose to clear skies, packed up the horses, and started climbing up
an alluvial fan towards the base camp for our next climb. Peppered with
glacial errratics, we weaved and switchbacked our way up the wash,
noticing yak furrows here and there amongst the wildflowers and
heather. The horses catching us up, I moved on with them, instructing
the group to take it slow, and slower than that while climbing to our
camp at 5500m with Gomba Sherpa and a packed lunch.
Cresting
the toe of the ablation valley, the peak came into view on the horizon.
My immediate thoughts were, "We do not have enough time for this peak."
It was beautiful, with one of the other climbers remarking later on in
the day that it would be a national park if elsewhere. Camp
set, we sat and talked about our options on the peak, with one day to
work with for the climb. I knew going into this trip that we would be
hurried for the objectives I had in mind for the group. Himalayan
climbing takes time.
For
the first week, you simply are unwinding and your body adjusting its
circadian rhythms to a new time zone, diet, and mountain life. For the
second week, you are really beginning to acclimatize. The body begins
acclimatizing in the first 72 hours you arrive to high altitude, but it
takes far longer than that for you to begin to feel strong and for
things to physiologically be "clicking" at altitude. By the third week,
you are in the groove and ready to climb. If you interested in
alpinism at altitude, you need at least three weeks, historical ascents
can show you this, be it in the Alaska range, Himalayas, or the Arctic.
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| Looking out on the range. |
Back
to the trip, we had a 6000 meter climb under our belt, and in just 7
days from arriving to Leh. This was impressive with it being on a
remote peak with no record of its prior ascent, regardless of it being
mostly a scramble. We were now parked at 5500m on day 10 at high
altitude. Our bodies had been exposed to altitude, and we had been up
above 5800m (what is considered "extreme" altitude), but we were just
starting to show signs of acclimatization. Each of us were still getting
elevated heart rates at rest, and shortness of breath even with a slow
climbing pace.
Our
oxygen saturation rates still remained in the 80's at 5000+ meters.
This showed that we were OK at the elevation, but a good level of
acclimatization would show us all in the 90's at 5000 meters. This was a
quick trip, and indeed we were lucky to have already climbed a 6000m
peak in the first weeks of the trip. As we got the final tent set the
group rolled in and the sky fell with hail, wind, and cold.
We
worked to bolster all the tents with large stones anchoring the guy
lines, and then jumped in to await its passing, as the pair of other
squalls that came and went thus far on the trip, as afternoon convective
showers. This one wasn't leaving, and a cold came with it. The weather
turned as the barometer dropped, and poking our heads out intermittently
we could just see the base of the glacier, with no peak in sight. We
served dinner as the showers and wind stopped, a low had settled on us,
with all the peaks in sight covered in a veil of gray, even out to the
Aksai Chin.
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| The group at a camp beneath peak 6200m. |
A
pizza dinner with french fries, and we headed to bed planning to wake
with the sun and see what the weather held. Occasional showers
continued throughout the night, with no wind, which had me thinking the
weather was sticking around, and I had no interest in getting stuck on
this side of the pass with a foot or more of new snow. When the morning
came, we packed up and headed for the pass, planning to cross before any
potential weather came in.
The
day remained surprisingly calm, and we made it over the pass without a
drop of rain or flake of snow. I was glad nonetheless knowing we
wouldn't have to back track to our starting point and the horses and
everyone safe. It's a challenge to make weather decisions in a remote
area with no access to forecasts (satellite phones being illegal in India). You
have to always play the conservative safe card when the weather looks
even slightly marginal. I've seen to many large storms over the past few
seasons to play the cards any other way.
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| Crossing the Ladakh range. |
We
are now resting next to the Likche nala, Cindy and Gomba climbed a 5000
meter peak today, and Jerry and Nick rested and made plans for their
canyoning trip in the Utah desert in September. We will walk down the
river tomorrow to the trailhead at Likche, where Tashi will meet us with
the jeep. Some of the members of the Nun expedition have already
arrived to Leh, and we will be meeting on the morning of the 16th August in Leh to prepare to head into the Stok range for a climb of Stok Kangri. -Luke Smithwick, guide, Himalaya Alpine Guides (www.himalaya-alpine.com)
