Kakhari and other peaks Northern Kohistan. From the roadhead at Gabral, A. Cormack, leader, R. Metcalfe, J. Peck, Dr. I. Piper and I walked up the Gabral valley for 25 miles and set up Base Camp at 11,000 feet. From there another camp was put in a snow bowl on the east side of the valley at 15,000 feet and two peaks of 16,300 (August 14) and 16,600 feet (August 16) were climbed by Metcalfe and Piper. In the meantime Cormack and I had crossed the frontier ridge of Swat and Chitral to the west of the valley via a 16,000-foot pass, travelled down a subsidiary glacier to the Manali Gol and reached Bashkargolo Chat (lake) in Thalo Gol. Here we met the Austrian expedition from Graz, which had just climbed Ghokhar Sar and Harambot Zom. Returning up the Kachhikhani Gol, we left the Kachhikhani an on our left, following the Kachhikhani Glacier to a 17,000-foot col (between P 18,581 and P 19,262 on the Survey of Indian ½-inch map), which led back to the camp established on first crossing the frontier ridge. From this camp on August 23 Cormack and I climbed a peak of 17,800 feet on the ridge immediately south of the pass. On the following day we were all reunited at Base Camp and promptly stormbound for a week. Metcalfe, Peck and I then recrossed the frontier ridge and on September 3 from the old camp climbed a peak of 17,300 feet on the ridge to the north of the pass. Two days later Metcalfe and I climbed Kakhari (19,262 feet), still farther north, from the 17,000-foot col mentioned previously. Generally we enjoyed good weather but firm snow was rare and the rock shattered and loose. Still unclimbed are 1) Haranbit (19,675 feet), 2) P 19,072, inaccurately shown on the Survey of India map, 3) P 18,454 at the head of the Manali Glacier, 4) twin peaks both well over 18,000 feet on the frontier ridge south of No. 3. The first two would probably be best approached up the Thalo Glacier. The last two and possibly No. 3 might be gained from the glacier on the Swat side of the ridge. Neither Manali Gol nor the Manali Glacier can be recommended as approaches, though No. 3 would almost certainly prove easiest from that direction.

Robert Collister, Cambridge University Mountaineering Club