First Ascent of Bhagirathi IV, V, and P 18,500. The members of our team were Ganga Singh Negi, Minoo I. Mehta, Kripal Singh Negi, Padam Dutt Nautiyal (the last two high-altitude porters) and I as leader. We set up Base Camp at Nandanban (14,500 feet) on June 1. On June 3, we finally found a shepherds’ campsite up the ablation valley along the glacier where Camp I was set up at 15,500 feet. Padam, Kripal and I went up through a cleft in the boulder ridge to have a close look at Bhagirathi V. From a plateau on top of the ridge, Bhagirathi V was visible from its base to top; From there a ridge led to a peak of 18,200 feet. Then there was a gap with a rocky face on both sides. Another peak of 18,500 feet was nearby. June 4 dawned very fine. Kripal and Padam left at eight A.M. and gained the top of the ridge quickly. They then gained the gap where the snow was thigh-deep. Beyond the gap a not too steep snowy ridge descended from P 18,500. The snow was good to the rocky summit. From the top they studied the approaches to Bhagirathi V, which was all rock. The gap and the ridge from the 18,200er seemed feasible. After descending to the gap, they climbed the ridge to the 18,200er and proceeded to the summit of Bhagirathi V (19,000 feet). On June 5 we set up Camp II at 16,500 feet on the left lateral moraine of the Vasuki Glacier. We decided to attempt Bhagirathi IV from the Vasuki Glacier. On June 6 Padam, Minoo and Kripal started up the ablation valley on the left. Where it disappeared, they crossed over to the slopes of the ridge, negotiated a few subsidiary ridges and reached the base of Bhagirathi IV. They zigzagged up its 45° slope and reached the summit (18,000 feet) at two P.M. On June 7 Ganga and I left for the northernmost peak on the ridge. The eastern face was steep, and there was not much snow on it. Near the summit it was all rock with the slabs standing in the wrong direction. We reached the summit (17,800 feet) at 9:30 A.M.

G.R. Patwardhan, Extracted with permission from Himavanta