Asia, India, Garhwal, Changabang and Dunagiri Attempts

Publication Year: 1982.

Changabang and. Dunagiri Attempts. The members of our expedition were Andrzej Pawlik, Andrzej Mirga, Marek Kozik, Tadeusz Preyzner, Zbigniew Dudrak, Dr. Andrzej Pilc, Wojciech Paszynski and I as leader. We had hoped to attempt the north side of Changabang. The Indian Mountaineering Foundation refused permission for Base Camp on the Bagini Gal and so we decided on Base Camp on the Ramani Gal, hoping to get to the north face over the Bagini Pass. On August 28 we started with 15 porters and 50 goats for Dharansi Pass from Surajthota, a quicker and better way we feel than from Lata. Already on August 31 our first group was in Base Camp on the Ramani Gal. The first reconnaissance confirmed an easy ascent to Bagini Pass, but on September 5 Mirga and Preyzner climber P 6191 (20,312 feet) between the pass and Changabang and saw that the approach beyond the pass would be steep and difficult for transporting equipment and that the rocky monolith of the north face would be nearly impossible. On September 6 Kozik and I climbed P 6187 (20,300 feet), south of Changabang. Hanuman (6075 meters, 19,931 feet) was climbed on the 7th by Dudrak, Pawlik and Pile and solo on the 13th by Paszynski. We began transporting supplies to Shipton’s Col, hoping to climb Changabang’s south face up the big depression between the Japanese and Anglo-Polish routes but were prevented by heavy snowfalls. Knowing we did not have enough time, we gave up the attempt. Meanwhile Mirga and Preyzner had been attempting a new route on the southeast face of Dunagiri (7066 meters, 23,133 feet), up the 50° to 60° ice face to the left of the Tasker-Renshaw route. On September 22 they reached the Swiss first-ascent ridge and continued up it to 6850 meters (22,475 feet) but were stopped by bad snow conditions and falling snow. They had left their sleeping bags at the last (third) bivouac and could not risk another bivouac without them. They descended the route they had ascended. On September 26 we left Base Camp.

Bogdan Strzelski, Krakow Students’ Alpine Club, Poland