Ski Traverse of the Great Himalaya Range from Ladakh to Kashmir. During March Jay Jensen, Gordon Wiltsie and I made a successful 75 kilometer ski trek from Panikhar in Ladakh to Kashmir. After a spectacular plane flight from Srinagar to Leh, a stirring Tibetan freedom rally in Leh, and a two-day drive along some of the most remote roads in the world, we found ourselves in the village of Panikhar under the shadow of the Nun-Kun massif. We began the ski tour up the Chalong Nala to the amazement of villagers uninitiated to the existence, let alone use, of skis. Our route crossed Bhatkal Pass (Lonvilad Goli) (14,400 feet), followed the downward course of the Warwan Valley (Kaintal Nor), climbed over Gulol Pass (14,452 feet) and finished out the East Liddar River into Pahalgam. Severe storms and a wide gambit of snow conditions accompanied us for the 13-day ski traverse. While descending from Gulol Pass after sitting out a two-day storm, we encountered a rock wall between us and the final valley that led past the summer village of Shesnag and out to Pahalgam. As we were roping down an ice gully splitting this cliff, the three of us were swept away by an avalanche that had originated thousands of feet above on the mountain. The violent slide gained velocity in our narrow gully and carried us 600 feet down to the slopes below. Somehow, we were all alive when the avalanche ended, only partially buried and in sight of what was left of our packs. Gordon suffered two compressed vertebrae (learned later) and a concussion, but managed to struggle out the last twenty miles using the only pair of skis we had left.

Allan Pietrasanta