Asia, India-Eastern Karakoram, Saser Kangri III

Publication Year: 1987.

Saser Kangri III. I was the leader of the 25-man Indo-Tibetan Border Police expedition. We left Leh on April 16 and approached up the Shyok valley along the old “Silk Route” toward Sinkiang. The Shyok had to be forded 17 times before we got on April 26 to Base Camp at 15,300 feet at the snout of the North Shukpa Kanchang Glacier. We approached the peak up that glacier. We established Camps I, II, III, IV and V at 16,300, 17,000, 18,700, 20,000 and 21,700 feet. We had to climb steep ice and rock, especially above Camp III and fixed 2000 meters of rope. We were lucky that on May 15 the weather was untypically fine when we got the chance to make the first summit climb. Dawa Tsering, Rubgias, Suddi Man, Magan Singh, Sharap Shalden and Tsering Sherpa left Camp V at four A.M. and reached the summit (7495 meters, 24,590 feet) at 11:45 A.M. A second summit party, Phurba Sherpa, Bihari Lal, Neem Dorjee, Tejwar Singh, Tsering Somla and Sher Singh, climbed to the summit the next day. A third summit attempt had to be called off when R.S. Negi suddenly developed pulmony edema while climbing to Camp IV and had to be evacuated, first by being carried down and then by helicopter. After the completion of the climb, we rafted down the turbulent, icy-cold Shyok to get back to habitation.

S.P. Chamoli, Indo-Tibetan Border Police