Asia, India—Kashmir and Jammu, East Kishtwar Peaks

Publication Year: 1990.

East Kishtwar Peaks. Our team comprised Bob Reid, Roger Webb, Dave Saddler and me. We were active to the north of the Dharlang Nala during early September. Since all high-altitude food and some equipment had been lost by the airline, the original objective, the west face of P 6400, was not attempted. Saddler and I switched our attention to the first shapely rock-and-ice peak on the east flank of the Muni Nala just above its junction with the Dharlang Nala, while Reid and Webb tackled the snow-and-ice peak on the west side. On September 7, Saddler and I finally climbed our peak (5990 meters, 19,653 feet) via the southwest face after an earlier attempt was thwarted by avalanches and bad weather. After three rock pitches, we climbed broken ground to bivouac at 400 meters height in a rock cave. Then ice chutes were climbed, mostly by moonlight, to an upper icefield and the summit ridge. We descended to the rock cave in the night, giving a total of 29 hours of continuous climbing. The face was 2200-meters-high and of Alpine D. Sup. difficulty. Reid and Webb topped out on their peak (5950 meters, 11,521 feet) on September 10 after two days of climbing. The ascent was a straightforward snow-and-ice climb (A.D.) with some objective danger.

Graham E. Little, Scottish Mountaineering Club