Asia, India, Uttar Pradesh, Central Garhwal, Jaonli, Attempt, and Various Ascents

Publication Year: 1999.

Jaonli, Attempt, and Various Ascents. A British expedition to Jaonli (6632m) failed to climb the peak due to a six-day spell of heavy rain from September 20 to 25. Deep fresh snow prevented any advance beyond 5400 meters on the normal Northwest Flank route. The team also had considerable difficulty in reaching Base Camp up the Lod Gad Valley. The route had not been visited for two years and has been abandoned by local shepherds. The Bhagirathi River was crossed by a wire bridge three kilometers north of Dabrani, then a difficult crossing was made of the Lod Gad side stream. From there, the first six kilometers of the route up the south bank of the Lod Gad was badly overgrown and took three days. For compensation, the team climbed three 5000-meter peaks on the south side of the Jaonli Glacier: Pt. 5447m by its northeast face (PD), Pt. 5349m by its north ridge (PD), and an unnamed peak two kilometers west of Pt. 5447, which was climbed by its west face and traversed (AD). This summit was reckoned to be ca. 5480 meters, making it the highest in this attractive group of training peaks. The name Trimulti has been suggested.

Three members also crossed a new col linking the Jaonli and Din Gad valleys at 5120 meters to the west of Pt. 5447. The route then crossed a small glacier at the head of the Kola Gad to gain a broad saddle at 4800 meters on the Din Gad watershed. The grade of the traverse was PD+.

Martin Moran, Alpine Climbing Group