Asia, Afghanistan, "Kohanha" (Kohe Qala Ust)

Publication Year: 1975.

“Kohanha” (Kohe Qala Ust). Jerzy Wala suggests as a better name “Kohalha” (Camel Humps) for Wala Peak 421, previously called Kohe Qala Ust. The east and west peaks resemble the humps of a camel; moreover the Qala Ust valley does not head up onto the peaks, which lie farther west along the frontier divide of the High Hindu Kush where the eastern Eshan and the western Sast (Sust) valleys lie opposite each other. (See map on page 138 of Österreichische Alpenzeitung, N° 1386, November/December, 1972.) These camel humps were the last 6000ers to be climbed in the eastern Hindu Kush, both ascended by separate Polish expeditions in 1974, the western one, Kohanha Garbi (Wala 421.1; 20,700 feet) from the Eshan valley and the eastern one, Kohanha Sarghi (Wala 421.2; 20,670 feet) from the Sast valley. The first expedition of the Akedemicki Klub Alpinistyczny and Stoleczny Klub Tatranski Warszawa was led by Jan Zauner and composed of C. Czerwinski, Mrs. M. Mitkie- wicz, M. Janas, Z. Kozlwski and Zdrojewski. They had Base Camp at 14,000 feet in the Eshan valley and Advanced Base at 16,350 feet. On Kohanhi West they had Camp I and II at 18,050 and 19,000 feet on the rock and ice north ridge. The six reached the top. Mitkiewicz and Kozlowski also climbed P 5542 (Wala 426; 18,182 feet) and its northern neighbor P 5235 (17,175 feet). They further climbed P 5471 and P 5534 (Wala Peaks 413 and 414; 17,950 and 18,156 feet) on the western rim of the Eshan valley, P 5150 (16,897 feet), east of Wala 414 and P 5411 (17,753 feet), close to the route up Kohanha West. They also ascended Noshaq by the Austrian Route. The other Polish expedition of the Klub Wysokogorsky-Szczecin was led by Tadeusz Rewaj and composed of T. Drozd, P. Henschke, W. Lipinski, B. Komar- nicki and J. Drzymuchowski. They placed Base Camp where the east and west branches of the Sast valley join. They ascended the east branch to Kohanha East. First they climbed Makhrut e Safed (c. 5850 meters or 19,193 feet) and advanced along the difficult snow and ice northeast ridge, where they found cornices and crevasses. Drozd, Henschke, Lipinski and Rewaj climbed Kohanha East on August 18. The following climbs were made on the east rim of the Sast valley: Kohe Awal (Wala 450; 17,156 feet) on August 9 by Drozd, Henschke, Lipinski, Rewaj; Kohe Kadim (Wala 455; 17,225 feet) on August 10 via southwest ridge by Drzymuchowski, Komarnicki; traverse of the frontier ridge toward Qala Ust valley of Sakhe Kuchek (Wala 448; 17,746 feet), Rakhe Hart (17,881 feet) on August 18 and Sakhe Lagar (Wala 447; 17,979 feet) on August 19 by Drzymuchowski, Komarnicki. On the western rim of the Sast valley, the following were climbed: Makhrute Syah (Wala 424; 18,832 feet) via north glacier on August 25 by Drozd, Lipinski, Rewaj; Sakhe Pomeriana (Wala 425; 19,078 feet) via northeast ridge on August 25; Kohe Sast Payan (Wala 433; 18,055 feet) via east face. Dandane Sast (Wala 434; c. 17,390 feet) via east ridge and Kohe Hoshk (between Wala 433 and 434; c. 17,390 feet) these three on August 26 and all four by Drzymuchowski, Komarnicki.

Adolf Diemberger, Österreichischer Alpenklub