Asia, India—Garhwal, Mana

Publication Year: 1989.

Mana. A 32-man team of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police was led by Company Commander Harbhajan Singh. They left Joshimath on April 15, but due to a road block eleven kilometers short of Malari, had to trek 78 kilometers to Base Camp; snow had destroyed the mule track and a new route had to be opened and log bridges improvised. Base Camp at Vasundhara Tal at 4725 meters was reached on April 28. Camps I, II, III and IV were set up at 5060, 5995, 6400 and 6720 meters on May 4, 7, 13 and 15. They approached from the bottom of the east face, traversing north and finally getting to the north ridge between Mana and Kämet. The route beyond Camp III involved technical climbing. Thirteen members left Camp IV at five A.M. on May 21. Ten of them, including the leader, turned back at noon because of heavy snow fall, but three, Chholden Sherpa, Kanhaiya Lai and Tsewang Smanla had already reached the summit (7272 meters, 23,860 feet) at 11:50. Three hundred feet of rope were fixed in the last 500 meters. Persistent snowfall made further attempts impossible.

Kamal K. Guha, Editor, Himavanta, India