Harmukh – Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering

M M Munshi from INDIA writes:

It was 1n 1940s as a school boy of the then CMS Headow now Biscoe Memorial School still located at Shiek Bagh Srinagar I climbed the holy peak along with few other boys of the school led by Major Jardeen and N.L.Bakaya our scout and second masters of our school. We were also accompanied by Pathan students of some missionary college of Peshawar. We travelled by a rickety sixteen seater bus from the KMD stand to Kangan in Sind valley. We started trekking from Kangan along the Krenk Nadi stream and encamped at Wangat for the night.

Beyond Wangat climb got steeper and some of us had to take rest frequently [even though most of us had climbed Mahadeo and Zabarwan peaks overlooking the Dal Lake near Srinagar till we reached Nandkul a small lake fed by a glacier. A Kashmiri Pandit teacher told us that its real name was Nandisaras and the whole area was known as Nandikshetra. After another days climb we were at a beautiful site of Gangabal lake about 13,000 ft height The KP teacher explained the lake was originally referred as Utrasaras and was visited by pilgrims sometime in September and October who immersed the ashes of their dead relations . We camped at the shores of this lake for a couple of days to get acclimatised and thoroughly enjoyed the view of the glacier descending from the Harmukh Peak feeding the Gangabal lake. The glacier looks particularly beautiful during the sunrise.

While we were stlll enjoying the process of selection of climbers was going on At first all school boys were asked to stay back at Gangbal and only experienced teachers and boys of the Peshawar college were to go. The school boys pleaded that some of us had performed better than the college boys during the the climb from Kangan to Gangbal. Reluctantly it was agreed that the school boys would make the second attempt Accordingly N.L.Bakaya and college boys etc left the camp for and N.L. Bakaya and two Pathan students actually reached the top, after this tree teachers including NL Bakaya left for the second attempt but halfway we were caught in a hailstorm like of which I have never witnessed since. Hail size of chicken eggs was falling. As instructed by NL Bakaya we covered our heads and faces with whatever we could find in our kit returned to Gangabal As weather showed no improvement and after a days rest be trekked back to Kangan to eventually reached Srinagar

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I will send a detailed note of my successful ascent of Haramukh about 20 years latter

2012-07-28