#Sujal Mukherjee

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A Happy Ascent of Satopanth in 2016- A report

A Happy Ascent of Satopanth 7075m

Summary: In September 2016, a small group of climbers from India and Germany climbed Satopanth (7075m) and an unnamed 6008m peak by the traditional routes in semi alpine style and without using any fixed rope on its famous north-east ridge-north face route. 

Text and Photos: Anindya Mukherjee

Satopanth from Sundar Bamak, photo: Anindya Mukherjee

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The happy climber, like the aged Ulysses, is one who has “drunk delight of battle with his peers”, and this delight is only attainable by assaulting cliffs which tax to their utmost limits of the powers of the mountaineers engaged. This struggle involves the same risk, whether early climbers attacked what we now call easy rock, or whether we moderns attack formidable rock, or whether the ideal climber of the future assaults cliffs which we now regard as hopelessly inaccessible. -A.F.Mummery[1]

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Snow coated the mountain range and one mountain in particular.

All of the other mountains stood nearby.

Calling it fortunate, calling it lucky.

The mountain was proud; its peers have noticed him for the very first time.

-Peter Mariutto, Observation & Perception

The Mountain and its Peers

It was end of July, 1947. The Swiss Garwal expedition, after the miraculous survival of their Sherpa Sirdar Wangdi Norbu[2]and after successfully climbing Kedarnath; moved up east towards Chaturangi glacier with the intention to climb Bhagirathi I. But as they got closer to their objective they were not so sure anymore. Andre Roch writes,  

We established a camp at about 16,000 feet at Chaturangi and on 29th July we started off up the Sundar glacier. It turned to the right and we could not quite see to the head, but such as was visible was hardly encouraging. The valley was closed by a granite wall topped with blue ice which broke off continually, starting avalanches that swept right over the glacier. I hesitated, for if the entire approach was threatened by falling seracs Bhagirathi would be out of the question.

My friends thought the approach to Satopanth seemed better, so we changed our plans, and, not wishing to waste the rest of the day, we decided to establish a camp at its foot. It was pouring with rain, but we climbed to about 18,000 feet and pitched our tents on the moraine of the side glacier which flows from Satopanth itself.[3]

In the summit party of Satopanth, theirs was a team of 3 Swiss alpinists (Rene Dittert, Alexander Graven, Andre Roch) and 5 sherpas. Andre Roch writes about the summit day, 

'Next morning Tenzing[4]started the primus at 2.30 and an hour and a half later we left the camp on two ropes, Sutter and Graven, followed by Dittert and me. It was still dark, but the sun rose as we climbed the first slope.... On the last rocks, 500 feet below the summit ridge, we paused. Here the slope became much steeper, the top was overhung with cornices, and the avalanche danger seemed greater than ever. We hesitated, wondering what to do. My friends tied themselves to a rock and I climbed 70 yards, the length of the two ropes knotted end to end. Then I dug a hole in the snow from where I could make a decision. A slightly crusted layer of snow about 2 feet thick rested on the ice without sticking to it, and a small granulous layer separated the snow from the ice. This was perfect for avalanches, but I thought that, had the situation really been as dangerous as it appeared, an avalanche would already have swept down, or at least there would be signs of cracks on the north face. There were neither, and I estimated that the weight of four men on the layer of snow should not be enough to start an avalanche. Besides, it would have been a shame to have given up so near the summit. Unroped I climbed the slope alone to see if it would go. The snow held, and I reached the ridge in about twenty minutes, crossed it and sat down on my sack to rest and look at the incomparable view. My friends soon joined me.

                                              Andre Roch                         Rene Dittert                               Alexander Graven 

Thus, Satopanth became an ‘unexpected conquest’ for the team and the mountain was climbed for the very first time. Apart from this expedition climbing Satopanth (and few more mountains in the same trip), it was special as this was the first post war foreign expedition to climb in India[5].  But this was not the first time the mountain had seen its seekers. Satopanth was first attempted by an Austrian team (R. Schwarzgruber) in 1938, from both the northeast and northwest ridges, but without success. The second ascent of Satopanth came only in 1981, again from the northeast ridge, (M. Gardzielewski and L. Lehrer). Then in the following year (1982), a Japanese team (K. Toya) made the third ascent of the mountain. The west summit of Satopanth was climbed first by a Japanese team (M. Omiya) from the northwest ridge in 1984. The south face (from the Swachand Bamak) was first attempted by Polish climbers in 1983, by Hungarians and the Japanese in 1984. This face was first climbed by a Polish team (R. Kolakowski and T. Kopys) in 1986[6].

The first Indian attempts on the mountain were done by a Kolkata based club ‘Gangotri Glacier Exploration Committee’ (G.G.E.C) in 1968 and 1974 consecutively. Biren Sarkar the leader of the 1974 expedition wrote: “After its failure to climb Satopanth (23123’) in 1968, Gangotri Glacier Exploration Committee took it as a prime objective to make another attempt on the same peak...without employing any sherpas or instructors from any mountaineering institute. With this end in view, team consisting of 14 members pushed onto Sundar Bamak and set up a main base at 17400’...Members reconnoitred the upper region of Sundar Bamak, fixed up rope on the dangerous and difficult north ridge at 19000’. Unfortunately, series of avalanches roared down from the crest of the north ridge at 19000’ and this has in fact prevented us from setting up a camp...from where the summit attempt was anticipated to be made. ...Sujal Mukherjee, one of our climbing members, had also developed lung trouble with fever and breathing difficulty. Considering the seriousness of the situation we had to abandon the expedition and rush to the lower region for safety. It was therefore our second defeat.”[7]

Sujal Mukherjee, the climber who developed pneumonia in the 1974 Satopanth climb, happens to be my uncle. Much later, I learnt from my interactions with Sujal, how deeply he felt about ‘almost’ climbing Satopanth back in 1974. Over the years, after going through similar experiences myself, I can relate with Sujal’s feelings totally. But what I admire more than anything else is the fact they were climbing Satopanth without any Sherpa or high altitude porter support.  Back in those days such bold and purist style of mountaineering was unthinkable in the Indian climbing scene and neither has the scene changed much today.  

Although in 1974, the G.G.E.C gang were lucky enough to escape any fatalities, another Indian team in May 1986 was not so lucky. They met with a sad and disastrous end as an avalanche took away four lives and among them was Dr Minoo Mehta[8]. While writing an obituary of Dr. Mehta, Brigadier Gyan Singh wrote,

...he was not too enamoured of the imported mountaineering culture. They are too competitive and commercial, he felt. He thought Indians could evolve their own mountaineering ethos in keeping with their culture and heritage. [9]

We did see perhaps a hint of the ‘mountaineering ethos’ Dr. Minoo Mehta was talked about in his post Everest (1984) ventures.  In 1985, he led a two-man expedition to Matri and then in 1986 another very lightweight expedition to Satopanth, which in an unforgiving manner took away the entire team of climbers.

Satopanth today is one of the most well-known and popular mountains (after Nun possibly) of the Indian Himalaya. It is difficult to get a booking with the Indian Mountaineering Foundation in a desirable period as agents tend to pre-book the mountain for their ‘clients’. Western climbers, especially Germans, seem to have developed a fascination for Satopanth (while the French have for Nun). This is possibly due to its impressive altitude and the variety of technical permutations and combinations of varying difficulty, which the massif has to offer. Many large Indian expeditions regularly climb Satopanth as part of their Pre-Everest exercise and leave the mountain scathed and littered in the process[10].  

But, to me and my comrades however, it is its peers such as Dr Mehta and Sujal, make the mountain more interesting and worthy of a climb and that too in a style and ethos that these climbers stood for.  Satopanth killed Dr. Mehta in 1986 and cancer took away Sujal Mukherjee in 1994. But their legacy lives on to keep inspiring us.  

Approach

Our team united in Delhi on August 28, 2016. After the routine briefing session at the Indian Mountaineering Foundation we took an overnight train to Dehradun.  Early morning hours saw us driving past the Dehradun roads and soon we were on a relatively quiet road to Uttarkashi. We spent an additional day at Uttarkashi. On that day, part of our team got busy in running around with copies of permits that we had already obtained from the Indian Mountaineering Foundation and The Chief Wildlife Warden’s office of Uttarakhand, to deliver at the offices of the Forest department, Police department, District administration and the list goes on. Rest of the team however could engage in more productive work of shopping of food and grocery and packing. On the first day of September, we drove to Gangotri. The air was finally clean and the heat almost lovable. Our spirits rose to the thought of the weeks ahead of us. 

Our team having lunch together in Gangotri

On September 2, 2016, after more paperwork at the entrance of the Gangotri National Park we were finally away to the mountains. In three days, with camps at Bhujbas and Nandanvan we reached Vasuki Tal (4680m) and established our Base Camp. From the very next morning, i.e. September 5, we started carrying loads to a suitable Advance Bace Camp site. After 3 days, the ABC was all supplied and we acclimatised a bit more. The ABC was at an altitude of 5200m on the lateral moraine of Sundar Bamak. While approaching the ABC I was reminded of the incident of the missing trekkers of Kalindi (2010) and showed my friends exactly where and how I found (July 2011) the dead bodies of the 8 missing (3 trekkers from West Bengal and 5 from Uttarkashi). It was a silent reminder of how insignificant we are against the fury of nature and death among other affairs is one of the easiest things to happen.

The view of Satopanth massif from Sundar glacier is one of the most breathtaking views I have ever had in the Indian Himalaya. The scale and grandeur of Satopanth simply dominates the canvas here. Once one takes the turn from Chaturangi glacier and drops down to Sundar Bamak, one enters the royal court of the mighty Satopanth. No human being then will have the power to take his eye off his majesty or even bat an eyelid when the day is clear and the mountain is in full view.  The description of the massif however has been given in a more matter of fact manner by Brig. Ashok Abbey (then Major),

When viewed from the head of the Sundar valley, Satopanth has a trapezium shaped near horizontal summit, with a prominent rock band on its north face. The east summit of the massif is 7075 m while the west summit is 7045 m. The ridge joining both the summits is almost 500 to 700 m long and runs from west to east, before finally taking a southeast direction, from a slight kink on the summit ridge. The north face of the mountain has two prominent ridges, the northeast ridge and the northwest ridge. The northeast ridge of the mountain, starting from Pt 7075 m is about 6 km long and peters out at pt 5801 m, which is the northern most point of the ridge. The ridge separates Suralaya Bamak from the Sundar Bamak. The northwest ridge is about 2 km long. Emanating from the west summit, the ridge drops to a col and then rises to a rocky pinnacle (Pt 6010 m), before joining the Sundar Bamak. The south face of the mountain has the southeast and the southwest ridges. The south face is bounded by the Swachand Bamak. The Suralaya Bamak lies to the east of the massif.[11]

Satopanth and its NE ridge, Photo: Anindya Mukherjee

The Climb

We had finally shifted to ABC from Vasuki Tal on the 9thof September and in the next 2 days we now established another camp, bringing us a bit closer to the beginning of the actual climb of the north-east Ridge. This camp was approximately 5350m and was located on the true right lateral moraines of the East Sundar glacier. We found remnants of old camps here. On 12thSeptember, myself and Mahinder started working on gaining the north–east ridge.  Keeping the East Sundar glacier’s icefall to our west, and after negotiating the yawning ‘randkluft’ we started climbing the loose rock step.

ABC in Sundar Bamak, Photo: Anindya Mukherjee

The end of the rock step and beginning of the crevassed fields to the col, Photo: Anindya Mukherjee

From the base of the rock step we fixed 4 coils of static rope and returned to our intermediate camp at 5350m with the news of route to the col (5920m) was now open. Next morning, Chandra and I, volunteered to bring further food and fuel from BC; while Lakpa and Christian did a ferry to the col. On 15th September, Christian and Lakpa moved up to the col on the north-east ridge and set up camp. The very morning of 16thSeptember, saw Christian and Lakpa tackle the north-east ridge.

Col Camp, photo: Christian Ranke

The famous ridge walk, photo: Christian Ranke

They went pitch by pitch, belaying each other in places. They moved fast and light and by mid day of 16th September they reached the summit of Satopanth (7075m). The heavily corniced summit ridge of Satopanth (7075m) and Satopanth West was long and the undulations gave false sense of height to the climbers. So they ended up traversing a few humps until they were satisfied of reaching the highest of them all. It took them 7 hours from the col camp to get to the top and another 5 hours to get back to the safety of their tent on the col.

Lakpa reaching the summit, Photo: Christian Ranke

The summit of Satopanth with its undualted ridge, photo: Christian Ranke

Lakpa being lowered from the summit ridge through the broken cornice, photo Christian Ranke

Lakpa down climbing from the summit ridge. The cornice above was broken by Christian and Lakpa on their way to the top, Photo: Christian Ranke

On 17thSeptember, Aloke, Mahinder and Anindya moved up to the col and camped a little below to avoid high wind. The next morning, 18th September, the three climbed to the col (5920m) and climbed the unnamed ice pinnacle (6008m) due north of the col and came back to the intermediate camp the same day.

convenient camp for the second summit team. Satopanth on the right and 6008m on left, photo: Anindya Mukherjee

The whole team was now united and merry. We had managed to climb a mighty mountain extremely lightweight and by using minimal support. We fixed rope only on the rock step. In total 800mts of static rope was fixed. The formidable north-east ridge was climbed alpine style. In addition to Satopanth, unnamed peak 6008m was also climbed. Within a span of 10 days (Base to Base) two summits were climbed. What more can an alpinist want in order to be happy? Mummery’s comments were now making more sense than ever before.

video clip from the top of 6008m peak

Team

Christian Ranke (Germany), Reinhard Friesinger (Germany), Rajeev Ranjan, Aloke Kumar Das, Lakpa Sherpa, Sayantan Datta (Liaison Officer), Anindya Mukherjee , Ratna Bhadaur, Mahinder Adhikari

 References: 

[1] My Climbs in the Alps and Caucasus-A.F.Mummery

[2]‘Wangdi had cut his throat with his knife which, covered with blood, was stuck in the snow at his side. He told us later that he had seen three men coming to fetch him, but that, seeing them turn back, he had thought himself abandoned. He also heard his wife's voice and thought he was dying of thirst. He decided to end his life as quickly as possible so tried to pierce his heart. Being unsuccessful he tried to cut his throat. His neck and chest were covered with dried blood when we found him, but fortunately he had missed the artery and had only succeeded in making a large gash like a second gaping mouth in the middle of his throat.’- The Swiss Garwal Expedition, Andre Roch, HJ, Vol-15

[3]The Swiss Garwal Expedition, Andre Roch, HJ, Vol-15

[4]Sherpa Tenzing Norgay. The other four sherpas were namely, Ajeeba, Ang Dawa, Ang Norbu, and Penooree

[5]The first post-war foreign expedition to the Himalaya in 1947 was Swiss, led by Andre Roch. I was invited to join the party of five, and it was a revelation to see the abundance and quality of their equipment and food after the austerity of the long war years. During the two months I spent with them, our first base was on the Gangotri glacier when the main summit of Kedarnath peak was climbed, after which the base was moved to Nandanban on the Chaturangi glacier for the ascent of Satopanth. We had the entire region to ourselves. –The Early Years, Trevor Braham, HJ, Vol-64

[6]Satopanth-the Mountain of Good Faith, Major Ashok Abbey, HJ, Vol-54

[7]Satopanth Expedition-1974, Biren Sarkar, Himalayan Mountaineering Journal, Vol-IX, P-128

[8]Dr. Minoo Mehta, Bharat Manghre, Nandu Page and Nar Bahadur died while attempting the mountain by its northwest ridge route

[9]Indian Mountaineer, Spring’87, Number-19,p-174

[10]The author has direct experience and photographic evidence to prove this point

[11]Satopanth-The Mountain of Good Faith- Major Ashok Abbey, HJ, vol-54

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A Little History of Some Big Peaks: the 3rd Sujal Memorial Lecture

It gives us immense pleasure to announce that the 3rd Sujal Mukherjee Memorial Lecture will be held in Kolkata on 19th December, 2015. We are pleased to be able to continue our effort on bringing in an academic environment to the widely popular field of Himalayan mountaineering and trekking in Kolkata, West Bengal. We want to encourage our fellow mountain travelers to approach the high Himalaya not only with courage, but also with knowledge and humility.The Sujal Mukherjee Memorial Lecture series is therefore an instrument through which we want to achieve this goal.

Dr. George W Rodway during one of his expeditions of Mt. Everest

We are indeed honored to have Dr. George W Rodway as our guest speaker for the 3rd Sujal Mukherjee Memorial Lecture. The title of his talk is : " A Little History of Some Big Peaks: The Saga of Medical Science associated with the Struggle for the Heights "

George W. Rodway, PhD, b. 3 March 1959, represents a combination of scientific researcher, mountaineer, science writer and speaker. An Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California, Davis (USA), his academic work focuses on the cardiopulmonary response to hypoxia, and it has on occasion presented him with the opportunity to climb mountains with scientific intent. Field investigations carried out with colleagues at the University College London on Cho Oyu in 2005 and Everest in 2007 are good examples of this. Climbing the mountain was one of the objectives of these research trips, but the primary intent was to perform a series of novel, yet practical physiological and medical studies that threw new light on how people adapt, and at times fail to adapt, to extreme terrestrial altitudes. 

Prof. Dr. George W Rodway

 An active mountaineer since the late 1970s, his scientific interest in high altitude began with the seasons he spent working as a medic on high altitude ranger patrols for the US National Park Service on Denali (Mt. McKinley, 6194m) in Alaska. Other than many climbs of Denali, he has decades of mountain experiences throughout Canada, Mexico, Europe, and the contiguous 48 states of the US. He started climbing in the Himalaya in 1987 and has become a regular visitor to the Himalayan countries. Although slowing down a bit due to the passage of the years, his interest in the high Himalaya continues unabated with an ascent of the north ridge of Everest in 2011 and co-leader of the successful Indian-American climb of Nanda Devi East in 2014. 

His interest in the history of science, especially as it concerns high altitude mountaineering, has given rise to many books and articles, including the soon-to-appear textbook he has edited, Mountain Medicine and Technical Rescue. He is the mountain medicine section editor for the journal Wilderness and Environmental Medicine, and is Co-Director of the USA Diploma of Mountain Medicine. He serves international organizations as well, as an Executive Board member of the International Society for Mountain Medicine and, additionally, as Vice President of the Medical Commission of the Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme (UIAA).

Last but not least, he is a Life Member of the Himalayan Club, and a member of both the (UK) Alpine Club and American Alpine Club.

We will post further details of the event on this page with latest updates in October 2015. Till then, please be kind, do spread the word and try to attend the lecture with your friends if you are in Kolkata on 18th December, 2015.

CampII with Peak Jongsong as the backdrop. Kellas Peak Exploratory Expedition 2009

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The 2nd Sujal Mukherjee Memorial Lecture-A Short Report

It was the evening of 21st November, 2014, and the Swami Vivekananda Auditorium of the State Youth Centre in Kolkata, was full. Mountain lovers of Kolkata had gathered once again for the Sujal Mukherjee Memorial Lecture. This lecture, the second in its series, proved once again that the real spirit of mountaineering and the love of the great outdoors; rise beyond the barriers and boundaries of clubs, associations at ease. It is in such rare occasions, people get-together spontaneously, and celebrates the ‘freedom of the hills’.  It is during such rare meets we are reassured of the fact that the spirit of mountaineer Sujal Mukherjee (1932-1994) has not yet been completely washed away by the recent tsunami waves of ‘High Altitude Package Tourism’ and its glorious celebration in the popular media !

Dr. Kallol Das, welcomed all to the evening and said a few words about Sujal Mukherjee, his beloved teacher 'SujalDa' and as he saw him.

After the welcome address, Anindya Mukherjee introduced and invited Ursula McPherson, the current President of Mountaineering Ireland, to come on stage and address the audience.

Ursula McPherson, a seasoned mountaineer and an all-round adventurist, spoke about her experience in the Himalaya and mentioned especially of the warmth and welcoming nature of the people she came across.

Rajesh Gadgil, Hony. Editor of the Himalayan Journal felicitated Ursula McPherson. 

Dr. Rupak Bhattacharya spoke of the current sad trends of 'tourist mountaineering' and 'ego ascents' in West Bengal and reminded the audience of the relevance and importance of Sujal Mukherjee's spirit today. Dr. Bhattacharya then introduced our guest speaker Alan Tees and invited him on stage.

We were extremely lucky to have Alan Tees as the guest speaker this evening. Alan Tees, former President of Mountaineering Ireland, is a keen rock and ice climber. A complete mountaineer and an adventure lover in true sense.

The title of Alan’s talk this evening was ‘Ireland and Irish Mountaineers’.  In his talk Alan Tees covered the history of Irish Mountaineering and their contribution to the sport.  While at the same time, he pointed out the various climbing opportunities and mountaineering related activities available to a climber based in Ireland today. He took the audience on a fascinating journey from Scottish winter climbs to the cliffs of Norway; from the sea stacks of Northern Ireland to the Himalaya. It was truly an inspiring lecture!

Hon'ble Justice Sri Biswanath Somadder of the High Court of Kolkata felicitated Alan Tees after the 2nd Sujal Mukherjee Memorial Lecture.

As a real surprise gift to this evening, Rajesh Gadgil, Hony. Editor of The Himalayan Journal, did an audio-visual presentation on their recent exploratory expedition in Rassa Glacier region in the Eastern Karakoram. It was truly a great culmination point for an inspiring evening. 

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Second Sujal Mukherjee Memorial Lecture

Encouraged by an excellent welcoming response from the mountain lovers of Kolkata during the Inaugural Lecture, the students of Sujal are happy to announce the date and Guest Speaker of the second Sujal Mukherjee Memorial Lecture. It will be held in Kolkata on 21st November, 2014. 

Alan Tees Climbing Photo: Gareth McCormack

We are honored to have distinguished Irish mountaineer, rock and ice climber Alan Tees as our guest speaker this time. The title of his talk is " Ireland and Irish Mountaineers". The summary of Alan's talk is quoted below:

"In the Golden Age of mountaineering, only the wealthy had the time and resources to visit the Alps or Greater Ranges. Nowadays, with the advent of cheap flights and more leisure time, the ordinary mountaineer based in Ireland can take advantage of a host of opportunities, including winter climbing in Scotland/Norway, summer in the Alps, occasional big trips to the Himalaya, and of course there is always stuff to do at home!"

We are confident that like the inaugural event, this evening of the 2nd Sujal Mukherjee Memorial Lecture, is going to be full of visual splendor and inspiring tales.

Here is link to the Inaugural Sujal Mukherjee Memorial Lecture: 

http://adventuremania-india.blogspot.in/2014/03/the-inaugural-sujal-mukherjee-memorial_14.html

Entry is free and will be open to all. 

Venue: 

Swami Vivekananda Auditorium, State Youth Centre, Moulali, 142/3, A.J.C. Bose Road, Kolkata- 14

Time: 5.30 pm