Rediscovering Thajwas Glacier : Eight decades on..!
“Advice from a glacier—Carve your own path, go slow, channel your strengths, smooth the way for others, keep moving forward, avoid meltdowns”
By Colonel Slatish Singh Lalotra
The size, shape and reach of the internet highway though intangible to a living eye manifests in its myriad ways in its worldwide reconnect to a plethora of issues that lie deep buried in the subconscious mind of humans. Something of a similar experience recently I went through while surfing the internet though off course the nature of my search was not at all related to what I chanced upon by an act of serendipity.
While trying to glean some information on the ongoing Amarnath yatra, I hit the pause button when all of a sudden the famous ‘ Thajwas glacier’ situated near Sonmarg flashed on my computer screen that displayed the news—aashmiri trio scales deadly glacier, 79 years after last British ascent in the 1940s’ and took me back about 38 years to the months of May/June 1986.
That was the year when as young Lieutenant of the Indian army I had chanced upon to set foot on this forbidden territory of Thajwas glacier’ as part of my so called ‘Survival training’ while undergoing the ‘Winter warfare’ course at the famed HAWS (High altitude warfare school) located at Sonmarg. Readers ofthis article will be surprised to know that Sonmarg during the imperial days of Dogra rule was a designated `Shikargah’ (hunting ground) for the Dogra royalty who used to venture deep into the valleys of this region for the hunt of the famous `Kashmir Hangar.
Even during the British colonial era, Sonmarg was developed especially for climbing and mountaineering activities. Incidentally the region is so finely perched at the cross roads of pristine valleys that soar up to majestic peaks and glaciers that Indian army in the later years build on this British venture into one of its finest institutes called as HAWS (High Altitude Warfare School) which is the repository of its mountaineering, glacier and rock climbing training for the armed forces.
In fact all the major tri services mountaineering expeditions, as well as those which were the first boots on ground on Siachen glacier as part of `Op Meghdoot’ were guided by the instructional staff from this exalted institution where the world famous mountaineering experts like Col Narinder Bull Kumar acted as a beacon of hope for the country to take the nation’s might forward on the snowy heights of Karakorum as well as the Himalayas. The so called Thajwas range abutting the scenic Sonmarg valley in fact consist of six ( 6) deadly glaciers most of which lie unclaimed to any mountaineer’s reach.
It was the British mountaineer’s duo of C.W.F Noyce and A. Jones in October 1944 and then John.A. Jackson in 1945 just after the end of 2WW that most treacherous of glacier marked as number 3 ( three) having within its precincts the famed ‘Umbrella peak’ was summited by them via the Basmai Nar and over the lowest point at the west end of Kazim Pahalin ridge.
Now in the month of June this year a group of young Kashmiri mountaineers going by the name Inayatullah Bhat Shariq Rashid, and Waseem Raja have taken a most unorthodox route ( a new one ) leading to the famed umbrella peak. This new and daunting route the trio of the above took via the infamous —`Steep couloir’ thus etching their names in the exalted group of mountaineers from the UT of J&K.
For an uninitiated to this area, Thajwas glacier’ has a cluster of peaks which are virtually virgin as far as their climbing history goes. As an example ‘Eastern peak’ is a mountain peak that rests in the middle of the cluster of four peaks around the Thajwas area of Sonmarg. The peak is 15,610 ft (4760 m) above the Msl.
In its vicinity, there are more famous peaks of Kashmir like the Vale head peak and the umbrella peak. The eastern pinnacle peak was first scaled by J.A. Jackson a famous English mountaineer and explorer in 1945. This particular peak was not summited again until 12TH July 2020 when a group of Kashmiri mountaineers belonging to ‘Cliff hangers India’ summited the same.
In fact last year exactly in the month of July 2023 a news had come that the IAF had rescued three climbers who were stranded on Thajwas glacier in Kashmir but the irony of the entire episode was that the rescue efforts by the IAF eclipsed the historic rock climb of Thajwas glacier.
Historic it was because these trio of climbers had taken the most dangerous ‘Great Couloir’ route in alpine style which was executed after 78 years in the similar fashion by the British climbing duo of Jackson and Buzzard in 1945. But exactly a year after as mentioned above in 2024 the same feat was reported albeit in a similar format.
But why Thaj was glacier only in northern Kashmir to be reserved for such an expedition two years in row? One should understand that the sport of mountaineering is one of the loneliest calling for all the reserves of stamina, fortitude, planning, foresight and on top of it the factor of divine luck for a mountaineer to breathe the pure alpine air when he or she casts a glance from the top of a peak for all that he or she has left behind.
But still the intangible factor of carrying the tag of Unclimbed peak’ is like adrenaline booster into the very sinews of a mountaineer who then eggs on his very being to be on top of this unheard peak making himself count as one of those few who had the gumption of going against the professional advice to exercise restraint.
Known as the ‘Alps of the Kashmir’ this range is just like any other range which runs from SE to NW and joins river Sindh at Shitkari just below Sonmarg where westward flow of the river turns south to the vale of Kashmir. The overlooking igneous Thajwas range is by no means a cragman’s paradise.
Almost the entire fraternity of the mountaineers from Casablanca to Kashmir agree unanimously on the single point of this manly sport the thrill that resonates in their very being on summiting an unheralded peak. The fact that Thajwas peak cum glacier fell into the realm of a mountaineer’s delight for being a forbidden territory in terms of climbing was the ultimate clincher in taking on this assignment for the last two years in a row.
The famed High altitude warfare school (HAWS) Of the Indian army too uses these glaciers and couloirs near Thajwas glacier for its myriad activities related to survival training, rock climbing & glacier training etc which resonates with the hum of activities of its instructional staff as well as those on training courses from the army.
HAVING BEEN PULLED OUT FROM THE DEEP RECESSES OF ANONYMITY BY FEW FAMED MOUNTAINEERS IN RECENT TIMES, THJAWAS GLACIER NONE THE LESS HAS BEEN A SOURCE OF CONSTANT REMINDER OF ITS IRRESISTIBLE PULL THAT IT CASTS NOW WITH AN ADVICE TO ITS CLIMBERSQUOTE “CARVE YOUR OWN PATH, GO SLOW, CHANNEL YOUR STRENGTHS, SMOOTH THE WAY FOR OTHERS, KEEP MOVING FORWARD, AVOID MELTDOWNS.” THE ADVICE IF TAKEN FIGURATIVELY AND LITERARILY FITS VERY SNUGLY NOT ONLY ON A MOUNTAINEER BUT EVEN A LAY MAN IN HIS ENTIRETY
With tourists too now thronging such places in great numbers due to easing of overall security situation in Kashmir, a new chapter of `Mountain tourism’ is slowly catching up with the area that has all the potential of changing the socioeconomic milieu of this erstwhile state which till date was hamstrung by a moribund system of governance.
Having been pulled out from the deep recesses of anonymity by few famed mountaineers in recent times, Thjawas glacier none the less has been a source of constant reminder of its irresistible pull that it casts now with an advice to its climbers quote “Carve your own path, go slow, channel your strengths, smooth the way for others, keep moving forward, avoid meltdowns.”
The advice if taken figuratively and literarily fits very snugly not only on a mountaineer but even a lay man in his entirety.
(The Author is a regular scribe of RK)
