Meeting The Mountains

MEETING THE MOUNTAINS. By Harish Kapadia, Pp. 398, 49 b/w photos, 30 maps, 1998. (Indus Publishing Company, New Delhi, Rs. 500).

Appetite-whetting seems a highly suitable epithet to apply to a book by Harish Kapadia whose love of the puris and mangoes along life’s trek is well documented by himself and others. Meeting the Mountains fleshes out the world of his earlier book, Exploring the Hidden Himalaya, co-authored with the late and lamented Soli Mehta. It ranges from the Garhwal and Kumaon north to Ladakh, with a swoop east into Sikkim and Nepal. It touches nearly three decades of trekking and climbing from his student days, making first forays into as yet undeveloped valleys, to his present busy life which manages to fit joint Indian-British expeditions with such luminaries as Nunn, Venables or Bonington in between editing the Himalayan Journal.

Into his narrative is woven the climbing history of each area, stories of the presiding deities from the Pandavas to the elusive dawn goddess, Usha, who eluded him and Bonington in Kinnaur. He walks with shepherds whose lives have been equally unaffected by Independence and by its fiftieth anniversary celebrations, and talks to temple priests about the possibility of proving the famous priestly claim of a day crossing from Kedarnath to Badrinath. He discusses the theory of tourist drains with Jimmy Roberts; recommends the quality of Saryu valley porters; demonstrates how to play the bureaucratic contacts game on the Inner Line; considers the pros and cons of opening up Ladakh; and urges the Indian government to permit more expeditions into the Siachen.

Whether he is finding fresh words to sing the praises of Nanda Devi or recommending an unexplored valley beyond Panch Chuli II, Harish Kapadia combines the topographical curiosity of a Shipton with the unquenchable enthusiasm of a Bonington, and in so doing opens up a world of possibilities to the trekker, the climber or simply the armchair Himalayan book devourer. With its generous supply of sketch maps and its beckoning black and white ranges (alas no colour), here is a book to put on the shelf beside the Himalayan Journal’s first editor’s Abode of Snow.

MAGGIE BODY

Harish Kapadia’s versatility doesn’t cease to amaze. Among India’s best known and most regular climbers, he manages to make it into the mountains every year, usually more than once. When he is not in the Himalaya, he can be found scrambling about in the hills that rise behind Mumbai. To the delight of others who are not able to combine, as he does, a successful career with mountain excursions on this scale, he also manages to communicate his experiences with a fresh and light pen, which makes his books such a valued addition to every climber’s library. But if there is one value I would put to his work it is in its encyclopaedic character. The diversity and frequency of his expeditions render his books excellent reference material for the first time visitor or reader and to experienced explorers looking for new regions to visit.

Meeting the Mountains is Kapadia’s second collection of the accounts of his travels. His first, High Himalaya, Unknown Valleys, encompassed the years 1969 to 1991. The second, mainly taking in the period 1993 to 1997, but with the addition of several treks done at other times, is of similar size, revealing an increased pace of activity. In addition, Kapadia has recounted his excursions in Spiti, an area he seems to particularly favour, in a separate volume, and has two other books to his credit, one on the Sahyadris, a range in the Western Ghats, and the other jointly authored with the late Soli Mehta. Not unexpectedly, then, there is some element of duplication but not such as to detract from the merits of the separate volumes.

Meeting the Mountains is actually an eclectic compendium of writings. Kapadia reproduces his address to the Alpine Club in 1996 ‘a review of Indian climbing history’ the story of the Himalayan Journal, and profiles of several people who have contributed to the Himalayan Club or Journal. This also includes obituaries of some well known mountain personalities who also happened to be friends or, like N. E. Odell, chance acquaintances. In addition, he has included reference notes on the different regions of the Himalaya, major passes and guidance for foreigners wishing to climb in India.

The meat of the book, however, is to be found in the accounts of Kapadia’s treks and climbing expeditions. He summarises his personal history, so to speak, in an impressive table, encompassing 35 years of trekking and climbing, at the end of the book. The variety of regions visited and the nature of excursions from simple treks to first ascents alone make this a unique anthology. A beginner looking for a first taste of the high hills will find an abundance of inviting choices. The experienced trekker, who wants new horizons, will be able to sample descriptions of walks done from Ladakh to Sikkim. And the mountaineer, who is looking for summits that range from challenging, like Panch Chuli II, to leisurely, like the Rupshu peaks, will find an abundance of footsteps to follow.

Kapadia’s expeditions have had their share of problems and ill luck. The joint Indo-British group ‘led by Kapadia and Chris Bonington’ to Panch Chuli had a fair share of good climbs, pioneering a new route on the highest of the five summits and a first ascent of Panch Chuli V. But noted British climber Steve Venables was almost killed in an accident and was lucky to be plucked off the mountain by a helicopter. Then, in 1996, an expedition to the Siachen area was terminated by the army when members had already reached the Terong glacier.

What comes across, however, most vividly is the great sense of enjoyment that runs through the telling. Here are stories of friends banding together to explore hidden valleys, family excursions into out of the way places, and camaraderie in high places. These are experiences for the most part open to anyone with a spirited sense of adventure, a dedication to the outdoors and the persistence to make them happen. And there can be no easier first step to getting there than walking the pages of this and Kapadia’s other books.

Suman Dubey