WEEKS IN THE DHAULADHAR

THE KANGRA valley, through which I first passed, was bounded on my left-hand side—that is, the north-west—by the line of the Himalaya mountains, and on my right by the last outer ridges separating the mountains from the perfectly level plains of     India. The valley itself was roughly about 3000 ft above sea-level. The line of mountains was fine, but it did not rise more than 16,000 ft above sea-level, and there were no single peaks of outstanding grandeur. On the whole, it gave the impression of a wall guarding vast wonders behind it. I was filled not much with admiration of what I saw as with curiosity to see what there was behind the wall. My spirits were eagerly pressing on to things not yet revealed.1

      Thus wrote Sir Francis Younghusband as he left Dharamsala on 30 April 1884 on his first Himalayan trip. He was young and with  the exuberance of a would be famous explorer. Many after him were to find the wonders behind those walls. These walls, rising from the plains of Punjab, can be a climbers’ playground. The white snow line on them gives its name, the ‘white ridge’, as seen from the plains of Kangra and Punjab.

      The next famous name to be attracted to this lovely range was General C.G. Bruce in 1902.

The Kangra valley of the southern Punjab is in itself of great interest. . . .  but the feature which gives special character to this district is the great wall of  Dhaolidhar range, which bounds the valley on the north, and may best be called the outer Himalaya. . . I wonder whether anywhere else in the world there is such an abrupt wall without foot-hills, for, as I have said, the broken hilly country of the Kangra cannot be described as foot-hills to this ridge. The rise is too abrupt, there is far too great a wall-like effect, and indeed from any of the points one passes on the ridge, the impression given is that of looking directly into flat country.2

      He repeatedly visited the range for climbs and shikar and crossed it many times. With Major H.D. Minchinton he first attempted the Dhauladhar ‘Matterhorn’ in October 1909, having first climbed the ‘Mon’ in December 1904.

      Based at the Dharamsala cantonment, Major H.D. Minchinton climbed regularly in the range, with a style which is rarely possible now-a-days.

My first climb here was on June 13, 1908. After playing hockey, I got off at 6 p.m., and reached my bivouac below Lakha at 10 p.m.3 

      Being lucky enough to be stationed at its base, he repeated his visits to the range regularly and made a number of fine ascents. After repeated attempts, he made the first ascent of the Dhauladhar ‘Matterhorn’ on 6 June 1913.

The view from the summit was extraordinary; everything below 13,000 ft, including the base camp at Lakha which we had hoped to see, was hidden by a vast mer de nuage extending to all appearances from far Kashmir to the plains of the Punjab, with numberless snow-capped and rock-pinnacled giants piercing through it. This time the peak had not won, but it had taken seven attempts, and a large amount of exertion at the last to defeat it.4 

      However Major Minchinton was finally killed while descending 11‘Mon’ on 3 June 1927.

      Incidentally in these early writings the Indrahar pass is called ‘Andrea’ pass. Phonetically it rhymes with ‘Indra’. It gives an idea how many other Sanskrit names must have changed in the Himalaya.

      The person who was most interested in the Dhauladhar was J.W. Rundall. His manuscript Week-End Rambles & Scrambles in the Kangra Himalaya is a comprehensive climbing manual for the range. Published on 3 June 1927 it gives exhaustive details of his climbs and defines the Dhauladhar accurately.

The Dhaoli Dhar range is a granite wall of mountains rising abruptly from the Kangra plains to an average height of some 14,000 ft. The highest peak (locally known as ‘The Matterhorn’) is just over 17,000 ft. It extends approximately from Dalhousie in the N.W. to Palampur in S.E. and is some 50 odd miles in length. The range divides Chamba in the north-east from the Punjab on this side, and at its south-eastern extremity joins the Bara Banghal ranges where the Thamser pass leads over from above Baijnath into Bara Banghal. The Pir Panjal in Kashmir is practically a continuation of the Dhaoli Dhar range.

      He describes peak ‘Mon’ as named after General Money of the erstwhile lst Gurkhas and the Dhauladhar ‘Matterhorn’ as ‘ “Monarch of the Glen.” The chief difficulty is its inaccessibility.’ He failed to climb it despite two attempts.

      Again in 1930 Lieut. P.R. Oliver made a few quick ascents5, including that of the Mon. But it was Col. J.O.M. Robert,6 who, again from the Dalhousie Cantonment, drove down to Dharamsala and spent some energetic week-ends there. He climbed many fine peaks around Indrahar pass but the ‘Matterhorn’ again defeated him. Thus, Major Minchinton remains the only person on record to have climbed it way back in 1913.

      In the past decades I have visited the Dhauladhar range many times for a quick visit. Not being in the army or stationed at the cantonment nearby, I had to travel from Bombay, extending the week-end scrambles into week long climbing trips.

      These trips generally went as follows: a fast train ride to           Pathankot (1900 km and 28 hrs) from Bombay and a 4-hour bus ride (52 km) to Dharamsala (McLeodgunj), where we usually arrived on a Saturday afternoon. After momoes and beer one walked up to the Triund Forest hut (2900 m) for the night. Next day (via Laka, 3050 m) we’d climb up half way up to the Indrahar jot (4420 m, Mon pass), which we reached the day after. From a camp at 4300 m on the north of the pass many scrambles around are possible. Towards the north is Camel peak, with its distinct hump. Two-Gun (4469 m) are twins with domes, Dromedary Slab peak and Arthur’s Seat (4691 m) are other peaks of prominence. A serrated ridge called, ‘Arthur’s Foot Stools’ is inviting. All these are day-long climbs from the camp at the pass.

      Towards the south, Cairn and Mon (4610 m) are challenging heights. Going across the valley Christmas peak (4686 m), Toral peak (4483 m) and others are accessible. Sometimes we approached the pass via Chamba and Kuarsi in a 3-day trek. ‘Dhauladhar Matterhorn’ has two of the highest summits of the range at 4971 m and 4906 m. All these peaks are of moderate difficulty if approached from the high camp in the north. But from the south they will provide a formidable challenge. Till late June the snow and ice, on the southern slopes specially, will provide the most opportune training ground for hard climbs.

      The range continues in the NW to SE direction with many passes and peaks all along. A most inviting and a cheap climbing trip can be had here, compared to the other Himalayan ranges. The only spanner to throw in the works, is the rain, for the rainfall here is the second highest in India. But if you are willing to take your chances, you can climb a dozen peaks from Monday to Friday, and descend to Naoroji’s store for beer, momoes and sunset from the balcony on Saturday. A train back home for work on Monday morning and a week of satisfying climbing under your belt.

      Apart from climbing peaks, the Dhauladhar offers much more. On its crest there are many passes which link the Beas valley in the south to the Ravi valley in the north. The Toral pass, the Thamser jot and the Jalsu jot are the ones that I have reached. Lam dal is a beautiful lake quite close to Dharamsala. The view on both the sides from each of these passes and peaks is quite a contrast. Towards the south, your eyes will strech over the plains of Punjab where a red glow due to the heat is seen. Towards the north, you can look over the mountains right from the Kishtwar range to the nearby Pir Panjal range. Brammah and Sickle Moon peaks rise high above all the others.

      The Pir Panjal range is one valley to the south of the Dhauladhar. A visit to this range can be easily combined with a trek in that range. The famous passes of Sach, Chobia, Kugti and Chombu have given me many good days. Many unexplored peaks, largely upto 6000 m, stand in this range. Except Wangyal peak near Bara Banghal, none of the others are known to have been climbed. With many glaciers, this valley offers an ideal training ground. For the enterprising trekkers there is the Taintu pass to the northeast, ahead of Bara Banghal village, for crossing over to the Beas valley near Manali.

      The above is only a small list of suggestions which I have been fortunate enough to undertake in a week or two each from Bombay in the past decades. The pleasures of a Dhauladhar sunset over the Punjab plains is breathtaking. Once I saw a flock of Siberian cranes flying over the range in perfect symmetry. They were on their way to the annual sojourn in the Arabian Sea near Bombay. I was tempted to join them. If that were possible, I would have climbed more peaks and crossed many more passes in three-day trips instead of week long outings!

      Though the climbing opportunities here are plenty, till today very little has been done, rather unfortunately. J.O.M. Roberts, in vain, forecasted in 1937.

The Dhaula Dhar has, I feel sure, a big future before it is in the history of Himalayan mountaineering; for here is an ideal and very accessible training-ground. Although there are no big glaciers, there are snow-climbs in plenty before the monsoon breaks and scores of first-class rock-climbs, especially on the Dharamsala side. Even a party of Munich experts with hammers, drills, pitons, and other ironmongery, would take some time before they solved the problems presented by the faces of ‘Two-Gun Peak’—‘the Mon’, and the Dharamsala ‘Matterhorn’.

      The prophecy of J.O.M. Roberts has not come true even to a small degree. Perhaps big names and heights still dominate over the feelings for ‘real’ enjoyment. Anyway, for us Dhauladhar is certainly the playground one looks forward to. As General Bruce said, Au revior, Chamba! Given health and strength, if I don’t come back, as Brer Rabbit remarked, ‘bust me right side inwards.’

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