Kamet
Encyclopedia
Kamet is the second highest mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...

 in the Garhwal
Garhwal Division
Garhwal is the north-western region and administrative division of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand which is home to the Garhwali people. Lying in the Himalayas, It is bounded on the north by Tibet, on the east by Kumaon region, on the south by Uttar Pradesh state, and on the north-west by...

 region of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, after Nanda Devi
Nanda Devi
Nanda Devi is the second highest mountain in India and the highest entirely within the country ; owing to this geography it was the highest known mountain in the world until computations on Dhaulagiri by western surveyors in 1808...

. It lies in the Chamoli District
Chamoli District
Chamoli district is a district of Uttarakhand state of India. It is bounded by the Tibet region to the north, and by the Uttarakhand districts of Pithoragarh and Bageshwar to the east, Almora to the south, Garhwal to the southwest, Rudraprayag to the west, and Uttarkashi to the northwest...

 of Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...

, close to the border with Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

. It is the third highest mountain in India (according to India however, the rank is much lower as it includes in its list of mountains all those in Pakistan-administered Kashmir
Pakistan-administered Kashmir
Azad Kashmir borders the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the west, the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan to the north west, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of People's Republic of China to the north and the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir, to the east.A...

, and the 29th highest in the world. Kamet is most properly considered part of (and the highest summit in) the Zaskar (or Zanskar) Range, which lies north of the main chain of the Himalaya, between the Suru River and the upper Karnali River. In appearance it resembles a giant pyramid topped by a flat summit area with two peaks.

Climbing

Due to its position near the Tibetan Plateau
Tibetan Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau , also known as the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau is a vast, elevated plateau in Central Asia covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai, in addition to smaller portions of western Sichuan, southwestern Gansu, and northern Yunnan in Western China and Ladakh in...

, Kamet is remote and not as accessible as some Himalayan peaks. It also receives a great deal of wind from the Plateau. However, by modern standards, it is a relatively straightforward ascent for such a high mountain. Early explorers of the region faced long approach marches of around 200 miles from Ranikhet
Ranikhet
Ranikhet is a hill station and cantonment town in Almora district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the home for the Military Hospital, Kumaon Regiment & Naga Regiment and is maintained by the Indian Army....

 through dense mountain forest; access is easier today.

While attempts to climb Kamet began in 1855, the first ascent was not made until 1931 by Frank Smythe
Frank Smythe
Francis Sydney Smythe better known as Frank Smythe was a British mountaineer, author, photographer and botanist. He is best remembered for his mountaineering in the Alps and the Himalayas. He identified a region that he named the "Valley of Flowers", now a protected park...

, Eric Shipton
Eric Shipton
Eric Earle Shipton CBE was a distinguished British Himalayan mountaineer.-Early years:Born in Ceylon in 1907 where his father, a tea planter, died before he was three years old. His mother buried her grief by taking Eric and his sister Marge and travelling constantly for the next five years...

, R.L. Holdsworth and Lewa Sherpa, members of a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 expedition. Kamet was the first summit over 25,000 ft (7,620m) to be climbed, and was the highest summit reached
World altitude record (mountaineering)
In the history of mountaineering, the world altitude record referred to the highest point on the Earth's surface which had been reached, regardless of whether that point was an actual summit. The world summit record referred to the highest mountain to have been successfully climbed...

 until the first ascent of Nanda Devi five years later. (However, far higher non-summit altitudes had been reached on the north side of Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...

 in the 1920s.)

The standard route begins from the East Kamet (or Purbi Kamet) Glacier, ascending via Meade's Col (c. 7,100m/23,300 ft), the saddle between Kamet and its northern outlier Abi Gamin
Abi Gamin
Abi Gamin is a Himalayan mountain peak situated in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand state in India, 2 km  northeast of Kamet. It lies on the northern border of Chamoli district, where India meets Tibet....

. From Meade's Col the route ascends the northeast edge of the north face. The ascent to Meade's col involves steep gullies, a rock wall, and several glacier climbs. Five camps are usually placed en route. The final ascent to the summit involves steep snow, possibly icy.

Neighboring peaks

Kamet is surrounded by three principal neighbors:
  • Mukut Parbat, (two summits) 7,242 m (23,760 ft) /7,130 m (23,392 ft), 30°57′08"N 79°34′13"E, northwest of Kamet. First ascent 1951 (see below).
  • Abi Gamin
    Abi Gamin
    Abi Gamin is a Himalayan mountain peak situated in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand state in India, 2 km  northeast of Kamet. It lies on the northern border of Chamoli district, where India meets Tibet....

    , 7,355m (24,130 ft), 30°55′57"N 79°36′09"E, north-northeast of Kamet; connected to Kamet by Meade’s Col. First ascent 1950.
  • Mana, 7,272m (23,858 ft), 30°52′52"N 79°36′57"E, south-southeast of Kamet. First ascent 1937.


Several adjoining peaks, such as Mana NW, 7,092 m, Point 6,977 m, Deoban, 6,855 m, and Bidhan Parbat, 6,519 m, also lie close to Kamet.

Nomenclature

There are varying explanations of the name “Kamet.” C. F. Meade
Charles Francis Meade
Charles Francis Meade was an English mountaineer and author.-Origins:Born in England , Meade was the only surviving child of the Hon. Sir Robert Henry Meade and Caroline Georgiana Grenfell...

 gives the pronunciation as ˈkʌmeɪt (a as in cut and e as in pay), and claims that it is known to Tibetans as Kangmen, signifying “huge grandmother of a sacred snow chain”. However, Frank Smythe
Frank Smythe
Francis Sydney Smythe better known as Frank Smythe was a British mountaineer, author, photographer and botanist. He is best remembered for his mountaineering in the Alps and the Himalayas. He identified a region that he named the "Valley of Flowers", now a protected park...

 writes in his book Kamet Conquered that the genesis of the name is from the Tibetan word Kangmed ("the lower snows", from kang, “snow”, and med, “little”), as distinct from the “higher snows” of the Kailash range, 110 miles east of Kamet. (This range is slightly lower than Kamet, its highest peak being Gurla Mandhata
Gurla Mandhata
Gurla Mandhata, or Naimona'nyi or Memo Nani is the highest peak of the Nalakankar Himal, a small subrange of the Himalaya. It lies in Burang County of the Ngari Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, near the northwest corner of Nepal. It is the 34th highest peak in the world...

, 7,728 m/25,355 ft; however it stands more fully on the high Tibetan Plateau
Tibetan Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau , also known as the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau is a vast, elevated plateau in Central Asia covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai, in addition to smaller portions of western Sichuan, southwestern Gansu, and northern Yunnan in Western China and Ladakh in...

). At dawn and dusk, “the copper colored rock of Mount Kamet reflecting the oblique rays of the sun on its hanging glaciers appears to set these glaciers aglow with crackling flames and bathes the mountain in a red burning glow”. Hence the term “glacier fire” is also used as an allusion to the name Kamet.

Partial timeline

  • 1848: Richard Strachey determines the height and location of Kamet, as well as the neighboring peaks Abi Gamin, Mukut Parbat, and Mana.
  • 1855: German explorers and scientists Adolphe and Robert Schlagintweit, invited by the East India Company
    British East India Company
    The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...

     to make surveys, travel into Tibet in disguise. After being discovered and arrested, they return, and attempt Abi Gamin from Tibet (via the Abi Gamin Glacier), believing it to be Kamet. (This mistake hampers expeditions until 1912.) They claim to reach a height of 6,785 m (22,260 ft), which is extraordinary for this date.
  • 1877: I. S. Pocock of the Survey of India
    Survey of India
    The Survey of India is India's central engineering agency in charge of mapping and surveying. Set up in 1767 to help consolidate the territories of the British East India Company, it is one of the oldest Engineering Departments of the Government of India...

    , under E. C. Ryall, accurately surveys Kamet's position. However, he supports the inaccurate belief that Abi Gamin is a minor subpeak of Kamet and that a northern route to the summit is practical.
  • 1907: Dr. T. G. Longstaff
    Thomas George Longstaff
    Tom George Longstaff was an English doctor, explorer and mountaineer, most famous for being the first person to climb a summit of over 7,000 meters in elevation, Trisul, in the Indian Himalaya in 1907. He also made important explorations and climbs in Tibet, Nepal, the Karakoram, Spitsbergen,...

    , Brig. Gen. C. G. Bruce and A. L. Mumm, with alpine guides Alexis and Henri Brocherel, make a preliminary reconnaissance of the eastern and western sides of Kamet. The highest point reached is 6,100 m (20,000 ft) above the East Kamet Glacier. Longstaff deems the East Kamet route as too dangerous due to avalanche risk.
  • 1910-1911: C. F. Meade
    Charles Francis Meade
    Charles Francis Meade was an English mountaineer and author.-Origins:Born in England , Meade was the only surviving child of the Hon. Sir Robert Henry Meade and Caroline Georgiana Grenfell...

    , with Alpine guides Alexis Brocherel and Pierre Blanc, and a separate expedition under Dr. A. M. Kellas
    Alexander Mitchell Kellas
    Alexander Mitchell Kellas was a Scottish chemist, explorer, and mountaineer known for his studies of high-altitude physiology. He was born in Aberdeen, Scotland....

    , make a preliminary reconnaissance of the western side of the peak; they explore Khaiam Pass and Glacier.
  • 1911: Capt. A. M. Slingsby attempt Kamet on the western side from Ghastoli Glacier (or West Kamet Glacier) via the col on the ridge between Abi Gamin and Mukut Parbat (subsequently named as Slingsby’s Col, 6,400 m/21,000 ft).
  • 1912: Meade
    Charles Francis Meade
    Charles Francis Meade was an English mountaineer and author.-Origins:Born in England , Meade was the only surviving child of the Hon. Sir Robert Henry Meade and Caroline Georgiana Grenfell...

    , with Alpine guides Pierre Blanc, Franz Lochmatter, Justin Blanc and Jean Perrin, attempts Kamet by Slingsby's route, and also later explores the Raikhana glacier system to the east of Kamet. Meade concludes that the East Kamet Glacier is the only practicable route to Mt Kamet's summit.
  • 1913: Slingsby attempts the same route as in 1911 and reaches 7,000 m (23,000 ft). (He later dies in battle in Mesopotamia
    Mesopotamia
    Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...

     in 1916.)
  • 1913: Meade
    Charles Francis Meade
    Charles Francis Meade was an English mountaineer and author.-Origins:Born in England , Meade was the only surviving child of the Hon. Sir Robert Henry Meade and Caroline Georgiana Grenfell...

    , with Alpine guide Pierre Blanc, attempts Kamet from the eastern side and reaches Meade’s Col, 7,138 m. (23,420 ft).
  • 1914: Kellas makes another reconnaissance of which no records are available, and which is probably abandoned midway due to the commencement of World War I
    World War I
    World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

    .
  • 1920: Kellas and Col. H. T. Morshead attempt Meade's
    Charles Francis Meade
    Charles Francis Meade was an English mountaineer and author.-Origins:Born in England , Meade was the only surviving child of the Hon. Sir Robert Henry Meade and Caroline Georgiana Grenfell...

     1913 route and reach a point slightly above Meade’s Col.
  • 1931: The first ascent of Kamet, detailed above.
  • 1937: Frank Smythe
    Frank Smythe
    Francis Sydney Smythe better known as Frank Smythe was a British mountaineer, author, photographer and botanist. He is best remembered for his mountaineering in the Alps and the Himalayas. He identified a region that he named the "Valley of Flowers", now a protected park...

     returns to the Bhyundar Valley and makes the solo first ascent of Mana on August 12, through its south ridge from the plateau at the head of the Uttari Naktoni glacier. His companion P.R.Oliver stopped exhausted at 23000'.
  • 1950: An Anglo
    United Kingdom
    The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

    -Swiss
    Switzerland
    Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

     expedition ascends Abi Gamin from its North East ridge.
  • 1951: Mukut Parbat is climbed via the steep northwest ridge by a crack New Zealand team that includes Edmund Hillary
    Edmund Hillary
    Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, KG, ONZ, KBE , was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953 at the age of 33, he and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to have reached the summit of Mount Everest – see Timeline of climbing Mount Everest...

    , George Lowe
    George Lowe
    George Lowe is an American voice actor/comedian.He is perhaps best known for his role as the voice of Space Ghost on the Cartoon Network/Adult Swim, talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast, a role which he played for all 110 episodes spanning fourteen years before the series ended in 2008, along...

    , H. E. Riddiford (leader), F. M. Cotter and Pasang Dawa Lama. Summitters were Riddiford, Cotter and Pasang Dawa Lama.
  • 1955: An Indian expedition from the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling makes the second ascent of Kamet on July 6. Major Narendra D. Jayal led the party; Jayal, Ang Tharkay, Da Namgyal, Ang Temba, and Hlakpa Dorje comprised the summit team. Their route followed the ridge linking Abi Gamin and Kamet.
  • 1966: Mana is climbed on September 19 by a new route, the NW ridge from Purbi Kamet glacier which had rebuffed Smythe in 1937, by Pranesh Chakraborty, Pasang Phutar, Tshering Lhakpa, Pasang Tshering from Camp 5(c.22500').
  • 1995: Mana Northwest is scaled by members of a joint Indo Tibetan Border Police–Japan
    Japan
    Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

    ese expedition after a tough technical wall climb.
  • 2000: To mark the turn of century, Ruptaps Mountaineering Club from Asansol, West Bengal climbed Kamet on 3rd Oct, 2000. The summiters were Leader Gautam Mukherjee and Jasbir Singh.
  • 2006: A commemorative 75th anniversary expedition by the Kolkata Section of the Himalayan Club puts ten climbers on the summit of Kamet. (First ascensionist Frank Smythe was a Himalayan Club member.)
  • 2008: The southeast face(6,000 ft) was climbed for the first time by two Japan
    Japan
    Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

    ese climbers, Kazuya Hiraide and Kei Taniguchi.
  • 2010: An avalanche kills Lt Col C. Poornachandra and Maj Manish Gusain. They were a part of a 41 member Indian army team led by Col Ajay Kothiyal.

Glaciers and rivers

The West (Pachmi or Paschimi) Kamet Glacier, the East (Purbi or Purva) Kamet Glacier and the Raikana Glacier systems surround Kamet. The branches of the West Kamet Glacier head on the western slopes of Kamet, Abi Gamin, and Mukut Parbat. The East Kamet Glacier flows from the eastern side of Kamet and Mana. The Raikhana glacier originates on the east side of Meade’s Col saddle, flows east of Abi Gamin, and unites with the East Kamet Glacier. The West Kamet Glacier drains into the Saraswati River while the East Kamet Glacier feeds the Dhauliganga River
Dhauliganga River
The Dhauliganga is one of the six source streams of the Ganges river. It meets the Alaknanda River at Vishnuprayag in Uttarakhand.-Path:The -long Dhauliganga rises at an altitude of in the Niti Pass in Chamoli District of Uttarakhand, and subsequently flows through Darma valley. At Raini, from...

; both rivers are tributaries of the Alaknanda River
Alaknanda River
The Alaknanda is a Himalayan river in the state of Uttarakhand, India that is one of the two headstreams of the Ganges, the major river of Northern India and the holy river of Hinduism...

, the major river of the Chamoli district.

High altitude research

A. M. Kellas
Alexander Mitchell Kellas
Alexander Mitchell Kellas was a Scottish chemist, explorer, and mountaineer known for his studies of high-altitude physiology. He was born in Aberdeen, Scotland....

and his companion H. T. Morshead conducted scientific studies during their 1920 Kamet expedition focusing on the physiology of high altitude travel and acclimatization, and on the possibility of using artificial oxygen. These studies eventually proved useful on expeditions to Mount Everest.
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