Expedition Mayel Lyang 2011 The land of mythical paradise March 9, 2011 to March 22, 2011 Sikkim Himalaya

The first view of Kangchenjunga South Summit (8491m) and Peak 7730m on its East Ridge. Tongshiong Glacier is seen in the centre below Kangchenjunga. The Expedition got this view on the 8th day of their march up the gorges of Rongyoung and Rukel Chu starting from the Lepcha village of 6th Mile, in Dzongu, North Sikkim. Photo: Anindya Mukherjee

Expedition Mayel Lyang 2011: A brief report
Inspirations

In 1888, after the outbreak of the Sikkim-Tibet war, John Claude White was sent as the Assistant Political Officer to Sikkim. The following year he was offered the post of Political Officer in administrative charge of State of Sikkim. In 1890, He made one of his first expeditions crossing the Guichala. He crossed Guichala, went down to Talung glacier (which he referred to as the ‘Kangchen’ glacier- source: “Sikhim and Bhutan- Twenty-One years on the North East Frontier 1887-1908- J. Claude White, p-57) and then followed the ‘Talung’ Chu (‘Rungnu’- as per White) Eastwards to Sakyong and finally to Ringen (the present day location of North Sikkim Government offices above Mangan).

In his book “Sikhim and Bhutan- Twenty One Years on the North –East Frontier 1887-1908”, he writes in page 53-

“In 1890 I made one of my first expeditions to the snows, crossing the Giucha-la pass and from there making my way to Ringen, following a route the latter part of which had certainly never been traversed by a European, and I doubt by anyone, except possibly a very occasional Lepcha.”

By doing this epic journey he was able to connect present day West Sikkim with the Southern tip of today’s North Sikkim. Following the apparently known Yoksum-Dzongri- Guicha La trails; he took the challenge of traversing the unknown and complicated gorges and river system in Talung Chu valley and reached Sakyong the uppermost village in todays Dzongu, the Lepcha Sanctuary. It took White and party 10 days longer than they had planned for (White never mentioned the exact number of days it took his party to complete their journey). And when he reached safety he wrote,

…“I do not think this journey could be equaled throughout the world for its beauty and variety of scene, the magnificent gorges, with wonderful waterfalls tumbling down on all sides, the wild desolation of the higher snows, and the richness of colouring and dense vegetation lower down; every few miles bringing new beauties before one.”



H. Raeburn (1865-1926)

In July and August of 1920, Harold Raeburn and Lieut.Col. H.W. Tobin carried out tours South of Kangchenjunga. After examining the Talung and Tongshiong glaciers they followed the gorges of the Talung, retracing Claude White’s steps to river Teesta below Singhik (Sanklan sampo). It took them eight days to complete their journey down the Rongyong-Rukel gorges.


The objectives of ‘Expedition Mayel Lyang 2011’

• To retrace J.Claude White’s footsteps in reverse and thus making a first time ever journey up the Rongyoung-Rukel Chu river systems.

• To document and photograph the hitherto unknown terrain between Talung Glacier and the last Lepcha habitation of Sakyong in Upper Dzongu. After White’s journey in July 1890, it has been reported to have been repeated by pioneer Scottish mountaineer Harold Raeburn in 1920 (Source: “Exploration and Climbing in Sikkim Himalaya- Lieut.Col. H.W.Tobin, H.J. April 1930, Vol- II.) But their reports did not describe much of the terrain and most importantly accompanied no photographs.

• To open up a new trekking route up the Rongyoung-Rukel Chu catchments and survey possible expedition routes to peaks located up Tongshiong and South Simvu Glaciers.

• To complete the journey without using Hi Tech navigation system like the G.P.S , Satellite phones, Google Earth images etc as a mark of respect to the early Himalayan Explorers. The Expedition decided to rely on an old contour map with 500ft contour interval and a U.S.Army compass.

Why ‘Mayel Lyang’?
‘Mayel Lyang’ is a Lepcha term that literally means “mythical paradise” or “hidden paradise”. It is also referred to as ‘Ancient Sikkim’ by the Lepcha. Our expedition went through valleys, rivers, mountains and villages that are deeply associated with Lepcha heritage and their cultural tradition. We therefore decided to call this journey as “Expedition Mayel Lyang”.



Summary: “Expedition Mayel Lyang 2011”

In the spring of 2011 a team of two Indian mountaineers (Thendup Sherpa and Anindya Mukherjee) left Mangan in North Sikkim to explore the hitherto unknown valleys of Rongyoung and Rukel Chu. For the first time in history this team was granted permission to retrace the footsteps of J. Claude White (1853-1918) and Harold Raeburn (1865-1926) in reverse; thus making their expedition unique and first of its kind.

From Mangan (modern day HQ of North District of Sikkim) the team headed West by 4X4 vehicle to the village of 6th Mile in Lower Dzongu. They crossed the river Teesta at Sanklang (mentioned by White as ‘Sanklan Sampo’) and entered the Rongyong (referred as ‘Rungnu’ by White) Chu valley. Here with the help of the ‘Tholung Ecotourism Cooperative Society’ eight more members joined the expedition. Namely Mingdup Lepcha, Samdup Lepcha, Chungden Lepcha, Tsering Ongchuk Lepcha, Phurzang Lepcha, Dawa Lepcha, Bikash Chettry, and Raj Kumar Gurung.

On 9 March, 2011, the team reached the last Lepcha habitation of Sakyong in upper Dzongu valley. Beyond Sakyong faint trail was found via Singnok (located due West of Sakyong on the true right bank of Rongyoung river) till a cave on the true left of Rongyong river. This cave is locally called ‘Singhik” and is used by the poachers. The Expedition team found ample evidence of recent poaching of Himalayan Blue Sheep, (Pseudois nayaur) and Himalayan Tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus) in the cave. Photographs were taken accordingly. Opposite Singnok and North of Rongyong River was the Passamram Chu meeting Rongyoung on its left bank. The expedition was able to observe and survey the possibility to further explore the catchments of Passamram Chu and its potential exit to Zemu Glacier via Chibge La.

There were no more trails beyond the Poacher’s cave (Singhik) and the expedition continued up the valley following the true left of the Rongyoung River. Progress became extremely slow (3-4 kilometers per day) as forest cover got denser and undergrowth thickened. Being at the bottom of a gorge made navigation difficult. However, the expedition relied on their contour map and a U.S.Army compass to take bearings and force their way up the gorge.

After three days of toiling their way up Rongyoung Chu, on 13 March, 2011, they had their first view of the snows. They saw the Eastern and Northern flanks of Narsing-Jopuno-Tinchinkhang- Pandim range. This brought enthusiasm in the team and they continued up with renewed vigour. On 14 March, the team reached the confluence of Rukel Chu and Rongyoung Chu. From this day, they followed the true left bank of Rukel Chu and forced their way up thick dwarf rhododendrons and bamboos to the reach the tree line on 17 March, 2011, 8 days after they had left 6th Mile village. They could photograph the Tongshiong glacier the following day and were greeted by rare angle views of Kangchenjunga South Summit (8491m), peak 7730m and Simvu (6812m) peaks.

In next two days, in spite of inclement weather and poor visibility the team reached Yongiotak on the Talung glacier on 19 March 2011. The team found gaining and going on the moraines of Talung glacier not difficult at all. They were expecting it to be harder as per Claude White’s description. It has been 121 years since White descended the Talung glacier and observations revealed the glacier has retreated almost a kilometer in length. The ice cliffs encountered by White’s party were not obstacles any more. The team camped near the shrines of Yongiotak and with a window of clear weather had good views of the all the surrounding peaks, Pandim (6691m), Guicha (6137m), Kabru North (7338m), Talung ( 7349m), Talung saddle(6745m), Kangchenjunga South Summit (8491m) and the lesser peaks that separate Tongshiong glacier from Talung glacier.

On 20 March, 2011, the expedition climbed the higher Guichala, proximal to Pandim
(The one crossed by H.W. Tilman’s party in 1938 on their way down from the Zemu Gap) to get down to Zemathang grounds of the Prek Chu valley. The team reached the warmth of Kokchurung, via Lamoni and Thangsing the same afternoon and Yoksum on 21 March, 2011 to bring an end to their journey.

The “Expedition Mayel Lyang 2011” thus succeeded in exploring and completing a journey across the unknown and undocumented areas of Rukel and Rongyoung river catchments. It took them 11 days in total on the Talung side and just 2 days to cross the Guicha La divide and reach the road head of Yoksum. North and West Sikkim is now connected via Guicha La. It is possible to make a trail in the Rongyoung-Rukel side. That will not only open up new adventure and mountaineering destinations but also probably will put an end to poaching.

Without generous assistance of Ong Tsering Lepcha of “Tholung Ecotourism Cooperative Society” and vital academic support and inputs by Priyadarshi Gupta this Expedition would not have been possible.





* Yongiotak is also spelled as Yongjotak, Guicha La as Goecha La and Giucha La. Zemathang is sometimes spelled as Chemathang.