Introduction
In
September-October 2011, Thendup Sherpa, Nandan Singh Negi, Anindya Mukherjee,
Lhakpa Sherpa and Pemba Sherpa left Joshimath and entered the
Trisul/Nandaghunti basin. This basin was first surveyed by the legendary
Himalayan explorer Eric Shipton in 1936. In October 1936, he along with Sen
Tensing and Ang Tharkay crossed a saddle (Ronti Saddle) located at the head of
Ronti glacier and descended down the Nandakini.
Objective
Our
objective was to explore the Northern spurs of Bethartoli Himal (North Summit
6352m, South Summit 6318m) with an eye to find an alternative passage on the
barrier wall of Nanda Devi Sanctuary .
Bethartoli Himal is located due north of Trisul I. We were looking for a couple
of low and accessible points on Bethartoli’s two Northerly spurs. Bethartoli
North has a satellite peak on its North Ridge. From this satellite peak two
spurs originate and descend towards Rishi Ganga due North. Since we would
approach from Ronti glacier side; the one next to Ronti glacier was referred to
as ‘frontal spur’ and the one that lay beyond was called ‘distal spur’.
Journey
 |
| view from the unnamed glacier stretching east from Deotoli Col. |
20th September, 2011,
starting from Joshimath we drove up to Saldhar, a point 5 kilometer beyond
Tapovan by the left bank of Dhauli Ganga. From Saldhar we hiked up to the
village of Subhoi and camped for the first night. In this village is a temple
dedicated to ‘Bhavisya Badri’. It is believed that in distant future the idol
of the present day Badrinath shrine will shift to this temple.’
For next two
days we crossed passes namely ‘Chattri Dhar’ and Ghaniyal Dhar’ (marked as ‘Col
a’ and ‘Col b’ in Map 1 of this report) to enter the Ronti Valley. These two
passes have been traditionally used by villagers and shepherds of Subhoi and
Reni. In 2 days walk from Subhoi we reached below the north face of Ronti.
Porters abandoned us here before reaching the snout of Ronti Glacier forcing us
into double load ferries, extra days and shortage of food. We managed to keep
our spirits high and continued up the moraines of Ronti glacier.
On 26th
September, 2011, we reached a high point
( 4800m) below the frontal spur and ‘Col C’ (5350m) and camped. 27th
September, 2011, we climbed to ‘Col C’ located on the ‘frontal spur’ and
crossed into the small, boulder strewn basin to its East. This high ground and
its nearly dead small glacier have its own narrow valley system and have given
rise to a small and insignificant tributary of Rishi Ganga. This river is
called ‘Dudh Ganga’ and it meets Rishi Ganga on its true left directly South of
Dharansi Pass and Malathuni in the Rishi Gorge. We decided to call this little
valley “ Dudh Ganga valley” and the ‘Col C’ as
Dudh Ganga Col. We also located an accessible point on the ‘distal spur’
of Bethartoli North
28th
September, 2011, we climbed up the ‘distal spur’ and reached ‘Col D’ at an
approximate altitude of 5400m. We were blessed by great views of the peaks
located on Northern and Eastern rims of Nanda Devi sanctuary. Below us to our
East lay a small unnamed glacier. Its gentle slope looked very inviting. From
our maps and taking bearings with our compass; we knew this would lead us to
the camping grounds of Deotoli by the Trisul Nala. We thought of calling ‘Col
D’ as Deotoli Col (5400m).
29th September, 2011, we crossed the Deotoli Col
again to spend a night on the unnamed glacier. We were rewarded with
magnificent views next morning. For next 4 days we retraced our steps back to
Subhoi and Joshimath and thus ended our exploration.
Conclusion
Thus we were
able to locate two feasible cols of the northerly spurs of Bethartoli Himal and
climb them. We were the first party to locate and climb them. These two cols
did not require any climbing skills. Any seasoned himalayan trekker will be
able to visit them. Obeying the law of the land we did not set foot on the
valley floor or enter the Nanda Devi Sanctuary. We stood on its barrier rim and
retraced our trail back. From an explorer’s point of view we hope our explored
cols will join the list of previously known passes and cols of the Nanda Devi
Sanctuary.
 |
| on top of Dudh Ganga col 5350m. Trisul I-7120m in the center |