The First Documented Ascent of Kang Yatse IV (North Summit, 6130m) 

Summary
On 1st August, 2021, a team of three Indian alpinists made the first documented ascent of Kang Yatse IV (6130m). They approached the mountain from its West, via the Langthang Chu valley. Using a couple of  days for reconnaissance and adopting a carry, camp and climb style, the trio first climbed the NW face and then the North ridge to reach the North Summit 6130m of the identical twin summit of KY IV. Team: Sonam Yangjor, Stanzin Wangial and Anindya Mukherjee. Duration: 24th July to 4th August, 2021.  Location: Markha and Langthang Chu Valley, Ladakh Himalaya. Grade: AD as per IFAS 

Figure 1: The view of all four summits of Kang Yatse family from Hangkar, Photo: Sonam Yangjor, ©2L1B Expedition, 2021 

The Mystery of the Disappearing Twin  

Although these days the mountain is generally referred to as ‘Kang Yatse or Yatze’ by the locals and tourists alike, while doing the homework I noticed that it used to be spelled as ‘Kang Yissay’ in the Eighties and through the Nineties. Setting aside the debate over the right spelling or pronunciation of Kang Yatse, one thing however is certain – the mountain itself rises above all the rest while standing at the head of the Markha valley. 

In his report in the Himalayan Journal Dhiren Pania wrote , “The peak, Kang Yissay I (6400m), is the main peak with its subsidiary Kang Yissay II. The approach to the main peak is from north or northeast, while the approach for the subsidiary peak is from the northwest ridge. The difference in height between the main and the subsidiary peak is about 300m.”  In this very report Mr. Pania also included a summary of ascents of both Kang Yatse I and II citing references from the Indian Mountaineer, the Himalayan Journal and the Himalayan Club Newsletters.  Mr. Pania’s report is one of the earliest and most detailed compendiums of ascents and attempts on the peaks Kang Yatse I and II, but its scope and vision was limited to only those two summits and the map of the area (existing then) continued to show only one peak- Kang Yissay 6400m.  

Perhaps the most significant and detailed exploratory work ( August 1992, August 1995) around Kang Yatse massif was archived by Michael Ratty in the Himalayan Journal .  In the very opening paragraph of his article Mr. Ratty pointed out, “comparing with what I could see with my map, I was struck by an inconsistency: two peaks were clearly visible (Refer to Fig 1), but the map showed only one: Kang Yissay 6400m.  And when, next day, we emerged from the river’s gorge to the Nimaling plain, that was the only mountain to be seen. It is a handsome peak, with a long ridge separating two snowy shoulders, each with a summit and steep, icy north face. We returned to Nimaling in August 1995, to climb the mountain and solve the mystery of its disappearing twin. We found not one other peak, but many: Kang Yissay is just one of a compact and complex range of good looking snow and ice peaks, some over 6000m.”  

And by the end of his investigations Mr. Ratty formed the following opinion, “Kang Yissay forms an elongate 'U' shape; one arm of the U is the main peak itself, with our lower summit at the open end. The other arm is made up of the southern mountain, with the various tops, and enclosing a small southern glacier in the middle. Immediately beyond the U are other connected peaks both to the east and south. In his summary of climbing of Kang Yissay, Dhiren Pania refers to its two summits as Kang Yissay I and II. I suggest that the other summits directly connected by ridges to Kang Yissay be added. The peak joined to the main summit by the SE ridge would therefore be Kang Yissay III, and the main summit of the southern arm would be Kang Yissay IV.” (Refer to Fig.2) 

Figure 2 -Sketch map of Kang Yatse area, courtesy Michael Ratty, HJ 52 

In the fag end of their 1995 expedition, Mr. Ratty and Trevor Willis explored access to the south glacier (via the Kongka Nongpo la) and made observations of a potential ascent route of Kang Yatse IV by its North ridge. He mentioned, “Nevertheless, this would be the best site for an ABC for anyone attempting Kang Yissay's southern twin (Kang Yissay IV), and there is a clearly visible rock ridge, not too steep, that appears to give a line of ascent to the summit ridge of the main peak.” Thus, in 1995, Michael Ratty not only recommended addition of two new peaks (III and IV) to the family of Kang Yatse, but also hinted on a possible climbing route on the mysterious southern twin of Kang Yatse.

Over the next 25 years, while Kang Yatse I  and II kept seeing most ascents (apart from one traverse of the two summits by a large team from the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in 2018 ) by their standard routes, KY III (6310m) saw its first ascent only as recently as August 2015, by Martin Moran, William Newsom and Simon Ridout by its northeast ridge. Martin was careful enough to prefix the word ‘probable’ before claiming the ‘first ascent’ of KY III . The reasoning that forced Martin Moran to use the word ‘probable’ is a popular belief that most of the peaks across Ladakh’s popular tourist areas (e.g. Markha, Nubra and Pangong) have been climbed in the Eighties by unregulated, agency operated trips. KY III received a second ascent  (and a new variation) by a Portuguese team (2017, Paulo Roxo and Daniela Teixeira).  

Figure 3 An interesting view from the top of Kang Yatse II. Similar photo was taken by Michael Ratty in 1995. Photo Courtesy: Aloke Surin

Figure 4 Index: Green Triangles- Our camps, Orange line- our route of ascent, July-August 2021

Of Mountains and Ghosts

When I started looking into Kang Yatse IV, I too maintained the popular consensus that everything under the Ladakh sun had been climbed already by some ghost. But after studying the patterns of the climbing parties (irrespective of their trip’s registration with the Indian Mountaineering Foundation) I have reached two inferences: 

1- The ghost climbing always happened from traditional bases (as a natural choice of local travel agencies), which in Kang Yatse’s case is an area stretching from Nimaling plains to the upper cirque between Dzo Jongo (6280m) and KY III. 

2- If any ghost (someone climbing without taking permission from the IMF) ever did a notable first ascent or even a new line, they made a point to record it either in an international journal or a website. To substantiate this point, I would like to cite Santiago Sagaste’s climb of a new route on the north east face of Kang Yatse I in 2007 .  The true climber is an artist and he or she does not want their work to remain completely unnoticed or unacknowledged. 

Thus, I realized the case of Kang Yatse IV simply does not fit into any of the above arguments as: 

1- It has no direct access from the traditional base camp area as mentioned above. To touch the mountain (KY IV) from a traditional base, one either has to cross the Kongka Nongpo la (as suggested by Michael Ratty in 1995) or the col on the ridge between KY I and KY III (the one used by Martin Moran- the northeast ridge of KY III). KY IV simply lies beyond the scope and vision of travel operators and base camp support providers as they always tend to incline to the logistically easy solution. 

2- There is not a single ghost claim of either an ascent or exploration around KY IV online or in the living memory of the local trekking and climbing guides. 

3- In case of people taking the unconventional route of the Langthang Chu valley (instead of the Nimaling route) and approaching the Kang Yatse massif from there, not a single instance of any such venture exist within the living memory of the any of the muleteers or the senior citizens of Markha and Hangkar villages. During my last three visits to Markha valley (February, April and July 2021) I asked around and did my enquiry. 

Based on the above evaluation of facts, interpretation of theories, and enlightening discussions with the very knowledgeable Lindsay Griffin and Chewang Motup Goba, the ‘Gandalf the Grey’ of Ladakh mountaineering, I formed the opinion that Kang Yatse IV remained unclimbed. In spite of that, incorporating the all pervasive caveat of hearsay, I decided to call our climb as the first ‘documented’ ascent instead of the simple ‘first ascent’. I began planning our own little exploratory trips in that direction, always in groups of 2 or 3 friends and in a self sustained manner. Our attempts to climb Kang Yatse IV failed in February and April. Finally on 1st August, 2021, we stood on the coveted summit.

From Left to Right: Stanzin Wangial Kaya, Anindya Mukherjee Raja, Sonam Yangjor on the summit of KY IV north . 

View of Kang Yatse II and I from KY IV north summit

Note: Detailed report of this expedition has been published in The Himalayan Journal and The Indian Mountaineer. A brief note has been publsihed in The American Alpine Journal. For a detailed report you may email us @ Anindya Mukherjee

News : https://www.dreamwanderlust.com/news/kang-yatse-iv-first-ascent-by-three-indian-alpinists

Gratitude

We, the three members of the Team 2L1B are grateful to each and everyone who contributed to the crowdfunding campaign.  I would like to include all the names here (in no particular order) as we consider them an integral part of this expedition and without their help and support we could not have completed this project.  In this regard, we would like to thank Dr. Geeta Samant, Bhushan Poshe, Rajeev Ranjan, Aftab Kaushik, Suman Roy, Agnideep Mukherjee, Aniket Mitra, Pushpita Polley, Dr. Rupak Bhattacharya, Dr. Kallol Das, Amit Bikram Jana, Ashutosh Mishra, Dr. Aswin Samant, Monesh Devjani, Sourabh Gupta, Sameer Jhawar, Dream Wanderlust, Banshberia Dishari, Maulindu Chatterjee, Nishith Choksey, Arjun Saha, Athol Jake Preston, Hassan Kumar Gundu, Dr. Madhubala Chinchalkar, and Kamalesh Venugopal for their trust and invaluable support. We are grateful!  We would also like to thank Mero Expeditions for providing us with necessary gear at Leh. We want to thank the Office of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation at Leh for issuing us the necessary permit. I would also like to thank Nandini Purandare, Aloke Surin, Chewang Motup Goba, Lindsay Griffin and Brig Ashok Abbey for sharing their valuable time and knowledge with me during my homework on the Kang Yatse group of peaks.