How Indian mountaineering came of age with a historic ascent of Mount Everest in 1965
Summary
As a young nation, India wanted to make its mark in international mountaineering with a successful Everest expedition. 60 years ago, we did just that, by putting nine men atop the highest mountain on Earth
“But the slope led on and on. Heavens, was there no end? And then, suddenly, there was an end—no more little humps, only a white little dome curving slightly above us. Incredible! It was the summit of Everest," writes Captain H.P.S. Ahluwalia in his book Higher Than Everest (1973).
On 29 May 1965, Ahluwalia, H.C.S. Rawat and Phu Dorji climbed the highest mountain in the world. It was the first time three mountaineers had stood together on Everest’s summit.
This was another feather in the Third Indian Everest Expedition’s hat. Over 10 days, nine members had reached the summit, the most until then from a single team. Nawang Gombu, who had seen success with the 1963 American expedition, became the first man to climb the mountain twice. And at 23 years, Sonam Wangyal was the youngest summiteer at the time.
The world sat up and took notice of this remarkable feat. Since Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary’s first ascent in 1953, just two other expeditions—the Swiss in 1956 and the Americans in 1963—had climbed Everest from Nepal. A Chinese team’s claim of having summited from Tibet in 1960 was disputed.
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Indian teams had made two previous attempts, but had fallen short. Though Tenzing, a resident of Darjeeling, had been celebrated by India, the success in 1965 was special. As President S. Radhakrishnan explained, the first man to climb Everest “was also an Indian, although he shared the honour with his companion from New Zealand". However, “this conquest is entirely an Indian effort and is therefore more thrilling".
Sixty years ago, in the world of mountaineering, was the period of 8,000ers. Between 1950-60, thirteen of the fourteen 8,000-metre mountains of the world saw first ascents. There was a constant rush of various teams trying to “reserve" a mountain. With national glory at stake, each success produced overnight heroes who until then either took to climbing as a passion or, like in Tenzing’s case, a profession.
THE ORIGINS OF INDIAN MOUNTAINEERING
India’s mountaineering history runs back many years. Like Tenzing, young Sherpa men had migrated from Nepal to Darjeeling in India in search of employment. They were at ease on the mountains and it took little time for them to prove their worth on various expeditions to different parts of the Himalaya.
Tenzing too was a part of three British and two Swiss expeditions on Everest, before he finally climbed the mountain in 1953. Closer to home, he joined teams from the Doon School in Dehradun, who would regularly set off on explorations and climbs in the Indian Himalaya. These were small teams with modest resources that craved adventure rather than success. No summit, no problem. They would simply await the next opportunity to set off again.
Nandu Jayal, a student at the Doon School and a prolific climber who went on to become the first principal of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI), put their approach in perspective in the book For Hills to Climb (2001), edited by Aamir Ali. “A mountaineer is always the gainer even if he does not reach the summit."
The tradition of setting off during the school’s mid-term breaks continued after India’s independence. In 1951, a team featuring three members from Doon School summited Trisul (7,120m) in the Garhwal Himalaya. It was only the third ascent of the mountain and gave Indian mountaineering the iconic image of assistant master Gurdial Singh’s headstand on the summit.
“It was when Gurdial Singh climbed Trisul that the age of mountaineering for Indians began," wrote explorer and climber, Harish Kapadia, in the Himalayan Journal in 2000.
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Away from the mountains, Tenzing soaked in the adulation and fame that came with the 1953 Everest ascent. He travelled the world, rubbing shoulders with everyone from Queen Elizabeth to Kishore Kumar. Back home, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru gave his assent to the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) in Darjeeling to “produce more Tenzings".
The government-backed expeditions that were launched had deep pockets, a contrast to the small resourceful teams that had been climbing until then. For instance, the Trisul summit in 1951 had been attained on a budget of ₹4,000; just the imported items for the 1965 Everest expedition added up around ₹1 lakh.
India longed to be part of the prestigious 8,000m club. That moment arrived in 1958 as the first Indian team set off for Cho Oyu, the sixth highest mountain in the world. Every detail of the expedition was managed by a Sponsoring Committee, which in 1961 was recognised as the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF), the governing body for mountaineering in India. Sonam Gyatso and Pasang Dawa Lama’s summit success, only the second ascent of Cho Oyu, was dampened by the death of Jayal early on during the expedition. But an Indian team had shown the ability to climb an 8,000m mountain. The stage was set for Everest.
In 1960, Gyan Singh, a brigadier in the Indian Army and principal of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute from 1958 to 1962, led the first Indian expedition that returned about 200m short of the summit due to bad weather. More drama was to follow two years later. For three nights, Mohan Singh Kohli, a commander in the Indian Navy, Hari Dang, an assistant master at the Doon School, and Sonam Gyatso, a mountaineer from Sikkim, were stranded at around 8,500m in inclement weather. It didn’t get any better when they had the chance to proceed higher up and they turned around 100m short of the top.
Though Everest remained elusive, Indian climbers succeeded on challenging climbs elsewhere during these years. Narinder “Bull" Kumar, deputy leader of the 1965 Everest expedition, led the first ascent of Nilkantha (6,596m) in 1961. The same year, Kohli, Sonam Gyatso and Sonam Girmi made the first ascent of Annapurna III (7,555m) in Nepal, a climb that has only seen 10 other successful summits since then. Right before the third Everest attempt, Kumar led the second ascent of Nanda Devi (7,817m) after two previous unsuccessful attempts by Indian teams.
SUMMITING EVEREST
These expeditions created a pool of strong mountaineers. Kohli was selected to lead the third Everest expedition with clear instructions from S.S. Khera, president of IMF. “We have attempted Everest twice and failed. I want Everest climbed," he told Kohli, as mentioned in the latter’s 1969 book Nine Atop Everest, while discarding a proposal to attempt the daunting West Ridge route as well.
Given all that was at stake, a trial was organised to pick out the cream of Indian mountaineering. The previous year, three expeditions had set off for Nanda Devi, the Panchachuli massif, and Nanda Devi East and Tirsuli. Those who had done well were invited to the pre-Everest climb on Rathong, a peak in Sikkim.
Though 11 climbers reached the summit, success this time around was measured in terms of performance, efficiency and compatibility. After much deliberation, 13 climbers were selected for Everest that included two doctors and one member to manage communications. Four others were later added to the team. Along with Kohli and his deputy, Bull Kumar, the team added up to 19 in all. The average age of the team was 31; nine had been to Everest before.
It was by no means a modest expedition and resources were in abundance to ensure the success of the climb. Most of the gear was manufactured by the Ordnance factories around the country. The major imports were oxygen equipment and eiderdown used primarily for the sleeping bags. Meals were a lavish spread fit for a king, featuring everything from meat and fish to pudding and cakes. For the first time, they also had pre-cooked, dehydrated food at their convenience.
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For supplementary oxygen, around 125 cylinders were ferried to South Col, with about a hundred available for the summit attempts. Forty-six high-altitude Sherpas led by Ang Tshering supported the primary team, besides 10 others who helped open the route through the Khumbu Icefall.
Over 800 porters were needed to haul the supplies to base camp. It was akin to a seasonal migration, as a train of men set off from Jaynagar, a town near the Indo-Nepal border, on a march that took close to a month. By 22 March, base camp had been established, the only team to attempt Everest that season from the south side. As Kohli writes in Nine Atop Everest, “We got busy putting the place into shape with the same zest as marks the newly-married couple while setting up a new home."
Over the next few weeks, the team got busy opening the route and stocking camps with the essentials. By 16 April, climbers had reached South Col. All that remained now was setting up a final camp en route the summit. But bad weather pushed the team back to base camp. Kohli and Kumar worked on the dynamics of the summit teams, each comprising four climbers on two ropes, supported by other members. The focus early on was to get one climber to the summit, though before leaving for the mountain, Kohli had told his wife that he hoped to put at least eight men on top.
The first party comprised A.S. Cheema and Tenzing Norgay’s nephew, Nawang Gombu, alongside Sonam Gyatso and Sonam Wangyal. On 22 April, a farewell party of sorts gathered a short distance from base camp to see them off. Though they made it as far as South Col, the forecast predicted high winds over the next few days, forcing the team to return.
There was little to do but wait out the rough weather. The day started at leisure with a delectable breakfast spread of “parathas or poories with a dish of potatoes, eggs, butter, jam, a lot of pickle and, at times, liver", according to Nine Atop Everest. They kept busy with card games and indulging in idle banter. To beat lethargy, they explored and took on short climbs around base camp.
After a prolonged wait, they received news of calm weather from the India Meteorological Department on 14 May. A couple of days later, they set off for the top again, well aware that they had just about two weeks before the monsoon arrived.
Three days later, the first party reached South Col without any challenges. By the next afternoon, they had established summit camp on the south-east ridge. At 5am on 20 May, Cheema and Gombu set off for the top; by 9.30am, they had reached the summit of Everest.
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A severe blizzard stalled the duo’s descent. Cheema had lost his goggles and was almost snow-blind when he entered camp. The two Sonams knew they had their task cut out and tried to keep warm at South Col that evening. The following morning they took on the arduous task of cutting steps in the fresh snow all over again. A tedious slog of eight hours got them to summit camp where they found their tent buried. It took a while for them to settle in, blasted by strong winds throughout the night. But their prayers were answered when first light brought calm weather. After six hours of climbing, they were finally on the summit.
With bad weather on the horizon again, C.P. Vohra and Ang Kami made a mad dash up the mountain and were the third party to get to the top on 24 May. Lower down the mountain, the final team took stock of the oxygen left. By the time they set off from Advance Base Camp on 26 May, it was clear that they would have time for just one attempt.
When B.P. Singh felt uneasy on the Lhotse Face, he was promptly replaced by Phu Dorji, who had been on both previous Indian expeditions. He set off on a rope with Ahluwalia, followed by H.V. Bahuguna and Rawat, arriving at summit camp two days later.
On 29 May, they set off for the top. A short distance from camp, Bahuguna slowed down considerably. He soon unroped himself to allow Rawat to continue alone. Above them, Ahluwalia had developed a leak in his oxygen cylinder, which was ingeniously patched by Phu Dorji using adhesive tapes from a carton in his haversack. It gave Rawat enough time to catch up. At 10.15am, the trio was on the summit of Everest, exactly 12 years since Tenzing and Hillary had stood there.
A party unfolded at base camp over the next couple of days. At Delhi’s Palam airport, they were received by dignitaries amid great pomp. These men were celebrated in India and around the world. Rewards came in the form of opportunities and promotions. In the time ahead, a few continued going to the mountains; for others, it was the one climb that came to define their lives.
Because much like it is for a lot of climbers even today, it doesn’t get higher than Everest.
Shail Desai is a Mumbai-based freelance writer.
