C e n t r a l G a r h w a l

Shri Parvat, attempt and Bhagat Peak, ascent. Rajesh Gadgil’s nine member team from Bombay planned to attem pt the second ascent o f the beautiful 6175m fluted snow peak, Shri Parvat, which rises from the Deo Dekhni Plateau west o f M ana-Badrinath and has not been climbed since its original ascent in 1934 by Eric Shipton and Bill Tilman. Base camp was established at

Khadu Kharak (ca 4400m) alongside the Bhagirathi Kharak Glacier. Subsequently, two more camps were placed at 4950m and 5350m on the Deo Dekhni Plateau. The attem pt on Shri Parvat was thwarted due to bad weather but four members earned a consolation prize by making the second ascent of a nearby small peak, Bhagrat (5650m). This was first climbed in 1997 by myself and Ang Nyima Sherpa during an expedition that followed Shipton and Tilm an’s traverse from the Bhagirathi to the Arwa Valley via the 5700m Shrak La.

H a r i s h K a p a d ia , Honorary Editor, The Himalayan Journal