Swargarohini Peak Expedition (6252m.)

HIGHLIGHTS

• Swargarohini meant as “Stairs to Heaven” lies in the Saraswati range of Garhwal Himalayas in Uttarkashi district. Swargarohini range comprises of four peaks and Swargarohini I is the highest among them. While not particularly being high by Himalayan standards but still it had defied teams earlier from Canada, Sweden, Japan and India. The peak wasn’t climbed until the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering climbed the peak in the year 1990 during the training of advance course. The peak has fascinated mountaineers through the ages and being moderately high at 6252m is considered one of the difficult summits of Garhwal Himalayas. It has dangerous drops of thousands of meters, doesn’t have the direct line of approach, hanging glaciers and rock walls from all the sides. Therefore it requires technical expertise coupled with physical fitness to achieve a remarkable summit.
• Swargarohini Peak expedition starts from Taluka and with few transit halts we reach at Osla(2900m). Here we shift the loads and carry on trekking to Ruinsaratal(3900m) through regular intervals of snow and debris caused by regular avalanches. Further we trek towards base camp located at (4300m) and will establish it subsequently. The load ferry and reconnaissance of the ABC goes on along the course. Finally we will fix our ABC somewhere at 5000 and settle on a safer spot, safe from falling seracs of hanging glacier situated on the top of a rock wall. At ABC we will train, ice craft some of the techniques on Bandar punch glacier to get familiar for upcoming hardships. We will get prepared for the route opening and fixing adequate ropes for safe climb. Soon we head off of forward to open route on small glacial slope and then on snowfield pitching sufficient equipment's on difficult rock slants. Later in the afternoon we retrace back to the ABC and relax in our tents. Next day we will shift to the Camp I located somewhere above the rock wall. We move briskly to the ice slope where ropes have been fixed earlier and negotiate it easily towards snowfield. In between a patch of avalanche prone slopes are carefully traversed as many of the climbers had lost their lives on these unpredictable ascends. The prefixing of ropes en route show no such difficulty but the danger of slipping on mixed slopes of 40-60 degrees cause some problems. Soon we will reach at the base of rock slope and fix some rope and climb this section with the help of jumar. As this rocky col is climbed it offers an excellent view of surroundings a rocky ridge and two steep ice walls and snowy tops along with Kalanag Peak, Bandar punch range. On the southern side a very steep fall of 20-25m and a bifurcation of glacier going and joining northern slopes of Swargarohini group. We will fix our summit camp at the base of the peak and wait for the night. In the middle of the night we make our ascent on snowy slopes which would be crunchy and hard in early hours. The snow plateaus will come and go one after the other restricting one by the summit views. These humps are never ending and continue obstructing the climb on the dangerous slopes. We will follow the northern edge of the ridge over heavily corniced humps carefully to avoid any steep fall. After the fourth hump we could have the first glimpse of the summit but still it is few meters far. A  bergschrund below the summit has to be crossed through a narrow gap to the top. The top of the peak is corniced and is dangerous if any mistake has been made. We will ascend prudently on the top of the peak rest a bit glimpse the beauty of Saraswati ranges and offer some Puja. We will spend some quality time and return safely to Camp I and to ABC. The only real problem on the way back is the snow conditions which in the afternoon may be slushy and slippery. Along to that the risk of avalanches en route may cause adversities. Nevertheless we will descend carefully retrieving fixed ropes pitons snow stakes back to the summit camp. Here we will wind up the camp and descend to ABC through avalanche prone slopes. By the evening we will reach the ABC and rest inside our camp having a hot cup of tea. Next day trace back the trails to the lower camps and to the last road head. Once we reach the final hours of our expedition we bid adieu to all mates and disperse to further destinations.