Kashmiri climbers make history, scale Thajiwas Valley’s Umbrella Peak after 79 years

SRINAGAR — Achieving a major feat, three young climbers from Kashmir have created history by climbing Thajiwas Valley’s Umbrella Peak after 79 years of gap.

The climbing team, as per the news agency KNO, led by Inayatullah Bhat along with Shariq Rashid and Waseem Raja successfully scaled the towering peak of Thajiwas Valley on June 24 (Monday) after a remarkable gap of 79 years.

The dedicated team successfully climbed Umbrella Peak. This is the third historic expedition in the Thajiwas after a gap of 79 years. It will not only celebrate the legacy of past climbers but also push the boundaries of modern mountaineering and climbing.

The team also successfully opened a new route for Umbrella Peak climbing the steep couloir of about 280m, adding a third route to Umbrella Peak in the alpine history of Kashmir Himalaya.

Climbed first by C.W.F Noyce and A. Jones in October 1944 via Glacier 3 of Thajiwas and a year later by John A. Jackson in 1945 made a traverse of umbrella via the Basmai Nar and over the lowest point at the west end of Kazim Pahalin ridge.

One of the climbers Inayattullah Bhat said that Thajiwas Valley has six glaciers among them, glacier 3 is most treacherous and deadliest which paves the way for the umbrella summit which was conquered.

“Sonamarg was developed for climbing and mountaineering activities by foreign climbers in the middle of the 1800 era. This is the impressive initiative of the climbing team reviving alpine climbing in such a majestic and challenging region of Kashmir Himalayas,” he said.

It’s important here to mention the fact that Britishers used to climb in the valley and laid the climbing and training centre in Sonamarg in early 1920’s with the formation of The Himalayan Club in 1928 and all such climbings were documented in the Alpine and Himalayan journals.

The Himalayan Club was established to encourage and assist Himalayan travel and exploration, and to extend the knowledge of the Himalaya and adjoining ranges through science, art, literature and sport.

However, there was a big blow to the Club soon after the partition of 1947 and it almost faded its working in Kashmir Himalayan region. “Today, our successful ascent of Umbrella Peak after 79 years marked a big revival of Alpine climbing in Kashmir Himalaya,” he said.