Himalayan glacier remains in threat almost over a decade
Some of the world’s most remarkable Indian glacier is at risk of being wiped off from the map in few years — unless UNDP and ISRO and its par …
Himalayan essence of beauty and the beast
One of the truly remarkable & unimaginable things that me to fascinated all the time about this planet is earth natural resources & its diversity, be it geographic, environmental. However sometimes it would be loss time to time for several reasons among one of them is quite common familiar but its looks remain same still.
Indian Himalayan Glacier History
Himalaya is one of the youngest & oldest mountain systems on Earth, and has a direct influence on the climate, with hydrology and a flow of major water reservoir. It is the abode of one of the world’s largest and frequently inaccessible area of glaciers outside part of the polar region which provides glacier-stored water to the major Indian river basins. Many of the Himalayan glacier are covered with thick snow and ice which melt down gradually from the vast white snow fields & turns into some chief river’s basin.
I climbed some of the major remote Indian himalayan belts of glacier & peaks located in Garhwal and Kumaon province of Uttarakhand known for dev bhoomi depicted to Lord Shiva in notable years to gain the experience and tie-up with the splendid beauty of nature.
Indian Himalayan Glaciers Inventory
Indian Glacier inventory carried out by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) indicates the existence of over 9000 glaciers in the Indian administered part of the Himalaya. Globally, glaciers are considered to be the sensors of climate change. Any small inequality in the climate will distress the accumulation and ablation rate of glaciers, which in turn affects mass balance of the glaciers.
In the 1980s, the author estimated that about 15,000 glaciers occur in the Himalaya. Considered high, this estimate was based on the average size of glaciers derived from glacier inventories from parts of the Himalaya, and from von Wissman’s (1959) estimate of total ice cover. More recent glacier inventory work by Qin (1999), however, determined that there were 18,065 glaciers in the five drainage basins of the Himalaya, covering 35,110 km2 ; this number was based on analysis of 1975–78 Landsat MSS band 7 and false-color (bands 4, 5, 7) images, as well as some aerial photographs. So, the author’s 1980s estimate was actually 20 percent too low. A composite inventory of the glaciers of the Himalaya by Kaul (1999), based on a combination of detailed and regional assessments, yielded a total of only 5,243 glaciers covering an area of about 38,000 km2 . Kaul (1999) also reported that about 8,500 km2 of the glaciers are located in the Indian Himalaya.
Today’s in 2020 technological era of advancement world and social media networking while we get each and every classified details of information very easily for mapping the peak route and cost from home, but in between 2000 to 2011 yrs. It’s quite tough for plotting or scaling the remote region of glacier route & structure from home because there is no proper information on the internet. So, we get some information from the book which is borrowed from the Kolkata college street (Book para). But it’s act as a quick relief for researching but not much as possible as we want.
A book which was written by Harish Kapadia was used for information “Across the peaks and passes” , Legendary Maps from the Himalayan Club and Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Volume 16 from National Library today’s it’s all easily available in the e-commerce market but in 2011 its quite difficult to catch that actual sources, My father is also an avid trekker he climbed many Himalayan peaks & remote high-altitude passes during in Kolkata Municipal Corporation. One of my father friends help to track the actual sources while he was also an avid trekker from 1975s, he worked with my father.
High-Altitude Nature Addiction
Himalayan expedition addiction is grown in me from when I was still in school. I always known for a bad kid last bencher from class v because I always challenges each and every difficult task which normal people don’t have any interest in it likewise. I always bring my father old days peak expedition journal & lomograph to school and sat on the last bench with my bad friends gossiping & discussing to find how they react with adventure material subsets. But one day my school principal called my guardian and ask them …. I have a huge library of printed 35mm film photograph and negatives roll which I turns in digital format with the help of film scanner & it’s very tough for actual conversion technically but I obtained to do that of Garwal and Kumaon region expedition but in here I restricted because for college newsletter purposes. So sorry for that …
“Why you give these types of risk full adventure material to your children hands” “because she is quite afraid about adventure & its effects at that point of stretch after all we are the lower land people instead Himalayas is big enough than we are” but my father managed her because he knows the actual truth ….
I will do the same things for refreshment one days…
In the same time my father will react on all those substances and think whether I am fit for the trek or not or he made a mistake to take me to an obscure area of mitigation, my father was always an adventurous person all the time even now he enjoyed Himalayan essence through YouTube or seen web documentary but my mom is always afraid of all these substances and the trauma of minds fear grown day by day however she is my mom. My father convinced my mom that he always with me the time like shadow never down the eye from me in all aspects.
Day of revelation —
12 May 2006 — And the day came to me that was never forgotten as astonishing memory, it came to me like a day of thousands of angels take me to up on the adobe of Himalayas. Those days my father gave me his Agfa 200 model a 35mm film camera which he brough from Nepal in the year 1970s those things todays are vintage & authentic.
However, it’s a well-financed expedition of Kolkata Municipal corporation mountaineering club and there are already 8 participants in team later my father added me after consultation with the mayor of municipal corporation because my age is not sufficient luckily I have inter school championship in football certificate so he think give permission after seeing me and I convinced him to that I am fully enabled to for this expedition. The reasons behind that the Pindari Kanda route is so hazardous and many casualties happened during earlier expedition.
Pindari Glacier to Traill’s Pass expedition — 30 days
Pindari Kanda Traill’s Pass (el. 5,300 m or 17,400 ft) is a high-altitude mountain pass through the Himalayas located between Nanda Devi and Nanda Kot peaks in the Uttarakhand state in the districts of Pithoragarh and Bageshwar in India. It’s is located between the unnamed southern shoulder of Mt. Nanda Devi East and Changuch (Western shoulder of Mt.Nanda Kot) peaks in Uttarakhand state in the districts of Bageshwar and Pithoragarh. It is situated at the head of Pindari glacier and Trails pass bridges Pindari Valley with LwanValley (Nandadevi East Base camp).
Today’s high-tech climbing gear omit the gap between casualties but in 2006 is very tough to fight with the nature. The weather temperature is going to minus 20 to 30 degree during night. High-end sleeping bag, duck down feather jacket and specialty boots all are play a very important role but in our time all the things are not sufficient for this type of long expedition but we are all love the nature so we are after successful achieve that. We completed this without any casualties luckily.
Peak Elevation: 6,861 m
The Pindari Glacier is a glacier found in the upper reaches of the Kumaon Himalayas, to the southeast of Nanda Devi and Nanda Kot. The glacier is about three kilometers long and 365 meters wide and gives rise to the Pindar River which meets the Alakananda at Karnaprayag in the Garhwal district.
Today’s glacier recession is very high as earlier. Pindari & Milam both are in hot list by UNDP and by ISRO in notable years of observation. However earlier speculative series of glacier recession is approximate Milum — (1849 to 1957) is “– 1350M” and Pindari — (1845 to 1966) is “– 2840M”.
Pindari kanda (Traill Pass) is located above the left shoulder of Nanda Kot peak turns in a form of massive glaciers whiles holds tons of waters in it, Temperature is always in stable on here in between min 0 to max — 30 degree all the year. Pindari has been the most frequently visited Himalayan glacier since the mid-19th century when a bridle-path with dak bungalows at suitable intervals between there and Almora was built.
Even today, it’s so popular trekking destination for the youth such as college students to explore Pindari glacier but not expected Traill’s pass because for unknown remote route extreme risk in technical difficulties and hard to climb. In earlier we have to take permission from DM of Kumaon Pithoragarh Distrit to go for Traill’s pass expedition but today’s traill’s pass is not for the all anymore because government keeps under ITBP (Indo Tibetian Border Force) so permission is restricted on certain occasions its available for the avid trekkers and expeditioners while sometimes himalayan sherpa & porters not willing to go due to bad weather condition and for sheer roads local people called it’s a place of ghost.
I take two films roll but one of them is corrupt due to weather hardness, some films are out of exposed due to technical reasons. Photography in this type of expedition in 2006 is very tough now its suitable from many technical aspects. I solely digitalize the photos from my printed photo archive, today’s this printed photo and film negative roll unavailable & worth. These materials are so valuable for me.
Thankyou
