6805M Bulgarian Khane Valley Expedition 2011–Pakistan

● JAPANESE ALPINE NEWS 2012 NIKOLAY PETKOV, DOYCHINTATSUO (TIM)BOYANOV, INOUE MICHAIL MICHAILOV BTheulga Firstrian KAscenthane V ofal lLopchiney Expe dFengition (KG-2)2011– P6,805makistan AutumnFirst P 2009hase ExpeditionKarakoram toBi gthe W aKangrills Pro Garpoject 2 0East11/1 Mountains,2, Tagas Gr oTibetup (Supplemented by Tsuneo Miyamori) Tangra Tower 5,620m south face, No.33 on Wala map, unclimbed 30 JAPANESE ALPINE NEWS 2012 ● Between September 10 and 22, 2011, a Bulgarian exploratory expedition visited the Khane Valley in Karakoram to investigate and assess to the possibilities for new big-wall routes and ascents on unclimbed summits. Our team included Nikolay Petkov, Doychin Boyanov and Mihail Mihaylov. We availed ourselves of information and maps by Jerzy Wala; other sources were Google Earth, the 2005 Annual Book of the Korean Students᾽ Alpine Federation as well as knowledge of local inhabitants of the Khane village. On September 11, 2011, after a two-day walk from Khane village, the team built a base camp at 4650 m on the right-hand (north) moraine of the Khane Glacier. We observed, photographed and measured the summits in the upper part of the valley: Hidden Tower (~,5830m), Agil (~5,680m), Tangra (~5,620m), Rila (~5,600m), Sofia (~5,550m), Meligo (~5,680m), Gray Tower (~5,300m), etc. The heights determined by us were measured with a GPS Garmin with an average horizontal accuracy of 6 to 8 m, corresponding to a vertical accuracy of about 20 meters. All other height figures, marked with the tilde sign (~), are tentative, taken from the Google Earth model for this region. Mountaineering History For many years, the Khane Valley has remained in a shadow of the neighboring Nangmah and Charakusa Valleys closely to the north and parallel to it as Charakusa and Nangmah᾽s greater had potentials for first ascents on the fine granite walls of unclimbed peaks in 1990s and 2000s. Currently, the main summits and walls in these two valleys have all been climbed. To date, the Khane Valley has only been places for the same name village providing pastures for their livestock and most summits were unnamed except for those peaks seen from the villages along the Hushe River, the Nangmah Valley and the pastures along the Khane River up to around 4,300m. According to the Khane villagers, the first foreigner to have visited the valley in 2001 was a Korean; he came two more times and made two failed attempts to climb, most probably, the west wall of Agil Summit. During the second visit the Koreans set up a camp at 4,450m and opened a climbing route on a 250-meter high rocky outcrop near by – probably reaching the very top of this satellite arête. Actually, this is the first route to be made here, but the climb was insignificant since there are many other bigger walls surrounding the valley to all directions. So far we have no other information on explorations and attempts on climbing the other summits. It is said that an American came for a trekking after Ogre Peak expedition. She reached a foot of Great Tower tracing a big grassy terrace (First Terrace) along the side valley between Rila and Tangra Peaks to the east and Sofia Peak to the west. The other ascents before 2011 started from the Nangmah Valley on Black Tower (Sarigo) and Singu Chatpa (also called Singu Charpa and Great Tower). There is a small but very beautiful pointed peak towering over Khane village, called Nauari Brakk (~3,250m); this was first climbed by villagers Ali Mehmed and his son, Ruhal Ali in 2009. All the other summits surrounding the valley remain untrodden. Geography The Khane Valley is perpendicular to the Hushe River in Masherbrum Range. The valley is separated from the Nangmah Valley to the north by a serrated rocky ridge. Another rocky barrier delimits its southern edge, separating it from a small valley above Haldi Village (also Halde). To the east, where the main ridge makes an almost right-angle curve, is the upper part of the Tagas Valley. The ridge in 31 ● JAPANESE ALPINE NEWS 2012 the northeastern part of the valley borders on the upper side of the Lachit Valley and Glacier. The highest part of the Khane Valley is orientated in the north-south direction and the main part in the east-west-northwest direction. The right-hand (north) and left-hand (south) sides of the Khane Glacier and River are delimited by two main ridges. To the north, the right-hand one slopes down to the Nangmah Valley. Its main peaks are Black Tower (Sarigo) and Great Tower (Singu Chatpa). The Khane Glacier flows south through the Khane Col (~5,250m). At first, it moves in the north- south direction, then, after an icefall at 4,900m, it abruptly turns west. At 4,400m, the glacier᾽s snout gives rise of the Khane River, flowing northwest. This is the place we named Second Terrace, where the Korean camp was situated. After a sheer drop, the river forms a waterfall and flows through a wide grassy plain (First Terrace) used for pastures. The main peaks situated on the left-hand side of the glacier above Khane Col are Hasho II (~6,000m), Peak 58 (~5,930), Hidden Tower (or Peak 59, ~5,830), Khanlim (Peak 60) and the Twins. On the right-hand side of the glacier are Peak 23 and Agil (~5,680). At the base of the Twins᾽ north wall, the Khane Glacier abruptly turns west along the north slopes of the southern ridge. Immediately before sloping down to the Hushe Valley, the left-hand (southern) ridge has two main peaks: Meligo (~5,680m) and Grey Tower (~5,300m). Meligo Peak is separated from the Twins to the east by a saddle that can be reached by an iced gully between the Twins and the Saws Ridge. Seen from the north (from Khane), Meligo is characteristic with two big rocky arêtes, named the Ghulam and Fida Towers (~5,200m), which rise from the main ridge coming from the east. To the west, it is connected to Gray Tower. Down to 4,400 m, Meligo᾽s northern slope is covered with the South Khane Glacier. This can be crossed and, after a small saddle and crossing a steep gully, the saddle between Meligo and Gray Tower is reached at 5,000m. After Gray Tower, the ridge (~4,800m high) gradually slopes down to the valley at Khane Village (2,800m). The right-hand main ridge begins from Khane Pass. It is directed from the east to the northwest. Starting from Khane Pass, it includes Peak 23 (~5,600m), the Trident (Peak 26, ~5,550m), the Thumb (Peak 31, ~5,480), Peak 32, Tangra Tower (Peak 33, ~5,620m), Rila Peak (Peak 36, ~5,600m), Levski Peak (Peak 38, ~5,620m), Singu Chatpa/Great Tower (Peak 44, ~5,910m), Gamgar Brakk (an arête between the two main summits), Black Tower/Sarigo (Peak 50, ~5,600m) and, immediately above Khane Village, Nauari Brakk (Peak 52, ~3,250m). Agil (Peak 24, ~5,680m) is a prominent summit situated south of the main ridge, on a secondary ridge starting from Peak 23 and sloping down to the middle of the valley where the glacier forms a right angle. The other prominent summit visible to the north from the First Terrace is Sofia (Peak 39, ~5,550m). It is situated on a side ridge, starting from the main one at Singu Chatpa and going south. The North Cirque (5,100m) is at the bottom of the valley flanked by Agil Peak to the east, Tangra Peak to the west and the Trident and Khane Col II to the north. Starting from the cirque, the North Khane Glacier flows to the south, perpendicularly to the main Khane Glacier. Its terminus gives rise of a big stream and valley descending all the way down to the glacial plain named Second Terrace. Another big cirque and a relatively easily accessible valley are formed between Singu Chatpa and Sofia Peak to the west and Levski and Rila Peaks to the east. This valley goes down to the glacial plain named First Terrace. Narrow and closed but well shaped, the third valley lies between Black Tower, Singu Chatpa and Sofia Peaks. It goes down to the lower part of the main valley, close to the beginning of an abandoned artificial channel. Apart from the peaks forming the high ridges, other places of interest from the climber᾽s point of 32 JAPANESE ALPINE NEWS 2012 ● view are the rocky faces of the towers in the lower zone, immediately above the valley᾽s bottom. These are prominent rocky needles and towers with 300 to 400-meter high-quality granite walls. These satellite peaks are more characteristic for the northern slopes, which mean that they have predominantly south, west and east faces, with no snow or ice on them. They are suitable for multi- pitch rock-climbing routes. * The right-hand and left-hand directions are determined as observed whilst facing downstream. Access A three-hour SUV drive along the valleys of the Indus and Shyok Rivers leads from Skardu, the administrative capital of the Pakistan᾽s Baltistan Province, to the town of Khaplu. Up to this point, there is an asphalt road in a pretty good state. From Khaplu, take the wire-rope bridge across the Shyok River to the north, towards the villages of Machulu and Khane. This is the road of Hushe. About 1:30 hours from Khaplu (dirt road) the village of Khane is reached, situated on the left bank of the Hushe River, at 2,800m.

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