A successful summit attempt of Kang Yatse 2

During the summer break, nine Clifton College pupils took part in a successful summit attempt of Kang Yatse 2, a 6,250m peak in Ladakh, hiking a total of 91km with an ascent of 4,788m and descent of 4,685m.

Hear their account below:

On 03 July we set off from school at 4am on an epic adventure that would prove life changing for all those involved.

First we flew to Delhi, the spectacular connecting flight over the Himalaya took us to one of the highest airports in the world at 3,350m. We stepped off the plane in Leh and it was literally breathtaking… feeling the altitude immediately. We arrived at our hotel and started the challenging task of drinking a minimum of 3 litres of bottled water a day. Beginning our acclimatisation, we wandered around the busy city of Leh, at an altitude of 3,500m the city became our home for the next couple of days.

To continue our important acclimatisation, the next day we had a day of sightseeing visiting some beautiful monasteries in the area. We drove to Shey and explored inside a small temple containing a 350-year-old copper and gold statue of Buddha. In the evening we packed up our mule bag, bought any forgotten items from the markets in town, enjoyed our last shower and prepared for the expedition.

The next morning, we drove from Leh to Spituk and continued on a dirt jeep track road into a parched and exposed region. After about an hour drive, we entered the Zingchen Valley where the Rumbak River flows into the Indus, this is where we met our expedition team with our 20 mules, including our favourite mule Orla. From here we took a short and slow walk to our first camp at an altitude of 4,300m. Upon reaching the camp we helped set up our expedition tents then rested whilst taking in the spectacular views and nursing altitude headaches.

After an uncomfortable night sleeping at a higher altitude, we had a very challenging day ahead – we took a gradual but long ascent over the pass of Ganda La 4,980m, putting the altitude into perspective, Mont Blanc’s height being 4,806m. The Stupas and prayer flags marked the top of the pass, we had a quick celebratory photograph so we could start the descent before the effects of the altitude took over. On the descent we saw much wildlife including blue sheep, marmots, yaks and a lammergeier. Descending to the tiny village of Shingo, inhabited by only two families, we camped for the night enjoying another vegetarian banquet cooked by our expedition chef Rigzin.

The morning routine of camp life was becoming the norm, with our morning wakeup call and a delivery of a cup of black tea and a bowl of water. We packed up our mule bag, ate breakfast and then left the campsite for our day’s hike. We entered a narrow gorge with spectacular colours and rock formations – we continued descending the gorge until it opened onto the Markha Valley near the green hamlet of Skiu, which was a welcome relief after days of being in a dusty high-altitude desert. In this idyllic hamlet lies an old monastery and ruins of an old castle, once a rest stop for the Royal family on their way to Srinagar. After having the opportunity to experience our first tea house, we continued to Hamurtse, a green pasture land by the Markha river.

The next morning we continued on the trail along the Markha River, feeling full of energy with all the oxygen down at 3500m. We passed the remains of old hermitage caves high on the cliffs which inside are the remains of tiny caves where Lamas once sat in meditation on platforms carved in rock. After about 4 hours of hiking we reached the village of Markha, the largest village in the valley and inhabited by 20 families. After taking a good rest in the village, we continued along the Markha River. Soon we came across a mountain that seats the auspicious monastery of Techa we climbed up the steep path for a quick visit then took the short walk to Umlung. When reaching the campsite the pupils built a dam improvising their own foot spa and bath in the river where they enjoyed a wash and cool down before their camp life entertainment of a game of Uno.

The next morning from Umlung we pushed on towards the head of the Markha Valley, past old stone-mills, a ruined castle and the last village in the valley, Hankar. This day brought us our first views of the larger snow-covered summits, giving the team a sense of perspective on the challenges yet to come. Our campsite for the night was the idyllic green pasture of Thachungste (4,100m), in the evening we sat and watched the sun go down on the dramatic landscape.

In the morning the team woke up excited to finally set off from Thachungtse to reach Kang Yatse 2 Base Camp at 5,100m. Along the way we saw some Himalayan Pika, passed statues of deities balancing in small mountain lakes and watched groups of mules running wild over the grasslands. Walking into basecamp, as a team, we all felt massive sense of achievement, we had a celebratory photograph. At the camp we had a clear view of Kang Yatse 2 which was both exciting and nerve-racking – base camp was busy and buzzing with excitement with teams arriving from their summit attempt and some teams busy packing kit for their night ascent.

After our first night at base camp we had breakfast and took a short walk climbing a little higher up to organise our summit teams and practice ice axe, crampon and rope work skills. By noon we were back at the base camp and enjoyed a hot meal for lunch before spending the afternoon relaxing and preparing for the summit push that night.

The summit team woke at 10pm – after forcing a bowl of porridge down the team set off for the summit. Of the six pupils that left camp, four pupils successfully made it to crampon point at an altitude of 5,600m which was a huge achievement. At this point the teams put on their crampons, harnesses and helmets; roped up, grabbed their ice axes and started heading up the steep snow. Placing one foot in front of the other just a few steps at a time they started moving up into the darkness with heavy snow falling. Headtorches lighting the few meters in front of them they pushed on as the air thinned with every step. As day broke they reached ‘The Shoulder’ as a collection of rocks formed the first identifiable feature once crossing the snow line. At this point the zigzagging line taken takes a sharp turn and heads straight up towards the summit ridge. With sweet supplies beginning to run dry, the pupils continued to forge their way upwards. Moving towards the summit gained a monotonous rhythm; a few steps, rest, breathe, a few steps, rest, breathe. Until, upon reaching the summit ridge the snow, which had been continuous up to this point, stopped and the clouds started to clear. Once on the summit we had a spectacular view of the Himalayan range, after handshakes and celebrations we had a quick photograph and started the descent back down to Base camp where we were greeted with great excitement and pride from all of our team.

We woke up at basecamp for our last day of hiking, feeling fatigued, all the team had a high motivation to get back to Leh for Wifi signal, a shower and an actual toilet! After a short hike from base camp we slowly ascended towards Kongmaru La 5,300m – with tired legs this was a mammoth task for all, with this also being the highest point for some of our team on the trip! Once on the top we waved goodbye to the beautiful views of Kang Yatse 2 and began our steep descent to Shang Gorge. After a quick stop off in a tea house we finally made it to the end of our trek – we said an emotional farewell to our horses and horsemen and made the drive back to the hustle and bustle of Leh where the team enjoyed creature comforts of modern life and had a final meal to celebrate the achievements of the Clifton College team!