October 02, 2006
To Climb a Sacred Mountain:A Himalayan Epic in Six ‘Easy’ Steps
When I last wrote I may have left some of you wondering: Will the team make it to the top of the un-named mountain? And what about Salz and his blown-out knee?
Let me take a minute to fill you in.
Firstly, it turned out the mountain did have a name after all. Such an awesome peak was too impressive not to. (The name is Chakri – Sanskrit for the ‘circle of life’). The tip of its rocky spire measures just shy of 17,000 feet, rising like Shiva’s holy trident above the sacred waters of the Tirthan River. Handily, our journey is fully encapsulated by the concept of those universal
‘Way of Adventure Six Steps to the Top.’
Leap Before You Look –
It was a madcap idea. The odds were surely not in our favor. We would be the first group to travel up the fearsome and holy Tirthan river valley to the high camp beneath the ring of mountains. Our goal was lofty in all respects. Not just an adventure, but an effort to help local villagers launch an eco-tourism that would help maintain their way of life and preserve beauty and remoteness of the Great Himalayan National Park (India’s newest) in the process.
Aim High –
Though the mountain had a name and figured in local mythology, it had never been climbed. In all my thirty-five years of professional wilderness leadership I had never undertaken a more ambitious challenge. To guide a group of individuals with no previous mountaineering experience across a glacier and to the top of a virgin Himalayan summit - especially one as impressive as Chakri and involving ice axes, ropes and harnesses – was audacious to say the least!
Give It All You’ve Got –
After four days on the approach with daily elevation gains of thousands of feet each day, we arrived at base camp at Saketi. From there it was up to ABC (advance base camp) where we trained in traversing fixed-ropes on the glacier, ate Top Ramen beneath the stars at 14,500 feet and crammed four-in-a-tent to pass the night. Each of us had to dig deep in our souls to make the effort the next morning as we headed up toward the summit in a snowstorm.
Work Some Magic –
The Tibetans do not say “I climbed the mountain.” They say: “The mountain lifted me up.” And so it did. I said my prayers aloud and often. “With clean hearts and good intentions we climb as pilgrims upward. We ask that we may be permitted to attain the top for the good of our souls and the benefit of all sentient beings.” Call it magic, Shiva’s benevolence or just sheer luck, but the weather cleared long enough for us to ascend the three pitches of fixed rope up the glacier. There was steep scrambling but no insurmountable obstacles as we climbed the headwall to the ridge.
Keep on Your Bearing –
Keeping on your bearing means seeing clearly what matters…. and what always matters most are the others on your team. We helped each other over each challenge as it appeared on the knife-like ridge that led to the top. It is not where we travel but how that matters. We moved gracefully, and stepped united as a team to the summit.
Enjoy the View –
Vince had made a summit flag with all our names and the word for peace in both English and Sanskrit. It was 9/11. Seven dear friends – representing countries and diverse faiths from around the world– celebrated all that was good in life. We celebrated how our globe can come together through adventure and camaraderie. Together we enjoyed the view.
And my knee? I’m home now, here in the San Jacinto Mountains where I just came down from this morning’s few thousand foot rock scramble. Not a pain, not a throb, not a complaint in the world. Those Six Steps (combined with a little acupuncture, herbs and more than a touch of positive thinking) really do work magic.
First Ascent: Chakri Peak 17,000 feet (approximately)
Great Himalayan National Park Himachal Pradesh, India
September 11th, 2006
Congratulations to the Way of Adventure Team!
Sarah Hine, Vince Poscente, Jonathan Wygant, Aditya (Panki) Sood, Charan Chauhan, Bicky Thapa and Jeff Salz
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