The first edition of this civilian trek to the Siachen-Saltoro Ridge region last year had Pakistan frothing at the mouth, holding as it did that opening the “disputed territory” for tourism would lead to “serious consequences” and “vitiate the atmosphere for the ongoing peace process”.

But India had cocked a snook at Pakistan by going ahead with the trek — even though there were some last-minute organisational hiccups — to reinforce its stand that not an inch on Siachen would be yielded till Pakistan accepts iron-clad “authentication” of the 110-km Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL), both on the map and on the ground, which separates the two armies in the glacial region.

Indian troops, after all, hold “almost all dominating heights” on Saltoro Ridge, with Pakistani troops being nowhere near the 72-km-long Siachen Glacier. Throwing open the Siachen heights to adventure enthusiasts and mountaineers serves to effectively demolish all Pakistani claims to the contrary.

Defence ministry sources said the Army Adventure Cell would organise the trek to the world’s highest, coldest and costliest battlefield, which no longer witnesses the daily artillery duels after the November 2003 ceasefire, from October 1 to 21 this year. The plan is to take around 40 people, including Army experts, defence scientists, NCC and military school cadets and “civilian volunteers”, on the “unique adventure activity”.

The group will first acclimatise and train at Leh for a week or so before heading for the Siachen base camp for further training on the use of glacial equipment. The actual week-long trek along the Northern Glacier will begin thereafter, with the group transversing the frozen wasteland to a forward post situated over 16,000 feet.

The government, on its part, is also actively encouraging mountaineering expeditions to the region. An Indo-French team, for instance, had climbed the Mamostong Kangri peak, located about 30 km east of the snout of Siachen Glacier, last year.

Incidentally, it was Pakistan’s grant of a permit to a Japanese expedition in 1984 to climb the Rimo Peak, located east of Siachen and overlooking Aksai Chin, in the hope of laying a legal claim to the area, which had acted as the final provocation for India to airlift troops to the region. Indian troops had then swiftly occupied the Saltoro Ridge heights, ranging from 16,000 feet to 22,000 feet, against daunting odds under “Operation Meghdhoot” in April 1984, beating Pakistani troops from doing the same by just a whisker.

Though both India and Pakistan have accepted the need to demilitarise the glacial heights right since 1989, the bone of contention in the protracted negotiations has been the “authentication” of the AGPL beyond the NJ-9842 grid reference point — where the well-delineated Line of Control simply stopped dead in the 1972 Simla Pact — right till the Karakoram Pass.India wants the AGPL to be “authenticated” first as an international safeguard before any troop disengagement, withdrawal and the final demilitarisation of the glacier.

The Indian Army is working on transforming battlefield Siachen into a tourist destination. In an attempt to kickstart this, the first group of civilian trekkers left for the world’s highest battlefield a week ago. CNN-IBN’s Rasika Tyagi was among the group – the first woman journalist to trek up Siachen.

Leh: It’s the start of a historic and scary journey. Historic because for the first time, civilians are being allowed up to the Siachen glacier and scary because I have to keep up with them at unimaginable altitudes and temperatures

Trying to get up to a whopping 15,000 ft is a motley crew- the oldest person in our group is 55, the youngest only 17.

The Karakorams are the most barren mountains I have ever seen. Just brown earth and snow. I take a deep breath – we are here to scale these mighty mountains. .

But before we go uphill we are told to lie flat for a whole day in Leh so we can acclimatise to the altitude and the thin air. My BP is tested as is my SPO which tells the doctors how much oxygen is in my body.

On Day 2 in Leh, we are told about the high altitude diseases. The list is nearly as long as the glacier itself. In addition there are chill burns, frost bite, pulmonary edema, hypothermia, cerebral edema. Never knew there were so many ways to die!

Day 3 in Leh and finally we are allowed to move around. They are taking us for a one-kilometre walk. That might not sound like much but when you consider the fact that the oxygen in the air here is just 13 per cent while it is 21 per cent at sea level, the task becomes a little more daunting.

These walks will prepare us for the 120-kilometre long trek from the base camp of the Siachen glacier.

On the first day we will walk 12 kilometres to camp 1. Day two – 14 kilometers from camp 1 to camp 2. This is the hardest leg of the trek because of crevasses and thin ice.

Day three sees us trekking 16 kilometers between camp 2 and 3 and on Day 4, 18 km from camp 3 to our finish point camp 4 at 15,000 ft.

Doctors tell us the night temperatures on the glacier will drop to under minus 25 degrees and I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed – that I will return with all my fingers and toes intact.

]]> http://www.siachenglacier.com/from-the-siachen-glacier-as-a-tourist/feed/ 0 http://www.siachenglacier.com/verbal-war-over-siachen-india-hits-back/ http://www.siachenglacier.com/verbal-war-over-siachen-india-hits-back/#comments Tue, 18 Sep 2007 07:55:28 +0000 admin http://www.siachenglacier.com/verbal-war-over-siachen-india-hits-back/

9/17/2007 – The Indian government has lashed out at Pakistan for protesting New Delhi’s plans to throw open Siachen Glacier to tourists.

The Indian government, that controls a large chunk of the disputed Glacier has firmly told Pakistan that it does not need Islamabad’s permission to open the glacier to tourists as they are going to a part of India.

Earlier, Pakistan had registered its protest against the Indian government’s plan to throw open the Siachen Glacier to tourists.

Pakistan has summoned the Deputy High Commissioner to officially lodge their objection to India’s move.

Saltoro Ridge is “non-negotiable”

Earlier in a clear signal to Pakistan that the Siachen Glacier-Saltoro Ridge region will remain “non-negotiable”, India had decided to open the Glacier to civilian trekkers.
¼br> The Indian Army controls all of the 70-km-long Siachen glacier, as well as all of its tributary glaciers as well as the three main passes of the Saltoro Ridge immediately west of the glacier, thus holding on to the tactical advantage of higher ground. The Indian troops had occupied Saltoro Ridge Heights against daunting odds, under ‘Operation Meghdoot’ in April 1984.

The Army plans to organise trekking trips as part of “civilian adventure activities” to the world’s highest, coldest and costliest battlefield which has not been witnessing the earlier fierce artillery duels due to the ongoing Indo-Pak ceasefire. But Pakistan is opposed to the same, claiming that negotiations on Siachen are still on.

“The area remains a conflict zone and a reported move by India to open up Siachen for tourism could aggravate the situation with serious consequences,” says a statement by Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tasneem Aslam. 

 TIMES NOW spoke to defence analyst Maroof Raza who says the glacier falls within Indian territory.

“Logically if you follow the Line of Control definition as per the Karachi agreementof 1949, the LOC brings the Siachen glacier into Indian territory – so technically we are right. We are in Indian territory, Pakistan has always made claims there but these claims are not based on any accurate data.”

The frenzy of activity at the glacial heights comes after joint talks yielded little. And India stands firm, saying the expedictions will take place on the Indian side for which it need not seek permission.

The Government’s proposal

Siachen – once the highest battlefield on earth – could now become a tourist attraction with the Government’s proposal to open the glacial heights to trekkers.

A group of 20 people including eight to nine civilians and cadets from NCC, Rashtriya Indian Military College and Indian Military Academy, are to be part of the first trekking expedition from September 19.

The expeditions are meant to show that Indian troops hold all the dominating heights along the glacier.

An Indo-French expedition to Mamostong Kangri Peak, located about 30 kms east of the snout of the Siachen glacier, took place earlier this month. Next will be the first civilian expedition to the glacier.

Management Professor Charuhas Joshi who will be part of that expedition, said he couldn’t wait to get there.

“For 8-10 days there is an acclimatisation and training programme where they will teach us snowcraft, how to handle the various equipment, as well as dos and donts of mountain-climbing. They will equip us, we will get accimatised over there, and then they will put us on a trek,” said Joshi.

For those looking forward to the unique Siachen experience the move to open the glacier has been welcome.

The guns over Siachen may have been silent for some time, but the cold war over this sub-zero battlefield continues.

Video: Verbal war over Siachen: India hits back

Alternatively: Timesnow Video

Even as a trekker group awaits a nod from the Ministry of Defence, two Mountaineering teams are in the Siachen glacier at two major peaks— Momostang Kangri(25,600 feet) and Rimo Peak( 25,250 feet).

While an all army team is currently on its way back after successful ascent of the Momostang Kangri peak, the other expedition, which has eight civilian members, is on the verge of climbing the Rimo peak.

Both the peaks are located on the eastern part of the glacier, overlooking Shaksam valley in China, opposite the Saltoro ridge, where Indian and Pakistani troops have been in an almost eyeball to eyeball confrontation. Initially, the Indian Mountaineering Foundation(IMF), which regulates access to expeditions to climb Himalayan peaks hardly drew any response when it sent a circular to its affilated mountaineering clubs about plans to throw open part of the glacier to trekkers. “It was just 20 odd people, mostly avid climbers and military cadets who responded”, IMF Officials said. But, once it got publicized, “we are getting inundated by requests”.

Requests are still coming despite strong protests from Pakistan to the Siachen plan.

MUMBAI/DELHI: [18 Sep 2007, 0002 hrs IST,Bella Jaisinghani, Indrani Bagchi & Rajat Pandit,TNN]
 Even as the government planned a tough response to Pakistan’s opposition to the planned Siachen treks, the trekking trip to the glacier, scheduled for September 19, was put off by its organisers.

Apparently, this isn’t because of Pakistan’s growl; rather that the trek, announced by the army last week, is yet to get the defence ministry’s clearance.

It’s learnt the Army announced the treks last week on the basis of verbal clearances “at the highest level”. But nothing can move until the necessary approvals are taken paper – leaving the Army little option but to postpone the treks. Government sources, however, maintain that this is not going to affect the treks once the clearances are taken.

Mumbai trekkers Mukund Deodhar, Charuhas Joshi and Balakrishna Pillai were headed to Mumbai airport around 6.30 pm to take a flight to New Delhi when they received a call from tour arranger Col Narendra Kumar informing them that the expedition had been “postponed by a few days on the Army’s instructions.”

Col Kumar runs an adventure sports company named Himalayan Explorations in New Delhi, which was organising the tour on behalf of the Indian Army. When contacted Col Kumar said the trek was postponed on government’s orders: “I am confident things will be on track within three or four days. I’m only disappointed some of our invitees have lost money at the last minute.”

Pakistan formally protested to India on Monday against India’s move to take trekkers up on the Siachen glacier and Saltoro ridge, which it considers to be disputed territory.

The Pakistan foreign ministry summoned the Indian deputy high commissioner in Islamabad to register Pakistani concerns, said the Pakistan foreign ministry spokesman.

The spokesman said, “The Indian deputy high commissioner was told that the Indian plans to open up the disputed territory for tourist purpose was viewed with deep concern by Pakistan. The area remains a conflict zone and the reported move by India to open up Siachen for tourism could aggravate the situation with serious consequences that could vitiate the atmosphere for the ongoing peace process.”

Meanwhile, India plans to tell Pakistan it is well within its rights to take tourists up to Siachen. The peaks that are being thrown open to trekkers are all under Indian control, and second, India claims all of Jammu & Kashmir as an integral part.

In Mumbai, the three mountaineers were in a fix because they had spent about Rs 7,000 each arranging for air tickets to New Delhi from where they were to proceed to Leh. “We were unable to get a refund from Air Deccan because we were unable to provide the mandatory four hours’ notice required for cancellation,” said Deodhar.

“As Col Kumar said the trip had been postponed by a few days we even offered to reschedule our bookings to the following weekend. However, he has been unreachable since that last conversation.”

TOI was unable to reach Col Kumar who had switched off his cellphone late Monday evening, but an unofficial spokesperson for his company said he was only relaying the instructions that had been issued to him by the Army.

“The trip has not been cancelled, only postponed, that is all we can say right now,” the representative added.

Earlier this year, India quietly began to actively encourage mountaineering and trekking expeditions to the forbidding Siachen Glacier-Saltoro Ridge region as part of a well-crafted strategy, “approved at the highest levels” said sources. This was part of the gameplan to send a clear signal to Pakistan that the glacial heights would remain “non-negotiable” till it accepts Indian conditions for clear-cut “authentication” of the 110-km Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL), both on the map and on the ground.

Pakistan’s objection is rooted in the fact that these international treks will show that it is India will controls the heights on the glacier and ridge, not Pakistan, as they have been claiming.

Last week the Army openly decided to organise “trekking trips” as an “civilian adventure activity” to the world’s highest, coldest and costliest battlefield. In fact, the first such trekking trip with a group of 20 people was scheduled for September 20. As per plans, the group will acclimatise and train at Leh for 10 days before they are sent to the Siachen base camp for further training.

Thereafter, they will trek, through heights varying between 14,000-feet and 16,000-feet, to reach the forward Kumar Post.

Already, a 16-member Indo-French expedition to Mamostong Kangri peak, located about 30 km east of the snout of Siachen Glacier, took place between July 30 and September 1.

This was followed by a 33-member Army expedition to the same area, which began on August 29 and will conclude on September 29. Another Indian Mountaineering Federation expedition to Rimo Peak, which is located east of Siachen and overlooks Aksai Chin, was launched on September 6, with six civilians and four Army soldiers.

Interestingly, it was Pakistan’s grant of a permit to a Japanese expedition to climb the Rimo Peak in 1984, in the hope of laying a legal claim to the area, which had acted as the final provocation for India to airlift troops to the region under “Operation Meghdoot” in April 1984.

However, Deodhar and Joshi remain sceptical. “Siachen is our territory and it is unfortunate that we succumb to external pressure in this manner,” they said. Bala, on the other hand, was drowning his sorrows in the company of friends.

“I am going to Leh on the weekend anyway. My mind was set on trekking in the area, and if not Siachen, I will go to Leh on my own,” he said.