Black (Kalanag) Peak Climbing Expedition - Mountaineering Expedition

About Black Peak Climbing, Garhwal Himalayas

Black peak also known as Kalanag (which means black cobra) is in Bandarpunch massif. It is located on the north west of Bandarpunch. It got its name as Kalanag due to its top part resemblance with black cobra. The peak provides a very descent and gradual southern approach but towards the Northern slope it features a very steep, almost vertical slope.

Elevation in meter :5635 Mts. / 18485 Ft.
Lattitude :31.0253° N
Longitude :78.5733° E
Range :Western Garhwal Himalaya
Sub Range :Indian Himalaya
Base Camp :Kyarkoti
Trail Head :Taluka
Country :India
Difficulty :Challenging
Duration :19 Days
Best time for Climbing :May,June, Sept, Oct
Nearest Airport :Jolly Grant (Dehradun; Uttrakhand), India
Nearest Railhead :Dehradun
First Ascent by :Schoolmaster Jack Gibson and students of The Doon School, Dehradun in 1955.

Itinerary

On arrival at Delhi International Airport meet & Greet by our Tour Manager &then transfer to pre booked hotel in Delhi. Overnight stay at hotel.

Morning after breakfast check out from hotel by 09:30 am and visit Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) for briefing and clear all the documentation formalities, later drive directly to Dehradun by road. On arrival at Dehradun check in to hotel. Dinner and overnight stay at the hotel.

In the morning, after breakfast drive towards Taluka via a hill town of Mussoorie, a small hamlet nestled in the laps of nature via Purola and Mori. We set up camp at Taluka. This is starting point of our trek. Stay overnight in tents.

The day starts with the gentle trail towards Osla. Today's trek is through beautiful forests of Chestnut, Walnut and Willows. A gradual ascent brings us to the picturesque Osla village along the swift rivulet. On arrival set campsite for overnight stay.

Trek through along a brilliant alpine trail to reach the holy Ruinsara Lake. The views of the Swargarohini Range are particularly impressive from here.

Kyarkoti is situated at the base of a mountains range and is mainly a grassy patch of land with boulders around. It is surrounded by snow clad mountains on the three sides. The nearby spring make it an ideal site for our base camp. Porters are the only means of transporting our goods. Black Peak can be viewed from the base camp.

This day we will do load ferry and establish camp 1. Camp 1 is can be reached after four hours of trekking from the base camp. After crossing a high land just next to our base camp, we will trek on grassy land with gentle down slope till we reach a spring which is dotted with boulders. After steep climbing, we will reach the path which crosses through landslide region. Then we will descend one grassier path which is followed by two patches of moraines. In the last part of trek, we will have to do some easy bouldering to reach Camp 1 site. Camp 1 will be made on uneven grassy land gently sloping towards west. On the north it is flanked by a mountain. A glacier flowing east to west flanks it on other side.

We will establish Camp 1 and stay there.

We will establish Camp 2 on a snow field after a trek of 3 hours from our Camp 1. Black Peak will be clearly visible from the camp towards the south-east. Camp II is located at a height of 16500 ft. We will do load ferry and come back to Camp 1.

We will establish camp 2 and stay there and prepare for next day load ferry.

We will establish Camp 3 on a large hump of snow with Black Peak visible in the southeast direction. Camp will be at a height of approximately 18000 ft and had to be reached circumventing a number of crevasses. Towards the north we will be able see Swargarohini and towards the south stood the beautiful peak of Bandarpunch. We will stay in camp 3 and will prepare for summit attempt next day.

On the summit attempt day, we will start 2:00 Am in the morning. We will fix up a rope to negotiate an almost vertical wall of snow. We will have to negotiate a number of crevasses. The climb of 100 ft before the summit is most difficult and risky. The snow will be hard and the slope is very steep. Our lead climber will open and fix the route whole day wherever required. Finally, the summit is on a ridgeline. It is flat on top. Here we are on the summit of Black Peak (Kalanag) 6387m. After some photography and rest we will safely descent down to camp 3 and if possible, to camp 2.

If weather condition does not allow summit attempt on Day 13, we will have another summit attempt day.

This day we will wind up all campsite and move to Base Camp. We will have a little Celebration.

Today after breakfast we will trek towards Osla village. It will take 5 hours to reach Osla. Dinner and overnight stay at Osla village.

The day start with breakfast and then trek towards Taluka and from here drive to Sankri and check in to hotel. Dinner and overnight stay at Sankri.

This day we will drive for 7 hours to reach Dehradun and from here catch AC train/AC Volvo for Delhi. On arrival at Delhi transfer to hotel. Dinner and overnight stay at hotel in Delhi.

Morning after breakfast visit to IMF for debriefing. Rest of the day is free for independent activity. Later transfer to international airport to board flight for onward destination.