Indian Politician Wants to Ban Climbing on Sacred Kangchenjunga
When British pioneers Joe Brown and George Band climbed 8,586m Kangchenjunga for the first time 70 years ago, they stopped some meters short of the highest point out of respect for the religious beliefs of the local communities in Sikkim. For them, the protective deity Dzoe-Nga, also worshipped as Pho-lha, lives on its white slopes.
For years, subsequent expeditions followed that tradition, but this sign of respect was eventually abandoned. Nowadays, climbers focus instead on ensuring that they reach the true summit of Kangchenjunga, which is easy to mistake for other points on its jagged ridge.
Kangchenjunga lies in the northeastern corner of Nepal on the border with Sikkim (India) and is also very close to Tibet. The peak has four main climbing routes. Three are in Nepal, and only the eastern one goes up from Sikkim.
The Sikkim route has only been climbed three times. The most straightforward route, up the Southwest Face in Nepal, was the chosen line for several early attempts, and the one where the expedition led by Charles Evans succeeded for the first time in 1955. For decades, there were attempts and summits from the north side of the mountain, also in Nepalese territory, but the Southwest Face soon became the normal route and the one offered to commercial teams.
Last week, the Chief Minister of Sikkim, Prem Singh Tamang, asked India's Home Minister, Amit Shah, to ensure that the footprints of climbers no longer deface the slopes of Kangchenjunga.
Climbing Kangchenjunga from the Sikkim route has not been an option since 2000, when all ascents from Sikkim were officially banned. This is the first time that Sikkim authorities raised their voices about the matter since then. The problem is, Tamang wants the ban to extend to the entire mountain, including the routes in Nepal, not just from Sikkim. While the measure is unlikely to succeed, it does highlight the sensitivities around the mountain.
"Scaling this sacred peak is not only a matter of serious concern but also a violation of both the prevailing legal provisions and the deeply held religious beliefs of the people of Sikkim,' Tamang said.
He bases his demands on the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act of 1991, which prohibits expeditions to sacred sites, as well as Sikkim Government Notification No. 70/HOME/2001, which reaffirmed the state's limited ban on summiting Kangchenjunga, Nenews.in reported.
Ironically, the call for a ban was prompted by a climb launched by the National Institute of Mountaineering and Adventure Sports (NIMAS) of Arunachal Pradesh. On that Indian expedition, five members summited via the normal route in Nepal on May 18, together with their Nepalese guides. Other Indian climbers were also on the mountain, including those with a joint Nepali-Indian army expedition.
This year, about 30 climbers summited Kangchenjunga despite unstable weather. Others had to retreat due to harsh conditions. There were also some rescues, and one climber died while attempting to reach the top.
Nepal's Department of Tourism has no restrictions on the number of climbers on any mountain. In the case of Kangchenjunga, 78 permits were granted to foreigners this season. All climbers were supported by local guides and usually took advantage of brief periods of calm.
Kangchenjunga has become increasingly popular among commercial high-altitude climbers. Virtually all expeditions take the normal, Southwest Face route from Nepal. India cannot legislate on the part of the mountain beyond its borders, and it is unlikely that Nepal will do so.
Nepal also has sacred peaks banned to expeditions. The best known is Machhapuchhre (6,993m) in the Annapurna region, considered sacred for the Gurung people and never climbed, as far as we know. Sherpas revere mountains, and while they agree to climb them, they always perform puja (offering) ceremonies to ask permission for passage from the mountain gods.
Similar cases of sacred mountains in nearby countries forbidden for climbers include Tibet's striking Mt. Kailash and Gangkhar Puensum in Bhutan. At 7,570m, the latter is the highest unclimbed peak in the world, and it should continue to remain so for many years.
According to some sources, the silhouette of Kangchenjunga's summit points resemble the shape of a sleeping Buddha, especially when seen from the southwest. In his letter, Chief Minister Tamang recalled that the name of the mountain means the Five Treasures of the High Snow. It refers to five hidden virtues that will only be revealed to devotees if the world is in serious danger.
In his extensive report about the Kangchenjunga summit area for 8000ers.com, Rodolphe Popier ends up with the following words:
The magnetic attraction of Kangchenjunga will keep attracting mountain lovers from all over the world, maybe for something more than climbing and/or peak-bagging? As Doug Scott recalled it in his last book, [Kangchenjunga] is the 8,000m summit with the greatest religious significance.
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