GODS IN THE HIMALAYAS (Satis Shroff, Freiburg)

All mountains are holy in the Himalayas, but some mountains are holier than the others. A simple Nepalese with respect for the Gods in the mountains would never have the inspiration or inclination to climb the mountains he or she has revered. It was almost regarded as a sacrilege to ascend the thrones of the Gods among the members of the Hindu and Buddhist communities.

The Hindu God Shiva is revered as the Father of the Universe, and Parvati, the Daughter of the Himalayas, as the Mother. To the Tibetans, Demchok is the God Kailash, who wears tiger-skins and a garland of human skulls, and depicts also a manifestation of Shiva, who is regarded as Kailashpati (the Lord of Kailash). But times have changed, and even the Nepalese have climbed onto the bandwagon and have sought and found sponsors to finance their own climbing expeditions, much to the pride of some, and chagrin of other orthodox fellow Nepalese. To date, 343 climbers have 'conquered' the 8848m-high Mt.Everest alone.

On May 8, 1991 three Nepalese Sherpas:Lobsang Sherpa, Sona Dendu Apa and Ang Temba Sherpa climbed the Chomolungma (Sagarmatha or Mt.Everest). It was an all-Nepalese expedition, with support from friends in California and Colorado.

Chomolungma is the "Goddess Mother of the Land"or "She Who Rides the Snow-Lion Over the Sea of Clouds" for the Sherpas and the Tibetan on both sides of the mountain, and includes the south peak of the Lhotse and the Nuptse, and to the rest of the Nepalese Sagarmatha is "King of the Heavens".

There are 10 eight-thousanders, 40 peaks that are over 7000m and 50 peaks that are over 6000m high in the Nepal Himalayas. And there are a total of 250 unclimbed summits over 6000m high in the Nepal Himalayas alone, not to speak of the Indian Himalayas further north-west and in Sikkim and Bhutan.

In 1983 the Nepalese government, after extensive geometric surveys, either raised or lowered the heights of 72 of the 122 Himalayan peaks. Moreover, the ban on the hitherto unconquered peaks of geopolitical importance along the Nepalese-Tibetan border, was lifted after the borders of the two countries were corrected. What was taboo for trekkers and climbers in the past due to religious or geopolitical reasons is now open to all and sundry, with climbing priority to the Nepalese climbing teams or foreign expeditions, provided they include at least three Nepalese members.

Religious rites: Even though the Himalayan peaks are becoming less and less the throne of the Hindu and Buddhist Gods due to commercial reasons, the religious rites still dominate in everyday life in Nepal. For instance, whenever an expedition plans an ascent to one of the Himalayan peaks, the Sherpas of the Khumbu area, Tamangs, Rais and other Nepalese unfailingly light a bonfire to the Gods who are the guardian deities of the snows, and make ritual sacrifices to them, so as to appease them and seek help in the event of danger. There is also the element of angst of the unknown among the local and foreign climbers. Angst which is so physiological and psychological and a part of all adventurous missions.

Failure means anonymity. And a mistake in the rarefied heights can mean injury or even death. The badge of courage (or foolhardiness) is for the one who overcomes his or fears and the elements and succeeds in reaching the summit. But reaching the summit isn't always all. A slip on treacherous ice also can mean instant death or even a prolonged one when no rescue is at hand and the climber or porter freezes to death. This was what happened on the night of 10th May 1996 when eight climbers perished, including the leaders of two expeditions. The blizzard snow called the ‘white-out’, temperatures of forty degrees below zero and a wind that roars like an Airbus-engine: this is the scenario that the climber has to battle with.

Colourful Tibetan prayer flags are allowed to flutter in the icy wind in the hope that the prayers will be heard by the Gods in the Himalayan wilderness. Even foreign expedition members take part in this ultimate service before the assault begins.

Every school-kid the world over is taught in the Geography lessons that the mighty river Ganges has its origin in the glaciers of the Tibetan plateau. But at home the Hindu children are taught that the Goddess Ganges has her origin in Shiva's head, where the river spouts from the Goddess' mouth. One is also taught that the Himalayas are the abode of Shiva, Parvati and Ganesh, the God with the elephant-head. What's even more interesting is that the mountains are named after the Gods of the Hindu and Buddhist pantheons: Ganesh Himal, Gauri Shankar, Ama Damlam, Kumbakarna, Chomolungma (She Who Rides the Snow Lion Over the Sea of Clouds), Trisul Himal (Shiva's trident), Neelkanth (a manifestaion of Shiva) and so forth.

The Sikkimese believe that the five holy treasures: precious stones, salt, sacred scriptures, medicine and cereals are to be found on the foot of the Kanchenjunga. It took 30 years to persuade the Chogyal of Sikkim to let a British expedition to climb the north-peak of the third highest mountain in the world in 1955. The British climbers stopped short of the summit because they had an agreement with the Sikkimese King not to tread the holy summit. The local porters made offerings to the deities. Similar ritual offerings are performed in Nepal and Bhutan, although the religious beliefs of these people were not always respected. The deeply religious Buddhists and Hindus of the Himalayan regions feel that the traditions and religious sentiments have been trampled upon by the foreigners, as well as the local authorities who issue climbing-rights to the alpine clubs. The influence and importance of money has reached new heights in the Himalayas.

Long marches: The Hindus and the Buddhists undertake long and formidable marches, braving the icy winds and frosty nights of the Himalayas to get a glimpse of the effigy of the God they revere and worship when they go on a pilgrimmage to Muktinath, Badrinath, Rishikesh, Gangotri and Mount Kailash in the Himalayas.

The Tibetan, Thakali and Tamang Buddhists even prostrate themselves along the entire route to the sacred place, and do penance, not only for their own sins but also for the whole of mankind. And then there are the ascetic sadhus and wise yogis who meditate in the dizzy heights of the Himalayas in search of peace and nirvana, not to think of the thousands of Hindus, Buddhists and curious Western trekkers who go as far as the Ganges-glacier to be perhaps closer to the cosmos in the heights of the Himalayas.

Not so indomitable barriers: The Himalayas were once regarded as indomitable, natural barriers which staved off foreign aggressors and influences. However, the Sino-India war (1962) and the Indo-Pakistan conflict over Kashmir have shown that the Himalayas are natural barriers and frontiers that have to be manned and defended, like any other border, because modern transport facilities like jets and helicopter gun-ships have made even the highest mountains on this earth easily accessible for territorial conquests. If Hannibal could cross the Alps with elephants and tremendous logistics, the Chinese could do the same.

Modern times have caught up with the Himalayan folk, who till recently lived in splendid isolation, as can be seen in the cases of Nepal, Bhutan, Ladakh and other areas in the Himalayas. After the Sino-Indian war, the Indian government declared Sikkim, Darjeeling, Bhutan and other frontier areas in the north as "restricted areas", thereby isolating these areas from the mainstream of tourism due to security reasons. The ancient mule-trails to Lhasa from Kalimpong and other areas was suddenly closed and the hill people had to reorient themselves again towards the plains of India for a subsistence.

The abode of the eternal snows, the Himalayas, have never ceased to awe and fascinate people throughout the world, be they nature lovers, mountaineers, geologists, zoologists, botanists or laymen. Everyone has felt the spell of these magnificent mountains sometime or other. Even the Nepalese who inhabit the slopes and foothills of these snowy giants have been stirred in their heart of hearts, and they regard the Himalayas with reverence: as the home of the Gods.

Lord of All:These mountains were befittingly described by an early Everester in these words: "The highest of the world's mountains, it seems, has to make but a single gesture of magnificence to be lord of all, vast in unchallenged and isolated supremacy". The man who said these words was none other than George Mallory.

Springtime in the Himalayas, that is, below the snow-line, means unrivalled sights of rhododendrons, mountain laurel and azaleas. But it's the silvery massifs above the snow-line, with their aretes, snow-fields, hanging valleys and breathtaking glaciers that people long for. An almost magical power seems to lure climbers and trekkers towards them, posing a mysterious challenge that ends either with triumph or tragedy for those who dare. The Himalayas have come to stay even though they are tectonically young mountains. And so have the tourists, trekkers and climbers. Take away the abode of the snows and you've taken away a most essential element from the Himalayan landscape.

The Nepalese, Indians, Tibetans and people from the rest of the world have been fascinated by the 2400 km long high Himalayas, which stretch from Kashmir in the west to Burma in the south-east. But alas, what were once regarded as the sacred mountains, where the Gods of the Hindu and Buddhist pantheons were, and still are known to dwell, and where hundreds of pilgrims would go to find their spiritual peace and communion with their Gods, have become over the last two centuries a playground for daring and ruthless adventurers.

Risking their lives: Every attempt at reaching the summit, be it with the hope of overcoming oneself through self-conquest, or hoping to attain recognition and glory in the annals of mountaineering, has been followed by death and injuries not only on the part of the foreign alpinists, but tragically more often of the Sherpas and other poorer ethnic Nepali porters,who had to pay with their lives for the whims of the alien would-be conquerer. It’s the Nepalese Sherpas who pave the way for the expeditions during the climbing seasons. The porters risk their lives in transporting 4000 metres of rope and 35 ladders for the climbing-benefits of the foreign climbing sahibs during one expedition alone, because the trend these days is to assault a peak en masse. It’s the plastic card that rules mountaineering these days.

Managers with thick wallets are guided by experienced professional-climbers at a cost of 100,000 German marks per head and the assurance that one gets off safely from the peak after the ascent. The Germans call this a case of making a bill without the consent of the host, and the host in this case happens to be Nature. The pathetic pioneers (mountain guides and carriers of loads) follow the foreigners with the lure of a handful of much-haggled rupees to the dangerous higher regions of the Himalayas with only the clothes they had on their backs, no down-feathered anoraks, no snow and glacier-goggles, not even adequate shoes against the snow and ice.

Hapless and helpless: The question of health-, social-, life- and injury-insurance was raised neither by the so-called 'natives' because they had no inkling about such possibilities nor by the white sahibs who thought the lives of the natives were worth much less than their own anyway. Evidence of this can be seen even today, despite the improvements in the trekking and climbing-trade, for these two facets of Nepalese tourism have become trades along the years. When the native Sherpa or local expedition luggage carrier was maimed as he hurtled down a precipice or died in the cold or was frost-bitten, there were no tears for him, and no financial consolation for his wife and children. The hapless and helpless Sherpas and other ethnic Nepalese porters were just regarded as nameless and faceless souls by the foreigners on their ego-trips, determined to put their respective country's flags on the sacred summits as an unconscious neo-colonial act of conquest after the motto: another frontier has been conquered for our country, and we're goddamn proud of it!

The Nepalese authorities were, and still are, only concerned with questions of visas and climbing permits and in cashing the climbing-fees in dollars, marks and yen. The plight of the porter and the common man along the mountain trails isn’t their concern. It still is everyone for himself as far as the poor porters are concerned. Or have you heard of a porter’s union or Gewerkschaft?