Page 14 - 2000 AMA Millenium

AMA expedition to
By Col (Ret) Henry’Day
With all the replays of the first moon landing exactly 30 years ago, I am rem inded of a freezing night out on the flanks of Tirich Mir at over 23000 feet. The bivouac was intentional but it was before the days of Goretex, fibre pile, plastic boots or gas stoves and we had elected to take a tent no further as ventile was so heavy, though effective. So there was nothing to obscure the sight of Voyager landing on the moon, not that we knew we should be looking! Later we wrote to Neil Armstrong to tell him we were, for a while, his nearest hum an neighbours -and we got a reply. Our account of the climb in the Himalayan Journal gives no idea how
Tirich Mir 1969
unpleasant the night was! If the north. After crossing the
records that Abdul was 16 years old in 1950, which would have made him 64, but he looked older than that as his pho­ tograph shows. He him self was not sure
of his age but thought it to be 74 or 75.
Of the other Chitralis who had helped us in 1969, Khushamid- ul-mulk who had trekked in w ith us and organised our porters was in good form and had us to stay. He had some fascinating tales to tell of an official visit to the Mudjahadeen chief Mahsood in Afghanistan. Burhan-ud- din’s eventful life had come to an untimely end in a firearms
you look back even further through the journals to 1950
Owir pass with its superb views ofthe mountain we called in on
Abdul Karim testimonial from Philip Homiblow 1970 (he also had one from us in 1969, written by Noel Dilly).
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12 Army Mountaineer
you will see that our AMA President was better equipped than us in that he had a Union Jack tied round his waist to keep him warm on his last night before making the first ascent with the Norwegians. The AMA ascent was the fourth. Gerry Owens, Richard Summerton and I reached the top on 21 July, and we all went on to Annapurna I the following spring.
Last year I trekked to the site of our base camp on the South Barum Glacier in the course of a transit of Central Asia in a Series 3 Landrover. Climbing teams had not been there for 15 years as the fashion these days is to attempt Tirich Mir from
the village of Awi looking for Abdul Karim who had been our head porter (photo). He had been on the Norwegian expedi­ tion in 1950, ours in 1969 and many more which were recorded on testimonials that he showed to us. We photographed what Noel Dilly had w ritten on our behalf as well as a chit by Philip Homiblow who had trekked there in 1970. Philip
Abdul Karim and the author with Philip's testimonial.
accident the previous year. He had lent his hunting lodge at Tushi to the AMA as a base for the duration of the expedition.
Chitral is a fascinating corner of the Hindu Kush with many historic links with the British Army. W ith the Afghan troubles nearly settled, now is a good time to be planning to open new ground.