Role of The Doon School in Indian mountaineering

The role of The Doon School in Indian mountaineering describes the formative links between The Doon School, an all-boys boarding school in Dehradun, India and early post-Independence Indian mountaineering.[1][2] From the 1940s onwards, Doon's masters and students like A.E. Foot, R.L. Holdsworth, J.A.K. Martyn, Gurdial Singh, Jack Gibson, Aamir Ali, Hari Dang, Nandu Jayal, were among the first to go on major Himalayan expeditions in a newly independent nation.[3] These early expeditions contributed towards laying the foundation of mountaineering in an independent India.[4][5]

History

Doon's founding British headmaster A.E. Foot and masters J.A.K. Martyn, R.L. Holdsworth and Jack Gibson were all Alpinists and introduced regular mountaineering expeditions for the boys during the school year. Located in the Doon Valley, in the foothills of the Himalayas, the school proved to be an ideal starting point for treks to the mountains.[6] The British masters were joined by Gurdial Singh who led the first Indian expedition to Trisul in 1951 and was a member of the first Indian expedition to Mount Everest in 1965.[7] Singh was accompanied by Narendra Dhar Jayal, then a student at Doon, who later went on to pioneer mountaineering in India and became, at Jawaharlal Nehru's behest, the founder principal of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute.[8][9] In an interview to Indian Express, the Indian mountaineer, author and editor of Himalayan Journal, Harish Kapadia stated, "There were very few Indians in the club initially [the Himalayan Club]. In 1947, when the British left, people thought that mountaineering and the club will not hold up in India. Then in 1951, a Doon School teacher, Gurdial Singh, and few others went on a trek to the Trisul peak in the Kumaon region. That’s how Indian mountaineering took off."[10]

2012 Mont Blanc expedition

Western Garhwal

Kapadia describes in his book, Across Peaks & Passes in Garhwal Himalaya, how Doon's masters and pupils first explored the Western Garhwal region, which comprises peaks like Bandarpunch and Kalanag. [11] In Tourism in Garhwal Himalaya, mountaineer Harshwanti Bisht further discusses the school's early expeditions to Badrinath, Kamet and Jaonli. [12]

Present day

Doon's students and faculty continue the mountaineering tradition in the form of 'midterms', established by the British masters. Midway through each term, students go on treks in the Himalayas or abroad.[13][14] Recent expeditions have been to Stok Kangri, Mont Blanc, Island Peak, Mount Everest base camp, Mount Kilimanjaro.

Major expeditions
  • 1946, 1950 – Bandarpunch (6316m). (In 1937, Gibson and Martyn climbed Bandarpunch along with Tenzing Norgay. Later, in his autobiography, Norgay would refer to Bandarpunch as the "Doon School mountain".)[15]
  • 1952 – Kamet (7756m) [16]
  • 1953, 1955 – Abi Gamin (7355m) [16]
  • 1955 - Kalanag (6387m) or 'Black Peak'. First ascent by Gibson and Doon's pupils. [11][17]
  • 1958 - Mrigthuni (6855m). First ascent by a team led by Gurdial Singh; Aamir Ali, another Doon master, was a member of the expedition.[18]
  • 1961 – Nanda Devi (7816m, summit not reached). Members included masters Gurdial Singh, Hari Dang and former pupil Suman Dubey [19][20]
  • 1965 – Kalanag (6387m)[21]
  • 1965 - Jaonli (6632m), expedition led by Hari Dang[22]

References
  1. Kohli, M.S. (2002). Mountains of India: Tourism, Adventure and Pilgrimage. Indus. p. 209. ISBN 9788173871351. p.290, Much of the credit for early interest in mountaineering among Indians goes to the Doon School, largely because of some distinguished British mountaineers on its staff like J.A.K. Martyn, J.T.M. Gibson, R.L. Holdsworth...In 1951, Gurdial Singh of the Doon School climbed the 7,120 metres high Trisul. This was the first Indian summit.
  2. vdt15 (2002-02-24). "Climb every mountain". The Hindu. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  3. Futehally, Laeeq (2015). The Last Englishman: The Life and Times of Jack Gibson. London: Hachette UK. p. 276. ISBN 9789350099698. Jack Gibson began introducing schoolboys to the mountains... The School began to 'create' mountaineers
  4. Anderson, Richard (2001). "Climbing with Doon School" (PDF). Alpine Journal. London.
  5. Gibson, Jack (1964). "Twenty-Five Years of Schoolboy Expeditions in the Himalayas" (PDF). Alpine Journal. London.
  6. Raghavan, Anita (2013). The Billionaire's Apprentice. London: Hachette UK. ISBN 9789350097373. The school's position at the foothills of the Himalayas helped it attract some of the country's best mountaineers to its faculty. Doon's heroes...were men like Gurdial Singh and R.L. Holdsworth, both magnificent mountaineers who took every advantage of the school's location...Singh was part of that maiden [Everest] ascent.
  7. "50 years later, it's happily Everest after | India News - Times of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  8. Rudraneil Sengupta. "Vertical limit". Livemint.com. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  9. Katherine Indermaur (2018-09-13). "An interview with Suman Dubey about his memories of the 1961 Indian expedition to Nanda Devi". Alpinist.com. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  10. "Mountain Man: Author Harish Kapadia on his adventures in the Himalayas | Lifestyle News, The Indian Express". Indianexpress.com. 2018-07-13. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  11. Kapadia, Harish (1999). Across Peaks and Passes in Garhwal Himalaya. London: Indus Publishing. p. 155. ISBN 9788173870972. The area first came into prominence when the Doon School masters—R.L. Holdsworth, J.T.M. Gibson, J.A.K. Martyn and Gurdial Singh—used this area to offer climbing experience to their wards during summer holidays. In fact the first ascent of Bandarpunch was by Jack Gibson...Gibson and his boys also made the first ascent of Kalanag in 1955.
  12. Bisht, Harshwanti (1994). Tourism in Garhwal Himalaya. Indus Publishing. p. 20. ISBN 9788173870064. The credit of creating interest of mountaineering among Indians goes to the Doon School Dehradun. In 1942, Holdsworth took three teenagers to BAdrinath, Mana village and Arwa valley. In 1946 Nandu Jayal...attempted Bandarpunch. Due to bad weather, they had to abandon their attempt of Banderpunch, but climbed Hanuman. Real mountaineering started in India soon after the establishment of Himalayan Mountaineering Institute at Darjeeling in 1954. Nandu Jayal was the first principal and Tenzing was the first director of field training there.
  13. vdt15 (2002-02-24). "Climb every mountain". The Hindu. Retrieved 2019-06-13.
  14. "India'S Old School Tie: Harrow By The Himalayas - The New York Times". Nytimes.com. 1985-11-12. Retrieved 2019-06-13.
  15. Norgay, Tenzing (1955). Man of Everest – The Autobiography of Tenzing. London: George G. Harrap and Co. p. 154. ISBN 9781447400288. It was to Garhwal. Back to Bandar Punch, "the Doon School mountain," with my old friend Mr Gibson.
  16. Nalni D. Jayal. "Early Years of Indian Mountaineering : Himalayan Journal vol.62/16". Himalayanclub.org. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  17. W. J. Powell. "KALANAG EAST FACE EXPEDITION, 1986 : Himalayan Journal vol.44/14". Himalayanclub.org. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  18. https://www.himalayanclub.org/hj/21/9/mrigthuni-1958/
  19. Katherine Indermaur. "An interview with Suman Dubey about his memories of the 1961 Indian expedition to Nanda Devi". Alpinist.com. Retrieved 2019-06-14.
  20. Hari Dang. "A SUMMER TRIP TO NANDA DEVI : Himalayan Journal vol.23/14". Himalayanclub.org. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  21. "Asia, India–Garhwal, Kala Nag – AAC Publications – Search The American Alpine Journal and Accidents". Publications.americanalpineclub.org. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  22. Lt Col. D. K. Khullar (1977-05-29). "A HIMALAYAN ADVENTURE: JAONLI : Himalayan Journal vol.36/18". Himalayanclub.org. Retrieved 2020-04-23.

Bibliography
  • Norgay, Tenzing (1955), Man of Everest – The Autobiography of Tenzing, Harrap UK, ISBN 9781447400288
  • Bisht, Harshwanti (1994), Tourism in Garhwal Himalaya: With Special Reference to Mountaineering and Trekking in Uttarkashi and Chamoli Districts, Indus, ISBN 9788173870064
  • Kapadia, Harish (1999), Across Peaks & Passes in Garhwal Himalaya, Indus, ISBN 9788173870972
  • Anderson, Richard (2001), Climbing with the Doon School, Alpine Journal
  • Kohli, M.S. (2002), Mountains of India: Tourism, Adventure and Pilgrimage, Indus, ISBN 9788173871351
  • Futehally, Laaeq (2002), The Last Englishman: The Life and Times of Jack Gibson, Hachette UK, ISBN 9789350099698
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