Saltoro Kangri

Saltoro Kangri is the highest peak of the Saltoro Mountains subrange of Karakoram range, also known as the Saltoro Range, which is a part of the Karakoram. Saltoro Kangri is a name generally used for the twin peaks, the Saltoro Kangri I to the south and the Saltoro Kangri II, connected by a saddle. While comparing the heights the generic term Saltoro Kangri is applied to the higher peak, Saltoro Kangri I, which is the 31st highest mountain in the world in remote reaches of Karokaram. It is located on the Actual Ground Position Line between Indian controlled territory in the Siachen region and Pakistani controlled territory west of the Saltoro Range.

Indo-Pak mutually-agreed undisputed "International Border" (IB) in the black line, Indo-Pak "Line of Control" (LoC) in black dotted line in the north and west, Indo-Sino "Line of Actual" (LAC) in black dotted line in the east, Indo-Pak line across Siachen in north is "Actual Ground Position Line" (AGPL). The areas shown in green are the two Pakistani-controlled areas: Gilgit–Baltistan in the north and Azad Kashmir in the south. The area shown in orange is the Indian-controlled territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, and the diagonally-hatched area to the east is the Chinese-controlled area known as Aksai Chin. "Territories ceded by Pakistan to China claimed by India" in the north is Shaksgam (Trans-Karakoram Tract).
United Nations map of Siachen Glacier showing "Point NJ980420" (Point NJ9842) as starting point of the "Actual Ground Position Line" (AGPL), Goma military camp of Pakistan, Nubra River valley and Siachen glaciers held by India, and Bilafond La and Sia La north of NJ9842 also held by India. Masherbrum Range, Baltoro Glacier, Baltoro Glacier, Baltoro Muztagh and K2 are held by Pakistan.
Saltoro Kangri
Saltoro Kangri, at right
Highest point
Elevation7,742 m (25,400 ft) Ranked 31st
Prominence2,160 m (7,090 ft)
ListingUltra
Coordinates35°23′57.6″N 76°50′55.2″E 
Dimensions
Length80 km (50 mi)
Geography
Saltoro Kangri
Saltoro Ridge, Siachen, Actual Ground Position Line, Saltoro Kangri on the border between Indian and Pakistani controlled territories
Saltoro Kangri
Saltoro Kangri (Gilgit Baltistan)
Saltoro Kangri
Saltoro Kangri (Ladakh)
Parent rangeSaltoro Mountains, Karakoram
Climbing
First ascent24 July 1962 by Y. Takamura, A. Saito, Capt. Bashir[1]
Easiest routerock/snow/ice climb

Climbing history

The mountain was reconnoitered by the intrepid Workman couple in 1911–12. The first attempt on the peak was in 1935 by a British expedition led by J. Waller, which reached c.24500' on the SE ridge.[2][3] A British university expedition led by Eric Shipton approached this peak through the Bilafond La via Pakistan with a Pakistani climbing permit. They reached the peak but did not attempt it. This expedition was inadvertently the first move in the deadly game of Siachen oropolitics that would lead to the Siachen conflict of 1984.[4]

The first ascent of Saltoro Kangri was in July 1962, by a joint Japanese-Pakistani expedition led by T. Shidei. This piggyback expedition put A. Saito, Y. Takamura and Pakistani climber R.A. Bashir on top on July 24, following the S.E. ridge route.[1][5] This peak was climbed by an Indian Army expedition led by Colonel Narendra Kumar in 1981.[6] US maps of the area and many world atlases starting in the 1960s showed the Line of Control between Pakistani and Indian territory running from the last defined point in the 1949 Karachi Agreement, NJ9842, east-northeast to the Karakoram Pass, thus putting the whole of Saltoro Kangri and the entire Siachen Glacier in Pakistan. However, the Simla Agreement defined the Line of Control no further than point NJ9842 other than with the phrase "thence north to the glaciers." The Himalayan Index lists only one more ascent of the mountain, in 1981, and no other attempts.

See also
Near the AGPL (Actual Ground Position Line)
Borders
Conflicts
Operations
Other related topics

References
  1. Shidei, T. (1964). "The Ascent of Saltoro Kangri" (PDF). Alpine Journal. 69: 73–80. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  2. Hunt, John (1936). "Peak 36, Saltoro Karakoram, 1935". Himalayan Journal. 8. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  3. Hunt, John; Waller, James (1937). "Peak 36, Saltoro Karakoram A Mountaineering Analysis". Himalayan Journal. 9. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  4. Miller, K.J. (1958). "The Imperial College Karakoram Expedition, 1957". Himalayan Journal. 21. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  5. Shidei, T. (1964). "The Ascent of Saltoro Kangri". Himalayan Journal. 25. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  6. Kapadia, Harish (2005). Into the Untravelled Himalaya: Travels, Treks, and Climbs. Indus Publishing. p. 245. Retrieved 2020-01-15.

Further reading
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