|
 A U.S.-Myanmar mountaineering team trekked through jungles
crawling with cobras, made a brief, illegal detour through
Chinese-controlled Tibet and survived a terrifying 600-foot drop
into a crevice on their way to the top of what has long been thought
to be the country's second-highest peak, Mount Gamlang.
Satellite and digital data, together with recent U.S., Russian and
Chinese topographical maps, indicate it may be No. 1 after all, said
Andy Tyson, leader of the team that climbed the snow-capped mountain
along the eastern edge of the Himalayas in September.
When Myanmar's peaks were surveyed in 1925, back when the area was
part of the British Indian empire, Gamlang was measured at 5,834
meters (19,140 feet), behind Mount Hkakabo at 5,881 meters (19,295
feet). Tyson's team, equipped with a hand-held GPS device, measured
Gamlang at 5,870 meters (19,258 feet). Tyson also said digital
elevation data indicate that the British overestimated the height of
Hkakabo, which may be less than 5,800 meters (19,029 feet).
That would make Gamlang the tallest mountain in Southeast Asia, not
just Myanmar. But the country appears cool to the idea of rewriting
a key national statistic that schoolchildren have learned
uninterrupted for nearly a century, through colonial rule, bloody
military coups and self-imposed isolation.
After Tyson and his team brought back the revised measurement of
Gamlang, President Thein Sein wrote a letter congratulating them for
scaling the "second-highest" peak.
There were no stories in the local press. Geologists at the main
university in Yangon were unaware. Students in Kachin state, home to
both mountains, continue to be taught that Hkakabo is Myanmar's
tallest, said Naw San, an elementary school geography teacher there.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, missed many technological advances
during 50 years of intellectual quarantine, and has been struggling
to catch up since its military rulers stepped aside in favor of an
elected government in 2011. Very few here know, for instance, that a
man walked on the moon.
[to top of second column]
 |
"As it turns out, even the mountains are unknown, or perhaps just
poorly mapped," said Tyson, of Victor, Idaho, a specialist in remote
summit expeditions in the Himalayas, Antarctica and the Americas.
"I definitely stand behind the statement that Hkakabo may not be the
highest mountain in Southeast Asia, and our ascent of Gamlang is an
important step to discovering the truth," he said.
Scott Walker, a digital cartography specialist at the Harvard Map
Collection, said a German radar topographic mapping mission
currently underway will provide high-resolution and high-precision
height measurements, though that data will not be available until
next year.
If Gamlang does turns out to be the highest peak in Myanmar, it
could turn into another magnet for climbers and adventure-seekers,
thanks to its beauty and unique terrain, Tyson and other
mountaineers on his team said.
The expedition took 35 days and — before even reaching basecamp —
included nearly two weeks of trekking through hot and humid jungles.
The mountaineers passed through one of the only known pygmy villages
in Asia. They dodged cobras and vipers, and swatted away mosquitoes
and sand flies at every turn. They also ate and slept in the homes
of villagers — in some cases the chief himself — most of whom had
never before seen white faces.
They spent 10 days scaling Gamlang, which was when they briefly
entered Tibet. Three climbers tied together endured the long drop
into a crevice, but no one was hurt.
"The route itself was very classic, Himalayan mountaineering," said
Mark Fisher, also of Victor, Idaho. "Glacier travel, snow, ice,
crevices, exposed ridgeline. A really aesthetic, enjoyable climb."
Summit team member Eric Daft recorded footage for a documentary
about the expedition, scheduled for release later this year. [Associated
Press; ROBIN McDOWELL]
Copyright 2013 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
