Kolahoi Peak (locally called 'Gashe-braer' meaning the goddess of light) is a mountain with a peak elevation of located in
Anantnag district
Anantnag district is a district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is one of ten districts which make up the Kashmir Valley. The district headquarters is Anantnag city. As of 2011, it was the third most populous distr ...
,
Jammu and Kashmir, India. The mountain is the highest mountain in
Kashmir Division
The Kashmir division is a revenue and administrative division constituting of the Kashmir Valley of the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It borders Jammu Division to the south and the union territory of Ladakh to the ea ...
. Kolahoi Peak is easily accessible through Aru valley and lies in the vicinity of
Sonamarg
Sonamarg () or Sonmarg (), known as Sonamarag (; ) in Kashmiri, is a hill station located in the Ganderbal District of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located about 62 Kilometers from Ganderbal Town and northeast of the capital city, Srinagar. ...
in
Ganderbal district
The Ganderbal district, or more formally District Ganderdal, is a district in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Ganderbal town is administrative headquarters of district. It was formed in 2007 and has 6 subdistricts (tehsils): ...
. Kolahoi Peak is part of the Great
Himalaya
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
n range, and is located 21 km north of
Aru Aru or ARU may refer to:
Education
* Alpha Rho Upsilon, a defunct fraternity in the United States
* Anglia Ruskin University, a university in England
* Ardhi University, a Tanzanian public university
Places
* Aru Islands Regency, a group of isl ...
near
Pahalgam
Pahalgam (), known as Pahalgom (; in Kashmiri) is a town and a notified area committee, near Anantnag city in the Anantnag district of the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a popular tourist destination and hi ...
. To its north flows the
Sind River
The Sind River or the Sindh River is a river in the Ganderbal district of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is a major tributary of the Jhelum River and is 108 kilometres long.
Geography
The Sind River forms the Sind V ...
, while the
Lidder River
The Lidder or Liddar ( ur, , translit=liddar, sa, लम्बोदरी, translit=Lambodarī) is a river situated in the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It originates from the Kolahoi Glacier and feeds the Jhelum River in Mirg ...
originates from the glacier located on the mountain and flows south.
Kolahoi Peak rises from the Kolahoi Glacier is a pyramid-shaped peak with ice falls and ice fields at its bottom. The rock formation of the peak is extraordinary stable with aretes and ridges.
Climbing history and routes
Kolahoi Peak was first climbed by a British medical team headed by Dr Ernest Neve in 1912.
The easiest route to climb Kolahoi Peak is its southern face
via the Aru village near Pahalgam, from which a 21 km high altitude alpine trek leads to the glacier of the peak. A shorter but more difficult 15 km trek from Sonamarg via the Sarbal Nallah is also possible.
On 7 September 2018, a team of
mountaineers
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, ...
while descending after successful summit were hit by rockfall debris, which killed two of them.
Kolahoi Glacier
Kolahoi Glacier is a valley glacier in the northwestern
Himalayan Range
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
situated 26 kilometers north from
Pahalgam
Pahalgam (), known as Pahalgom (; in Kashmiri) is a town and a notified area committee, near Anantnag city in the Anantnag district of the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a popular tourist destination and hi ...
and 16 kilometers south from
Sonamarg
Sonamarg () or Sonmarg (), known as Sonamarag (; ) in Kashmiri, is a hill station located in the Ganderbal District of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located about 62 Kilometers from Ganderbal Town and northeast of the capital city, Srinagar. ...
, in the
union territory of
Jammu and Kashmir.
Kolahoi glacier lies at an average elevation of . The origin of the glacier is below the
cirque
A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic , meaning a pot or cauldron) and (; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landf ...
s on the north flank of Kolahoi Peak.
[ It is the main source of ]Lidder River
The Lidder or Liddar ( ur, , translit=liddar, sa, लम्बोदरी, translit=Lambodarī) is a river situated in the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It originates from the Kolahoi Glacier and feeds the Jhelum River in Mirg ...
, whose water serves the population of Anantnag district
Anantnag district is a district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is one of ten districts which make up the Kashmir Valley. The district headquarters is Anantnag city. As of 2011, it was the third most populous distr ...
, where it is mainly used for drinking and agricultural purposes. It finally drains into the Jhelum River
The Jhelum River (/dʒʰeːləm/) is a river in the northern Indian subcontinent. It originates at Verinag and flows through the Indian administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir, to the Pakistani-administered territory of Kashmir, and the ...
near Khanabal, Anantnag
Anantnag (/ə'nʌntna:g/ or /-nɑːg/ ), also called Islamabad, is the administrative headquarters of the Anantnag district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is located at a distance of 53 kilometres (33 miles) from the u ...
.
Kolahoi Glacier is among the victims of global warming
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in a broader sense also includes ...
, and has shrunk in area from 13.57 km2 in 1963 to 10.69 km2 in 2005 or a loss of 2.88 km2 in three decades.[Kanth, T.A., Aijaz Ahmad Shah and Zahoor ul Hassan; ''Geomorphologic Character & Receding Trend of Kolahoi Glacier in Kashmir Himalaya,'' Recent Research in Science and Technology 2011, 3(9): 68-73]
, In 1974 the glacier was about 5 km long and is known to have extended for at least 35 km during the Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the '' Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed ...
. A detailed analysis by Rafiq and Mishra reported that the glacier has shrunk from 35 to 09.88 Sq Km. The rate of recession measured from 1922 to 2015 is reported to be 73.26 m per year. Furthermore, the rate of recession of snout is found to be 16.41 m per year from 1857 to 2015. The shirking of glacier area is linked to reduction in snow depth which in turn is affected by the increase in black carbon concentration, temperature and reduction in precipitation. Reanalysis data show that there is decrease of about 1.08 ± 0.65 cm per decade in snow depth over Kolahoi glacier during 1979 to 2013. There are decadal increasing trends of about 76 nanogram/m2 (statistically significant) and 0.39 °C (insignificant) in black carbon concentration and temperature, respectively, over Kolahoi. A decreasing trend of about 2.9 mm/month per decade in precipitation over the study area is also reported. It is reported that there is decrease of about 71 ± 24% in snow depth for each degree increase in temperature over Kolahoi. Reduction in snow depth as a result of increase in black carbon concentration, temperature and reduction in precipitation might have resulted in the shrinking of the Kolahoi glacier. According to another report, Kolahoi is a hanging glacier and hollowed inside. It is a matter of great concern for Kashmir Valley
The Kashmir Valley, also known as the ''Vale of Kashmir'', is an intermontane valley concentrated in the Kashmir Division of the Indian- union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The valley is bounded on the southwest by the Pir Panjal Range a ...
. Many expeditions have failed here.
Notes
See also
* Sonamarg
Sonamarg () or Sonmarg (), known as Sonamarag (; ) in Kashmiri, is a hill station located in the Ganderbal District of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located about 62 Kilometers from Ganderbal Town and northeast of the capital city, Srinagar. ...
* Gulmarg
Gulmarg (), known as Gulmarag (; ) in Kashmiri, is a town, hill station, popular skiing destination, and notified area committee in the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located at a distance of from Baramulla and from Sr ...
* Pahalgam
Pahalgam (), known as Pahalgom (; in Kashmiri) is a town and a notified area committee, near Anantnag city in the Anantnag district of the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a popular tourist destination and hi ...
* Yusmarg
* Kukernag
* Gangabal
* Aharabal
* Kolahoi Peak
* Hirpora Wildlife Sanctuary
Hirpora Wildlife Sanctuary or Heerpora Wildlife Sanctuary is located, Hirpora in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir. It lies 12 km from Shopian town, south of Srinagar. It spreads over an area of . It is bounded to the north by Lake Gu ...
References
{{Authority control
Mountains of Jammu and Kashmir
Anantnag district
Five-thousanders of the Himalayas