Gamba (large municipality)

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Kampa Dzong Fortress 1938
Kampa Dzong, 1938. Kellas died in 1921 near this place, which was a major milestone on the way to Mount Everest.
Map of the region east of Mount Everest. The red dotted line shows the path of the exploration expedition of 1921, which passed through Kampa Dzong

Gamba ( Chinese  岗 巴 镇 , Pinyin Gǎngbā Zhèn , Tibetan གམ་ པ་ རྫོང Wylie gam pa rdzong , Kampa Dzong ) is a large community in Gamba County in the Xigazê administrative district in the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China . The large municipality of Gamba is the main town and seat of the district government of Gamba. It is located near the border with Sikkim . The place is known by names like Kampa Dzong , Khamber Jong , Khampa Dzong for the historically significant fortress of the same name, which only exists as a ruin. Gamba was said to be the birthplace of traditional Tibetan carpet-making .

Historical significance of the fortress

In 1903 the British Major Francis Younghusband and 500 soldiers came to Tibet for five months in the Kampa Dzong fortress. The Viceroy of India Lord Curzon had instructed him to negotiate trade relations with Tibet here. The background to this was the British concern about the growing influence of Russia in Central Asia ( The Great Game ).

However, the Tibetan government ignored the request from the British. Since the Dalai Lama did not give in to the British, Younghusband's expeditionary force moved to Lhasa in 1904 , which he conquered bloodily on August 3, 1904 ( British Tibet campaign ). There, on September 7, 1904, a trade agreement was imposed on the Tibetans, British sovereignty over Sikkim and a British base in Lhasa.

Kampa Dzong and the British Mount Everest Expeditions

Due to his collaboration with Sherpas , it became clear to the British mountaineer, chemist and researcher on altitude sickness Alexander Mitchell Kellas at the beginning of the 20th century that the way to Everest led via Kampa Dzong. Kellas carried out eight major expeditions to Asia between 1907 and 1921. He was mostly the only European who traveled with only a few Nepalese porters. The deeply patriotic Kellas was one of those people for whom Mount Everest represented the “third pole” that the British must climb first. On February 22, 1916, he wrote to his later expedition colleague Sandy Wollaston :

“We missed the pole after ruling the seas for more than 300 years and we will definitely not miss the chance to explore the area around Mount Everest after we have been the dominant power in India for more than 160 years were .... I would be proud to go there with two to 10 porters, even go solo, to secure this bit of exploration for Great Britain. "

Kellas' reasoning was based on the fact that Kampa Dzong could be reached from Sikkim by following the Teesta River. From Kampa Dzong the path led to the northwest, where one could cross the Arun River , one of the major obstacles on the way to Everest. If you then followed the Arun, you reached the Kharta valley east of Mount Everest, which you followed to Langma La. This pass led to the Kama Valley and from there the Kangshung flank of Everest could be reached. It was a route traditionally used by shepherds who drove their flocks to the summer pastures below Mount Everest, but which had never before been used by Europeans. Long before the first British Mount Everest expedition started, Kellas had successfully commissioned Sherpas to use his camera to photograph areas east of Kampa Dzong. The Sherpas brought back panoramic photos that showed the Rabkar glacier east of Langma La.

Kellas had also drawn up extensive plans for entering the region without the permission of the Tibetan authorities. Among other things, he wanted Sherpas, whom he trusted, to set up depots with food and equipment in the uninhabited valleys west of the Kangchenjunga Glacier. Kellas entrusted this route to his friend John Noel , with whom he agreed to use this route to penetrate the area after the end of the First World War .

Weakened by an intestinal infection, Kellas did not survive the British expedition of 1921 to the area. He died on June 5, 1921 not far from the place and was buried on June 6, 1921 on a slope south of Kampa Dzong.

Gamba or Kampa Dzong was also the starting point for the British Mount Everest Expedition in 1922.

literature

  • Wade Davis: Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest. Vintage Digital, London 2011, ISBN 978-1-84792-184-0

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Foster Stockwell: Westerners in China. A history of exploration and trade, ancient times through the present. McFarland, Jefferson, NC 2003, ISBN 0-7864-1404-9 , pp. 126ff. And William Montgomery McGovern: To Lhasa in disguise. A secret expedition through mysterious Tibet. Asian Educational Services, New York 2000, ISBN 81-206-1456-9 , pp. 130 f.
  2. ^ Karénina Kollmar-Paulenz: Small history of Tibet. CH Beck, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-406-54100-3 , pp. 139f.
  3. ↑ Wade Davis: Into the Silence , p. 79. The original quote is: We missed both Poland after having control of the sea for 300 years, and we certainly ought not to miss the exploration of the Mt. Everest group after being the premier power in India for 16 .. I for one would be glad to go in with 2 to 10 coolies, or even solo, so as to secure this little bit of exploration for Britain.
  4. ^ Wade Davis: Into the Silence , p. 80.
  5. ^ A b Wade Davis: Into the Silence , p. 83.
  6. ^ Wade Davis: Into the Silence , p. 228.

Coordinates: 28 ° 17 '  N , 88 ° 31'  E