| Report Type | Full |
| Peak(s) |
Khwari Ghar - 8512 |
| Date Posted | 05/29/2010 |
| Date Climbed | 05/29/2010 |
| Author | diplomat |
| Winter ascent in the Hindu Kush |
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I didn't want to post this due to OPSEC (operational security) issues but mainly because I don't like to tell war stories. Thankfully to God / Allah, whoever's up there, no bad guys got their bullocks up enough to pull the trigger this night. Plus I would like to share experiences from mtn ranges in other regions. Anyways, heregoes with minimal specifics about who / what / where/ why. I'll say as much that these mountains are in Afghanistan and connected to the Hindu Kush range. I was in an area near the Pakistan border that saw a lot of small arms fire and indirect mortar / rocket attacks. There was one nasty mountain near the camp that the Taliban (we'll call him Terry) liked to use due to its geographical advantage. The camp was at 3,000 feet while the peak was at 8,300 feet. Mortar attacks were the enemy's favorite, low risk high reward...big psych insult to us. So the Army inevitably decides to send us up there. Now I don't like to complain about missions, I'm a volunteer and the people pay me to do it. But let's get real, Terry is just going to watch us during our 24 hour climb (please don't mock me, 5,000 feet is like everest when you're carrying 100 lbs or food water and equipment) and after he's hidden the mortar tube away, he can decide whether to throw rocks or pour hot boiling oil on us from the cliff. If it was just me, I wouldn't have thought twice but I am a platoon leader, I've got 30 other guys to worry about. Anyways after a long talk with the commander, I'd gotten the support of multiple helicopter and CAS (close air support, aka F16's). Mission was to go up there, setup a patrol base, and search the mountain for any possible origins of indirect fire. I'd be lying if we didn't get a little help from the whirly birds. However, the Hindu Kush mountains are more jagged than any range I've ever encountered. The LZ we landed on was at 4,000 feet...sweet, thanks. But hey, any help is welcomed. We loaded up in the bird @ O dark thirty and just sat while the pilot struggled to level the aircraft. After falling 5 feet out the ass of the bird into crusted snow, we waited for the hulk of a helicopter to fly away. As we settled in to a halt, we looked, listened, and smelled for any evidence of terry. Fortunately, Terry was not prepared for our arrival in the offensive manner and was simply trying to wake up all his friends (they'll do this via many different methods...cell phones, prayer, gunshots, or simply yelling down the valley). We started to make our way off the LZ and up the mountain and to our benefit, there was a small but dry and visible goat trail leading towards the summit. Now I don't think I'm giving anything away when I say we can hear them talk on the radio's. its just a question of which frequency and which language. Today, it was clear and busy on all channels. "Muslim, where are the goats (that's what they call us)...Ahmed, I do not know but where the hell are you? Where is Muhammed, is he sleeping? Tell him I will do bad things to his family if he does not fight today". Muslim is clearly the one in charge and not too happy about his little minions being caught with their pants down. This is might not seem funny now, but during the mission this is pretty much the equivalent of Bill Cosby standup (hey, I think he's a comical genius). Confident in our covert infil, we continue our slog. Unfortunately, the trail has fallen by the wayside and I am left with either going straight up, switchbacking, or following the ridgeline. I choose a combination of all three and follow the path of least resistance. As we move up the ridgeline, I realize my mistake as the enemy radio crackles to life on multiple channels. I learned this at Ranger school and kicked myself at forgetting it...never take the ridgeline. You profile yourself and if you don't, the 30 men following you will. "Ahmed I see your goats, prepare for war!". Nobody's laughing anymore. Lately it'd been hard to tell when daylight is coming due to the 100% illum from the moon during night, but nevertheless it was bright enough to observe a group of 30 individuals laden down with equipment walking up the mountain. Now we were forced into a small bowl-type depression that would hopefully lead us to the peak. The terrain included loose rock, shale, fallen timber, ash, shrapnel, and several unexploded mortars we'd fired recently. We'd gave up path of least resistance and took the route that gave us the widest berth from those mortar rounds. The snow started to get deeper as we ascended the mountain. Several times we were forced to backtrack, which is very demoralizing to do so in even the smallest increment. Up until now, I'd like to believe that the platoon had remarkably maintained its integrity due to their power of will, however it's more realistically due to that fact that we were terrified of the possibility of fighting off Terry by ourselves. We'd climbed and moved past 2 false summits by this point and although there was 4 feet of snow on the ground, many of the joe's had little to no water left. We'd been struggling with the mountain for 12 hours now and just when I though it'd be a good idea to call down to base in order to try and modify the mission, the point man catches a glimpse of the summit. I take my best 6 men and leave the rest in a "security" halt as we finally reach and clear the summit. AA batteries (used in enemy radio's), scarves, and food wrappers from the local bazaar litter the pine tree-covered summit. I'm trying to control the men due to their excitement over finally reaching the summit of "Mordor". This is still Afghanistan and Terry still has guns. Fortunately, the pine trees were the thickest I've ever seen so this was a perfect location for an overwatch position. As the rest of the platoon arrives at the top, I take an element on a recon patrol around the opposite side of the mountain. Due to our location, we can hear the enemy talking all across the province. We hear terry bragging about how he killed a truck-full of Americans on the road (nobody died that day)...also another more serious conversation concerning a recent kidnapping of an Afghan policeman (turned out that was true). We relayed all information back to base (they always make it sound like you're pissing in their kool-aid when you're in a life-or-death'er and they're playing xbox back at base). As we begin our clearance, we find evidence of life and otherwise nefarious activities. Recent footsteps (it'd snowed only the day before) revealing possible rat trails, a bag full of unexploded mortars, and depressions in the snow from a tripod. As we move across a saddle towards a depressingly taller mountain, we hear yelling in the low ground. More disappointed at the fact that I am now lying in the snow than the possibility of getting shot at, we remain motionless. It is now early afternoon and the snow has begun its melting. I decide to leave an element to guard the area while the rest of us continue on our recon. After searching several abandoned banda's (a banda is a structure built on the mountain-side as a recluse for sheppards / goats), we've reached to point in the patrol in which we should be looking for our digs for the night. The peak was too obvious a possible location and also unreasonable due to the weather (snow / wind). After being convinced by my sergeants, I finally agreed that we should remain in a banda for the night. However, the only banda with a roof was in the direction of the yelling we heard earlier. As we moved onto the structure, which was basically a block sticking out of the 45 degree slope, we heard additional voices. Now don't go sending this to the red cross, but I am under the shoot-first mindset...I'd rather attend a courthouse investigation than a funeral. As we were about to open up on a nearby fighting position and retreat back up the mountain, an old man with an ax at the ready revealed himself from behind another thick tree. After instructing a hold-fire, my squad leader lead him to me and my interpreter. His speech was parched and very stuttered. My terp said he was afraid we were Terry come down to lop of his head and roll it down the mountain. My terp told him we were the good guys and we needed a place to stay for the night. I didn't worry too much about this due to the tribal code the people live under which states they must provide shelter / defense to visitors. The old man was more than accommodating and gave us a room lined with goat feces. I was surprised when the old man did not have a heart attack that night when we received a helicopter resupply on top of his house. The entire next day could be described as a futile search of the mountain, but we identified enough position to drop bombs on in the event we took anymore mortar fire. The worst part of the mission was not being unsuccessful in finding the weapons, but the fact that the whirly birds broke their promise and stated there had been too much enemy activity to pick us up from the mountain. That meant falling down that nasty hill. The descent took almost as long as the ascent, however by the time we reached the valley floor we had two fractured ankles, two dehydration casualties, one broken tooth, and a lot of lost dignity. Many of us suffered embarrassment once we reached the road. In Pastu culture, it is acceptable to desire those of the same sex until the age of 30. Let's just say that the army needs to reinforce that seam in between your legs. We stood on the road for 30 minutes waiting for the vehicles, while a crowd of Pashtun males in their sexual prime stared daggers. That was the closest we were to using our weapons during those 2 days. I wish I could say this was the end to this story, but we ended up climbing Mordor two more times. Anyways, I would like this part of the world to be pacified in only so that I could come back to ski / climb / raft. It can be best described as Colorado on steroids. But this will never happen so I guess Pakistan is the closest we will come. Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow): 
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