Heroism Award

Also read: ANOTHER EPISODE OF HEROISM

                 Helicopter Heroism: HOGE Sling Rescue at 18,040 Ft

James T. McKenna

IT WAS MIDDAY ON AUG. 8, 2005 when Lt. Col. Rashid Ullah Beg got the call to rescue a mountaineer from an elevation of 20,670 ft (6,300 m) on Nanga Parbat.

The Pakistan army aviator at once made a few calculations and concluded it was impossible to hover his SA315B Lama at that altitude at the prevailing temperatures. He recommended the mountaineer be brought down to, say, 18,000 ft, where a rescue attempt could be made. He heard nothing more and assumed his advice had been heeded.

That was until late that evening, when his corps commander told him he must undertake the mission. (The climber, Tomaz Humar of Slovenia, was a world-renowned mountaineer, and notorious for making solitary ascents by the most difficult and dangerous routes.) From that point, Beg considered it a military mission. "We had to attempt to accomplish it," he said, "even at the cost us of grave danger to our lives."

Beg contacted the famous Pakistani mountaineer Nazir Sabir, who had arranged Humar’s expedition. He painted a bleak picture. Humar was on the Rupal Face, a near-vertical wall more than 14,760 ft high. No one could climb to rescue him, Sabir said, and for him to attempt a descent would be suicidal.

The weather forecast for the next two days was favorable. After that, it would worsen for several days. Humar might not last that long.

Beg quickly ruled out a hoist operation for weight, center-of-gravity and power considerations. The density altitude would be nearly 23,000 ft. Hovering, even in ground effect, was impossible with his aircraft’s weight, he thought, let alone hovering out of ground effect (HOGE) and picking up a 150-lb (70-kg) man. The only hope was a sling rescue, he concluded.

The Lama was the right helicopter for the mission; it still holds the absolute altitude record of almost 42,000 ft. But Jean Boulet had stripped his Lama to an empty weight of 1,870 lb for the record flight. Beg’s Lama weighed more than 2,640 lb.

Beg drafted a plan that, he said later, "had very bleak chances of success, but was the only thing we could do." They would fly the mission with two Lamas and one Mi-17 in a support role. Beg and Maj. Khalid Amir Rana would fly one Lama from Qasim army aviation base in Rawalpindi to Astore, a village about 15 nm northeast of the climber’s base camp. Lt. Col. Ubaid ur Rehman and Maj. Mueen ud Din would fly the Lama from Skardu (along with the Mi-17 crew) at Astore.

From there, the three helicopters would fly to the base camp at 11,150 ft, where they would strip the Lamas of excess weight and rig the sling rope below the helicopter.

At 1415, they got word that the clouds had lifted and the Rupal Face was partially visible. Within 45 min, they landed at the base camp.

A day earlier, an Alouette from the private company Askari Aviation had photographed Humar’s position on the Rupal Face.

"When we saw the position on a photo and correlated it with the ground," Beg said, "our worries magnified a thousand fold."

In addition to the sheer face, there was a mushroom of snow on an outcropping 100 ft above Humar’s position. The only foothold was where he was clinging to the mountain by a small rope and an ice screw. Fresh snowfall made that mushroom an avalanche waiting for a triggering action, such as the wash or noise from a helicopter’s rotor.

While the helicopter needed to be light enough for HOGE, it had to be heavy enough to descend almost 10,000 ft in 10 min to keep Humar from freezing to death on the sling. The crews stripped the Lamas to bare essentials to reduce the weight, then prepared the sling rope.

They took off at about 1630. At 17,400 ft, they encountered clouds. Climbing further, they were almost in whiteout conditions. They finally decided to call off the effort for the day.

The next day, they could depart as early in the morning as possible. The air then would be denser. But the heavier air creates the downward flow of katabatic wind, which could be a big disadvantage. As the sun shines over a slope, the reverse happens and anabatic winds start blowing up the slope. The disadvantage there is the rising temperature would loosen the snow and increase the risk of an avalanche. The crews decided 30 min to 1 hr after sunrise would give them the maximum advantage. They planned to be in position when the sun had been below Humar’s position for almost half an hour.

On Aug. 10, they reached the base camp at 0545. A layer of clouds still hid Humar, but the sun was shining below him. The Lamas took off, the crews expecting the anabatic wind to push the cloud layer up as they climbed.

Beg and Rana did a last hover check at 20,000 ft pressure altitude while Rehman and Din in the other Lama took the lead in searching for Humar. Beg’s helicopter was stable enough, but the power pedal went to the limit. The lead helicopter spotted Humar, then cleared out for Beg and Rana, who initiated the approach to a spot slightly off the point where Humar was. They kept the wind on their power pedal, since a headwind approach was impossible. They saw the area from a close angle and executed a go-around to come in again. Now they were committed.

They hovered again, stopping the helicopter with Humar at 9 o’clock, the power pedal fully in. Beg said it was becoming extremely hard to maintain heading as they were running out of tail-rotor authority. They began inching to the left. Beg said the collective pitch indicator was reading.98 (or 98 percent power being consumed), barely enough to pick up 150 lb.

As they inched in, the force of the anabatic wind grew. They stopped to keep the rotor tips from hitting the rock. The collective pitch indication had dropped to.95-.96, Beg said, and a bit of power pedal was still available. Beg saw through his sling mirror that Humar was trying to grab the sling rope by reaching out with his ice axe as far as he could, but it was too far.

At this point, Beg and Rana were taking quick turns, alternating with one on the controls and the other breathing oxygen to avoid hypoxia.

They didn’t want to wear their oxygen masks for fear of the facepiece fogging up. Beg would hand the control to Rana and go on oxygen for about a minute, then Rana would do the same.

Rana, on the left side, had a better view of the rock face, and would tell Beg to stop movement when the snow started to blow just below the rotor disc. The outside air temperature was -8C (18F).

Beg pulled back, then moved back in and stopped short of the rock to swing the rope toward Humar. It was high-risk maneuver, but it worked. Humar grabbed the rope and clipped himself on. Rana, who then had the controls, said he felt a load on the collective. Humar gave the pilots a thumbs-up. Beg asked Rana to pull up.

Humar’s weight should have equaled a collective pitch rise of.02-.03, but the pilots saw it rise almost twice as much. Now the helicopter was hovering with 100 percent power and still not lifting up.

"Sir it is not pulling out," Rana said.

Suddenly, the helicopter started to sink and vibrate. Beg thought they’d entered vortex ring state and soon they’d all be dead. Beg looked into the mirror and saw the sling rope in full tension.

"Oh God," he thought, "he probably has not been able to cut his rope."

When the aircraft sank again, Beg took the controls and moved the helicopter to the right to the rotor tips hitting the rock. He then felt "a pronounced jerk" and the helicopter felt light.

"Sir," Rana shouted, "I think he has dropped." That sent a cold wave down Beg’s spine, but just then he saw Humar swing to the right on the sling rope. He immediately moved the helicopter further right so Humar would not swing back and hit the rock face.

They were clear of the mountain, but Humar was swinging badly below. It took Beg awhile to stabilize him. He then asked Rehman in the other Lama to close in and see if Humar was all right. To Beg and Rana’s relief, Rehman said Humar was fine and waving to him.

Beg established the required rate of descent and airspeed, then turned over the controls to Rana. Beg felt drained; Rana looked like he felt.

NOTE: Rashidullah Beg is now a Brigadier, he was awarded "TAMGHA-I-SHUJAAT" by Government of Pakistan and  "The Golden Order for Services" by the Government of Slovenia.

A Modern History of the Ismailis

A Modern History of the Ismailis: Continuity and Change in a Muslim Community

Dr Farhad Daftary

I. B. Tauris Publishers in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London 2010.

Synopsis
Publication page on Google Books

The second largest Shi‘i Muslim community after the Ithna‘ashari or Twelvers, the Ismailis have had a long and complex history dating back to the formative period of Islam. Subsequently, they became subdivided into a number of major branches and minor groups. However, since the beginning of the 12th century CE, the Ismailis have existed in terms of two main branches, the Nizaris and the Tayyibi Must‘alians, who have been respectively designated as Khojas and Bohras in South Asia. The Tayyibis themselves were in due course split into the dominant Da’udi and minority Sulaymani and ‘Alavi communities. Currently, the Ismailis of different communities are dispersed as religious minorities in more than 25 countries of Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America.

Numbering several millions, the Ismailis represent a diversity of ethnicities and literary traditions, and speak a variety of languages and dialects. The majoritarian Nizari Ismaili community now recognises His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV as their 49th hereditary Imam or spiritual leader. The Da’udi, Sulaymani and ‘Alavi Tayyibi Ismailis are led by different lines of da‘is with supreme authority while all the Tayyibi Imams have remained in concealment and are inaccessible to their followers.

Until the middle of the 20th century, the Ismailis were by and large misrepresented with a variety of myths and legends circulating about their teachings and practices. This was due to the fact that they were almost exclusively studied and evaluated, in both Western and Muslim countries, on the basis of evidence collected or fabricated by their detractors. These perceptions of the Ismailis have been drastically revised, however, by the results of modern scholarship in Ismaili studies, based on an increasing number of manuscript sources produced in different phases of Ismaili history. The rich and varied Ismaili literature recovered and studied in modern times, especially since the 1940s, has particularly enhanced our knowledge of the mediaeval history and traditions of the Ismailis.

But the modern period in Ismaili history, covering approximately the last two centuries, has not received its deserved share of benefit from the recent progress in Ismaili studies. A major reason for this stems from the fact that adequate textual sources on the modern history of the Ismailis in various regions have not always been available, while it remains extremely difficult for non-Ismaili scholars who do not have the relevant language skills to tap into the rich oral traditions existing in the regions where the Ismailis have lived for centuries.

In sum, it seems that a suitable modern history of the Ismailis still awaits much preparatory work. Only then may we begin to have a better understanding of the evolution of the Ismaili communities of various regions together with their heritage and literary traditions. A Modern History of the Ismailis represents a first attempt in that direction.

This book contains chapters on the modern history of the Nizari Ismailis of several regions where these communities have traditionally lived. These chapters are mostly written by Ismaili scholars, both young and well established, who have the necessary language skills as well as familiarity with these communities’ oral and literary traditions. There is a chapter devoted to the issue of Nizari settlement in the West, an important phenomenon since the mid-twentieth century. A few chapters also deal with the reforms and institutional initiatives of the last two Nizari Imams, Aga Khan III and Aga Khan IV, and their achievements.

A separate section is devoted to the modern history of the Tayyibi Must‘alian Ismailis, now dominated by the Da’udi Bohras of South Asia. The authors of the Tayyibi chapters too are well placed as young scholars belonging to a prominent family within the leadership hierarchy of the Da’udi Bohra community and, as such, have had access to the sources of information required for approaching their subjects.

These collected studies should not be taken to represent the final word on their subject matters. Several chapters, in fact, may reflect work in progress, as the state of our knowledge on modern Ismaili history is still continuously undergoing revision and enhancement. One main aim here, as with all research and publications at the Institute, has been to facilitate scholarship and to contribute to further progress in the field of Ismaili studies.

Ata Abad Lake

The lake which was created on the 4th of January 2010 near Attabad village in Hunza valley due to a massive landslide blocking Hunza River submerged a portion of KKH and caused considerable damage to life and property in the area.

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has been monitoring this calamity since its inception and has worked incessantly, in coordination with all the stake holders and line departments, to resolve the crisis by dewatering the lake and normalizing life in the adjoining areas. Currently the water level in the lake is at 368 feet and with an inflow of 1200-1400 cusecs and outflow of 3000-3500 cusecs, the level is consistently coming down with consequent reclamation of more submerged land. The depth of the spillway is 28 meters and currently 04 dozers, 12 excavators, 18 dumpers & 24 compressors are deployed for the construction of the spillway. In addition, 150 jawans of FWO have been deployed in the area. The helicopter support and boat service is available for emergencies in the area.


BACK LINKS: REHABILITATION


Also SEE A RELATED VIDEO:  AZAD KASHMIR

GIST OF A SPEECH AT A RALLY IN BALTIT – ADVOCACY FOR CIVILIZED EXPRESSION OF COLLECTIVE WILL

The continuing behavior of "Hunzukutz", contained in the all embracing word "SUCHI", is based on the guidance of Allah communicated through our holy prophet (PBUH) in which he extols people to settle their affairs through mutual consultation and if they do not reach an accord then leave the consequences to Allah and his messenger (rather than taking the matters into their own hands and resorting to 'FASAD'). Furthermore Imam Baqir asked his followers to include "SABR" (Click Patience) as a basic pillar of "IMAN". The continuing guidance of the Imam on these principles for the time is expressed through terms such as "MERITOCRACY", "DEMOCRACY", "Pluralism" and "CIVIL SOCIETY".

 

It is imperative for the Governance (specially the newly appointed governor) to understand the reasons for civilized (and to others "docile") behavior of 'Hunzukutz' to be this social and religious philosophy rather than interpreting it in terms of weakness and lack of courage. The number of Wartime awards as well as the civil awards for service and achievement earned by "Hunzukutz" are a testimony to their prowess. The Government must as such listen to civilized voices rather than "GHIRAO" "JALOA" and similar violent methods of getting the demands of populations attended. The expectations for dispensation on "JUSTICE" and "MERIT" continue to be advocated verbally as well as through written communication (See the EXTRACTS posted on this blog) to all echelons of governance for the past many decades without any visible impact. As a result I can hear "ANGER" especially from our younger generation and I strongly recommend it to be heard by people responsible for making decisions that affect the present and future of a society. If we study history, be it French Revolution or the Bolshevik revolution, the anger arising from injustice gives rise to "HATE" and in the long run to "TEHRIKS" with uncontrolled consequences. The demand for a second seat for HUNZA in the GBLA is a JUST and MERIT based demand and it must be met as an urgent matter. My presence today and address to populations from a platform of this nature for the first time in my life stems from my devotion and love, like majority of Hunzukutz, for Pakistan, that alone forces me to advocate that such love for Pakistan should not be allowed to decay and turn into "HATE". In the light of what I believe is the right course, and of course as part of example for the country in expression of collective will, notwithstanding existing disappointments and violent methods prevalent in the country, I put forward two suggestions in front of my fellow "HUNZUKUTZ":

 

First we must on 01 Nov between 11:00 to 12:00 O'clock demonstrate our solidarity in a civilized manner. Towards this end all men, women and children must form a human chain from "KILIK" to "MAYUN" on the roads adjacent to their villages without disturbing any traffic or other forms of violence or improper behavior instead showing a festive look in the usual HUNZA tradition.

 

Secondly we must choose two representatives through a very transparent and ideal democratic procedure and present to the government as "REPRESENTATIVES" elected by the people as part of democratic expression.

The International Symposium on ‘Karakorum-Hindukush-Himalaya: Dynamics of Change’

Preface

The International Symposium on ‘Karakorum-Hindukush-Himalaya: Dynamics of Change’ was held in Islamabad. Pakistan, from September 29th to October 2nd, 1995. Four excursions to northern Pakistan (September l9th-28th, 1995)  preceded the symposium. The impetus behind these events was the conclusion of the Pak-German Research Project ‘Culture Area Karakorum’, which has been active in the Northern Areas of Pakistan since 1989.

The excursions followed four separate routes with slightly different focusses: Chitral, Hunza, Nanga Parbat and Baltistan. At the end of the excursions, the groups  met in Gilgit for joint discussions and seminars before returning to the Islamabad symposium. All participants were invited and encouraged to contribute to the field trips by introducing their own experience from research in the Northern Areas, as well as from other high mountain regions.

The documentation in hand contains two parts, plus organisational information. Part I is identical for all excursions and includes general information on Northern Pakistan, whereas part II refers to the specific regions that were visited. The documentation includes a mixture of already published material from different authors from the Pak-German Research Project ‘Culture Area Karakorum’, and other specifically compiled data. For obvious reasons, data and results from environmental and geographic studies can very often be presented as maps or diagrams. Linguistic and religious aspects, as well as findings related to research in social anthropology, usually refer to extensive verbal presentation. However, most of the maps and tables were further explained during the field trips.

Unpublished material in this excursion guide was placed at our disposal by members of the excursion groups, as well as by numerous other individuals. This generosity is warmly acknowledged. J.-P. Mund and M. Münz compiled and prepared the documentation. They also translated most of the documents originally published in German. R. Spohner and G. Storbeck drafted and redrew many of the maps and diagrams. We are grateful for their tremendous assistance. Finally, we want to thank the ‘Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft’ (DFG, The German Science Foundation) for its generous financial support.

Bonn, September 1995 Matthias Winiger

Since this preface was written in 1995, a lot of research has been done and published on many of the topics mentioned in this preface. I have recently approached Professor Imtraud Stellrecht of Tubingen University to provide an abstract, and possibly the treasure of knowledge about Gilgit and Baltistan that CAK has researched in typical German thoroughness. Meanwhile interested readers can access the material published till 1995 by clicking on this link CAK and get benefitted from this research.

Native American Wisdom

I enjoyed this mail from Prof Salman Ali, may be some others visiting this blog may take it the same way:

Before our white brothers came to civilize us we had no jails. Therefore we had no criminals. You can’t have criminals without a jail. We had no locks or keys, and so we had no thieves. If a man was so poor that he had no horse, tipi or blanket, someone gave him these things. We were too uncivilized to set much value on personal belongings. We wanted to have things only in order to give them away. We had no money, and therefore a man’s worth couldn’t be measured by it. We valued the exchange of love, so we did not deal in fear. We had no written law, no attorney or politicians, therefore we couldn’t cheat. We were in a really bad way before the white man came, and I don’t know how we managed to get along for millenniums without the basic things which, we are told, are absolutely necessary to make a current civilized society.        -- Lakota Sage Lame Deer (from John Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions)

Imam Ali Videos

Click IMAM ALI to see and hear the series.