Music: 1933 Close Your Eyes | Gene Ammons 1960
Video: 1931 Croisière Jaune | Kashmir to Xinjiang | Citroën-Kégresse P17
1930s playlist: t.ly/TxIW
Crossing the Gilgit Pass
"Haardt's Pamir group crosses the Punjab towards Rawalpindi. The half-tracks journeyed more slowly from the foot of the Himalayas to the capital of Kashmir, Shrinagar, where the expedition was hosted by the Maharajah Hari Singh. The place is known for its 'invigorating mountain climate', its hotels and holiday residences. The Maharajah invites them to settle there for a few days in a luxury houseboat served by 50 Sikhs. He also invites them to a 'garden party' in the gardens of Shalimar, located in a former Mughal palace. The portion of the planned route after Shrinagar is the most difficult of the expedition as they will have to cross the Himalayas. It will lead them to cross the Burzil pass (4,132 m) en route to Gilgit.
Although locals claim no vehicle can get through the Burzil pass, Haardt is confident the planned route is achievable. The pass poses a real logistical challenge to the expedition, much more difficult than accidents on the ground according to Colonel Gabriel. Indeed, the crossing of the pass is estimated at 45 days, so the colonel calculates at a minimum of 450 kilos of material for each person. This includes food, clothing, tents, fuel and various equipment. The half-tracks, on the other hand, were designed to be dismantled so they could be transported on the back of mules. Gabriel reckons that nearly 400 men or 200 mules would be needed to transport the 10 tons of equipment of the 23 Europeans of the Pamir group, not to mention the cinematographic and scientific equipment.
The colonel therefore suggests dividing the Pamir group into three, each heading separately towards the pass on eight days' intervals- the time that the mules and the carriers of the first group can return to the start to pick up the second group and then likewise for the third group. This approach means the third group will not arrive until 24 days after the first. In addition, only two half-tracks continue the journey while the others return to France. Luggage is limited to 250 kg per person. Finally, to complicate their task even more, a radio message received on June 29 , 1931 tells them that Victor Point's China group is witnessing a conflict between Muslims (Uighurs) and Chinese in Sin-Kiang (Xinjiang), thus delaying their arrival in Kashgar.
On July 12, the second Pamir group began its ascent of the pass. The roads are very damaged by landslides, sometimes flooded by 'rivers transformed into formidable torrents' due to heavy rains. The Burzil pass is also snow-covered, even in the middle of summer, so that the half-tracks cannot travel at more than 1 km/h , given the time the men probe the path on which the vehicles will pass, to avoid possible crevices. It has been three months since the expedition left Beirut, having traveled nearly 5,600 km. They still have nearly 800 km left which will take them as long.
Crossing rivers also requires a certain ingenuity on the part of the members of the group. Indeed, for safety reasons, the half-tracks are attached to hawsers towed by the carriers on the wooden bridges at each crossing. The drivers of the half-tracks also had to get out of the car and steer it from a distance using a rope system. It has happened that the Golden Beetle, one of the half-tracks, is found entirely suspended above the void. It took 5 hours for the group to imagine how to bring it back to earth, using a hauling system with bars and winches.
The crossing of the pass finally achieved, further progress is delayed by a major obstacle. The road has indeed disappeared due to the sliding of an entire section of mountain, where only a tiny impractical passage remained. It was therefore necessary for the Pamir group to trace a new path, which proved to be very unstable. On July 25, Haardt decided to completely dismantle the half-tracks, carefully ordering the pieces in 30 kg packages to be easily transported by the mules. On the 27th, the difficulty was overcome and the group began to rebuild the half-tracks. On August 2, the group rolled again along the Indus Valley. On 4 August they finally reached of Gilgit.
Meanwhile, the China group of Victor Point is slowed by the conflicts in their region. Haardt learns on his arrival in Gilgit that the China group has been taken prisoner in Urumqi by the warlord King King Shu-Jen, nearly 1,200 km to the northeast. It therefore becomes unnecessary to continue the expedition according to the planned route since the China group cannot reach the meeting point. The Pamir group then to find out about the misadventures of the China group and go rescue them, even if it means abandoning the initial goal of the expedition."
(fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croisi%...)
2 мар 2021
