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Scaling Himalayan Heights withthe Intelligence BureauCapt. (Retd.) M.S. KohliIn June, 1962, Sonam Gyatso (IntelligenceBureau’s strongest climber), Hari Dang andmyself, after surviving three nights at about28,000 feet, missing the summit of Everest by amere 100 metres, and after the world media hadgiven us up as lost, safely returned to Delhi to therelief of all. We received a warm reception, fromthe I.B. and the Indian Navy. Many options aboutmy posting were being considered by the IndianNavy. However, the sudden Chinese invasionof India on 20 October, 1962, placed me underthe magic spell of the I.B., where I was destinedto lead India’s Greatest Climb and the world’sgreatest Intelligence Operation.I was born and brought up in the hilly Himalayantown of Haripur, situated on the banks of riverIndus and close to the borders of Kashmir,Afghanistan, Tajikistan and China. In 1824, achilling chapter in the history of courage andvalour was written here, when General HariSingh Nalwa, the bravest known General ofMaharaja Ranjit Singh, in whose memory thetown of Haripur was founded, had conqueredNorth-West Frontier and part of Afghanistan.Haripur and its neighbouring town of Abbotabadhave recently hit the headlines, as Osama BinLaden had chosen these towns, close to no man’sland, for hiding during the last seven years of hislife. Interestingly, in 2005, when I happened tovisit Haripur for the sixth and the last time afterPartition, as a guest of Gohar Ayub Khan, son ofthe former President of Pakistan, Osama was alsothere in hiding!Haripur had shaped my future life and also mycareer spanning the Indian Navy, the IntelligenceBureau and Air India. Though scaling dizzyHimalayan heights and other pioneeringadventures remained a part of my life throughout,the decade of sixties with the Intelligence Bureau,full of dare-devil climbs and death-defyingexpeditions, some of which remained underwraps for years, will always remain the mostthrilling period of my life.During my years with the I.B., while facing someof the greatest challenges, I thoroughly relishedthe pleasure, privilege and the thrill of workingclosely with some of the best known legends ofthe I.B., such as, Shri B.N. Mullick, Sardar BalbirSingh, Shri MML Hooja, Shri R.N. Kao, Shri B.Chatterjee and Shri A.K. Dave – all illustriousImperial Police Officers. Of my colleagues, Ifondly remember Shri M.K. Narayanan, who roseto become the National Security Advisor of India,and now is the Governor of West Bengal.First ContactMy very first contact with the I.B. was throughSonam Gyatso. I had first met him in 1959 inDarjeeling, where we had assembled for the pre-Everest expedition to Ratong. Sonam had comewith fresh laurels. Two years earlier, he hadtaken on Nanda Devi, missing the summit by 500feet. A year earlier, he had set foot on Cho Oyu,the sixth highest peak in the world. With his talland sturdy figure, face like a rock and strengthof a mountain, he exuded confidence. On thevery first sight, we became close friends and ourfriendship continued till the end of his life.The following year, we were on Everest together.Unfortunately, due to a storm on 25 May andearly break of Monsoon, we got trapped on themountain. Sonam, during the gallant attempt,missed the summit by 200 metres. The followingyear, in 1961, I happened to read the book bythe legendary British climber, H.W. Tilmanwho, after circling the Annapurna range, hadremarked, ‘Annapurna III cannot be reached atall.’ Immediately on reading this, I decided toaccept the challenge of Annapurna III. SonamThe Indian Police Journal, October - December, 2012, Special Issue 61