Harish Kapadia has made a unique contribution to our knowledge of the Himalaya: as editor of the Himalayan Journal, one of the most authoritative and comprehensive records of exploratory activity in the
Himalaya
; through his numerous books and as a leader and organiser of countless expeditions over the years. Moreover he is a rare breed, who has always written, modestly but with deep knowledge, about his Himalayan journeys in 15 books and several articles, works on the Himalaya that are erudite and practical, skilfully combining historical, geographical and practical guidance to increase our understanding of the region.
He began climbing and trekking in the range around Mumbai, the
Western Ghats
. His first visit to the
Himalaya
was almost 45 years ago. He has never looked back since, still trekking and climbing actively. His main contribution to Himalayan climbing has been to explore unknown areas and, in number of cases, to open up climbing possibilities. He has personally climbed more than 30 Himalayan peaks, many of them first ascents. Moreover he has crossed more than 130 Himalayan passes to explore different valleys.
As an expedition leader, he has initiated a series of joint expeditions with climbers from the
United Kingdom
,
France
,
Japan
and the
United States
to explore and climb throughout the Indian Himalaya. The quality of exploration and the full and detailed reports that he has issued have provided superb background information about these areas.
He has continued to go to the Himalaya, particularly to the Siachen glacier and the East Karakoram, and now to the unknown Arunachal Pradesh, to carry forward explorations, which were backed up with excellent documentation and writing. He is a selfless mountain lover who undertook everything simply for the love of it and not for fame or money. He managed all this while he was a businessman — mountains and exploration came first, even ahead of business. When the need was felt, he sold his successful family enterprise to devote all his time to his first love — mountains. He continued his passion despite two serious personal injuries and a major family setback in the tragic loss of his young soldier son to terrorism in
Kashmir
.
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He is an explorer in the true traditional mode and has visited almost all the ranges in the Indian Himalaya during the last four decades. His explorations have opened new horizons for future mountaineers. Furthermore, Harish has been a tireless campaigner for the resolution of the Kashmir conflict through the
Siachen
Peace
Park
initiative in the Karakoram region. He is an outstanding modern explorer in the finest traditions of the great Himalayan pioneers.
He was elected Honorary Member of the Alpine Club,
London
, and the Polish Mountaineering Club, Warszawa. He was a Vice President of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (1997-1999) and was awarded the IMF Gold Medal in 1993. It is most fitting, that in the year 2003, in which the 50th Anniversary of the first ascent of Everest was celebrated, Harish Kapadia was honoured with the Royal Medal, the “Patron’s Medal”, by the Royal Geographical Society ‘for contributions to geographical discovery and mountaineering in the Himalaya’. He was the first Indian to receive this award after 125 years. The President of India honoured him with the prestigious ‘Tensing Norgay National Adventure Award” (2003) for Life Time achievements, the highest Adventure Award in
India
.
Harish was invited to many countries to lecture on his Himalayan exploits. He is a member of several organisations. He is married, and lives in Mumbai.
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| Adresse: |
Harish Kapadia
16 Carichael Road
72 Vijay Apartm.
40026 Mubai
India
harikaps@vsnl.com
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