Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
This episode of Against the Odds contains depictions of violence. Please be advised. Captain Mohan Singh Kohli wipes snow from his goggles as he struggles down a steep slope. He's 18,000 feet up the Himalayan mountain, Nundakot. He's freezing, and the driving snow means he can barely see more than a dozen feet ahead of him.
He hopes the climbers following behind are keeping him in their sights. It's May 24th, 1967, and Coley is supposed to be heading up Nun da Coat. Instead, he and his fellow climbers are racing down the mountain toward the safety of base camp, where they can wait out this punishing storm.
Kohli is the most accomplished mountain climber in India. He led the first expedition to put Indian men on top of Mount Everest. But this expedition is proving more difficult than he expected.
He didn't think his second attempt to carry a plutonium-powered spine device up a Himalayan mountain would be easy. But their awful luck along the way has made a tough job almost impossible. Kohli looks behind him, and he can barely make out a couple of his men 100 feet further up the slope. He tries to signal to them to check that everyone is okay, but he's not sure they see him through the snow.
Koli and his team have been on Nundakot for 20 days, and they're nearly out of time to complete this mission before the start of monsoon season. At that point, heavy, constant snowfall will make it impossible for them to continue. Koli's bosses are running out of patience, but he won't risk anyone getting stranded in a blizzard on his watch. So he's ordered them down the mountain, and this time, they're lugging the heavy spying device with them.
After losing their first device on Nundadavey, Coley's not letting this one out of their sight. A gust of wind hits him in the face, tugging at the icicles that have formed on his beard. He's so frustrated with the weather and the mistakes they've made along the way. But at least he's headed to a lower elevation and a warm tent. Coley stops. He thinks he hears someone calling out from further up the slope.
But his hat and heavy hood muffled the sound. He turns around and freezes in horror. There's a wall of snow heading right towards him. A snow shelf that he passed just minutes ago has broken off and is racing down the slope like a runaway truck. It's an avalanche, and he's too late to get out of its way. He doesn't even have time to brace himself. And then he swept off his feet.
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In 1965, a top-secret joint mission for India's Intelligence Bureau and the American CIA attempted to place a spying device on the Himalayan mountain, Nundadavi. The device would enable them to observe China's atomic bomb and missile tests. But the device was lost, most likely to a rock slide or avalanche. And despite months of frantic searching, they never found it.
Two years later, the climbers had a new nuclear-powered spine device and a new destination for it: the neighboring mountain of Nundakot. This would be their last chance to finally complete their mission. This is episode three: The Dome. Captain Mohan Singh Kohli folds his hands and bows his head in prayer. He's come to a historic Sikh temple in New Delhi to ask for safety on his next mission.
It's April 25th, 1967, and in just a few days he'll lead a team up Nun da Cote. Coley is worried about the mission. This will be their third attempt to secure a spying device, and it has to be the final one. So he's here to offer an Ardos, a sick prayer that asks God to safeguard all mankind, and by extension, him and his team.
It's been eight months since they gave up the search for the first spine device on Nanda Devi. That was a failure of epic proportions, one that Kohli won't soon forget.
It was his call to leave the device on Nanda Devi when dangerous weather forced his team to turn back. And it was his responsibility to retrieve it. He knows he can't afford to fail again. Kohli thinks back to summiting Nanda Kot eight years ago. It was his first time leading a major climb, and he remembers how worried he felt. Back then, he came to this same temple to pray.
In the end, his team made it to the 22,500-foot summit. And everything that's happened to him since, he owes to that climb. But he knows he can't take his success for granted. So once again, he's asking for God's help. May all our homes and endeavors be blessed with success. May the sword of God assist us. May the Khalsa always triumph.
Koli chants the prayer with quiet reverence, feeling humbled in the presence of the gold-covered throne of the guru at the front of the hall. He breathes in the aroma of rose incense, feeling comforted by the presence of his fellow Sikhs as they sing in unison. May all the Sikhs be united in love. May the hearts of the Sikhs be humble, but their wisdom exalted in the keeping of the Lord.
After leaving the temple, he'll head to the city of Haldawani. There, he'll meet up with his friends, climbers Sonam Wangyal and Kuchawarang Bangu. Along the way to the mountain, they'll pick up porters and more climbers, plus supplies. They should be at the mountain in about 10 days. Kohli's prayers are not just centered on his own safety and that of his men. There have been reports that China has been testing even bigger nuclear weapons.
He can sense a new edginess in his bosses at the Intelligence Bureau. There's no time to lose. We offer this prayer in your presence, oh beloved guru. Forgive our mistakes and help us to keep ourselves pure. He prays for no more errors, no more bad weather, no more close calls. He prays for their climb up Nundakot to be an easy one.
When the prayer is over, Kohli heads for the door of the temple. He hopes his invocation was heard. The path ahead will be perilous. They'll need all the help they can get. Gucharrang Bangu trudges up a steep trail on his way to base camp on Nundakot. He's carrying a heavy pack and it's snowing hard, making each step that much more difficult. It's late morning on May 3rd, 1967.
With any luck, he'll reach base camp in two days. He stops and drops his pack to rest for a moment. Porters shepherd their ponies by him, one after another. The path is narrow, cut into the side of a steep slope, and the ponies scrape against him as they plod by. Each one carries hundreds of pounds of gear, which they'll need for their climb.
Bangu steals a glance down into the rocky gorge below them. One wrong step, one loose rock underfoot, and he could tumble to his death. A porter pushes past him, followed by a string of six brown ponies roped together. Bangu watches their hooves stepping nimbly through the snow. The snowfall this time of the year has been heavier than usual, making the narrow path even more treacherous.
but the ponies seem to move effortlessly under their heavy packs. When they reach base camp, the climbing team will begin a long ascent to place a new spine device a few hundred feet below the summit. This time, Bangu hopes they can return home with a successful climb under their belts. He hopes for no surprises. He bends over to pick up his pack. Then he hears a sharp rumbling sound.
When he looks up, he sees a large cloud of snow obscuring the trail ahead of him. When it clears, the six ponies that just passed him are nowhere to be seen. And where there was once a ledge, now there's nothing. He peers over the edge. What he sees is horrible. The six ponies plunged at least 90 feet into the gorge. Now they're lying at the bottom of it, bloody and broken.
The two animals that are still alive are crying dreadful sounds. Luckily, no men were taken with them. Several porters rappel down to gather what supplies they can salvage. From his vantage point, Bangu can't tell exactly what the ponies were carrying or how much of it the porters will be able to retrieve. He just hopes it's nothing irreplaceable. The poor animals' agonized wails echo off the walls of the gorge.
Bangu has to turn away and cover his ears. This is not the start to the climb he imagined. Sonam Mungyal takes another step through deep snow as he hikes up from base camp to Camp 1 on Nundakot. Two other Indian climbers have joined him to forge a route and ferry the first round of supplies to 17,600 feet. It's at least half a day's work.
It's a clear day and relatively warm, but the powder is still past the tops of his boots. It's not supposed to be this deep in mid-May, but a late season snowfall still hasn't melted. Wang Yael takes in the dramatic patterns the light is making on the peak above him. He's glad to be back in the Himalayas. Climbing is in his blood, and he gets restless when he's away from the mountains for too long.
They didn't need as many climbers to retrieve the spine device from Nanda Devi last year, so he wasn't part of that mission. But bringing a spine device up a mountain is more complicated than bringing one down, so Captain Kohli called on him again. Wang Yao looks back at his two fellow climbers. They're all roped together for safety and trudge along single file, the weight of their packs hunching them forward.
After a few minutes, they stop to rest and take in the majestic view of the peaks around Nundakot. Wangyal turns to one of the climbers. Not a bad job, huh? It beats sitting at a desk. Wangyal checks his altimeter. 500 feet of elevation to go. Then they can drop off the gear at what will be camp one. After a moment, they lift their packs again and plod on.
As they move upward, the wind picks up and billows the prayer flags hanging off Longiel's path. He puts his head down to give his frozen cheeks a break. He squints against the blinding white snow that covers the path. Then he hears a deep, loud rumble. He and his partners look up. Longiel sees a wall of snow, many tons of it, heading right at them.
Wang Yao knows they can't outrun the avalanche, so he does the only thing he can think of. He moves sideways and pulls the rope as hard as he can, yanking his partners off their feet towards him. The three of them fall to the ground together. They watch as the avalanche rumbles past them, missing them by a few feet. Wang Yao stands up and helps his partners off the ground. You guys okay? Both men give a thumbs up.
Wang Yao cannot believe how lucky they got this time. He knows this may not be the last avalanche they encounter. There's nothing they can do but keep climbing. He wipes the snow from his heavy coat and continues up to Camp 1. Captain Kohli lifts his binoculars to his eyes and looks up at Nunda Kot from base camp. It's dawn on May 19th, and the sun is rising on a perfectly clear day.
He's standing with a CIA case officer named Sam Curry. In the bright sunlight, the mountain looks like it's covered in a crisp white bed sheet. Coley pans his binoculars down from the peak and sees small dark figures moving at around 19,000 feet. That's Camp 2, where several of his climbers have just spent the night.
3,000 feet above those climbers is the dome, a large icy bulge about 500 feet below the peak. That's their destination. That's where they'll set up the spine device and aim it at China. Coley hands the binoculars to Curry. You see that giant pimple just west of the peak? That's the dome. When do you think you'll get there?
"A few days, but it's tricky. It's high up and relatively flat on top. We might get there and find 10 feet of snow." Coley takes the binoculars back from Curry. Even though there's a risk the snow will be too deep at the dome, overall, their chances are good. The weather is cooperating, and the climbers at Camp 2 are well acclimated. Time to send a message to his bosses at the Intelligence Bureau in New Delhi.
Coley goes to the radio tent. He switches on a Morse code transmitter and taps out an encoded message to Director Anandbhai Dave. Once he's received the message, Dave will send a chopper to arrive at Nundakot tomorrow. On board will be two experts from the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, and with them will be a brand new plutonium-powered spying device.
Coley's team will have to get it up the mountain fast before monsoon season and its nonstop snowfall makes the mission too treacherous. They've got no time to waste.
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Bangu's partner is Harish Rawat, who led the second climb up Nanda Devi. The two men rest a moment on a ledge as they prepare for the final push. It's a clear day, and while their climb has been arduous, so far it's gone according to plan. It's the afternoon of May 23rd, 1967, about three weeks into their mission.
Early this morning, another half-dozen climbers, including Captain Kohli, went ahead of Bangu and Rawat in order to clear several feet of snow off the dome. They need to create a flat area to set up the spine device. Meanwhile, Bangu and Rawat, along with two Sherpas behind them, are carrying the 38-pound generator, the antenna, and two transceivers.
As they set off from Camp 3 several hours ago, Bangu heard the two Sherpas arguing over who would get to carry the pack with the plutonium-powered generator. That pack emits heat, which is in short supply at this altitude, even if the heat is radioactive. Bangu takes a deep breath and turns to Rawat. "Let's finish this." Rawat nods and gets back on his feet.
Bangu swings his axe and uses it to pull himself up the final few feet. Then, something appears just above him. A hand, reaching out to help him. He looks up and sees the beaming face of Captain Kohli. Welcome to the dome, my friend. Bangu looks around and sees Americans, Indians, and Sherpas. He takes off his backpack and places it down carefully on the cleared area.
He hopes they can get the spy device set up quickly. The mission is nearly complete. They have brought extra equipment to secure the device to the mountain. But doing anything at 22,000 feet takes infinitely more effort than doing it at sea level. The cold wind and lack of oxygen are punishing.
The longer they take, the more their thinking and reflexes slow down, and they need their wits about them when handling a radioactive device. Captain Coley sits next to Harish Rawat to take a quick break on the snowpack. Coley commanded the last two climbs by radio, but for this one, he wanted to be up on the mountain himself.
He knows Nundakot well, having climbed it before. And also, he wants to make absolutely sure there aren't any more mistakes. His face feels like it's freezing off, but he's glad to be here with his men. He turns to Rawat. "Let's take an inventory of the gear we'll need to secure the device to the mountain." Rawat nods and heads off to collect the gear. Kohli looks north and sees the towering peak of Nundadevi in the distance.
He wonders for a moment where the first device is, the one they lost. Is it still intact? Or are its plutonium fuel rods leaking into the water supply of a local village at this very moment? But he knows he can't dwell on it. Not here, not now, when they're finally so close to completing their mission. Rawat returns. His lips are clenched tight.
Coley's seen this look on Merwatt's face before, and it can only mean bad news. Sir, we have a problem. What is it? The gear we need to secure the device, we can't find it anywhere. Coley can't believe it. They're on top of the dome. The device is sitting in front of them, ready to be assembled and anchored in place. All he needs are some carabiners, tent pegs, and rope.
Supplies they'd specifically packed and set aside for just that purpose. What do you mean you can't find the gear? It's not here. We looked through every bag. Nobody remembers seeing it since... Since when? Since the ponies fell.
The ponies. When they fell down the gorge three weeks ago, they took a lot of supplies and gear with them. No one had a full inventory of what was lost, but at the time, it hadn't seemed like anything significant. Now, Coley realizes they were wrong. Coley takes a step away to calm himself.
He knows it's not Rawat's fault. He doesn't know exactly whose fault it is. But now he's got a nuclear-powered device and his entire climbing team on top of Nundakot. And they can't set it up, not without a way to secure it. At that exact moment, the sky turns dark and snow begins to fall. He looks over at Nundadevi and shakes his head.
They have to get back down before the weather traps them. And given what happened last time, they can't risk leaving the device. They'll have to take it down with them. This entire climb so far has been for nothing.
Captain Coley trudges down a steep slope on Nunn-de-Koot, trying to keep his balance in gale force winds. Since he and his team left the dome yesterday, the weather has gone from bad to worse. They're now in a race to get back down to base camp before hypothermia and frostbite set in. Coley tries to push down his disappointment.
Once again, they were so close to setting up the spine device. Once again, they were forced to turn back. He's not sure he can stomach another failure. But right now, the safety of his men comes first. Coley stops in his tracks. He thinks he hears someone calling out from further up the slope, but his hat and heavy hood muffle the sound.
He turns and sees a thick wall of snow heading right towards him, picking up powder along the way. It's an avalanche, and it's moving too fast for Coley to get out of the way. No matter what he does, he's going down. The avalanche hits him on his side and knocks the wind out of him. He's swept off his feet and taken by the snow. He tries to breathe, but only inhales powder. All he can see through his goggles is white.
He tries to bend his body into a ball to minimize the impact, but it's fruitless. He's inside the avalanche and at its mercy, hurtling down the slope towards who knows where. He closes his eyes and tries not to panic, knowing it won't do any good. And then he is still. The avalanche has stopped. He's alive and uninjured. A miracle.
Maybe God was listening when he offered up that Ardos prayer in New Delhi. But when he opens his eyes, there's nothing but whiteness. He's buried alive. He tries to move, but all his limbs are trapped in snow. He knows that in a matter of minutes, he'll suffocate. Then he hears muffled shouting. Before he knows what's happening, Kohli is being pulled by his arms out of the snow. He's laid on his back.
He hears Gucharan Bangu speak. "Are you okay, boss?" He flexes his limbs to check for injuries. His head is ringing. His shoulder is sore. But otherwise, he feels okay. "I think so. What happened?" "A snowbank broke off right above you. We were behind it. The avalanche picked you up and carried you 200 feet down the slope. And you're lucky it wasn't 210 feet."
Bangu points just over Kohli's shoulder. Kohli finally gets his eyes to stop blurring and looks. Just 10 feet away, there's a sheer drop. Carefully, Kohli stands up. His legs still work. Just as he was thinking this mission was cursed, he's struck by a surge of optimism.
Despite everything that has gone wrong, despite almost dying in an avalanche, he believes the prayers he sang inside the temple back in New Delhi are being answered. Maybe after all, they can do this. He signals the men to continue back to base camp through the seemingly never-ending snowfall. The storm rages outside as Captain Coley peeks out of his tent at base camp.
It's May 25th, the day after he survived an avalanche. But Kohli has already put that behind him. He's meeting with his most trusted friends and climbers, Gucharrong Bangu and Sonam Wangyal. He wants their input on two crucial decisions. He zips up the tent flap and turns to Wangyal first. Do you think we should abandon the mission? Is monsoon season here? Wangyal is quiet for a long moment before he speaks.
There's no way to know for certain. We've had two days of bad weather, but we could wake up tomorrow morning to the sun shining. Coley looks at Bangu, who sits in the corner of the tent, sipping tea and contemplating. It's not here yet. What makes you so sure? Because if the monsoon season is here, then we're screwed. So it must not be here.
Coley laughs. Leave it to Bangu to make a joke when their careers are hanging by the thinnest of threads. Okay, so let's say the sky does miraculously clear up. We still need to get that device secured to the mountain. But how? When they got back to base camp, they searched everywhere for the missing equipment, just in case it didn't fall with the ponies and had somehow just gotten misplaced. But nobody found it.
Koli has racked his brain, but hasn't come up with any backup plans he's happy with. All three men are quiet. Then, Bangu stands up and puts down his tea. There's a sly little half-smile on his face. "I've got it! I know how to make sure the device stays secure on the dome." As Bangu explains his idea, it's Koli's turn to smile. His proposal is so clever and simple that it just might work.
Together, the three men talk it through until they know exactly what they need to do and what equipment they'll need to do it. Now, they pray for a break in the weather so they can put their plan to the test. Gurcharan Bangu leans over, so his ear is next to the radio. A few minutes ago, he thought he heard someone, but it must have been his imagination.
With the wind blowing outside and up the mountain, the radios can be tricky to use, even for an expert like him. Bangu is with Captain Kohli in the radio tent at base camp. They're waiting for an update from two Sherpa climbers. It's May 26, three days since the team left the dome to return to base camp. The storm has not weakened, despite Bangu's prediction that the skies would clear.
So the two Sherpa climbers set out to prove that the mountain was climbable, even in this weather. The last Bangu heard by radio, the two climbers were somewhere between Camp 1 and Camp 2. The sun is mostly down, and he prays that they made it to Camp 2 safely. The weather down here at base camp has gotten worse, not better. When the two Sherpas left this morning, it gave Bangu hope. It gave everyone hope.
If they can make it back to the dome, maybe the mountain is passable and the climb isn't over. The radio crackles again. Bangu reaches for it, but Kohli stops him. It's not them, Gucharan. Just static. Bangu nods and takes a sip of tea. All day he's been drinking it, trying to stay warm and distracted. He looks at Kohli.
Did we fail? Again? No. You said the monsoon season isn't here yet, remember? The radio crackles, but louder this time. A voice rams through the static and wind. Are you there? Bangu grabs the receiver. Yes, we're here. Where are you? We made it to Camp 2, but just barely. How's the weather up there? The snow is falling hard and the slopes are too dangerous. Recommend staying put. Bangu lets the receiver drop.
Kohli stands and rubs his beard, looking pensive. The radio crackles again. "You read that? Stay at base camp. It's too dangerous." Bangu looks at Kohli. "Captain, the mission is over. Monsoon season is here." Bangu picks up the receiver once again. He tells the Sherpas to stay at Camp 2 until first light, then return to base camp. Kohli is silent, and Bangu doesn't know what more to say.
He felt sure the weather would clear, but it hasn't. By morning, they'll be packing up their gear and reporting to New Delhi that they've failed. Again. This season, Instacart has your back-to-school. As in, they've got your back-to-school lunch favorites, like snack packs and fresh fruit. And they've got your back-to-school supplies, like backpacks, binders, and pencils. And they've got your back when your kid casually tells you they have a huge school project due tomorrow.
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He's alone in his tent at base camp just before dawn, delaying the start to what will surely be a long day, packing up supplies and communicating bad news. It's May 28th. Yesterday, because of the blizzard, it took the two Sherpas all day to make their way back down from Camp 2. Another team ventured out to try to help the Sherpas, but they were forced to turn back. So in Koli's mind, the mission is over.
The storm has been raging for five days straight and shows no signs of letting up. It's clear to him that monsoon season has arrived early. Kohli is not looking forward to telling the other climbers or the bosses back in New Delhi. But he has no choice. With his prayer finished, he stands up and unzips the tent. When he steps outside, he cannot believe what he sees.
A clear blue sky. Every single cloud that covered the heavens yesterday is gone. He doesn't waste a minute. He rouses all the climbers. Everybody up! Out of your tents now! The climbers and Sherpas burst out of their tents. Coley orders them to get dressed and grab their packs right away. They cannot waste a single moment. A new storm could be on its way.
They have to get the device up the mountain as quickly as possible. Everyone is already acclimatized from their earlier climbs. With a little luck, they could be at Camp 3 this afternoon and back on the dome by late tomorrow, if the weather holds.
As they're gearing up, Kohli finds Gucharan Bangu and pulls him aside. "I'm going to stay at base camp and direct the climb by radio. Are you sure, boss?" "I'm sure. At my age, I'm not the fastest climber and I don't want to slow you down." The climbers are suited up within minutes. Kohli sends them off with a wave and a pat on the back for Bangu. The Americans, Indians, and Sherpas all head up Nundakot.
Kohli hopes that when they make it back, they can finally celebrate. Gurcharan Bangu kneels down and uses his back to shield the wind blowing behind him. It's noon on May 30th, and Bangu is on top of the dome for the second time in a week. Spread around him on the snowpack are all the parts of the device ready to be assembled.
When the weather cleared two days earlier, Bangu and the other climbers rushed up 6,000 feet of elevation at a breakneck pace. They made it to Camp 2 just before nightfall. At dawn, the climbers left for the dome. They blew past Camp 3, which was almost completely buried in snow from the blizzard. A few hours later, they arrived on the dome at 22,000 feet.
Now, they're ready to implement their new plan for securing the device to the mountain. As soon as they arrived, three Sherpa climbers took out a butane stove and began melting snow in a large cooking pot. The water has to be warm enough to melt the snowpack under their feet. But that's easier said than done. It's hard to keep a large flame going in thin air at high altitude, with the wind blowing constantly.
That's why Bangu and the other climbers are huddled around one side of the cooking pot, using their backs as windbreaks. Now, finally, the water is hot enough. Bangu watches as the Sherpas pour the warm water on a designated spot in the snowpack. It works exactly as planned. As the water is poured, it melts a hole in the snow. Steam rises as the hole gets deeper.
Working quickly, Harish Rawat sticks a pointed metal post in the newly formed hole. The Sherpas then pour in some lukewarm water, which freezes instantly around the post. Bangu yanks on the post, testing its sturdiness. It feels like it's being held by concrete. They repeat the process, melting three more holes and inserting a post into each one.
Then, they assemble the device and attach it to the posts. The last piece they secure in place is the plutonium-powered generator. Nearly two years after Bangu was recruited for this mission, they finally got a spine device set up on top of a Himalayan peak. It may not be the mountain they originally intended, but they did it. Now, they just have to turn it on. Captain Kohli paces inside the radio tent,
CIA officer Sam Curry is there with him. They're waiting to hear from the climbers, who have been on the dome since this morning, sending periodic updates on their progress. The boiling water plan somehow worked, and they got the posts planted firmly in the ground. Now, Coley is just waiting for word that they have everything in place. He looks at his watch. It's 1:15 p.m. What's taking them so long?
Just then, the radio's crackle gets louder. It's Bangu. We're all set, boss. Koli closes his eyes and pumps his fist. Curry looks at him. It's showtime. They've succeeded in getting the sensor set up on Nundakote. But there's still one more step. They need to see if the device actually works. Curry nods. Koli picks up the receiver. Bangu, turn it on. Yes, Captain.
They wait a minute and then hear Bangu again. It's on. The generator is humming. Curry nods again. Now they need to check in with Gordon Sleeper, the CIA technician who trained all the climbers on how to set up the device. Sleeper is manning a relay station in a small town called Sundave, 30 miles south. Coley radios to him. Sleeper, it's Coley. The device is ready for testing. Copy that. Hang on.
This is it. The moment of truth. Sleeper is going to perform a series of tests to make sure the device can perform all its functions in order to spy on the Chinese nuclear testing site. Coley holds his breath as he waits for Sleeper to get back to them. The radio crackles. Coley can't quite make out the transmission. Can you repeat, Sleeper?
I said, the device is working perfectly. We're good to go. Coley exhales. He shakes Curry's hand. They even hug. They did it. Coley radios the men on top of the mountain. He tells them they can come on down. Their mission is accomplished. By sunset, all of the climbers make it down to base camp. They celebrate with a fine meal of goat barbecue cooked by the Sherpa chef.
They crack open bottles of whiskey and warm their insides. As the practicing sick, Kohli skips the whiskey, but he still feels a warm glow as he watches some of the climbers dance and sing. He smiles at Gucharan Bangu, Sona Mwangiel, and Harish Rawat. He's been through so much with these men. They conquered Everest together, but he knows that for all of them, this is their proudest moment.
After two years, they finally completed their top secret mission, a mission that will help their country in its Cold War against China. For a second, he thinks back to Nundadevi and wonders one last time what the mountain called the Bliss-Giving Goddess has done with the missing plutonium. But that's a worry for another day.
The spying device only stayed on Nundakot for about a year before it was removed. It was replaced by a gas-powered device placed on another peak near the Indian Himalayan town of Leh. Gucharan Bangu and Sonam Mungial led the mission to set up the new device. But the gas-powered device didn't last long either. By 1970, satellites were taking over the spying business, and land-based surveillance gear was on the way out.
In April 1978, a reporter for Outside magazine broke the story about the mission to place a nuclear-powered spying device in the Himalayas. The story caused outrage in India. Indians were furious that the CIA lost a nuclear device in their country. Captain Kohli was brought before the prime minister to explain what happened. Later that year, a committee of India's top scientists issued a report on the potential danger of the missing device.
They concluded that the lost plutonium-fueled generator could not lead to an explosive chain reaction like a conventional nuclear device. Despite this assurance, many still feared that the device could someday leak radiation into the headwaters of the Ganges, India's most sacred river.
Soon after the Nundakot expedition, Captain Mohang Sengkoli took an administrative job in New Delhi with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. He wanted to spend more time closer to home with his wife Pushpa and their children, but he remained a tireless advocate for mountaineering and for preserving the natural beauty of the Himalayas.
In 1989, he worked with Sir Edmund Hillary to establish the Himalayan Environment Trust to help maintain the mountains for future generations. Now in his 90s, he runs a chain of hotels with his son, including a climbing-themed hotel in New Delhi. Harish Rawat went on to become the first commander of India's High Altitude Operations Training Center, which was created in 1970 to oversee all future paramilitary projects in the Himalayas.
One of the first climbers Rawat recruited for future missions was Gucharam Bangu. Rawat passed away in 2008 at the age of 74. Bangu died in 2022, aged 88. Sonam Wangyal supervised the training of climbers for the Indian Intelligence Bureau from 1976 to 1990. He retired in 1993 and now lives back in his hometown of Leh.
Nanda Devi became part of a national park in 1982 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. As a result, very few expeditions have climbed it since. But in 1993, the Indian Army's Corps of Engineers sent a team to Nanda Devi to clean up the garbage from past explorations of the mountain. The expedition brought back nearly a ton of junk. They displayed their findings at a reception, which Captain Kohli attended.
Among the piles of empty butane canisters and food wrappers, one piece stood out to Coley: an olive-colored box that once held seven plutonium fuel rods before they were put in the generator in 1965. But the actual generator and the plutonium that fueled it still has not been found.
On our next episode, I'll speak with climber and writer Pete Takeda. For his book, An Eye at the Top of the World, he journeyed to the Himalayas, looking for clues about what really happened to the secret device that was lost on the slopes of Nundah Devi. This is episode three of our three-part series, Himalayan Spy Mission. A quick note about our scenes. In most cases, we can't know exactly what was said, but everything is based on historical research.
If you'd like to learn more about this story, we recommend Spies in the Himalayas by M.S. Coley and Kenneth Conboy, as well as An Eye at the Top of the World by Pete Takeda.
I'm your host, Cassie DePeckel. This episode is written by Sean Raviv. Our editor is Steve Fennessy. Sound design is by Rob Shielaga. Our cultural consultant is Harmeet Singh. Produced by Matt Olmos, Emily Frost, and Alita Rosansky. Our senior producer is Andy Herman. Our managing producer is Matt Gant. Our senior managing producer is Tanja Thigpen. Our executive producers are Jenny Lauer-Beckman, Stephanie Jens, and Marsha Louis. Or Wondery.
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