| Harish Kapadia | |
| Birth Date: | 11 July 1945 |
| Birth Place: | Mumbai, India |
| Spouse: | Geeta Kapadia |
| Children: | Sonam Kapadia (son) (Deceased) Lt. Nawang Kapadia (son) |
Harish Kapadia (born 11 July 1945) is a Himalayan mountaineer, author and long-time editor of the Himalayan Journal from India.[1]
He has written numerous books and articles on the Indian Himalayas.[2] and has been invited to many countries to lecture on his Himalayan exploits.
He began climbing and trekking in the range around Mumbai, the Western Ghats. His first visit to the Himalayas was almost 40 years ago. His main contribution to Himalayan climbing has been to explore unknown areas and, in number of cases, to open up climbing possibilities. Among his major ascents are Devtoli, Bandarpunch West, in 1995, and Lungser Kangri, the highest peak of Rupshu in Ladakh. He led eight international joint expeditions,[1] five with British, two with French and one with Japanese mountaineers, to high peaks, such as Rimo I,[3] Chong Kumdan Kangri I,[4] Sudarshan Parvat, Padmanabh, and the Panch Chuli and Rangrik Rang groups.[5]
In 1974, he fell into a crevasse at, deep inside the formidable Nanda Devi Sanctuary.[1] He was carried by his companions for 13 days to the base camp where a helicopter rescued him. He was operated on for a dislocated hip-joint and had to spend two years walking on crutches, but that did not keep him out for too long and he has climbed for three decades after the injury.
Kapadia has published twelve books. His Trek The Sahyadris has become a standard reference for all trekkers in the Western Ghats. His other books, Exploring the Hidden Himalaya (with Soli Mehta)[6], High Himalaya Unknown Valleys[7] and Meeting The Mountains, cover his various trips to the Himalayas, while Spiti Adventures in the Trans-Himalaya[8] covers climbing and trekking in that region. He has been the editor of the Himalayan Journal from 1980 to 1986, and since 1990, bringing the journal to international standards and continuing it as a major authentic reference on the range.
His book, Meeting The Mountains can be seen while standing in the queue at Disney's Animal Kingdom for Expedition Everest. While passing along the line, one passes by many glass cases displaying the history of mountains and, at one point, there is what is supposed to look like an office with his book on the top bookshelf.
In appreciation of his authorship of many books and his stewardship of the Himalayan Journal as an editor for 35 years, he was further honoured by the Korea Alpen Book Club and made an honorary member.[9] Due his long work as editor of the Himalayan Journal, Kapadia became an important chronicler of mountaineering.[10]
Kapadia has a degree in commerce, law and management from University of Mumbai and is a cloth merchant by profession. He is married and lives in Bombay. His son, Lieutenant Nawang Kapadia, who was commissioned on 2 September 2000 in the Fourth Battalion the Third Gorkha Rifles,[11] died while fighting Pakistan-based terrorists in the jungles of Rajwar in the Kupwara district of Srinagar on 11 November 2000.[12] Since then, Kapadia has lectured about this conflict, particularly in the Siachen Glacier. He has been discussing a proposal for a peace park in the Siachen glacier region and cleaning up the environmental damage there.[1] [2] [13]
Kapadia has been elected as an honorary member of the American Alpine Club[14] and the (British) Alpine Club. He was a vice president of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (1997–1999).[15]
In 1993 he was awarded the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) Gold Medal.[16] In 2003, the Queen approved the award of the Patron's Medal of the Royal Geographical Society to him.[17] He was also awarded the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2003 for lifetime achievement by the President of India and the presented by The King Albert I Memorial Foundation in 2006.[18]
On 3 November 2017, in Seoul, South Korea, Kapadia was awarded the Piolets d'Or Asia Life Time Achievement Award for his mountaineering and exploratory endeavors, he is the first Indian to receive this prestigious award.[19] [20]
In recognition of his contributions to Himalayan exploration and peace campaigning he was awarded the 2024 Ulsan Ulju Mountain Culture Award at the 2024 Ulsan Ulju Mountain Film Festival in Korea.[21]
Kapadia donated an archive of video interviews to the UK Alpine Club which feature notable figures from the world of mountaineering,[22], the donation includes a substantial collection of images. He has also donated a substantial number of photographs and maps to the American Alpine Club[23] and to the Swiss National Museum, which are setting up the Lt. Nawang Kapadia Collection. This is in addition to the Lt. Nawang Kapadia Library already in existence at the Himalayan Club.
Total peaks climbed: 33
First ascents: 21