Auden's Col is a high altitude mountain pass connecting Rudugaira valley and Bhilangna valley in India. It is situated at elevation and connects the ridge coming from Gangotri III (6580 m) peak on the north-west and the ridge coming from Jogin I (6465 m) on the east, and also binds a glacier coming from Jogin I on the north side of Rudugaira valley, and deadly Khatling glacier on the south side of Bhilangna valley.
Rudra ganga stream or Rudragairu (''gairu'' means ''deep'') or Rudugaira gad drains Rudugaira glacier and eventually flows into
Bhagirathi (
Ganga
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
) river near Gangotri, and
Bhilangna river originates from Khatling glacier and meets Bhagirathi near Old Tehri.
History
The pass is named after
John Bicknell Auden of the Geological Survey of India, who first discovered it in 1935 and crossed it in 1939.
[J B Auden, "A Season's Work in Central Himalaya", ''Himalayan Journals'', Vol. XII, p. 21.] Mr Harish Kapadia and Mr Romesh Bhattacharjee from the Himalayan Club repeated Auden's explorations in the late eighties.
Trekking
Auden's Col is arguably one of the most dangerous passes in
Garhwal Himalaya as the pass and the Khatling glacier are heavily infested with crevasses. Also, by crossing Auden's Col and then
Mayali Pass, one can trek from
Gangotri
Gangotri is a town and a ''Nagar Panchayat'' (municipality) in Uttarkashi district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is 99 km from Uttarkashi, the main district headquarter. It is a Hindu pilgrim town on the banks of the river Bhagirathi â ...
to
Kedarnath,
[
] both among holiest Hindu temples.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Auden's Col location in Wikimapia
Mountain passes of the Himalayas
Mountain passes of Uttarakhand
Geography of Uttarkashi district
Hiking trails in Uttarakhand