The Forsaken Wilderness

Ranibaug—a treacherous peak situated at the bridge between the lesser and greater Himalayas that has never been scaled by a mountaineering party; comparable in mystery to K2, Nanga Parbat, and Mount Kailash. Only the bare feet of sadhus and ascetics are said to have trod upon its rocks. A topographical survey team had embarked on a journey in the spring of 1971, never to return.

Now, a civil engineer decides against his better judgement to accompany Professor Chaturvedi, a mountaineer of s...