Mount Kolahoi is the highest mountain located in Jammu & Kashmir. Mount Kolahoi is part of the Himalayas, between 15 km south of Sonamarg and 21 km north of Aru in Pahargam. The Sind River flows north and the glacier named Kolahoi Glacier is the source of the River Lidder. Near the Kashmir Valley. The summit of Kolahoi rises from the Kolahoi Glacier, and is a peak which is pyramid shaped with an icefall and an ice field at the bottom. The rock formations at the top of the mountain are very stable at ridges.
Highlights
This peak was first discovered in the year 1912 by a British medical team led by Dr. Ernest. The easiest route to Mount Kolahoi is on the south side of from which a 21km high-altitude hike leads to a glacier at the top of the mountain. One have to wrestle with the icefall from the glacier, but the 15-kilometer trek continues from behind Sonamarg to the summit via Sarbal Nallah.
Kolahoi Glacier
The Glacier is a valley glacier in the north-western Himalayas, 26 kilometers north of Pahalgam and 16 kilometers south of Sonamarg. The Kolahoi Glacier is at an average altitude of 4,700 meters. The highest peak, named after the glacier, is Mount Kolahoi, which is 5425 meters high. The origin of the glacier is below the valley basin on the north side of Mt. Kolahoi. It is the main source of the Rider River, whose water is a tributary of the Geram River. The water is supplied to the residents of the Anantnag area, which is mainly used for drinking and agricultural purposes. The water eventually flows into the River Jhelum near Anantnag.
The Kolahoi Glacier, the victim of global warming, shrank from 13.57 km2 in the year 1963 to 10.69 km2 in the year 2005, losing 2.88 km2 in just 30 years. In 1974, the glacier was about 5 km long and expanded by at least 35 km in the Pleistocene. A detailed analysis showed that the glacier shrank from 35 to 09.88 square kilometers. The recession rate measured from the year 1922 to 2015 is estimated to be 73.26 million per year. From the year 1857 to 2015, the annual rainfall of 16.41 m was recorded. Glacier surface reduction is associated with reduced snow depth, which is affected by increased soot concentration, lower temperature, and lower precipitation.