This blog post is dedicated to Sherpas, Vijender and Dinesh and the local guide, Raju Thakur for saving my life in the snow on Sar Pass.
At around 7:40AM today, I was over central India, cruising at 41,000 feet with absolutely clear skies and practically unlimited visibility. The earth's curvature was beginning to show. My Boeing 787 silently slipped past the Vindhya and Satpura ranges. The great rivers of India appeared as silvery streaks, glittering in the glory of the rising sun. The highest peaks of central India showed up as almost-indistinguishable bumps. It has been only a few days since we trekked to the glacial origins of one of these rivers. Scenes from my first-ever 'significant' trek flashed before me. Frozen waterfalls, which seemed to drop from the heavens. Sightings of bears and other wildlife. Rafting in the Beas. Eagles circling the skies below. Weather being created below our feet. The kilometer-long slide across the face of a mountain. The sheer magnificence of the place and the feelings which consume us when we look a snow-clad mountain in the eye. These feelings summarize my experiences during the past 10 days and have changed the way I perceive the world around me.
Having stayed without a bath for the better part of 10 days will definitely have a lasting impression. I joined a group bound for Sar Pass in the last moment. I was determined not to add a trekking gear collection to my hostel room, which was already overflowing with lots of robotics, DIY spares and bike parts and pet animals. So I managed to assemble a hotch-potch gear for the trek. I borrowed a rucksack from Vijender, Woodland shoes and woollen socks from dad and a water bottle and goggles from my biking gear. I was planning to reach 14,000 feet without thermals or snow-grade clothing based on an free advice given by a friend.
After a fortnight of waiting, the 7th of may had dawned. The cab arrived at about 8:30AM and we reached the airport in about 40 minutes. My flight was scheduled at 12 PM. By the time I took off, Amogh was almost reaching Delhi. Air India is full of surprises. This is the first time I ever had an in-flight meal on a domestic airline for free. And I was flying in an Airbus 330-200, which most airlines use on transcontinental routes. The flight was rather pleasant at 40,000 feet and I landed at IGI airport, Delhi in less than 3 hours. I had trouble locating Amogh in Delhi and was amused to find that terminals 1 and 3 were separated by 8km! We headed off to Bhuntar, Himachal Pradesh.
After a hot tea in the early morning chill on the 8th of may, we headed off to raft in the river Beas. The mighty river put up a good show with it's currents. We stopped by a Buddhist monastery high up in the hills, right at prayer time. It was a serene atmosphere in the monastery, which is practically not a tourist attraction (as is the case in many places). After a Tibetian lunch, we headed off to Base Camp Kasol. At night, Amogh and I sneaked out for a drink, which was my first taste of alcohol. We broke our way into the Base Camp later that night and got caught by a really nosy camp leader.
The next two days began with a silly morning workout. And there was meaningless discipline, which they claimed was necessary. There was an acclimatisation walk on the 9th of may, which made us ascend 1000 feet through the Taiga-like forest. Amogh and I went to have a bath in the hot springs of Manikaran and had our dinner at the local Gurudwara. We hitchhiked on a lorry on the way back. There were rappelling and rock climbing sessions the next day. I had to avoid the rock climbing session, thanks to the healing arm bones. This was the last night at the Base Camp and we were to ascend to 'Higher Camps' the next morning.
The next day, amidst all the pomp and send-offs, we waited for, what seemed to be eternity, a bus to take us to Ucha-Dhar. Passing by Shila town, we had a simple and short trek on the first day of the adventure. We reached Galgi Thatch camp by noon, where we halted for the night. The second day began in a place with no electricity. Ironically, there was an industrial town just next to us, with electrical cables running beside the camp. We had awkward moments without restrooms or any other provisions we usually take for granted in a modern human settlement. The second day's trek was good and strong. Had climbed pretty steep uphills and gained a couple of thousand feet in elevation. It was rainy all along, and those of us without a poncho (myself included) hopped from shelter to shelter. We had sighted bear tracks along the way and we reached the next camp, Khora Thatch by noon. The view was majestic and we had an awesome sunset. Blue mountains, slowly fading away into the darkness of night, greeted us for hours.
The third day of the adventure was the game changer. The terrain would now change from a wet and moist jungle to a blizzard-ridden snowscape. We encountered snow for the first time in the trip. This is the first snow I encountered outside the controlled environment of snow-themed parks. Vishal made up some ice candy using snow and Real fruit juice powder. Hail began as soon as we reached Camp Zirmi and changed the way we perceived nature. This was nature's wrath. Balls of solid ice, centimetres across, made dents in our double layered tarpaulin tents. Zirmi was supposed to be the second highest camp and the following couple of days were to be in complete snow. I had absolutely no defence against snow and I started getting tensed.
The climb from Zirmi to Tila Lotni gave the first impressions of the scenes up ahead. This day had the first walks in snow. It was mid day and the snow was extremely slippery. It was one step ahead and two back. My Woodland shoes started giving troubles in snow as the snow quickly disintegrates under the thick knobby sole, exposing the pack ice underneath. We had a hail storm just after lunch and were forced to seek shelter in the lunch tents. The trek after lunch was particularly scary as it was on sloping snowscapes. The approach to Tila Lotni was devoid of any vegetation. Animal tracks were preserved in a clear way in the snow. It was more of a never-ending rolling snowscape. For someone who regularly sees the green rolling hills of south India, this presents a familiar landscape, but in a different color. Tila Lotni was situated in the midst of snow. The camp leader was a bit too strict and there were Sherpa guides, Dinesh and Vijender.
The next day, we woke up to a beautiful sunrise at 3:30AM. The sky looked like a canvas painted with various hues of blue and a touch of orange. Three thousand miles from the equator, the sun rose by 4AM. The snow sparkled in the first rays of the sun. We began our hike by 5AM and the first 3 hours was fun in the stiff early morning snow. As mid day approached, the snow began to thaw and the hold began getting slippery. In the final crossing of Sar Pass, I had several falls in the melting snow, having to crawl up the hill on my fingers. This was when the Sherpas helped me. I'd never have made it without them. The sight of things 14,000 feet below me terrified me while slipping on the mountain face. After the final ascent at around 12 PM, we had a long joyous slide on the snow. With all the skidding, I learnt to slide down while standing. We crossed the snow patch by around 2PM and headed to the next camp, Biskeri Thatch. It began raining almost immediately on arrival, which was followed by an almost-divine rainbow across the horizon.
The two days of descents had arrived. My Woodland shoes began tearing, showing signs of age (they were more than a decade old). And a fact that I didn't realise while climbing became obvious now; my dad's shoe size is half an inch smaller than mine! My toes became numb after the descent. The numbness would eventually take a month to subside. The trek was a long and boring one, through pretty much the same alpine jungle as all the preceding days. It was almost 10 km and we reached the last camp. Our tent was filled with discussions on Indian history and politics that night, while the others played cricket.
The last day was a simple 4 km into civilization. The first view of civilization that greeted us was that of beautiful wooden houses built on the hill sides. Then came a massive dam project on the river Parbati. We reached Barsheni town by 12PM and caught a bus to Kasol Base Camp. We had a quick mop-up of our stuff at the Base Camp and took cabs for Kullu town. Amogh and I departed to Delhi. Thus ended my first Himalayan experience. I think I now understand why every Hindu legend is intertwined with the Himalayas. It truly is a place of the Gods. Paradise on earth.
At around 7:40AM today, I was over central India, cruising at 41,000 feet with absolutely clear skies and practically unlimited visibility. The earth's curvature was beginning to show. My Boeing 787 silently slipped past the Vindhya and Satpura ranges. The great rivers of India appeared as silvery streaks, glittering in the glory of the rising sun. The highest peaks of central India showed up as almost-indistinguishable bumps. It has been only a few days since we trekked to the glacial origins of one of these rivers. Scenes from my first-ever 'significant' trek flashed before me. Frozen waterfalls, which seemed to drop from the heavens. Sightings of bears and other wildlife. Rafting in the Beas. Eagles circling the skies below. Weather being created below our feet. The kilometer-long slide across the face of a mountain. The sheer magnificence of the place and the feelings which consume us when we look a snow-clad mountain in the eye. These feelings summarize my experiences during the past 10 days and have changed the way I perceive the world around me. Having stayed without a bath for the better part of 10 days will definitely have a lasting impression. I joined a group bound for Sar Pass in the last moment. I was determined not to add a trekking gear collection to my hostel room, which was already overflowing with lots of robotics, DIY spares and bike parts and pet animals. So I managed to assemble a hotch-potch gear for the trek. I borrowed a rucksack from Vijender, Woodland shoes and woollen socks from dad and a water bottle and goggles from my biking gear. I was planning to reach 14,000 feet without thermals or snow-grade clothing based on an free advice given by a friend.
After a fortnight of waiting, the 7th of may had dawned. The cab arrived at about 8:30AM and we reached the airport in about 40 minutes. My flight was scheduled at 12 PM. By the time I took off, Amogh was almost reaching Delhi. Air India is full of surprises. This is the first time I ever had an in-flight meal on a domestic airline for free. And I was flying in an Airbus 330-200, which most airlines use on transcontinental routes. The flight was rather pleasant at 40,000 feet and I landed at IGI airport, Delhi in less than 3 hours. I had trouble locating Amogh in Delhi and was amused to find that terminals 1 and 3 were separated by 8km! We headed off to Bhuntar, Himachal Pradesh.After a hot tea in the early morning chill on the 8th of may, we headed off to raft in the river Beas. The mighty river put up a good show with it's currents. We stopped by a Buddhist monastery high up in the hills, right at prayer time. It was a serene atmosphere in the monastery, which is practically not a tourist attraction (as is the case in many places). After a Tibetian lunch, we headed off to Base Camp Kasol. At night, Amogh and I sneaked out for a drink, which was my first taste of alcohol. We broke our way into the Base Camp later that night and got caught by a really nosy camp leader.The next two days began with a silly morning workout. And there was meaningless discipline, which they claimed was necessary. There was an acclimatisation walk on the 9th of may, which made us ascend 1000 feet through the Taiga-like forest. Amogh and I went to have a bath in the hot springs of Manikaran and had our dinner at the local Gurudwara. We hitchhiked on a lorry on the way back. There were rappelling and rock climbing sessions the next day. I had to avoid the rock climbing session, thanks to the healing arm bones. This was the last night at the Base Camp and we were to ascend to 'Higher Camps' the next morning.
The next day, amidst all the pomp and send-offs, we waited for, what seemed to be eternity, a bus to take us to Ucha-Dhar. Passing by Shila town, we had a simple and short trek on the first day of the adventure. We reached Galgi Thatch camp by noon, where we halted for the night. The second day began in a place with no electricity. Ironically, there was an industrial town just next to us, with electrical cables running beside the camp. We had awkward moments without restrooms or any other provisions we usually take for granted in a modern human settlement. The second day's trek was good and strong. Had climbed pretty steep uphills and gained a couple of thousand feet in elevation. It was rainy all along, and those of us without a poncho (myself included) hopped from shelter to shelter. We had sighted bear tracks along the way and we reached the next camp, Khora Thatch by noon. The view was majestic and we had an awesome sunset. Blue mountains, slowly fading away into the darkness of night, greeted us for hours.
The third day of the adventure was the game changer. The terrain would now change from a wet and moist jungle to a blizzard-ridden snowscape. We encountered snow for the first time in the trip. This is the first snow I encountered outside the controlled environment of snow-themed parks. Vishal made up some ice candy using snow and Real fruit juice powder. Hail began as soon as we reached Camp Zirmi and changed the way we perceived nature. This was nature's wrath. Balls of solid ice, centimetres across, made dents in our double layered tarpaulin tents. Zirmi was supposed to be the second highest camp and the following couple of days were to be in complete snow. I had absolutely no defence against snow and I started getting tensed.
The climb from Zirmi to Tila Lotni gave the first impressions of the scenes up ahead. This day had the first walks in snow. It was mid day and the snow was extremely slippery. It was one step ahead and two back. My Woodland shoes started giving troubles in snow as the snow quickly disintegrates under the thick knobby sole, exposing the pack ice underneath. We had a hail storm just after lunch and were forced to seek shelter in the lunch tents. The trek after lunch was particularly scary as it was on sloping snowscapes. The approach to Tila Lotni was devoid of any vegetation. Animal tracks were preserved in a clear way in the snow. It was more of a never-ending rolling snowscape. For someone who regularly sees the green rolling hills of south India, this presents a familiar landscape, but in a different color. Tila Lotni was situated in the midst of snow. The camp leader was a bit too strict and there were Sherpa guides, Dinesh and Vijender.
The next day, we woke up to a beautiful sunrise at 3:30AM. The sky looked like a canvas painted with various hues of blue and a touch of orange. Three thousand miles from the equator, the sun rose by 4AM. The snow sparkled in the first rays of the sun. We began our hike by 5AM and the first 3 hours was fun in the stiff early morning snow. As mid day approached, the snow began to thaw and the hold began getting slippery. In the final crossing of Sar Pass, I had several falls in the melting snow, having to crawl up the hill on my fingers. This was when the Sherpas helped me. I'd never have made it without them. The sight of things 14,000 feet below me terrified me while slipping on the mountain face. After the final ascent at around 12 PM, we had a long joyous slide on the snow. With all the skidding, I learnt to slide down while standing. We crossed the snow patch by around 2PM and headed to the next camp, Biskeri Thatch. It began raining almost immediately on arrival, which was followed by an almost-divine rainbow across the horizon.
The last day was a simple 4 km into civilization. The first view of civilization that greeted us was that of beautiful wooden houses built on the hill sides. Then came a massive dam project on the river Parbati. We reached Barsheni town by 12PM and caught a bus to Kasol Base Camp. We had a quick mop-up of our stuff at the Base Camp and took cabs for Kullu town. Amogh and I departed to Delhi. Thus ended my first Himalayan experience. I think I now understand why every Hindu legend is intertwined with the Himalayas. It truly is a place of the Gods. Paradise on earth.
