Jun 30, 2008

Sarpass' 08 : SP24

Here is a log of Sarpass trek with YHAI. Reporting May24, 08. Photographs

Day Time Place Altitude (Casio) To / Remarks

Day 2 08:30 Kasol 1515m Acclimatization walk to 1725m

13:30

Back to base camp for lunch

16:30 -18:30
Bag inspection/deposit

19:30

Dinner & camp fire

Day 3 08:30

Checking out of base camp...

09:00

Caught the bus to Barsani (1915m) via Manikaran (1675m)

11:15 Shila Gao 2005m Tea...

13:00
2190m Lunch stop...

13:30

off again...

14:30 Guna Paani 2245m

15:00

welcome drink

15:30

raining... some hail stones too..

Day 4 09:00

heading for Faul Paani



2335m Lunch stop...

15:30 Faul Paani 2550m

19:00

Dinner... it started raining, & things are getting messy & slippery...

Day 5 08:30

Start for Zirmi

12:00
2720m Lunch stop...

14:30 Zirmi 2950m

16:47

Pressure : 705mb

20:00

Great camp fire...

Day 6 09:00

Start for Tila Lotni

12:00
3375m Lunch stop...

15:30 Tila Lotni 3670m

16:45

Atmospheric pressure : 647mb

21:20

Atmospheric pressure : 647mb. Rock steady!! we have a great camp fire & a calm uneventful night. I had heard many a horror stories about this camp site!

Day 7 06:00

Start for Sarpass

10:13 Sarpass 4000m Traversing Sarpass... I recorded the highest altitude here at exactly 4000m according to my Casio PRG50 watch. Pressure : 618mb

16:30 Biskeri 3245m Flowers & green!! and just an hour back we were passing through ice cold rain & hail and I had lost sensation in my feet!

19:45

Atmospheric pressure : 680mb

Day 7 : Got up really early today, thought we would be moving by 5am considering today's was the longest stretch and weather over passes is so unpredictable after 3pm. But it is 6am by the time we start walking up the green slopes. The sun is bright & shiny, and it had been a good peaceful night. The temperature inside the tent recorded a comfortable 9 degrees and the sleeping bags have been good enough. The guide points out the route we are to take, and it passes through the deep lap of virgin white...

The other day I had caught Romy bhai bragging on the phone in his Lucknow style "we are standing on the mountain, and the mountain is below our very feets!". I think he is trying to impress someone as usual. uuuummmm... one has to be nuts to take panga with the mountains. I mean, u do that from the safety of your home na... Today perhaps is going to be the day of his enlightenment...

Slowly we reach the snow-line and rest for a while, catching the view. Amit bhai has mild headache, i think it is more due to cold & early morning walk then anything else. Sunieta has the same problem.

The first steps in the snow is always so much fun. Tejas has even made an ice-creme cone out of it, poured fruity over it and eaten! But it is a vast expanse out there, i heard a full day's walk... slowly we watch them disappear over the horizon. We 4 are keeping the tail end - Amit bhai, Romy bhai, Sunieta & me. The weather has been clear, except for a few patches of clouds, nothing too dense to strike fear in the heart. And barometer has been holding steady all through the night so at lease till mid-day things look cheery.

I have that moment frozen in my mind. Lost in those undulations of the hills, whiteness all around...the enveloping sky... like a soft cocoon... like being in the cozy lap of mother nature, peaceful, not a thought in mind... just absorbing... eyes wide open...

then came the mother of all slides... i reasoned with the guide knowing no reason will work... the only comfort is that the channel is deep cut and if i can just keep myself pressed deep enough i could avoid possible spill, roll & multiple somersaults... i have realized that my fear comes from the sense of loss of control, and yet i do enjoy once i am in the thick of it.

So after futile convincing, without further ado, i let myself go. And it was more than any roller coaster i ever rode in my life! (there been only two times in fact. One time i got on it thinking it was a toy train. And before i realized, it had taken 3 twists & 3 loops!! I still have the photo, teeth clutched & a frozen wide grin... The second was more routine kind. It was a rusty affair, and speed looked safe enough...)

Well, that guide had really pinned me down, so i was more like a log going down hill at god knows what speed. It was kind of a blur at one time as i find myself forced against the left edge of the shallow channel (the channel made from numerous people having slided down that slope) and i know where Romy bhai had made the mistake and landed face down, all dazed... he didn't move for quite sometime. and he remained dazed for the rest of the trip that day:))) kind of a zombie... resigned... sad... knowing this day will perhaps never end... wondering if he will ever see his son again... his trumpet lay ignored that night...

there... Sunieta comes down in style... and Amit bhai... all perfect landings... Tejas comes down shooting video... Gaurav is sliding way beyond, some body please stop him... Saudamini is looking positively thrilled...

well that was quick & it was over before one knew it... but people are gathering down below... another slide? crazy... but now that we are into it... kya karne ka hai... I knew what was in store when i opted for this trek after dilly-dallying for a year. no, it is the tea point, we have our tea... most of the group has departed.. and guide walks away telling us four to hurry up...

uuummmm... at tea i had thought the worse was over. In a way it was over in that slide is what i feared most. but then what remained was a pretty long long walk over vast expense of snow-field. But then it was enjoyable. great views... the path was clear & been walked on for days... hence less dangerous in that respect. And yet at places it was slippery from the snow being stamped repeatedly into slippery ice. So i slipped at one place, the weight driving the hiking pole deep in to ground & anchoring me... The guide rushes in, throwing his ice-axe at me to help myself extricate out. but i got a good anchor, and manage to stamp myself out, in reckless mood i joke with the guide saying how far can i slide, knowing fully well it is a steep slide & there can be a semi frozen lake below... ready to swallow & be unperturbed yet...

So i ask the guide how come people manage this trek on a routine basis. About 2000 people having done this trek through YHAI this year. Not being an easy trek, i mean. And YHAI treks u know, anybody will join. The field director was saying that once they had a newly married honeymooning couple reporting, having thought that this was a holiday package!! They had quite begged to be released.. hehehe...

And out came the reply that sometimes the whole group breaks down on those icy slopes & cry... uummmm... no wonder i have seen such brave smiles...

Till now the going has been good. but then it got cloudy, foggy and snowing.. it was a mild snow... as long as the wind remains down things are cool... fresh snow is good to walk on, and it would not rain here to make things slippery. I see worry cross many a face as people start putting seriously effort into their walk. Things are no longer as rosy & everyone is scrambling for safety, and yet u can't scramble on those slippery foot-holds...

Another slide... a minor one... waiting for the guide to bring me my bag stuck on the slide in-between.

For a moment i see desperation fly through Saudamini's eyes... and then she is over it.. fear is such a thing, let is fly away and u r better off... cling on to it and u can be raving mad...

And we walk down and reach the tea shop, soaking wet... the ice still filling every nook & corner of our bags... Amit bhai & Romy bhai joins us... Romy bhai goes for the omelette, nothing like hot food to bring cheer back into one's life!

After a quick tea, soaking wet & loosing body heat fast, we press ahead... and as we cross the shallow waters, the strong breeze & snow is finally upon us, lashing us from the behind, almost horizontally. And soon i can feel my feet below the knees going numb... but we walk on, absorbing it all... knowing safety is just around the corner... knowing we are going miss it once it is over.

Day 8 09:20

Start for Bandak Thatch

15:30 Bandak Thatch 2865m nice meadows... great location... ideal for relaxing & unwinding... long walks...

Day 9 08:00

Start for base camp

13:30 Manikaran 1675m A hot refreshing bath... & hot jalebis...

18:00

Start for Kullu

20:00 Kullu 1210m Pressure : 876mb

Jun 27, 2008

Valley of flowers - trek plan as done in mid Aug'07

Best season is monsoons when maximum blooming occurs. But monsoons is synonymous with landslides in Himalayas, which can quite destroy any travel plans. The delay can last anywhere from 2 hrs to 2 days!

Note : Due to rains, sometimes the gates at Joshimath can get delayed. Due to this we had proceeded to Badrinath first, and then once the weather cleared we came to VOF. But catching an early morning bus from Badrinath for short distances is difficult as they prefer long distance customers. We waited from 6am to 9am then paid double fare to a shared jeep to reach Gobindghat by 10.30am.

Here are some photographs from the trip including map of VOF : Photographs

Day Place To Height Distance Mode
Day 1 Haridwar/Rishikesh



Day 2 Rishikesh/Haridwar Joshimath 1874m 253km+ 35km Bus

Buses start early in the morning if one wants to proceed directly to Badrinath first. Or catch a 9am bus to Joshimath. Check the timings at TGMOC (Tel no.01334-265008). One can also catch a shared jeep from Rishikesh for Joshimath or else to Srinagar & switch there.


Day 3 Joshimath Gobindghat 1828m 22 Km Bus

Gobindghat Ghangaria (Gobinddham) 3050m 13 Km Trek


The Gurudwara at Gobindghat provides free cloak room facility.
The trek is a bit strenuous at stretches, but i did do it in about 4-5hrs with a light day bag, having unloaded my heavier backpack on to my companion's pony...

Day 4 Ghangaria Valley of flowers 3850m- 3962m 4km + Trek

Valley of flowers Ghangaria
4km + Trek


Start early so u may explore further in the valley. Nothing strenuous, quite an easy walk. Some ice/glacier bridges at earlier portion of the route possibly. Nothing is available inside the valley, so better to carry a picnic pack.

Day 5 Ghangaria Hemkund sahib 4329m 6km Trek

Hemkund sahib Ghangaria
6km Trek

This is a pilgrim route. Ponies are available. This section is a bit strenuous, 5000 feet climb in 6km. Shops at regular intervals on the way. Watch the bunches of Brahmakamals & the delicate blue poppies besides boulders. There are no sleeping arrangements at Hemkund and one is advised to leave by 2PM to make it back to Ghangharia by nightfall.) Many people take a dip here in the lake.Have khidri & tea at Gurudwara langar.

Day 6 Ghangharia Gobindghat
13km Trek

Gobindghat Badrinath

Bus

Make note of the Joshimath gate timings so u know what time the buses will be passing though Gobindghat section. The walk from the Gobindghat market area to the main road is a bit longish, may be 1km.

Day 7 : Badrinath darshan & sight seeing... (Vashundhara falls 5km + 5km trek)

Day 8 Badrinath Haridwar/Rishikesh

Bus

Catch an early morning bus, say 5.30am, reach by evening...