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