The Himalayan Sojourn,Chapter 4: The Last lap

"As far as I'm concerned, if someone eliminates the mental part of climbing, then we might as well all go play miniature golf." -  Greg Opland

The gravel was slipping beneath my foot , I scrambled on all fours to find a ledge against a rock. The steep ascent along the side of the mountain pass was loose gravel and rocks and finding a foothold was next to impossible. The only way was to climb rapidly over gravel and rest over the ledges of rocks. Two of the trekkers had taken to the sheet of snow which lay like a carpet through the mid of the ascent. I took a detour and tried the route – my foot immediately sank inside the deep layer of snow. I stood for a minute trying to choose between gravel and snow. “Just keep climbing this way”, Neeraj pointed at the others who were climbing through a trail on the gravel. “Okay! so gravel”, I decided and turned back to follow suit. Gravity was a killing drag. As we inched higher , the thinning air left us panting for breath with every other step.

A couple of hours later,all of us had arrived on the summit – 5200 m above sea level. All around were the snow clad peaks of the Zanskar and the Karakoram range. The wind was a violent roar and it had started snowing. “Don't wait here , we need to start the descent as soon as possible. The mules will not go any forward. Pick up your essentials from the backpacks and one sleeping bag each”. The horseman was retracing with all the camping equipment and two of the porters would also go back with him. The rest of us, with our guide Govil and cook Gombo, would move ahead till Shang Sumdo.

“Walk on your ankles, not your toe”-Govil instructed. The other side of the mountain pass was a thick sheet of snow descending rapidly. We tried to walk fast, digging our ankles, but kept sinking in the snow.The descending carpet of snow gave way to a narrow stream lined with boulders and rocks. “Keep walking fast!” chided Govil ,  “we have no way of getting through if it starts snowing heavily”. It was snowing lightly every now and then, and the wind sent a shiver down to the bones everytime I stopped.We split into groups of two - seven of us led by Gombo ,which quickly moved ahead. In case we did not make it to Shang Sumdo, we would still need to get to the nearest village before nightfall. The remaining five led by Govil decided to stay back for the others to catch up and then move.

What lay ahead was a long journey none of us had ever dreamt of.The mountains threw up a new terrain everytime - boulders interspersed with last remains of glacial ice , steep cliffs of gravel and narrow trails over gorges with the river flowing beneath , gradually draining the last bits of physical energy.

Darkness was setting in. We were walking along a narrow gorge which gradually descended into a trail.We could spot the meadows and the closest village – Chogdo.  Gombo and Deepak moved ahead - “we will try and get some hot maggi and water in the village , you guys can rest for sometime and follow us” .The five of us sat along the gorge resting for sometime. I swallowed flakes of snow in the air as I gasped for breath. “ Let's go , we cannot rest anymore, it has started snowing again” - we got up again and started the descent along the trail. We reached Chogdo, but Deepak and Gombo were nowhere to be seen. Neither was our second group of trekkers .We could only hope they would catch up , it was impossible to cross the terrain we had left behind in the dark.

 We walked up to a lone house located on a small hillock in search of the two , but they had not come there. I suddenly heard Govil's voice and turned around – the second group had arrived -“ Bring out your torches , we will continue till Shang Sumdo. Deepak and Gombo will be somewhere on the way”. The final lap to Shang Sumdo started - in the flickering light of our torches , the 10 of us queued up and trudged ahead along the gorge. We met the other two on the way ( Gombo was resting a little ahead , and Deepak had carried along. When we finally caught up with him , he was standing still in the pitch dark ,lighting a cigarette. As he told us later , every sound in the dark would remind him of all the snow leopard stories we had heard earlier during the trek:)).

The last trek to Shang Sumdo was a 2 hour journey , and by the time we reached the village , our bodies were numb from cold , hunger , thirst and pain. The entire trek was close to 36 km . Unfortunately the maxi cab which had come to pick us up had waited till evening and gone back to Leh , assuming we had retraced our way back to Chilling since all the other trekkers had done so. We dragged ourselves to the doors of a small monastery where the kind lama lent us a room to rest for the night. As we slipped into our sleeping bags ,I slumbered into my most peaceful night ever - the end of a Himalayan adventure in God's own abode.

Epilogue:

A word of gratitude as a small token of thanks for Govil and Gombo ,who tirelessly guided us , at times carrying all our sleeping bags to ensure we were not bogged down by weight. To me personally , they will always remain role models in courage , persevarance and patience.

Also a word of thanks for our porters whose astounding physical ability amazed me. They would start the trek after us , reach the campsite way before we did , work tirelessly to set up the camp , cook dinner and have tea ready for all of us by the time we reached.

On Himalayan trekking -

To be honest , the mountains beat you up black and blue:). Everytime you cross a terrain , there will be an entirely new one waiting to challenge you. But once you learn to push the limits , you will be amazed at the amount of pain the human body can endure.

Always respect the mountains , there is something so eternal and timeless about them that everything else seems insignificant.

Trek responsibly , please do not litter. It's disgusting to find plastic, bottles,wrappers etc lying around at campsites or on the way .It just takes a moment to collect the garbage and burn it away.