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.

The Himalayan Sojourn,Chapter 3: The Journey

The Zanskar was raging below in full force,we stood on the cliff looking down. How on earth were we supposed to cross this? One of the porters quickly ran ahead, hauled himself in what looked like a rickety version of a cable car (a metal cart with a wooden sitting board ,suspended over a rope which connected the two banks), and slid ahead in full force.We gaped as he reached the other end and pushed the cart back.The other porter followed suit. "Get in groups of two with your daypacks. We will move all the backpacks once all of you are on the other end"- our guide Govil instructed. A moment of contemplation, a last look at the bellowing Zanskar and the 10 of us exchanged glances - let the adventure begin! We quickly got into groups of two, sat crouched facing each other and crossed over to the other side. Except for a broken wooden plank on the sitting board below and a momentary suspension over the Zanskar mid way (not too pleasant a moment I can say), the ride was smooth enough. In an hour's time, all of us had crossed over.

Once the horseman had arrived with the mules,the backpacks and camping equipment were loaded.The first day trek was a 5 km hike from Chilling to Skyu , a virtual stroll compared to what was in store for us in the days ahead. But even a slight ascent would leave me exhausted and completely out of breath.I was realising the demands of high altitude trekking and hoped the body would adapt , which it quickly did over the course of the trek. The short trek got over by late afternoon when we reached our camping site at Skyu (3300m).

Our second day was a 20 km trek from Skyu to Markha at 3780m.We followed the meandering Markha River through groves of apricot, willow and poplar,looking out for grazing blue sheep (blue sheep is a misnomer,this variety of sheep found in the Ladakh region actually has a brownish-gray coloring providing them with protective camouflage.They often stand motionless,can be extremely difficult to spot and , when alarmed will swiftly bolt to safety). We spotted herds of blue sheep twice on the way,grazing high on the mountain tops,met nomadic horsemen and passed through remote villages and ancient gompas. On the hilltops around us were remains of ancient forts and fluttering prayer flags. The sun started beating down harshly as the day progressed. It almost felt like walking through a wild west movie with the ochre coloured cliffs and high folded mountains towering high across us all around.Water was running out fast and some guzzled from the glacial streams on the way. In the days to come, the sedimented water in a variety of colours from the glacial streams became our only source of drinking water, a fact we learnt to ignore, and thankfully our body immunity systems caught up.The campsite was near the Markha village where the last satellite phone would be available for the rest of the journey.We gathered exhausted ,sipping cups of hot tea and learnt from Govil that all the trekkers had retraced their way back from the Nimaling base camp. The Kongmaru La pass (5200m) was still closed , and no one had crossed over. We decided to figure out the final course of action once we reached the Nimaling base camp.

Markha to Hankar (4000m) is a 12 km trek to the highest village in the Markha Valley and the last before the Nimaling plateau.The path runs through frozen river beds , and we often had to cross streams with freezing water barefoot. The relatively heavy wooded sections of the Markha valley are left behind and the path runs through grassy ridges , with steep ascents at times.The weather was playing spoilsport and we could see snowfall in the distance." The horseman might refuse to proceed with the mules if it snows heavily at Nimaling.Carrying all the backpacks can be a huge burden", said Govil. In the event of crossing the pass without the mules around, we decided to let the horseman retrace with our luggage and camping equipment.

Hankar to Nimaling basecamp (4700m) is another high point of the trek. The trek from Hankar simply goes up,up and up! As we ascended, the Kang Yatse (6400m) comes into view. The Nimaling plain is a broad undulating meadow which slopes upwards to the base of the ice-clad Kang Yatze .It offers some of the most stunning views, and enroute is a lake with a shimmering reflection of the Kang Yatze.The tiny rivulets flowing all over its meadows provide pasturage in the summer.The camping site was on the other end of a frozen river.

The overcast clouds had disappeared , "there is an alternative pass which is used during winter that we can cross" - Govil said."You would need to climb the same height, but we don't know what the way ahead after you cross the pass looks like". We would need to descend to Shang Sumdo by evening where our maxi cab would be waiting to pick us up to Leh.Retracing back from Nimaling base camp didn't seem like a good idea.Once we climb the pass and reach the summit, the descent ahead should not be a problem , we asssumed.

As it turned out later , the summit was less than a halfway point, and assumptions in Himalayan trekking don't work.

The Himalayan Sojourn,Chapter 2: An acquaintance with Leh

Our first two days were spent acclimatising in Leh. Initial acclimatisation* is critical before moving on to higher altitudes and normally takes 1-2 days. Drinking plenty of water helps, I religiously drank 4 litres of water (my highest ever average daily consumption) and earned the title of the "water lady" , much to the amusement of my fellow trekkers. The Leh itinerary was normal touristy stuff - Thiksey Monastery,the Shey Palace, the Sindhu Ghat on the banks of the Indus and a stroll in the Leh Market to pick up woolens or other essential trekking equipment.

There is something very mysterious and blissful that fills the confines of the monasteries of Ladakh. There is darkness, yet a lot of colour , faded frescoes and beautiful buddhas but also a bewildering variety of images. In front of the altar, there are butter lit lamps and usually small bowls containing water.Scrolls of silk hang from the roof. Long woodblock printed , loose leafed books with wooden covers are kept near the altar. Buddhist monks in their red robes silently walk by. A world almost untouched and eerie lies behind the walls.

The Leh Market is small but littered with shops which sell almost everything ( my fears of not being able to find batteries were pretty much unfounded). In case you need to stock up on essential items for the trek , you will be able to find everything - backpacks, downjackets,batteries, trekking shoes,medicines , trekking guides - albeit at a hefty price.The market is also a good hunting ground for street food - hot kebabs on skewers and a mouth watering variety of street snacks. A visit to the Amdo cafe is a must , a well known eatery serving Tibetan food. Amdo cafe turned out to be one of our favourite haunts for Tibetan food and the 10 of us would just land up there with a marathon of orders whenever we dropped by at Leh.

On the third day, we packed up our backpacks and headed out of Leh with our guide and porters. The plan was to visit Lamayuru monastery situated on the Srinagar-Kargil -Leh road during the day. Lamayuru is one of the oldest monasteries in Ladakh and the long winding road also passes through the confluence of the Indus and the Zanskar. We would head off to Chilling in the evening where we would camp for the night on the banks of the Zanskar. Next morning , our horseman with the mules would meet us on the other side of the river from where the trek would begin.

A punctured tyre just a few kilometers away from Chilling in the evening forced us to set camp at a hamlet nearby instead of the original camping site . As the sun set and the icy winds grew stronger, all of us gathered in our dining tent for our first camping dinner. During the entire course of the trek,an inadvertent pre and post trekking regime automatically fell into place- a wake up call at 6a.m in the morning before which most of us would be out of our sleeping bags (some even had unique warmup exercises to fight the biting cold), retiring after the trek to discussions over cups of hot tea and kawa ,details of which I have promised not to reveal ( what was said in Ladakh, stays in Ladakh;)) and continous games of Uno (the charm of which I absolutely failed to understand) , sometimes continuing well after dinner.

After dinner we strolled around for a while , trying to figure out constellations , but retired to our tents soon as the winds grew stronger. Our trek would finally begin the next day - five days of experiencing Ladakh , raw and unplugged.

Conversational footnotes:

Heard at a liquor shop in Leh where a couple of us stood shivering asking for some brandy:
"Brandy ka season to khatam ho gaya,woh to winter mein milta hai" (clearly someone has not heard about benchmarking)

From the neighbouring tent on the first day of camping:
"Can I turn inside my sleeping bag on the side?" ( No Mevil, I wont write about your more intriguing questions in order to protect my blog's sanity).

*Diamox is a very useful drug which helps in acclimatisation by making the blood thinner. Test for sulphur allergy before diamox intake. Also, the drug is only a preventive medicine , it cannot ensure altitude sickness will not hit.

The Himalayan Sojourn, Chapter 1: The Arrival

" Not more than 6 alkaline batteries in your handbag" - the lady at the security check at Bangalore Airport was adamant.She took out my batteries and threw them aside. I stared at her in disbelief -" But these are for my camera, I HAVE to carry all of them", I paused. "Can I put these in my co passengers' handbags?"-I pleaded. All the other guys were already through the security check and I could see them loitering around the restaurant. Her ice cold gaze didn't change for a minute.I might as well be speaking to a stonewall. She slid across a cancelled boarding pass - " Get a fresh one, check with your airlines if they can put the batteries in your check in luggage". I pocketed the boarding pass and walked  to the check in counter with a terrible scowl on my face. " But your luggage has been checked in till Leh, we can issue you a fresh boarding pass though". I walked back to the security check with the boarding pass, slid my six batteries aside and walked away. I was in a terribly bad mood which meant I shouldn't speak much.

" They took away all my freaking batteries. What if I don't get any in Leh now?". I grumbled away as I ate my dinner with my fellow trekkers. The Jet Airways flight to Delhi was already late by more than 3 hours , the flight was to tentatively depart at 1:00 a.m now. What a start to the Ladakh trip! " Relax, we will try and get your batteries back. We have enough time on our hands", Avisek said. We walked back to the security check after dinner. " Madam , we are all going to Ladakh and I asked her to carry my batteries as well. Could you please return them?. It may be difficult to get any in Ladakh , you see" , Avisek was at his gentlemanly best. I stood beside trying not to open my mouth at all. " Show me your handbags, do you all have cameras?" , she peered into three of the handbags to find a camera in each. "Okay" , she muttered nonchalantly and slid across my precious batteries. I burst into a gleaming smile as we walked away , I could have almost done a somersault!
We loitered around for the rest of the night till a boarding announcement was made for the Bangalore Delhi flight. My hopes of catching up with sleep aboard the flight were pretty much dashed. Once in Delhi , we caught up with the two others in our group who had already arrived in earlier flights. Luckily, the Delhi - Leh flight was on time.I sat bleary eyed aboard the early morning flight staring through the window below.An hour into the flight , the clouds disappeared to give way to a carpet of snowcapped ice peaks below.

Ladakh lies beyond the Greater Himalayan Range and the enchanting mesh of the Himalayan peaks and clouds continues uninterrupted for the entire last 30 minutes of the flight till Leh. The spell is only broken by the flight landing announcement. I quickly fastened my seat belts and put my camera inside ( for the best views, always ask for the left side window seat on the flight from Delhi to Leh , I unfortunately got a right sided one over the aircraft wing!). As we headed out of the aircraft to collect our baggage , I could feel the chill in the air and a slight but throbbing headache. "Altitude, let's hope this gets better fast"- I thought to myself. Two jeeps from the Ladakh Sarai had come to pick us up , the luggage was hauled and the jeeps raced ahead cutting through a landscape none of us had ever seen before. All around were the lofty peaks of the Himalayas,and a frontier of purple haze mountains of the trans Himalayan Ladakh and Zanskar Range,gradually descending into barren , arid land. As we stared around in disbelief , the realisation finally hit us - our journey into the Himalayan kingdom had begun. Juley!