Phish!

I HAD to say something about them. Not a day goes by without some amount of Phish appreciation. They're one of my favouritest bands right now (and I'm sure they'll be forever). You should certainly try them out. I'd probably be right to say that they're an acquired taste. So keep at it. You can start off with the following songs:

I hope you liked them. Happy Phishing!

She lived my dream!

Who? Suzanne Allen. Her blog - http://whereisshethistime.blogspot.com/

Awesome blog. An absolute adventure freak she was! I must have finished reading about half of it. The rest should be done with very soon if I continue to do a couple more WFHs!

Unfortunately, she passed away very recently in a climbing accident in Alaska. Makes me sad.

The Sar Pass Trek 2011: Aftermath

Ok, so it's been 2 weeks since I returned from the trek. Everything is different now. My love for the Himalayas has increased by an infinite times. Even before I had left the Himalayas, I had started thinking about what and when my next trip should be! This trip helped me decide on pursuing my dreams of climbing big mountains in the Himalayas. The first step will be joining a Basic Mountaineering Course at either NIM or HMI. And if possible, a trip before that. But even before that, I have to improve my fitness. The other good thing that happened during the trip was that I could meet so many interesting people from such diverse backgrounds. I hope some of us at least can go on another trek sometime in the future. This has been a trip that I will never forget.

The Sar Pass Trek 2011: Day 10

June 5th: Bhandakthatch - Barseni - Kasol - Bhuntar

At the bus stop, Barseni.

My final day's diary entry says - "Just reached Bhuntar. Half an hour to go before my bus to Delhi comes here. The day started off with us starting off from Bhandakthatch. The climb down to Barseni was uneventful and we immediately got on a bus to Kasol. Reached Kasol around noon. Took a bath after about a week (needless to mention - with ice cold water). Felt great! Had lunch at the base camp itself. Said my goodbyes to everyone and started off for Bhuntar along with the group from Akola. One and a half hour journey to here. Back to civilization now. Really not looking forward to going back to my "normal life". End of trip. GG GB 100% RE!"

The Sar Pass Trek 2011: Day 9

June 4th: Biskerithatch - Bhandakthatch

Bhavin lining up for the "rappel"

Slept like a log the previous night. Felt super fresh and was raring to go. As usual, everyone took their own sweet time to get ready. We started off at around 9.30 AM after cleaning up the camp site. I have to say something about all the litter that I saw during the whole trip. Why do people have to litter? WHY? Why do they have to spoil something so clean and pure? If you're reading this and are thinking what you could do, you could carry the waste with you (especially plastic) and throw it in dustbins at camps or at places where the trash will be properly taken care of. Try it once. It really isn't hard. I take a moment here to thank everyone who did their bit by not littering and who picked up a lot of trash themselves. Anyway, we quickly reached the point from where we were supposed to "rappel" down (pic. above). I just climbed down normally. Was too easy now :P. Immediately after this, we had our lunch point. Took a short break here, had lunch and started off with a small group again. Reached a point from where we had to climb for about 15-20 minutes to the camp. My mind just couldn't accept any more climbing and especially when it was hot! Slowly dragged myself up the last few feet and reached the camp. We were told that it was the best camp site of all and that it was almost like Switzerland. Yes, it was nice. Had very nice views etc.. But I thought the Nagaru camp site was a better location. This camp has only 4 tents as against the 5 at every other camp. WTF? This created a little panic among everyone and we were finally assured by the camp leader that we would be provided comfortable shelter somehow. We then taught the two doctors, a couple of girls and a few guys Wolf and played a few games sitting outside the tents, enjoying the nice views. Was really awesome fun. While we were at it, we got news that a girl from the Indore group had just collapsed after the final climb and the two doctors who were playing with us rushed to help her and it turned out to be a case of lack of Calcium which had caused her difficulty in breathing. Eventually, after a little bit of treatment, it was decided that she would be better off at a hospital and then she was carried down on the porter's back to the hospital (which was about 2 hours away) in the dark! The people and porters especially are really strong. They literally run up and down the hills with heavy loads! And this guy who had carried the girl down, came back up the same night to climb down with us the next morning!

The sunset at Bhandakthatch

After this incident, I think I should do a basic life support course. This can happen to anyone, anytime and if there aren't any doctors around, the BLS information might be really handy. Also, I felt that the organizers of any treks in the Himalayas should be able to arrange for helicopter rescues within a short duration. Could really save lives. 

The Sar Pass Trek 2011: Day 8

June 3rd: Nagaru - Biskerithatch

Just after we left Nagaru. My favourite pic from the whole trip!

We could hardly sleep that night and were up at 2 AM. The temperature must have been 0 degrees (felt worse because of the wind). Tea was supposed to be at 2.30 AM and we never looked forward to it more. Most of the guys from our tent finished answering nature calls while the guys in the other tents were happily sleeping. The sky was 100% clear. I will never forget the number of stars I had seen that night. That was probably the most beautiful sky I had ever seen. I got ready by about 3.15 AM when tea was finally served. Gulped down two full tumblers and then a little breakfast. We were given some dry stuff for lunch. 4 AM. No signs of starting yet. People took their own sweet time to get ready and the few people who were ready stood there in the cold. Waiting. I was really pissed off now. We finally started and as always, slowest people first and no passing. We were moving at a snail's pace for a long time before I decided to move up ahead in the line. Before long, I was climbing just after the first group. One should always climb at a pace they're comfortable with. Like the Ratapani day, I climbed at my own pace and it was really fun. The terrain, unlike anything before, was 100% snow now and it helped that the snow was hard. Reached the top soon and found a few guys who had just reached. The maximum height we reached was about 4000m (~14000 feet). Surprisingly, most people very quickly arrived at the top with the guide, the sherpa and the porters helping a few. This sherpa, Lakhpa, had climbed Everest in 2007. I got my bakra for the walk! I asked him an innumerable number of questions and he patiently answered all of them. His accent was hard to understand at first but I got used to it later on. Very nice guy. We soon reached the so called "Biskeri Top" after a testing 50 feet climb of an incline of 70-80 degrees. This last climb was one of the most challenging and enjoyable ones during the whole trek. From here, we are supposed to slide down as far down as possible towards the lunch point. We were VERY thirsty by now and I could have downed a couple of litres of water. Was time for the much talked about slide now. I was the first one to take the first slide. I slid for a bit and then stopped because there wasn't a real slide path yet. I walked down to the next slide. I let a couple of guys do the second slide before me so that some sort of path would be there for me to slide when I got my turn. The second slide was better but very bumpy. Was completely wet waist down. Reached a stream after god knows how long. Drank a LOT of water. Had a mild headache by then. Walked on ahead to the lunch point. We were instructed to wait at the LP until everyone came. However, after an hour or so there, I decided to go on along with a few others. After a long but fun walk, we reached the Biskerithatch camp.

At the top of Tilalotni

With Lakhpa who climbed Everest in 2007.

At Sar Pass

The plan for the day was to just relax and luckily, we had a chilled out camp leader here. We finally sat down to play a few games of Wolf and as expected, everyone liked it. Pulkit turned out to be quite the pro. Went through the usual routine of Tea, soup and dinner before crashing for the night.

The Sar Pass Trek 2011: Day 7

June 2nd: Ratapani - Nagaru

L-R: Rohitya, Me, Diggu bhai, Indrajeet bhai.

The distance to the Nagaru camp from Ratapani isn't much. So we could afford to start late. It had rained (snowed at higher altitudes) heavily the previous night and as a result, the night was super cold. We came to know later on that this was the reason why there was much more snow on the surrounding mountains as compared to the previous evening. After soaking in the sun for a bit, we finally started off around 10.30 AM. After a while, we reached a point where I could touch snow for the first time. Ever! Made snowballs and threw at people :P. Continued on to the lunch point (a terribly placed one as we later found out) and reached there by 1. A few of us decided not to wait here and continued on ahead. The climb to Nagaru was about an hour away and this was one of the most fun stretches of the whole trek. Climbing in ice needed some getting used to and I quickly rediscovered kicking-in steps. It (kicking-in steps) really takes a toll on you! The climb from the lunch point to the camp was a brilliant experience! We finally reached the camp around 1.45 PM and the camp was virtually invisible thanks to all the clouds.

The first batch of people who arrived at Nagaru.

The Nagaru camp.

The camp site was all slushy because the sun had come out and the snow started melting. The sun kept playing hide and seek with us. When there's sunshine, it's a brilliant place to be in and when there isn't, it's just dead cold especially with so much wind. The tent that we got here was our worst tent here during the whole trip. Too much slush all over. The camp site location is brilliant though. Spectacular 360 degree views. Would have been 100x better if it was warm. We had to sleep early so that we could wake up at 2.30 AM to get ready to start by 4 AM. The reason we were supposed to start early was that once the sun came out in the morning, snow would melt and walking in the melting snow would be painful.

The Sar Pass Trek 2011: Day 6

June 1st: Padri - Ratapani

I think I had started every entry in the journal with how the day started but this entry had to be an exception. This entry started with a description of my surroundings as I sat down to write. Here is what I had written down - "I'm sitting on a rock at the camp site. In front of me is a beautiful snow clad peak. I turn left and I see the Nagaru camp at the top of the hill and the forest that guards the entry to the mountain. To my right are a series of fully snow-covered peaks at a distance and the sky is cloudy. I can't begin to put into words what I'm feeling right now. All I'll say is that I'm VERY HAPPY today. As I write stuff, people are arriving slowly and I say hello to all of them. A herd of sheep is walking by me. Mountain dogs (wish I knew their breed) playing around me. And I'm feeling very calm, relaxed. Unbelievable." 

At the lunch point

      We started off from the Padri camp at around 9 AM and after a steep, murky descent of about 500 ft, we started climbing. As soon as we started climbing, it began raining heavily. The already slippery path became extremely treacherous now. The group of people I was climbing with went ahead and I climbed alone for an hour or two. It took me a LONG time to walk up paths which would have been a cakewalk if the ground was dry. The temperature dropped to really low levels (5 degrees Centigrade. It felt much colder because we were completely drenched) and our hands started getting really cold. Had to constantly rub hands to even feel them. I slipped a couple of times when I was trying to keep with the faster guys but I eventually decided to go at my own pace. From here on, I went on steadily and didn't slip/fall anymore. Climbing alone was a really different experience. Really different. There's silence. You think more. You think better. You pace yourself perfectly. At least that was how I felt. The forest finally opened up at the top of the hill and I reached the lunch point. The guys in front of me had just reached there too. The rain stopped just before this. Perfect timing. The location of the lunch point was perfect. I was completely wet and cold. I immediately put my thermals on and wow, the warmth was awesome. 

With Sid during the last part of the climb.

The guide then told us that the Ratapani camp was about an hour away and once we finished our lunch, we started off. This last 1-1.5 hour climb was one of the most enjoyable stretches during the whole trek. Quite steep. No room for error. Clear sky. Terrific views. Good company. Our joy knew no bounds once we knew we were very close to the camp. Shouted like mad people. Excitement unlimited. The camp site, as I described before, was at a breathtaking spot. Pretty cold though. As soon as we reached, we were given hot tea with Bonda. Felt great. Here too, there were quite a few mountain dogs. Was super fun petting them. I won't forget the incident where Rishya climbed a tent pole to get out of the way of a pair of fighting dogs. Was really hilarious. Dinner at 7.30 PM. Everyone made it to the camp by 7.30 or 8 PM. Very late in my opinion. The last part of the climb for them from the lunch point would have been tough (and dangerous) in the dark.

Near the kitchen at the camp

The Sar Pass Trek 2011: Day 5

May 31st: Grahan - Padri

With the dog that accompanied us from Grahan.

Started off from the Grahan camp around 9.30 AM. Half an hour later than what was actually planned. There were a few people in the group who were late and they're the only ones who're late every time. So pissing off. Had to completely climb down the mountain on which Grahan in located and start climbing the next hill. It was a pretty steep climb for a lot of the time but I managed to keep myself at my limit and go fast so that I wouldn't suffer because of the heat later on. Met a few new people on the way - Rohan and Ankit who look like they're serious about mountaineering, Supriya who is probably the fastest female climber in the group etc.. The dog that I talked about earlier accompanied us till the lunch point. More petting. The people who were coming slowly reached only after an hour or so after we reached the lunch point. The guide didn't let us continue because we might lose our way. In the time we had here, we binoculared a bit, spotted the Nagaru camp and enjoyed the views. Carrying the binoculars was one very good thing I had done. My watch, too, turned out to be a brilliant investment. The altimeter, barometer and compass were simply brilliant. Had a lot of fun using them. 

At the Padri camp - 1

At the Padri camp - 2

At the Padri camp - 3

We soon started on our way to Padri and it started raining. Had to get my Poncho out for the first time and it did a great job! We finally reached the Padri camp in rain. The camp is locaed in the middle of several huge mountains. A really beautiful location. Just as we were exploring the camp, a hailstorm started! It really hurt when we got hit by hail! Tea was served a little later. Much awaited. Soup time. Didn't get soup as it had gotten finished by the time we got to the kitchen. Binoculared the surroundings now. The snow capped peaks seemed much nearer than before and were so inviting. I couldn't wait!

The Sar Pass Trek 2011: Day 4

May 30th: Kasol - Grahan

Somewhere on the way to Grahan.

Got up early - 5 AM. Crappy breakfast. We were spared the exercise session since we were supposed to get ready. Decided to avoid solid food as much as possible to minimize you know what. Started off from the base camp around 8.15 AM. Said my goodbyes to Guddu and off we were towards Grahan. Walked steadily, as I had decided to do throughout the trek, and talked to whoever I met on the way. Made some interesting acquaintances - Chitra, Geet and a few others. Most of the time, I was walking along with Rishya, Indrya and Rohitya and we were constantly joking around calling Rishya "Shaan Pattya" and with Indrya's and Rohitya's constant "Come home to YHAI" and "Fire Fire Camp Fire", we really laughed our asses off (so much at times that I had to stop walking, get my breath back and then continue). Got to know quite a few people after a while. Somewhere on the way, I had a freak 10 ft fall into a puddle as I stepped on some loose soil to take a pic. No injuries whatsoever. Cleaned myself (and fell once more while doing that. lol) and continued.

With a mountain dog at Grahan.

The Grahan camp.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, we reached the Grahan camp around 2.30 PM. Had to run the last 200m or so because it had started to rain. Very nice location for a camp site. Had really cool views. My altimeter showed 2245m. There was a lot of time now before everyone would reach the camp. Roamed around the camp a bit. The weather began to get colder. Tea time now. Anything hot was welcome. We then had the customary briefing from the camp leader and then Soup time. Brilliant soup. Have to find out which brand they use. Almost dark now and I decided to write down my journal entry when, from nowhere, an inter-tent, girls vs boys Anthakshari starts off (checkout the video below)! Wah Wah! Brilliant stuff. Couldn't stop smiling for god knows how long. I even took a small video. There was a mountain dog at the camp. It was one of the calmest dogs I'd ever seen. Had a lot of fun petting him. Camps from here on don't have electricity and so we had to finish our dinner and everything else before it got dark. The life here is totally controlled by the Sun.

The Sar Pass Trek 2011: Day 3

May 29th: Base Camp, Kasol

Same exercise routine in the morning as the previous day and after that we were taken for a rock climbing and rappelling lesson. The scene of this activity was a near vertical structure of about 30 feet with only a few small, tough footholds.

Took me forever to get my chance because it had to be done one person at a time. Was very tough and it made me learn a few things about (rock) climbing - it's the most important thing to be able to life your own weight, every step must be a careful one, sudden movements are bad, etc.. Really need to get good at this. Once everyone finished their rock climbing, we went back to the base camp for lunch and we returned to the same place for the rappelling part. Since we were short on time, people who hadn't rappelled before and who hadn't finished the morning's activity were given the chance first and since I had done it once before, I decided to give it a miss. Packed my rucksack for the higher camps. Mine was definitely one of the heaviest because I had was carrying a binoculars and extra clothes. Everything was ready now. Excitement building up. I just had one worry - open-air-crapping! Seriously. Oh, I forgot to mention. Guddu (one of the 5 from Akola) fell sick meanwhile and decided to head back home the same day that we were to leave for the higher camps. Poor guy. We would have had much more fun I'm sure if he had also come along. We weren't spared even on the day before we were leaving base camp and had to take an hour of that lame camp fire shit again. Went to sleep totally looking forward to the real stuff that was about to start the next day.

The Sar Pass Trek 2011: Day 2

May 28th: Base Camp, Kasol

We were woken up at 5.30 for the "bed tea". Quite cold it was. Hot tea felt nice. After a bit, we were taken to a small ground nearby for a PT session. Only made me realize how unfit my body had become. Vowed (a 10000th time) to keep myself fit no matter what. Post breakfast we were taken on an "acclimatization walk". A total height gain of 250m (love my watch!). Had fun. Sweated like a pig. Picked up as much thrash/litter as possible on the way which led to me being made the "Environment Leader" for the group. Back at the base camp around lunch time. Bathed in 10 degree water. Really was some experience. There was an orientation session where the Field Director told us about the trek, precautions to be taken, DOs and DONTs, etc.. Once that was over, we went for a walk around Kasol and I booked tickets for the Bhuntar to Delhi return trip. Another lame ass camp fire and we were done for the day.

The Sar Pass Trek 2011: Day 1

May 27th: Bhuntar - Kasol

We were woken up in the morning at around 5 AM for tea. Bhuntar was still an hour's journey away. The light drizzle, hot tea and the soothing sound of the Beas river were very pleasant. I dozed off again as soon as the bus started. The conductor woke us up on reaching Bhuntar. I wanted to sleep some more! At Bhuntar I needed to take another bus to Kasol. My next-seat neighbour decided to take a cab to Kasol and gave me a lift! Mighty nice of him! Caught a glimpse of a snow capped peak at a distance. First time ever! The excitement was building up now. Reached YHAI's Kasol basecamp located on the banks of the Parvati river. Very nice location. Once the reporting formalities were done, I was assigned a tent. Met a group of 5 from Akola. Cool guys. All around 20. Kids. One of them immediately reminded me of Homya. Went to Manikaran with them and clicked a few snaps while they enjoyed a hot spring bath. Ate at the Gurudwara there and came back to Kasol walking. Was fun. There, the sun sets around 7.30 PM and at 8 PM I could still see the snow covered peak. Brilliant. After dinner, we were made to sit at an "eco-friendly camp fire" - an LED bulb-chain (pic. below) switched on. People came up to the "dais" and performed - sang, danced, (they thought they) joked, etc.. Just unbearable. Too lame. And it's compulsory for everyone at the base camp to attend it. It was pretty cold (must have been 10 degrees C or so). Went to sleep by about 9.30 PM.

(Nearest to farthest from the lens) Rohit, Abhishek (behind Rohit), Mitesh, Hrishikesh, Indrakeet

Just outside the basecamp with the Parvati river in the background

Tent mates L-R: Indrajeet, Me, Rishya, Gopal bhai, Rohitya, Diggu bhai, Heda, Guddu, Rakesh bhai

The (lame-ass) camp fire. (Courtesy: Rishal Bhide)

The Sar Pass Trek 2011: Day 0

Yay! I visited the Himalayas! It was a brilliant experience. Feels really very different now. Life seems much too plain now. While I was up there, I made it a point to write down stuff. Anything. Everything. Here we go.

May 26th: Bengaluru - Delhi - Bhuntar

The bus that took me from Delhi to Bhuntar

All my planning had gone down the drain. The airport shuttle that I was supposed to get wasn't there. Apparently, the timetable was changed and the website wasn't updated. I then immediately booked a cab and while I waited, I gave BMTC every gaali I could remember. The cab arrived and then a series of WTFs happened. Huge traffic jams everywhere. Made it to the airport just in time. The flight journey seemed to be going on forever in spite of a stunning air hostess :P. Reached Delhi an hour late. Had to again rush to Himachal Bhawan from where my bus to Manali would leave. Took a cab immediately. The cab driver turned out to be a really nice guy and dropped me there well before time. And guess what? The bus I was supposed to take starts from a different point. Luckily the place was nearby and I immediately took an auto. Felt relieved once I saw the bus. Nice bus. Well maintained. Incidentally, my next-seat neighbour was also going to Kasol to pick up his daughter who had just finished her Sar Pass trek! Had a nice time chatting with him about the Himalayas, life and other things. Very nice person he was. The bus passed through Chandigarh at around 11 PM and wow, it's a very beautiful city! Slept after that. Very well too. Hadn't ever slept so well on a bus.