All expeditions should begin with a bone-jarring head jamming throwing-about ride in a rickety bus. I'm not saying this out of spite or annoyance. The minibus from Delhi dropped my crumpled self at Uttarkashi at 10 in the morning after some thrilling 12 hours. No better way to say good bye to city comfort and make the transition to the outdoor ways than this.
I had signed up for this expedition hoping to attain the summit of Mt. Bhagirathi II at 6512 meters high, sometime in January. I had been looking at my future in mountaineering, and between doing an Advanced course and vying for a summit, had decided on the latter. Bhagirathi II, being an accessible mountain near the head of Gangotri glacier, combined with its relatively less technical nature attracts a lot of civilian expeditions. If successful, I'd end up making a strong statement about my performance at high altitude.
After munching an aloo paratha near the bus stand, I headed to Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM), where we had a couple of tasks for the day. NIM boasts a verdant green, spacious campus which combined with its impressive climbing wall, sure gives it an edge over the ABVIMAS campus at Manali, of which I had fond memories from my BMC time.
Since this was a civilian expedition which had been marketed via facebook and the like, it's members had varied backgrounds, associations as well as aspirations. Dj and Giri were both automotive engineers based in Bangalore, who spent a lot of time hiking in the Western Ghats. In addition, both fanned their passion for photography with some really cool high-end equipment. Dj also had a thing for cycling. I instantly took a liking to both of them.
Vic and Mandy were college-time buddies who'd done obtained their MBBS from a Delhi-based college before taking different roads. The two were quite new to the outdoors. Vic though, had high ambitions. He had moved quickly, by doing the BMC and AMC courses back to back in the last year. He wanted to use the present expedition to test his body at altitude, and help him decide if Everest was something he could take a shot at.
Tiger, Gautam, Sushil, Abhi were from the land of Shivaji. They were affiliated to a hiking club, the Sahyadri Trekkers, which as the name suggests organised short hikes in the Sahyadris. Abhi was 12 years old, and Tiger's nephew. At his tender age, he was there to establish the record for the youngest ascent of Bhagirathi II. Vijay was a localite, who'd been given a chance to prove himself on this mountain, in order to bag a seat in the state-sponsored expedition to Mt. Satopanth, to be held later the same year. By the end of the first day, Vijay and the Marathas were inseparable.
After sorting out the expedition gear, our colorful bunch boarded a taxi which wound it's way upwards through the valley to the holy town of Gangotri. We settled in our snug rooms at the rather oddly named Mandakini hotel. Situated at an altitude of above 3000 m, the tows of Gangotri is basically an array of shops and hotels that have sprung up around the grand temple dedicated to the goddess, Ganga. This place turned from being a green teaser of our upcoming walk to literally an eyesore over the coming four days, as we pounded our fists in frustration over the permission from the Forest officials that took agonizingly long to come. As the permission was hanging, we cooled our heels at Gangotri, making short hikes to Pandav Gufa, Surya Kund waterfalls and the rocks surrounding it, the trail to Kedartal, the local bus stand and the trail to the National Park entrance.
My burning desire to know about the ways of the mountains and the people around it led me to spend considerable time with Kishen, our cook and Satya, one of our guides. Kishen had been working for more than 20 years in the mountains, and it showed. A happy go lucky man, he could me cheer up any-day, anytime. His playful tune, and routine quips of 'Kamal karte ho Pandeyji', 'Kehte to aise hi hain Sirjee' and more, ensured lively times. When it came to walking, the spring in his leg was amazing. With his penchant for cooking up delicious 'suji ka halwa', he was a man to have on any trip.
Satya was a man whose throwback-head and loud laughter could charm you instantly. A quiet man, but with numerous interesting stories to recount once he opened up. Satya was a hard worker, and with his sympathy for my interest to learn more, I spent a lot of time around him.
On the sixth day of our arrival at Gangotri, the expedition finally took off the ground. Humongous loads starting from 25kg and going upto 40kg were prepared for the porters. I was mildly surprised to learn that most of the porters came in from Nepal, with some of them barely 14 years old. A gentle 14 km walk full of bewitching views of Mt. Sudarshan, Manda II, Manda I and the first glimpses of the Bhagirathi massif summed up the day. There was a tight section with a rope fixed for comfort and a multitude of landslide zones which greeted one on this trail. Mostly dry with scattered trees, until one reaches Chidwasa, which is an oasis of pine trees; the result of an afforestation project. We reached Bhujwasa at dusk, home to a rather famous ashram of a Bangali Baba, which offers a bed and food to travellers for Rs. 300 a day. With the expedition finally underway, my emotional scale was already showing a huge rise.
Sometime after our arrival, Soniji (Liasion Officer for a Spanish expedition attempting a rock pillar dubbed Bhagirathi IV), came in to ask for Doctor Sahib Mandy to take a look at a tourist who'd taken ill. When Vic and Mandy came back, they joked that his illness was a result of his overworking with his two female companions !
The next morning dawned brightly with delightful sightings of a snow fox and a herd of mountains goats, locally known as Bharal (Himalayan blue sheep). The first part of the day's hike was an easy stroll upto Gaumukh (literally, cow's mouth), which is the snout of the Gangotri glacier. The glacial walls were huge, over 100 ft tall and heavily decorated with wide cracks. The next part of the hike was a long drawn out walk on the terminal moraine of the glacier. As we went up and down repeatedly on dunes of huge rocks, I came to sorely regret my sports shoes which left my ankle vulnerable and the knapsack I was carrying on my front, which obscured my view of my feet as I stepped repeatedly on the edges of rocks. I consistently feared the worst : a torn ligament or a displaced knee. After scraping through the moraine walk, there were some snow slopes to be climbed. Kishen ran up most of the sections saving Soniji and me some work, but on some sections I made my own way discovering how disagreeable it is to walk in simple shoes in foot deep snow. With foot deep snow in Nandanvan, the state of our Base Camp didn't really spell good news for our expedition. The cold weather had stretched too long this year. Once our camp was setup, the merrily red and yellow colored, conical shaped kitchen tent provided warm relief from the dipping mercury outside.
Nandanvan lying at an altitude of 4500 m comprises of beautiful green meadows, when not covered in snow. It offers a stunning view of Mt. Shivling, whose technical appeal invites climbers of the finest ilk. Some climbers have even base jumped off its summit. Kedar Dome (a deceptively easy peak, the route to it is heavily crevassed) and Kharcha Khund are other peaks which can be viewed clearly from Nandanvan. My fatigue from the day's walk immediately dissolved into nothing after seeing the beautiful views of these peaks across the glacier.
For most of this day, I had walked with Soniji and Kishen. Soniji is an old hand, who's seen a lot in mountaineering. I frequently pricked him with numerous questions regarding expeditions and my future in this hobby which I love more than my career. His thoughts, insight and gossip-talk are engaging and lively. At the same time, his concern for the porters and the locals is heartening.
As we sipped chai at Soniji's camp, our teammates kept trickling in. Sushil reached last, utterly exhausted. He got so tired at one point, that he urged Aakash to carry him up the mountain. Aakash was not pleased one bit. Abhi fell ill late at night, probably due to altitude. Looking at him nauseated and weak, Tiger decided that Abhi would not be a part of the expedition any further. Sushil too decided to quit, saying that the amount of snow and his zero experience at it made him feel rather uncomfortable.
From now on, we would repeat iterations of load ferries and camp shifts for subsequent shifts to higher camps. The number of load ferries would depend on the terrain and the amount of load to be transferred. For shifting to ABC (Advanced Base Camp), our next camp, one load ferry was planned, with the four porters assisting us with over 30 kg loads.
For the first load ferry, all of us except the porters carried ration loads to the ABC site. The walk to ABC was a pleasant one, made longer only by the ample amounts of snow covering these meadow grounds, situated next to the Chaturangi glacier. The area, radiating from Gangotri glacier, has a rich density of high and mighty points. Walking parellel along the Chaturangi glacier, one can reach the Kalindi Khal pass and cross over to Badrinath. Sightings of Sita Parvat and Mt. Chandra flanking it provided a fitting background during our walk. Vasuki Parvat (named after the demon Vasuki that Krishna slayed) reared its massive head as one approached ABC. On the other side of the Gangotri glacier, I got to see expansive views of Bhrigupanth and the famed Shark's Fin of Mt. Meru. Closer to us, the gigantic mass of Bhagirathi II was astonishing. From BC, it had appeared to be a friendly mountain with gentle slopes. Now, it's other face(s), with serrated ridges and sheer snow slopes came into focus emphasizing why it shouldn't to be taken lightly. Rockfall areas near it's summit had cost dozens of climbers their lives and earned it the nickname, Killer Peak. Hmmm ...
The next day all of us completed the shift to ABC. Vic and Mandy recovered from their weakness following the move to BC and a bad night's sleep. Kishen and Mahesh, our expert kitchen staff, were convinced to shift too. They had been reluctant to shift, because the logistics organizer had failed to arrange a pair of snow boots for each of them. Early in the day, as I hurried to reach the campsite ahead of all, I discovered the inherent disadvantages of reaching a high, vacant campsite early. Through two hours of waiting, suffering in the raging wind and beating the snow to prepare sites for camps, I shivered and longed for some food and rest. Post settling in, in the evening, we had a small puja ceremony to seek blessings from the imagined weather and mountain gods.
The wind howled and made the tents really creak at night. As high velocity winds whipped down the valley, from inside the tent, I could see the wind pushing against the facing sides of the tent. I put my faith in our tent setting-up skills and just hoped that all the strings and ropes wouldn't give in. If they did, we'd have to get out in the sub-zero temps and screaming winds to set it up again. Thankfully, it all turned out fine and our blue A-shaped canvas passed the test. Meanwhile, I was rediscovering the pains of having a full bladder whilst lying packed in my sleeping bag inside the benign confines of the tent.
Fitful sleeps, an effect of high altitude, were a common phenomenon in out camp. I had been having bad nights since a couple of days, gathering only 3-4 hours of sleep. Vic and Mandy decided to take the next day off because of being severely affected thus. A couple of us also heard whispers of the supernatural. Aakash and Vijay asserted having heard footsteps during the whole night. They thought it to be a rambling ghost. Stories floated of how the nearby Vasuki Tal campsite, base for Vasuki Parvat ascent and a campsite on the Kalindi Khal trail, was one of the most haunted sites around. The ghosts there delighted in opening up the zips of tents at night. The ghost of the 'Maggi Girl' was a curious one, which having died before eating a declared packet of maggi, returned to haunt some trekkers in the area for maggi !
We geared up for our first load ferry to Camp One (at 5350 m) the following day. Most of us carried some ration, plus our personal technical equipment (crampons, harness, jumar, descender, carabineer, helmet). The plan was to start early, around 7 AM, but with classis Indian tardiness, we started at 8. The first hour was easy, with the snow retaining its firmness, and gradual inclines. And then, it got really messy. Aakash was leading the trail with Vijay and me immediately behind him, and we could see his feet sinking in deep up to his shins and the footsteps getting deeper. The going got slow. There were no rocks at this altitude, and we avoided sitting on our rucksacks during stops to not get them wet. I took a chance at breaking the trail, and immediately realized what a painful process it was. Sinking feet sapped energy much quicker, and required me to pause frequently to catch my breath. We had just graduated from a trekking group to a climbing expedition.
After 90 minutes of such plodding, we reached the tiny plateau above the last hump where was to be our Camp One (C1). We had basically traversed around the mountain from one of its ridges' tail at Nandanvan to the starting point of the slopes that formed its East face. At the C1 site, we rigged a three man tent and dumped our loads inside. Gautam found it tough to keep up the pace, and Tiger valiantly carried his load up the last some steps to C1.
Back in the tent, I can't help musing. I've been sharing my tent with Dj and Giri. Techies who love landscapes and enjoy photographing it, I can relate to the two most from amongst all the members. We shared our reasons for taking a shot at climbing the peak to the most extent : it was fun, it was unspeakably beautiful and was to be relished as a physical challenge. Although I had made good friends here, I missed the joy of being in the outdoors with close friends. Decisions are united and come faster, little fights are easily forgotten and the evening banter is much too fun. As someone rightly put it, happiness is camping with friends.
After an animated discussion, it was decided that the next day would be a load ferry day too. The guides, Aakash, Deb and Satya would rest. Given my enthusiasm, and consistent fitness levels over the past days, I was given a rest day too, and decided that I'll shift along with Satya and Aakash to the summit camp the day post shift to C1. This gladdened me to no small extent. My workouts over the past three months were paying off. Even though at that time I had grown tired of running on circular tracks and doing stairs with a rucksack on, none of it seemed in vain. I spent the day lazying in the sun, and fitting crampons to my boots.
With the rest of the guys walking above, it was noticed that Mandy was walking slowly at the last of the pack. Vic was the last to have had passed him, on his way back down. He was seen to go up the last hump, a few metres beyond which C1 lay. Then he disappeared for an hour. This was worrying, since it was Mandy's first time at these heights, and with the scorching sun in the sky, it was possible that giddiness or exhaustion might have overcome him. Vic was blamed for leaving the slow member on his own. Meanwhile, the rescue team of Satya and me geared up to reach C1, if need be and check on him. Half an hour into the climb, the figure of Mandy descending appeared. A merry Mandy greeted us around 20 minutes later with tales of him relaxing, munching and doing breathing exercies for an hour at C1. And thus, ended our amusing rescue mission.
Another of Kishen's weather predictions came true that night. The piercing sun during daytime had probably led to too much evaporation from the snow slopes, presenting itself as heavy snowfall at night. As we lay down in our tents, calls for 'Jhaadte Raho' reverberated to remind everyone to keep shaking their tent walls to throw off the snow, failing which the tents would start getting buried, sides first. In the middle of this night, a sharp, stretched out shriek was heard. For some seconds, I attributed it to the ghost which had been haunting various members of our expedition during the past some days. Some seconds later, I could hear words and laughter from the neighbouring tent belonging to Vijay, Gautam, Tiger and Vic. Turned out, the culprit was Gautam, who had gotten trapped in his sleeping bag, stomach down. High altitude and ghost stories got the better of his composure.
The camp shift to C1 was completed with another late start, and this time, there was no Aakash to help us break the trail after yesterday's snowfall. The last hump on the walk proved tedious work. Dj, Vijay and I took turns breaking the trail and some quiet determined teamwork in the fierce sunlight provided sweet rewards. The camp setup at C1 was intriguing. There were eleven members, staying in three 3-man tents. Two of the tents, each measuring 6ft X 6ft, had four members squeezing in with their rucksacks and boots. It was lovely, if you know what I mean ! The kitchen tent was a beauty. The kitchen part of it was formed by joining a second outer, which started from its opening. An embankment of snow under its hem provided the stove shelter from the wind.
The plan for the next day had a disappointing twist for me. Deb alongwith Satya and Aakash would now make the shift to Summit Camp, while the rest of would be just doing a load ferry. All the technical equipment, some ration, butane cyclinders alongwith stoves and a tent were packed to be ferried to Summit Camp the next morning. We made a disturbingly late start at 10 under an overcast sky.
While the slow walk was providing relief to some members, Aakash, breaking the trail, was having a really tough time, trudging through shin deep snow. I personally detest slow walks because of the lack of adrenaline. Around 90 minutes into the walk, it started to snow lightly. The snow gradually increased in intenstiy until we were forced to take out our rain/snow protection clothing. The ones who didn't carry theirs sorely regretted it. We reached a point where a high rock pillar jutted out of the snow, with a simultaneous increase in the slope gradient. By this time, the snow had taken out the punch from all the members, and it was decided to dump all the stuff there. The members unloaded, and immediately started their descent. The descent, although quick, was made under whiteout conditions, and wasn't without a couple of tense moments. Surprisingly, Satya, Aakash and Deb also descended with the tent, since the conditions were deemed too rough to setup a campsite. Aakash suffered after the walk, as was evident from his vomiting at the dump site. This must have contributed to the decision to not setup a campsite. Aakash decided to descend to ABC for the night to recuperate.
In the evening, after everyone had calmed down after the descent and was well rested, a serious discussion ensued on Giri's health. During the shift to C1, Giri had been exceedingly slow. He had had a disturbed night at C1, coughing the whole while. In the morning, I had noticed him finding it difficult to gain a decent footing after wearing his snow boots. While we had been up, he had taken the day off, and had done nothing but try to sleep. To Mandy, the nature of his cough exhibited clear signs of fluid in his lungs. Combined with his disorientation, body ache and fatigue at rest, this indicated the onset of HAPE : a potentially deadly form of high altitude sickness. An intense discussion resulted in convincing Giri to descent. Since it became apparent at the start that Giri could not walk by himself, Satya and Dj closely assisted him during the descent to ABC. They had started at 7PM under a threatening sky. They reached ABC at 10 in the night (on a route that normally doesn't take more than an hour to descend), persevering snowfall on the way.
With Satya and Aakash at ABC, Deb was hesitant to lead the pack to Summit Camp the next day. Instead of taking advantage of the clear weather window, he insisted on waiting for a weather report from the guys at ABC (who, if an expected party had arrived at BC, would get the report from there) over the walkie talkie. When I later got to know, that Aakash had tried messaging Deb to move to Summit Camp (C2), I couldn't help feeling that our summit attempt was a fiasco in the making. As a result, the day was lost to talking all that could be talked sitting sheltered in a tent at 5350 m.
A daring idea was mooted at night : start at 10 PM, and push for the summit. The point for this decision was that the skies were clear, and given the weather over the past days, me might not get clear weather for two consecutive days required to make the summit, going by the normal plan (shift to Summit Camp in daytime, push for summit at night). I was ambivalent, but leaning towards going up. Gautam and Tiger were all for it. Dj didn't support it, since he had shifted to C1 from ABC today afternoon. Mandy and Vic too wanted to go by the normal plan, since this plan involved climbing without fixed ropes and seemed too hasty. And so this plan was booted.
Half an hour into next day's hike to C2, and I feel empty. Hollowed from the inside. I can't feel the adrenaline flowing, and my energy levels are at zero. Seems the result of not drinking and eating enough. The last night I felt good, with no inkling of exhaustion. Now, it's just an empty tank, stripped of all guns. I try to get myself going by smiling, talking and playing Hendrix inside my head alternately. None of it works. My body is in hibernation mode.
I have limited water, just below a litre. I think of downing a substantial part of it, but that'll leave me with little for the rest of the expected long walk. Even if I make it somehow, I'll be dog tired by the end of it, with no reserves to enable me to make a summit attempt.
Satya engages me in conversation at my rest spot. He advises me to be cautious, and to listen to my body. If my body and mind signal me to stop, I shouldn't continue. He also cites two good reasons why reaching the summit would be a long shot : expected bad weather for the night, and the practical difficulty of fixing ropes upto the summit in a single day.
I am flummoxed. Giving up is not something I'm used to. By nature, I detest quitting in situations where I've been directed to by passion. I look up and find little motivation in climbing to a snowy windswept ledge at 5800 m. I can feel something seriously wrong with my body. A second later, I instinctively reach my decision. I decide to throw in the towel.
That's not it though. I descend to C1, and decide to eat and drink a bit, and wait around an hour to see if my body responds positively. While I'm waiting for something inside to click, I can hear Vic and Aakash shouting at me to go down to ABC. They're probably thinking that my body has responded adversely to high altitude, in which case descending would be the logical choice. I can't feel anything going inside me and it doesn't look like anything will. It's over. Today's my bad day and I need to accept it. My attempt is done. It's time to go to ABC.
So while I returned and recovered at ABC, the rest of the team settled uncomfortably at C2. The weather was unrelenting, with snow falling in large quantities during night. Around 2 AM, when the skies cleared, they took everyone by surprise. "Suit up", it was called out. Dj's boots had been kept outside, and had literally frozen as a result, with ice inside his inner boots. They took time to melt. The party made a costly late start at 4 AM. At the late start, Satya had already bailed out, citing an impossible or worse, lethal summit. Mandy didn't go because of reasons I'm not aware of. The rest of the team put up a fight in the knee/thigh deep snow, but decided to quit in the worsening snow conditions after ascending some 200 - 300 m. They then packed up and came straight down to ABC.
While the members hobbled into ABC, Giri, Mahesh and I were leaving for BC. Giri had been lying low at ABC, but the moderate descent of 550 m from C1 to ABC hadn't helped him much. As Kishen related, he would hardly move. When he did, he couldn't move on his own. And he had little appetite. A grey sky and light snowfall loomed over us as we made slow progress to BC. At BC, an NCC team whose logistics were being seen by the same organizer as ours, had set up camp. The doctor there took a look at Giri, gave him a diamox, and advised us to descend regardless of the snowfall. While their warmth and tea charged us up, three of the porters were convinced to accompany and support us.
Tiger, Gautam, Vijay and Aakash charged ahead on their way to Gangotri after a brief meeting. I was disappointed by their apparent disinterest in Giri's state and their implicit refusal (explicit in the case of some members) to help. Giri was bravely shouldered for the majority of the route by two porters. At times, he had to be carried on the back of a porter. Between jokes that he was a heavy 80 kg monster on the backs of flighty fellows, we managed to make it to Bhujwasa by dusk. To my relief, Giri had been getting better since morning, and after descending today's 1000 m, felt much better. Vic and Mandy made a late push from ABC to reach Gangotri, and took a wee bit risk doing that. They made it at around 1 in the night, and managed to squeeze out a meal from the cook at Hotel Mandakini who was unhappily roused from his sweet slumber.
By night the following day, everyone from the team and staff had made it to Gangotri. Dj bought some 'besan ke laddu' to treat his and our sweet buds which was most appreciated :D. I took everyone's phone numbers and bid my goodbyes, since I planned to leave early next day for Delhi.
It's hard to look back at such a trip and come up with a single statement describing it. It was aesthetically enriching, mentally challenging, at times body numbing, but for the most part, fun of the purest kind. The only thing I felt while leaving Gangotri was that I'll be coming back to the mountains. Soon.
I had signed up for this expedition hoping to attain the summit of Mt. Bhagirathi II at 6512 meters high, sometime in January. I had been looking at my future in mountaineering, and between doing an Advanced course and vying for a summit, had decided on the latter. Bhagirathi II, being an accessible mountain near the head of Gangotri glacier, combined with its relatively less technical nature attracts a lot of civilian expeditions. If successful, I'd end up making a strong statement about my performance at high altitude.
After munching an aloo paratha near the bus stand, I headed to Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM), where we had a couple of tasks for the day. NIM boasts a verdant green, spacious campus which combined with its impressive climbing wall, sure gives it an edge over the ABVIMAS campus at Manali, of which I had fond memories from my BMC time.
Since this was a civilian expedition which had been marketed via facebook and the like, it's members had varied backgrounds, associations as well as aspirations. Dj and Giri were both automotive engineers based in Bangalore, who spent a lot of time hiking in the Western Ghats. In addition, both fanned their passion for photography with some really cool high-end equipment. Dj also had a thing for cycling. I instantly took a liking to both of them.
Vic and Mandy were college-time buddies who'd done obtained their MBBS from a Delhi-based college before taking different roads. The two were quite new to the outdoors. Vic though, had high ambitions. He had moved quickly, by doing the BMC and AMC courses back to back in the last year. He wanted to use the present expedition to test his body at altitude, and help him decide if Everest was something he could take a shot at.
Tiger, Gautam, Sushil, Abhi were from the land of Shivaji. They were affiliated to a hiking club, the Sahyadri Trekkers, which as the name suggests organised short hikes in the Sahyadris. Abhi was 12 years old, and Tiger's nephew. At his tender age, he was there to establish the record for the youngest ascent of Bhagirathi II. Vijay was a localite, who'd been given a chance to prove himself on this mountain, in order to bag a seat in the state-sponsored expedition to Mt. Satopanth, to be held later the same year. By the end of the first day, Vijay and the Marathas were inseparable.
After sorting out the expedition gear, our colorful bunch boarded a taxi which wound it's way upwards through the valley to the holy town of Gangotri. We settled in our snug rooms at the rather oddly named Mandakini hotel. Situated at an altitude of above 3000 m, the tows of Gangotri is basically an array of shops and hotels that have sprung up around the grand temple dedicated to the goddess, Ganga. This place turned from being a green teaser of our upcoming walk to literally an eyesore over the coming four days, as we pounded our fists in frustration over the permission from the Forest officials that took agonizingly long to come. As the permission was hanging, we cooled our heels at Gangotri, making short hikes to Pandav Gufa, Surya Kund waterfalls and the rocks surrounding it, the trail to Kedartal, the local bus stand and the trail to the National Park entrance.
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| Surya Kund waterfalls, at Gangotri |
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| Enroute Pandav Gufa, near Gangotri |
My burning desire to know about the ways of the mountains and the people around it led me to spend considerable time with Kishen, our cook and Satya, one of our guides. Kishen had been working for more than 20 years in the mountains, and it showed. A happy go lucky man, he could me cheer up any-day, anytime. His playful tune, and routine quips of 'Kamal karte ho Pandeyji', 'Kehte to aise hi hain Sirjee' and more, ensured lively times. When it came to walking, the spring in his leg was amazing. With his penchant for cooking up delicious 'suji ka halwa', he was a man to have on any trip.
Satya was a man whose throwback-head and loud laughter could charm you instantly. A quiet man, but with numerous interesting stories to recount once he opened up. Satya was a hard worker, and with his sympathy for my interest to learn more, I spent a lot of time around him.
On the sixth day of our arrival at Gangotri, the expedition finally took off the ground. Humongous loads starting from 25kg and going upto 40kg were prepared for the porters. I was mildly surprised to learn that most of the porters came in from Nepal, with some of them barely 14 years old. A gentle 14 km walk full of bewitching views of Mt. Sudarshan, Manda II, Manda I and the first glimpses of the Bhagirathi massif summed up the day. There was a tight section with a rope fixed for comfort and a multitude of landslide zones which greeted one on this trail. Mostly dry with scattered trees, until one reaches Chidwasa, which is an oasis of pine trees; the result of an afforestation project. We reached Bhujwasa at dusk, home to a rather famous ashram of a Bangali Baba, which offers a bed and food to travellers for Rs. 300 a day. With the expedition finally underway, my emotional scale was already showing a huge rise.
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| Captivating views of Mt. Sudarshan (the prominent peak in the centre) |
The next morning dawned brightly with delightful sightings of a snow fox and a herd of mountains goats, locally known as Bharal (Himalayan blue sheep). The first part of the day's hike was an easy stroll upto Gaumukh (literally, cow's mouth), which is the snout of the Gangotri glacier. The glacial walls were huge, over 100 ft tall and heavily decorated with wide cracks. The next part of the hike was a long drawn out walk on the terminal moraine of the glacier. As we went up and down repeatedly on dunes of huge rocks, I came to sorely regret my sports shoes which left my ankle vulnerable and the knapsack I was carrying on my front, which obscured my view of my feet as I stepped repeatedly on the edges of rocks. I consistently feared the worst : a torn ligament or a displaced knee. After scraping through the moraine walk, there were some snow slopes to be climbed. Kishen ran up most of the sections saving Soniji and me some work, but on some sections I made my own way discovering how disagreeable it is to walk in simple shoes in foot deep snow. With foot deep snow in Nandanvan, the state of our Base Camp didn't really spell good news for our expedition. The cold weather had stretched too long this year. Once our camp was setup, the merrily red and yellow colored, conical shaped kitchen tent provided warm relief from the dipping mercury outside.
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| Gaumukh in the foreground, with the massive Gangotri glacier lying behind it, and the formidable Mt. Shivling in background |
I learnt an interesting thing that day : high cirrus clouds above mean bad weather in the mountains. En route, Soniji and Kishen had predicted bad weather looking at cirrus clouds. That turned out to be correct as by evening, the valley was completely enveloped in clouds.
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| BC at Nandanvan, with Shivling in the backdrop; Kedar Dome on the left |
As we sipped chai at Soniji's camp, our teammates kept trickling in. Sushil reached last, utterly exhausted. He got so tired at one point, that he urged Aakash to carry him up the mountain. Aakash was not pleased one bit. Abhi fell ill late at night, probably due to altitude. Looking at him nauseated and weak, Tiger decided that Abhi would not be a part of the expedition any further. Sushil too decided to quit, saying that the amount of snow and his zero experience at it made him feel rather uncomfortable.
From now on, we would repeat iterations of load ferries and camp shifts for subsequent shifts to higher camps. The number of load ferries would depend on the terrain and the amount of load to be transferred. For shifting to ABC (Advanced Base Camp), our next camp, one load ferry was planned, with the four porters assisting us with over 30 kg loads.
For the first load ferry, all of us except the porters carried ration loads to the ABC site. The walk to ABC was a pleasant one, made longer only by the ample amounts of snow covering these meadow grounds, situated next to the Chaturangi glacier. The area, radiating from Gangotri glacier, has a rich density of high and mighty points. Walking parellel along the Chaturangi glacier, one can reach the Kalindi Khal pass and cross over to Badrinath. Sightings of Sita Parvat and Mt. Chandra flanking it provided a fitting background during our walk. Vasuki Parvat (named after the demon Vasuki that Krishna slayed) reared its massive head as one approached ABC. On the other side of the Gangotri glacier, I got to see expansive views of Bhrigupanth and the famed Shark's Fin of Mt. Meru. Closer to us, the gigantic mass of Bhagirathi II was astonishing. From BC, it had appeared to be a friendly mountain with gentle slopes. Now, it's other face(s), with serrated ridges and sheer snow slopes came into focus emphasizing why it shouldn't to be taken lightly. Rockfall areas near it's summit had cost dozens of climbers their lives and earned it the nickname, Killer Peak. Hmmm ...
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| On the walk to ABC; Mt. Chandra, first on the left; Sita Parvat (batman shaped) in the centre; Vasuki Parvat with its rocky face on the right |
The next day all of us completed the shift to ABC. Vic and Mandy recovered from their weakness following the move to BC and a bad night's sleep. Kishen and Mahesh, our expert kitchen staff, were convinced to shift too. They had been reluctant to shift, because the logistics organizer had failed to arrange a pair of snow boots for each of them. Early in the day, as I hurried to reach the campsite ahead of all, I discovered the inherent disadvantages of reaching a high, vacant campsite early. Through two hours of waiting, suffering in the raging wind and beating the snow to prepare sites for camps, I shivered and longed for some food and rest. Post settling in, in the evening, we had a small puja ceremony to seek blessings from the imagined weather and mountain gods.
The wind howled and made the tents really creak at night. As high velocity winds whipped down the valley, from inside the tent, I could see the wind pushing against the facing sides of the tent. I put my faith in our tent setting-up skills and just hoped that all the strings and ropes wouldn't give in. If they did, we'd have to get out in the sub-zero temps and screaming winds to set it up again. Thankfully, it all turned out fine and our blue A-shaped canvas passed the test. Meanwhile, I was rediscovering the pains of having a full bladder whilst lying packed in my sleeping bag inside the benign confines of the tent.
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| Campsite at Upper Nandanvan (ABC); Bhagirathi I, and Bhagirathi IV in the background in the centre, seen left to right |
Fitful sleeps, an effect of high altitude, were a common phenomenon in out camp. I had been having bad nights since a couple of days, gathering only 3-4 hours of sleep. Vic and Mandy decided to take the next day off because of being severely affected thus. A couple of us also heard whispers of the supernatural. Aakash and Vijay asserted having heard footsteps during the whole night. They thought it to be a rambling ghost. Stories floated of how the nearby Vasuki Tal campsite, base for Vasuki Parvat ascent and a campsite on the Kalindi Khal trail, was one of the most haunted sites around. The ghosts there delighted in opening up the zips of tents at night. The ghost of the 'Maggi Girl' was a curious one, which having died before eating a declared packet of maggi, returned to haunt some trekkers in the area for maggi !
We geared up for our first load ferry to Camp One (at 5350 m) the following day. Most of us carried some ration, plus our personal technical equipment (crampons, harness, jumar, descender, carabineer, helmet). The plan was to start early, around 7 AM, but with classis Indian tardiness, we started at 8. The first hour was easy, with the snow retaining its firmness, and gradual inclines. And then, it got really messy. Aakash was leading the trail with Vijay and me immediately behind him, and we could see his feet sinking in deep up to his shins and the footsteps getting deeper. The going got slow. There were no rocks at this altitude, and we avoided sitting on our rucksacks during stops to not get them wet. I took a chance at breaking the trail, and immediately realized what a painful process it was. Sinking feet sapped energy much quicker, and required me to pause frequently to catch my breath. We had just graduated from a trekking group to a climbing expedition.
After 90 minutes of such plodding, we reached the tiny plateau above the last hump where was to be our Camp One (C1). We had basically traversed around the mountain from one of its ridges' tail at Nandanvan to the starting point of the slopes that formed its East face. At the C1 site, we rigged a three man tent and dumped our loads inside. Gautam found it tough to keep up the pace, and Tiger valiantly carried his load up the last some steps to C1.
Back in the tent, I can't help musing. I've been sharing my tent with Dj and Giri. Techies who love landscapes and enjoy photographing it, I can relate to the two most from amongst all the members. We shared our reasons for taking a shot at climbing the peak to the most extent : it was fun, it was unspeakably beautiful and was to be relished as a physical challenge. Although I had made good friends here, I missed the joy of being in the outdoors with close friends. Decisions are united and come faster, little fights are easily forgotten and the evening banter is much too fun. As someone rightly put it, happiness is camping with friends.
After an animated discussion, it was decided that the next day would be a load ferry day too. The guides, Aakash, Deb and Satya would rest. Given my enthusiasm, and consistent fitness levels over the past days, I was given a rest day too, and decided that I'll shift along with Satya and Aakash to the summit camp the day post shift to C1. This gladdened me to no small extent. My workouts over the past three months were paying off. Even though at that time I had grown tired of running on circular tracks and doing stairs with a rucksack on, none of it seemed in vain. I spent the day lazying in the sun, and fitting crampons to my boots.
With the rest of the guys walking above, it was noticed that Mandy was walking slowly at the last of the pack. Vic was the last to have had passed him, on his way back down. He was seen to go up the last hump, a few metres beyond which C1 lay. Then he disappeared for an hour. This was worrying, since it was Mandy's first time at these heights, and with the scorching sun in the sky, it was possible that giddiness or exhaustion might have overcome him. Vic was blamed for leaving the slow member on his own. Meanwhile, the rescue team of Satya and me geared up to reach C1, if need be and check on him. Half an hour into the climb, the figure of Mandy descending appeared. A merry Mandy greeted us around 20 minutes later with tales of him relaxing, munching and doing breathing exercies for an hour at C1. And thus, ended our amusing rescue mission.
Another of Kishen's weather predictions came true that night. The piercing sun during daytime had probably led to too much evaporation from the snow slopes, presenting itself as heavy snowfall at night. As we lay down in our tents, calls for 'Jhaadte Raho' reverberated to remind everyone to keep shaking their tent walls to throw off the snow, failing which the tents would start getting buried, sides first. In the middle of this night, a sharp, stretched out shriek was heard. For some seconds, I attributed it to the ghost which had been haunting various members of our expedition during the past some days. Some seconds later, I could hear words and laughter from the neighbouring tent belonging to Vijay, Gautam, Tiger and Vic. Turned out, the culprit was Gautam, who had gotten trapped in his sleeping bag, stomach down. High altitude and ghost stories got the better of his composure.
The camp shift to C1 was completed with another late start, and this time, there was no Aakash to help us break the trail after yesterday's snowfall. The last hump on the walk proved tedious work. Dj, Vijay and I took turns breaking the trail and some quiet determined teamwork in the fierce sunlight provided sweet rewards. The camp setup at C1 was intriguing. There were eleven members, staying in three 3-man tents. Two of the tents, each measuring 6ft X 6ft, had four members squeezing in with their rucksacks and boots. It was lovely, if you know what I mean ! The kitchen tent was a beauty. The kitchen part of it was formed by joining a second outer, which started from its opening. An embankment of snow under its hem provided the stove shelter from the wind.
The plan for the next day had a disappointing twist for me. Deb alongwith Satya and Aakash would now make the shift to Summit Camp, while the rest of would be just doing a load ferry. All the technical equipment, some ration, butane cyclinders alongwith stoves and a tent were packed to be ferried to Summit Camp the next morning. We made a disturbingly late start at 10 under an overcast sky.
While the slow walk was providing relief to some members, Aakash, breaking the trail, was having a really tough time, trudging through shin deep snow. I personally detest slow walks because of the lack of adrenaline. Around 90 minutes into the walk, it started to snow lightly. The snow gradually increased in intenstiy until we were forced to take out our rain/snow protection clothing. The ones who didn't carry theirs sorely regretted it. We reached a point where a high rock pillar jutted out of the snow, with a simultaneous increase in the slope gradient. By this time, the snow had taken out the punch from all the members, and it was decided to dump all the stuff there. The members unloaded, and immediately started their descent. The descent, although quick, was made under whiteout conditions, and wasn't without a couple of tense moments. Surprisingly, Satya, Aakash and Deb also descended with the tent, since the conditions were deemed too rough to setup a campsite. Aakash suffered after the walk, as was evident from his vomiting at the dump site. This must have contributed to the decision to not setup a campsite. Aakash decided to descend to ABC for the night to recuperate.
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| Satya, on the hike to Summit Camp; the little marks in the centre down the slope are our tents at C1 |
In the evening, after everyone had calmed down after the descent and was well rested, a serious discussion ensued on Giri's health. During the shift to C1, Giri had been exceedingly slow. He had had a disturbed night at C1, coughing the whole while. In the morning, I had noticed him finding it difficult to gain a decent footing after wearing his snow boots. While we had been up, he had taken the day off, and had done nothing but try to sleep. To Mandy, the nature of his cough exhibited clear signs of fluid in his lungs. Combined with his disorientation, body ache and fatigue at rest, this indicated the onset of HAPE : a potentially deadly form of high altitude sickness. An intense discussion resulted in convincing Giri to descent. Since it became apparent at the start that Giri could not walk by himself, Satya and Dj closely assisted him during the descent to ABC. They had started at 7PM under a threatening sky. They reached ABC at 10 in the night (on a route that normally doesn't take more than an hour to descend), persevering snowfall on the way.
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| Mandy alongside the kitchen tent; the heavy snow buried and tore the green kitchen outer |
With Satya and Aakash at ABC, Deb was hesitant to lead the pack to Summit Camp the next day. Instead of taking advantage of the clear weather window, he insisted on waiting for a weather report from the guys at ABC (who, if an expected party had arrived at BC, would get the report from there) over the walkie talkie. When I later got to know, that Aakash had tried messaging Deb to move to Summit Camp (C2), I couldn't help feeling that our summit attempt was a fiasco in the making. As a result, the day was lost to talking all that could be talked sitting sheltered in a tent at 5350 m.
A daring idea was mooted at night : start at 10 PM, and push for the summit. The point for this decision was that the skies were clear, and given the weather over the past days, me might not get clear weather for two consecutive days required to make the summit, going by the normal plan (shift to Summit Camp in daytime, push for summit at night). I was ambivalent, but leaning towards going up. Gautam and Tiger were all for it. Dj didn't support it, since he had shifted to C1 from ABC today afternoon. Mandy and Vic too wanted to go by the normal plan, since this plan involved climbing without fixed ropes and seemed too hasty. And so this plan was booted.
Half an hour into next day's hike to C2, and I feel empty. Hollowed from the inside. I can't feel the adrenaline flowing, and my energy levels are at zero. Seems the result of not drinking and eating enough. The last night I felt good, with no inkling of exhaustion. Now, it's just an empty tank, stripped of all guns. I try to get myself going by smiling, talking and playing Hendrix inside my head alternately. None of it works. My body is in hibernation mode.
I have limited water, just below a litre. I think of downing a substantial part of it, but that'll leave me with little for the rest of the expected long walk. Even if I make it somehow, I'll be dog tired by the end of it, with no reserves to enable me to make a summit attempt.
Satya engages me in conversation at my rest spot. He advises me to be cautious, and to listen to my body. If my body and mind signal me to stop, I shouldn't continue. He also cites two good reasons why reaching the summit would be a long shot : expected bad weather for the night, and the practical difficulty of fixing ropes upto the summit in a single day.
I am flummoxed. Giving up is not something I'm used to. By nature, I detest quitting in situations where I've been directed to by passion. I look up and find little motivation in climbing to a snowy windswept ledge at 5800 m. I can feel something seriously wrong with my body. A second later, I instinctively reach my decision. I decide to throw in the towel.
That's not it though. I descend to C1, and decide to eat and drink a bit, and wait around an hour to see if my body responds positively. While I'm waiting for something inside to click, I can hear Vic and Aakash shouting at me to go down to ABC. They're probably thinking that my body has responded adversely to high altitude, in which case descending would be the logical choice. I can't feel anything going inside me and it doesn't look like anything will. It's over. Today's my bad day and I need to accept it. My attempt is done. It's time to go to ABC.
So while I returned and recovered at ABC, the rest of the team settled uncomfortably at C2. The weather was unrelenting, with snow falling in large quantities during night. Around 2 AM, when the skies cleared, they took everyone by surprise. "Suit up", it was called out. Dj's boots had been kept outside, and had literally frozen as a result, with ice inside his inner boots. They took time to melt. The party made a costly late start at 4 AM. At the late start, Satya had already bailed out, citing an impossible or worse, lethal summit. Mandy didn't go because of reasons I'm not aware of. The rest of the team put up a fight in the knee/thigh deep snow, but decided to quit in the worsening snow conditions after ascending some 200 - 300 m. They then packed up and came straight down to ABC.
While the members hobbled into ABC, Giri, Mahesh and I were leaving for BC. Giri had been lying low at ABC, but the moderate descent of 550 m from C1 to ABC hadn't helped him much. As Kishen related, he would hardly move. When he did, he couldn't move on his own. And he had little appetite. A grey sky and light snowfall loomed over us as we made slow progress to BC. At BC, an NCC team whose logistics were being seen by the same organizer as ours, had set up camp. The doctor there took a look at Giri, gave him a diamox, and advised us to descend regardless of the snowfall. While their warmth and tea charged us up, three of the porters were convinced to accompany and support us.
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| Vasuki Parvat in all its majesty, while going back to BC from ABC |
Tiger, Gautam, Vijay and Aakash charged ahead on their way to Gangotri after a brief meeting. I was disappointed by their apparent disinterest in Giri's state and their implicit refusal (explicit in the case of some members) to help. Giri was bravely shouldered for the majority of the route by two porters. At times, he had to be carried on the back of a porter. Between jokes that he was a heavy 80 kg monster on the backs of flighty fellows, we managed to make it to Bhujwasa by dusk. To my relief, Giri had been getting better since morning, and after descending today's 1000 m, felt much better. Vic and Mandy made a late push from ABC to reach Gangotri, and took a wee bit risk doing that. They made it at around 1 in the night, and managed to squeeze out a meal from the cook at Hotel Mandakini who was unhappily roused from his sweet slumber.
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| Giri being shouldered, and our three porter companions; on the left, the true right bank of Gangotri glacier |
It's hard to look back at such a trip and come up with a single statement describing it. It was aesthetically enriching, mentally challenging, at times body numbing, but for the most part, fun of the purest kind. The only thing I felt while leaving Gangotri was that I'll be coming back to the mountains. Soon.
