Climb every mountain, ford every stream……
After the last trek to summit Shitidhar the mountains beckoned once again this year when Aarti (from now on rt) started working on the logistics for a trek in himachal. A few weeks after the idea circulated the nitty gritties fell into place
The destination: Chandertaal lake (elevation of 4200mt above mean sea level )
The people: Me, RT & hubby namit, Ayshu(rts friend from school) & hubby Deepak, Santosh(my friend from school, santo from now on) & Karthik (deepaks friend from college, gku from now on) ….. (that truly was one link list J)
The guide: Shubhranjan Thakur (from now on ranjan)
The time: The week of 15th august (so we could save on a days leave), a total of 9 days in which we planned to trek for 6 days.
Since the planned trek was a strenuous and longer one (than my last trek) the next month saw a few of us (yours truly included) gymming away to glory while the rest hoped to rise to the occasion. As the trek grew nearer my life revolved around shopping, getting the tickets booked, getting to know all ‘the strangers who were to be my fellow-felli trekkers, and telling the rest of the world about the planned trek & making them jealous. A week before D-day we did have one major setback when ranjan called to tell us that there had been a landslide on the route we were planning due to heavy rains in Manali. A decision had to be made if we would go on as planned or reschedule (Santo actually spent two sleepless nights in the fear that this dream trip of his would not happen). Thanks be to God we went ahead with the hope to change the route or the destination based on the situation in manali once we got there. Finally on the 12th of August the seven of us flew into delhi at different times and met up at ISBT (the bus terminus) to board the Volvo for manali. Like all times before, much to the others envy I slept through the twelve hours of traffic jams, bad roads, tunnels and breaks. Just as we set foot in manali the clouds burst out in our welcome and lo, our acclimatization trek was in the water. We headed to Guptramjis (GRJ) home in vashisht. After freshening up and a quick lunch we went on a short walk along the roads. During dinner (lemme mention the yum chowmein) along with ranjan and a topography map we looked at all the alternative routes to chandertaal (since the original route through hampta pass was not possible due to the collapse of one of the bridges along it) and all the alternative destinations. At the end of it ranjan decided that we would go to chandertaal through the motorable route through the expanse of the spiti valley.
Day 1 (August 14, 2006)
After a good b’fast of parathas we packed our stuff & ourselves into two sumos. Other than the seven of us & Ranjan, the group consisted of our ace chauffers, the wise Birbalji & the daredevil pavan & our chefs, Prakashji & Arjun. The first part of the route was the ascent from manali (6000ft amsl) to Rothang pass(13000ft amsl) where we were treated to the view of lush green valleys of manali with its roaring waterfalls at intervals and the clouds enveloping it at the top (the first of the many picture postcard backdrops we were going to witness on this trip). At Rothang myself and Gku walked to the ledge to look at the other side of the valley, which is brown in stark contrast to the greenery on the opposite side. Then we headed downhill where we encountered a cavalcade of about 30 army vehicles heading to the plains in order to stock up supplies for the cold winters.
DYK (Did You Know): That places like Leh & other areas to the north through Rothang pass are cut off from the rest of the world for about 6 months a year due to snow covered roads. Currently a 13km tunnel is under construction so that Rothang no longer will remain a bottleneck for access during the cold season.
Where green had been the artist’s master color so far from here on brown and black were the dominant colors in the landscape surrounding us. We lunched at Jagath auntys dhaba, a roadside dhaba. The point that struck me about all the roadside dhabas was that though these had small & compact stone kitchens they were always neat and well maintained. From here on for the next few days we always had the gushing brown waters of the river Chandra on our side to keep us company.
A note on the roads(so called), absolutely no metal, hugging the mountains on one side and the river chandra on the other, many streams run through it and sometimes the road is the stream & the stream is the road. There was absolutely no human habitation for the next 30kms before we reached our camp site for the day, chatru. Here the distance time funda is staggered since we only average about 20kms/hr.
DYK: Basic requirements of a good campsite in the mountains
1. a freshwater stream
2. Not too close or in level with a roaring river (What if a flashflood must happen?)
3. Not near a mountain face than has boulders or stones (what if a landside must happen?)
4. Some boulder cover nearby for your crapping & peeing sessions
5. Preferable if is a plain surface (easier to set up tents) and there is some land cover on the side from where the wind comes
Chatru is one such location, our cute little tents were set up. Then Ranjan took us on a short (but steep) acclimatization trek where he judged our stamina & fitness. It was a tough climb and we were panting by the time we reached the target. From there we could see the snow covered deotibba peak. Returned to base, had our dinner and settled down for our first night in the dis-comfort of sleeping bags & tents. As luck would have it, it poured that night and so we slept to the accompaniment of the gurgling waters of Chandra, the roaring winds of chatru & the lashing rains.
Day 2: Aug 15, 2006
When we woke up the next morning we could see fresh snow on the higher peaks. After a quick b’fast we set out on foot. The plan was to trek the first 8kms to chottadara on foot and then do the rest of the way to Battal by sumo. As you walk through those roads you feel like every few steps a new landscape reveals before you, from bouldered mountains, to jagged rocks, to steep straight faced rocks, to grey loose soil mountains and moraines. Now we got to see lots of glaciers in between mountains at higher elevations. The only other living beings we saw were the shepherds with their flocks of sheep and mountain goat, and not too forget the good looking thick furred shepherd dogs. The way this set climbs the steep faces of mountains does make one jealous at their prowess.
DYK: Old snow takes on a black colour and Ranjan told us that if we were to hit this hardened snow with an ice-axe it would clang as if it were hit against metal.
On the way we got to hear tragic stories of how trekkers who had camped in a relatively safe looking location got washed away by the river during the night due to flash floods and how 3 sumos carrying Japanese trekkers got washed away by a landslide. So the key takeaway is that always be careful in the mountains, never venture without a guide & listen to what your guide has to say. After a good walk we reached Chotadara (A point to be noted here is that each of these landmarks like chatru, chotadara, battal etc have only one or two dhabas to mark human habitation and nothing else but mountains). From there we completed the rest of the trip to battal by jeep. Battal was to be our home for the next 3 days. We found a good camp site and had the pleasure of having the jawans of Dogra scouts as our neighbors. After setting up our tents again and lunch we set out once more on the road to chandertaal on foot. We just trekked about 3kms. Rt had the first signs of altitude sickness in the form of a severe headache. This road is so narrow that at some points it is just about enough for the fourth wheel of the vehicle to make it on the footing of the other 3 wheels. We could see the Chandrabagha peaks. These peaks are numbered for names and referred to as CB-12, CB-13 etc. The dogra scouts were to summit CB-13 and one more target for their mission was to look out for the remains of a airplane crash that happened in 1968 (blackbox is still missing). I did some googling and found this about the airplane crash in ‘The tribune’.
Jammu, August 6 2003The Army and Air Force today abandoned the joint aerial recce of the 35-year-old air crash site on the South Dakka glacier (16,000 ft) in Lahaul-Spiti district because of bad weather. The recce was to be conducted with a view of formulating a strategy for extricating the bodies of the 102 soldiers who were killed in an air crash 35 years ago and are lying buried under snow since then.
The AN-12 aircraft on its flight to Leh from Chandigarh with 102 persons on board, including six members of the crew, four officers and 92 jawans of various regiments, went missing on February 7, 1968. The defence authorities continued the search for six months and then abandoned it as no signs of the wreckage were detected
This was a search mission organized in 2003 and today another attempt is being made to recover any remains of that crash.
On the way back myself & santo chatted up with two jawans. It seems most of the guys were locals and took to the mountains like fish to water but one of them had suffered the same problems of acclimatization like us. Got back to base, all of us sat holed up in our dining tent trying to recover as most had some ache or the other.
Day 3: Aug 16, 2006
Today was the day we had been waiting for. Set out by sumo for chandertaal. The drive was truly adventurous and not meant for the weak hearted. We truly had pledged our lives in birbalji & pavan’s hands. We trekked the last 5kms to chandertaal. The first view of the aquamarine blue waters of the lake is truly beyond words. Thankfully when we reached there it was not windy and so from atop the hill we could see the reflection of the surrounding mountains on the placid waters of the lake. We then went down to the shores of the lake and the guys took a dip in the cold & crystal clear waters(. The lake is supposed to contain herbal properties and thanks to its inaccessibility it still remains virgin and unspoiled. We then went for a walk along the periphery of the lake, about 3kms. On the way we went up to see the green meadows of sundaram meadows. This raised plateau was surrounded by rivers on either side and one wondered how the shepherds got on top of it. The face of the plateau along the river was very very picturesque. We then returned from there and started our trek back. By now the altitude had begun to play and most were too tired to walk. Myself, Santo & Ranjan trekked back to the meeting point for lunch while the others took the sumo. After this drive we were all in awe of the prowess of a sumo, it truly is an all terrain vehicle.
DYK: New local buses are used on this route for about a year and then sent down to the plains (now you know why the local bus is in a bad state ;-)
Back to camp and noone had the energy, so we just sat holed up in the warm sumo and played many (actually few very long) rounds of uno. Dinner and then back to our tents. Sleeping at Battal was an experience in itself, we would take around half an hour each night to add on many layers of warm clothing in order to catch some sleep in those sleeping bags.
1chandertaal lake - love at first sight
Day 4: Aug 17, 2006
Today our destination was Kunzum La(the second highest pass at 4551 mts amsl) and the village of Lossar. The entire route offered us a changing landscape with parts looking just like the pics I have seen of the grand canyon. At Kunzum-la is a small tibetian temple. All vehicles passing through here do take a deviation and circle the temple. Every vehicle sticks to this ritual no matter how many times they pass there since it is supposed to bring bad luck otherwise. In this temple are two small rocks which have some magnetic power, and the belief is that if you have a pure mind the coin you press against that rock will stick to it. Amidst that brown landscape the village of Lossar springs as a surprise in green. Here I tasted the sweetest of green peas I have ever had. The village is very well planned. We checked out the monastery and museum. After 4 full days we had the luxury of using a proper loo at the pwd rest house there. Since this village is cut off from the rest of the world for a full half year the people spend the winters celebrating festivals and other religious activities. The women weave woolen garments during this time. From the caretaker at the pwd house we came to know that every family that has more than two sons have to send one to the monastery to train to be a lama. It is a completely tibetian culture in this part of the country. After a simple and healthy lunch we started back. On our way back myself, ranjan, rt & namit did a short trek from kunzum-la to a point where there were many tibetian religious flags along the path that connects this pass to chandertaal lake. From that high elevation we could catch a distant glimpse of the blue waters of chandertaal lake. Evenings were the toughest to while away with the chill winds coming in. We spent a lot of time in the warmed up sumos playing cards or sitting in the warm kitchen tents and chatting with the others and listening to interesting local stories and scary ghost stories. Since this was the last night we were to spend in the mountains we looked forward to surviving the cold and awaited the morning.
Day 5: Aug 18, 2006
The day to bid adieu to the mountains & battal, we packed, took some pics with the jawans who were also moving to their main base camp below the glacier and started off on foot. In the next hour or so we walked like there was no tomorrow and managed to cover a good distance (about 8kms) before the sumos caught up with us. On our way we stopped at chatru and handed off all the remaining vegetables and chocolates to the kids of the workers who take care of clearing those mountain roads. We went into one of their houses and again though very compact it was very neatly arranged and maintained. My heart went out to those kids who have nothing but the hills for company, no schools, no friends, no toys, no parks, no tvs just lots and lots of mountains and the only break to their routine is the vehicles that pass and trekkers who camp there. After reaching rothang and crossing over from the brown to the green side, the valleys looked greener than when we left them thanks to the rains in the days past.
Now after lunch at madi we returned to try our hands at para gliding. We decided to take the medium level but we did not realize what we had bargained for until the gypsy that was to take us to the take off point kept climbing higher & higher. We were gasping for breath by the time we climbed from the road to the launch site. This was really scary and at least 3 of us had second thoughts on whether we wanted to be doing it. The heavy weights were to go first and the sight of them running along with their tandem jumper and two others along their sides down a rugged steep slope for take off was not in the least encouraging. Finally everyone did manage to take off & I was the last to go. My first attempt was unsuccessful & when we got the next gust of wind I did manage to take those 3 steps needed to take-off (benefits of being light). That feeling of flying is exhilarating…. The magnificent view of the lush green valley before you and the clouds at your level was truly out of the world. Suraj let me steer the chute for some time but the landing was again amazing when you descend at full speed in a series of pendulum like maneuvers. It was a smooth landing and we left there after collecting the video recordings of our great adventures.
2oops we're falling
Back at vashisht it was time to scrub ourselves clean after 5 days of no bathing. In the evening we got to see a religious procession where the main deity in the vashisht temple was returning from a trip outside to a mela. The pujari got possessed in the course of the proceedings and made some predictions which nobody understood. The men carrying the deity kept swaying & falling on their sides, it is said this happens since the weight of the deity keeps changing. That night we decided to check out the restaurants of vashisht. This place is a weird combination of the traditional locals on one side and lots & lots of doped foreigners on the other. All the eateries here offer international cuisine and we dined at a roof top café called aryavratha. Lovely dinner there, where we all chatted up. The food came in slow but it was worth the wait since every dish was delicious and I think this was one of the best conti food I ever had. The booze session here was a time for bonding and camaraderie. Worthy of mention is the smiley waiter here who managed to make us say we were not hungry in response to his innocent (big smile) question of ‘aap ko bhook nahi lagi hain’ at 12 midnight when we were actually dying of hunger. We then went back to our rooms and feasted on the yummy yummy cakes from the german bakery.
Day 4: Aug 19, 2006
After bidding good bye to GRJ and his family we did the regular touristy stuff at manali, I think the place is too commercialized. Checked out the hadimba temple and one monastery. Started back for delhi in the evening after some confusion in the bus stop. Reached delhi by 10am the next day and back to Bangalore late aug 20th.
I have tried my best to use the “look & sound” in words to convey and capture what we saw, felt and learnt on this trip. On the same note as I started off
….Follow the rainbow, till you find your dream
Picture links
http://picasaweb.google.com/deeptipookat/Chandertaal_aug_2006
