Trek to Sar Pass
Another trek to the Northern part of India. This was, again, organized by YHAI (http://yhaindia.org) and this time around it was a longer trek and in the snows. The place was Sar Pass (in Himachal Pradesh, near Kullu. The last trek with YHAI was very decent and I had no hesitation to join them again in May.
Unlike the previous Sar Pass treks organized by YHAI, this time they decided to explore a different route and no one had any idea of how easy/difficult nice/boring it would be. And after the trek was completed I heard from a few people (that includes my friend Aravind) who have been to Sar Pass before through the other route that the new one was more adventurous, beautiful and nice.
It was a 10 day trip with 7 days of trek. The trek started from Kasol (7000 ft) and on the 5th day of the trek we reached Sar Pass (13800 ft) and were back to Kasol on the 7th day. As a novice and learning birder, I did some birding and the pictures contain some of the bird pictures too.
The trek was a complete experience in terms of the terrain, weather, landscapes, etc. The terrain ranged from jeep trails to narrow muddy trails, steep climbs/descends to flat plains, through the forests and into the plains, on the vast stretches of open grass, to glaciers, ice and snow. And we experienced all kinds of weather - snow storm, rain, sunny stretches, cold temperatures, windy and cool breeze,... And all through the trek, we were the only human souls around and that added to the experience.
Dates: May 1st to May 10th 2007
Location:
This trek is around the Kullu area in Himachal Pradesh. To be more specific it is close to Kasol and Manikaran.
Trek Route and list of places we passed by:
Base camp (Kasol - 7000 ft) to Unchar Dal to Guna Paani (8000 ft) to Faul Paani (9500 ft) to Zirmi (11000 ft) to Tila Lotni (12500 ft) to Sar Pass (13800 ft) to Biskeri Thatch (11000 ft) to Bhandak Thatch (8000 ft) to Barshini to Kasol.
The trek route
How to reach Kasol
Kasol can be reached by bus from Bhuntar, Kullu or Manali. From Delhi you can reach Kullu by the Himachal state transport bus. There is also a small airport in Bhuntar and if time is a constraint one could fly to Bhuntar.
Leaving Bangalore
(May 1st 2007)
Me and Aravind flew to Delhi from Bangalore and joined Sundar who also reached Delhi (by a different flight). After some roaming around in Delhi (with the highlight being the looong walk around Chandini Chowk for that malai lassi!!) and exploring the Metro, we took the Himachal Pradesh Road Transport bus to Kullu.
Reaching Base Camp Kasol
(May 2nd 2007)
The bus journey was fairly comfortable (reason being the Volvo bus) and we were surprised to see a high-end food court called the "Cafe 24" in the middle of nowhere which catered almost all kinds of cuisines in the middle of the night. We reached Kullu around 9:30 AM, though the scheduled time was around 7 AM. After booking our return bus ticket (from Kullu to Delhi, we could just manage a normal bus ticket as all Volvo buses were booked) we left to Bhuntar and from there to Kasol. We reached the basecamp at around 12:30 PM.
We were supposed to report on 1st of May but we though 2nd morning is as good as the previous night. But because of the bus delays we could reach the campsite only around noon. Our group had left (around 8 AM) for the acclimatization trek and were returning when we had just arrived. Sriram, another friend of ours (also from Bangalore), had reached the campsite on 1st May as he didn't want to miss the acclimitization trek (because of his previous bitter experience). We guys had to miss this acclimatization trek and we just hoped we would be fine without it. After lunch, we spent the time exploring the place with little walks. An early dinner and we were off to sleep.
Acclimitization
(May 3rd 2007)
By 5:30 AM, we were up and off to the morning excercise routine which was followed by breakfast. Around 8 AM, we went off to a small session on rapelling. Me and Aravind did some good birding on the way back to the campsite. After lunch the stage was set for a good nap, but we were pulled for rock climbing. But as it started raining, the plan was scrapped and we came back to the campsite. We spent a good couple of hours re-arranging our bags and optimizing our bag load for the trek. After kit inspection and dinner we hit the bed only to be called for the campfire. We guys quit the boring campfire session mid-way. (By this time, there were around 120 people in the campsite - 3 groups of approximately 40 each. Our group had 39 people and was schedule to leave for the trek on May 4th and the other groups on following days).
Kasol (7000 ft) to Unchar Dal to Guna Paani (8000 ft), Distance: 5 kms
(May 4th 2007)
We woke up to a really cloudy and rainy morning. We were scheduled to start the trek today. My shoes weren't the best ones to trek with, particularly in snow, as I had a sporty sneakers though I was advised to have a DMS-Directly moulded sole. I had decided to use my floaters for the trek and use the shoe only during snow stretches. We started off around 9:15 AM (after some flagging off ceremony!!) by bus to Unchar Dal (also called Sheela village). The bus was a local one ( i.e., not exclusive for YHAI) and almost everyone (yeah, 39 of us) were on top of the bus. The ride was adventurous to say the least. With the Parbati river flowing some hundreds of feet below and adjacent to the road, the ride was a little exciting too. The weather got a little better with the sun coming out. We bought some support sticks (for 5 bucks each) and started the trek downhill. After a half-hour downhill trek we crossed parbati river after which we just kept going uphill. We reached the campsite around 12:45 PM but were left into the tents only around 3 PM. The campsite was Guna Panni and it was a harvested crop-land and hence attracted a few birds. The evening was getting colder and we quickly finished our dinner and wrapped ourselves into the sleeping bag.
Guna Paani (8000 ft) to Fual Paani (9500 ft), Distance: 5 kms
(May 5th 2007)
A sunny morning awaited us. Aravind and I did some more birding while the breakfast and lunch were getting ready. From here-on, we had a guide for most segments of our trek route. The camp leader mentioned that the day's trek would be easy and should not be a problem. After a climb uphill, we reached this small edge of the mountain, which for some reason attracted huge number of butterfiles. It was a treat to watch them fly all over you! We then started downhill and hit upon a small stretch of glacier. The slopes of the glacier did make us take some very careful steps. Following the glacier, it was an uphill trek through the forests and because of the rains, the trails were damp and slippery. We had walked for quite some distance but the campsite (Fual Panni) was never within reach. We breaked around 1:00 PM for lunch and started our onward journey around 2 PM. After an hour's trek we came across an uphill 50 degrees hike. With drizzle starting up, the uphill climb was a little exhausting. But once we were up, the campsite was within reach and we reached the campsite around 2:30 PM. The tents in this campsite were in dangerous positions i.e., sloping one-side or the other with some wood logs and supports. The campsite was in the middle of huge trees and hence there wasnn't much light and with a cloudy evening, we had to settle inside the tent. Campfire attracted almost everyone except the few of us and we eagerly awaited dinner call while playing cards. After dinner, without wasting further time, we slept off.
Fual Paani (9500 ft) to Zirmi (11000 ft), Distance: 6 kms
(May 6th 2007)
There were no set places to attend Nature calls (YHAI had arranged a toilet for women though) and we had to find our place amidst the jungle, bushes and trees. So the earlier you wake-up, the easier it is. Having used to waking up early, (and the natural setting helps to waks-up as the sun comes out and the birds start whistling), I woke up by 5:15 AM and took care of the Nature's call. While on the way, I found this animal which looked similar to a Mongoose. Since I didn't have my camera I couldn't take pictures then. After breakfast, we set out to our next campsite. The last two days I managed the trek with my floaters and I was advised to trek with the shoes as there was some possibility of snow. So my floaters went into the bag and I started the trek with my old sporty sneakers with no grip. As expected the trails were a little steeper (to start with) and became easier as we went along. With some very narrow trails and a tasking final stretch we managed to reach the campsite (Zirmi) around 12 noon. But we were let into the camspsite only around 2:30 PM. This campsite was amazingly large (compared to the previous two campsite) with good stretches of grasslands. From here we could see our destination (Sar Pass), standing tall and at quite some distance. The views were picturesque. Because of the altitude, it was getting cold by late afternoon evening. After dinner, we were dragged into a small campfire (with everyone squeezing into a single tent for the campfire) and we guys were just physically present with our thoughts on hitting the bed. After the campfire, we slept off into the cold night.
Zirmi (11000 ft) to Tila Lotni (12500 ft), Distance: 6 kms
(May 7th 2007)
After breakfast, we started our trek to Tila Lotni. It came as no surprise that the route was steeper from step one. Our camp leader told us that the route though steep wouldn't be tough. After a long stretch of steeper and more steeper trails, we came to a point where we had to cross a 100m stretch of a glacier. This glacier, unlike the one on May 5th (Day 2), was looking huge with good depth of accumulated snow and a slopy downhill! A group of people went ahead of me. But with my grip-less shoes I barely managed to move easily (even to follow the foot-steps of others). My crawling pace was no doubt irritating to the ones behind as they had to wait in the middle of the glacier, looking at the slopy hills and probably inviting thoughts of what would happen if one falls down. Rajesh helped me to cross the glacier faster. After this one, we had to go through even longer stretch of glaciers, one of them as long as 500 mts or so. I tagged along with Rajesh so the crossing was a easier ride. By this time my shoes were drenched in snow (and water) and my legs really soggy and ice-cold and just short of being numb. Around 3 PM we reached the campsite and this campsite had a weird setting. There were no trees surrounding it, all vegetation had dried out, the only peak that lay above us was Sarpass. The campsite was in the middle of pockets of ice. It was freezingly cold and were advised to have good wollen socks and warm clothing for the night as well as for the trek next day. My shoes were completely wet and there was no hope of it drying by next morning. I just had a pair of woollen socks and (I and sriram) decided to buy a couple more (for 120 bucks each pair) for each of us. (Later we realized that it was of no help/use. We didn't use those at all). The dinner was served early (by 6 PM, when the usual time is around 7:30 or 8 PM) particularly because we could sleep off early and leave tghe next day by 4 AM, yes, 4 AM. The idea was to get to SarPass before sun starts to melt the ice/snow. Once the melting starts it is difficult to walk/trek. The night was cold but the sleeping bags kept us warm and cosy.
Tila Lotni (12500 ft) to Sar Pass (13800 ft) to Biskeri Thatch (11000 ft), Distance: 9 kms
(May 8th 2007)
This day of the entire trek was the most adventurous in terms of the weather and activity and here is a glimpse of it in a little more detail than the description of the earlier days. We woke up around 2:45 AM to attend to freezing nature calls. We were the first ones to be around that early in the midst of a snowy and icy morning. Breakfast and Lunch was ready by 4 AM or so and we started our trek at 4:30 AM (12500 ft) with moonlight and sub-zero cold temperatures. Just before the start, there was a small prayer (making it sound religious) asking for an peaceful cross across SarPass. As we climbed through the last few stretches to reach Sar Pass (13800 ft), the sun was burning bright and the ice below our foot was melting. It wasn't long before people started to remove their warm jackets and gloves. The last stretch to Biskeri ridge (14000 ft) was perhaps the most adventurous. It was a looooong walk (close to an hour or so) in the snow without any place to take a break. [The need for a shoe with good grip as you trek through the snow/glacier/ice cannot be emphasized more - I had a shoe with almost no grip and had to go through a lot of support system in terms of the guides to walk in the snow/glacier]. In a matter of few eye blinks, the sun disaappeared behind thick clouds and it started to snow heavily. The snow storm reduced the visibility (particularly the downhill visibility) to a few 100 ft. With one half of the body/face facing the storm and freezing at fast rates, we managed to reach Biskeri ridge (around 10:30 AM) and the snow storm subdued. A 200ft long walk on the ridge was as adventurous as it could get. Following this was the best part of the day which were the downhill slides from Biskeri ridge on snow -- 2 of them each 500 ft or so. After all the adventure to Biskeri ridge, the slide was a blissful experience and was worth the effort. Since we were the first group on this trek route this season, the snow was fresh and untouched and the unexpected snow-storm helped to create more layers of fresh snow. After a 1 hour trek in the rain, followed by some mild walk through the plains, we guys stopped 15 minutes before the campsite to dry and clean our clothes at a nearby stream. Around 4 PM, we reached Biskeri Thatch camp site (11000 ft). This place was absolutely amazing, had the best weather and was picture perfect - clear skies, luke warm sun rays, greenery all around, distant snow peaks and sounds of waterfall and birds. That was a perfect ending to the day. This place was a heaven for birders. But unfortunately, my camera couldn't withstand the rough weather changes (snow, rain, sun, slide, etc) and the auto-focus failed. So I had a tough time taking pictures for the rest of the trip. But managed to click a few despite the trouble, as it was too good a place to miss on the photo-shoots.
Because of the rain (which managed to keep away till this day of the trek) the tents and the grass area were all covered with wet clothes (for drying). It was cold, but not as much as the previous campsite.
While the entire day went on well, there were a couple of untoward incidences and I had the unfortunate privelege of watching both of them. While on the long stretch of walk in the snow without a place to break, one of the trekkers slipped and she rolled over in the snow around 40 ft downhill and stopped. While a few people immediately stepped up to help her, she was completely broken down in her confidence and her knees wouldn't move. It took her a while before she could get back her confidence. [We had 3-4 guides as we were the first group and it helped immensely]. And the next incident happened in the midst of the snow storm and while starting to walk on the ridge. One of the trekkers was running short on breath (oxygen) and the snow storm didn't help its cause. But soon he recovered fine. And since I was the last one in the entire group I had to watch them go through this and make sure my confidence levels didn't drop. To be honest, walking on the ridge after witnessing these two incidences wasn't easy. Every step I made was with so much caution and watchfulness and I had never been so cautious.
Biskeri Thatch (11000 ft) to Bhandak Thatch (8000 ft), Distance: 10 kms
(May 9th 2007)
We woke up early to do some birding. There were a lot of birds in the morning and we clicked a few shots before starting our trek down to bhandak thatch. It was a predominantly downhill trek with a few people slipping here and there. But the last stretch was exhaustingly steep and this lead to our colorful camp site - campsite with colorful tents and nice scenary around (clear blue skies with various tinges of green trees). We reached the campsite around 3 PM and relaxed the rest of the evening followed by dinner and a small campfire.
Bhandak Thatch (8000 ft) to Barshini to Kasol (7000 ft), Distance: 6 kms
(May 10th 2007)
This was the last day of the trek. We left around 8:30 AM and after 2 hour trek downhill, we almost reached Barshini town. There was a very little waterfall with one branch streaming into many. The water from this one was immensely tasty (better than the electrals and glucose and water we had during the course of the trek) and the waterfall by itself seemed to reflect Nature's beauty. After a stretch of birding, we reached Barshini at 11:00 AM. We quickly took a Maruti Omni to Manikaran and had a nice and soothing bath/massage in the hot springs. It was so relaxing to be in the hot water bath after the long trek and it gave the energy our legs and body was starving for. After having lunch at 1 PM, we reached our basecamp Kasol (by bus) around 2 PM. Around 4 PM, we left the base camp and Sundar/Sriram left to Kullu (as they were leaving to Delhi that night) while I and Aravind stayed back at Kasol in a hotel to spend the next day around Kasol doing some birding.
We decided to abandon the government bus (which wasn't Volvo) and booked a private volvo bus to Kullu. Aravind left to Kullu to cancel the already booked state transport ticket and reached back only around 9 PM to have a late dinner and all the while, I spent sleeping off :).
1 comments:
zaaaaaaaaaaaaakkasssssssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!! banavyo 6e..............
Post a Comment