Kedar Kantha : Kedar Kantha Summit

Lovely Morning

Still not much sleep and the first one to get up around 6. The sunrise happened around 6:30 and the sky again filled with various colours. The sunrise was matching the sunset second by second and I was relishing each moment.

I got ready and could see the summit within reach. I was also happy because we were not going to carry any stuff with us and no extra backpack which would make the walk much easier. Today was the day of a tough snow climb and we were asked to walk closely in the group and all of us followed RajMohan.  Breakfast today was Maggie and its always welcome. We did the warm up exercises and were ready to start by around 8 AM.

Look at the tiny dots, thats us ascending

It would have been 15 minutes into the walk and the summit seems much closer, this adds on to the enthusiasm, and we carry on, the approach was to go from the other side which would be more sunny and would have less ice/snow. The ascent was a bit tougher now and we were moving staright up on narrow paths. Things were starting to get tough and I was getting a bit scared, and then we hit the scariest patch, we have to cross from the side where the fall would be atleast 3-4K feet down andas soon as I looked at it, it got on to me, I was scared. Ashu bhai helped me get through that patch, and I was going to stick by him for the rest of the climb.

There were other similar paths and if it wasn’t for Praveen and Ashu Bhai, it would have been really difficult for me. I cant really say what exactly it was, scared of the height, the fall, the narrow path, but believe me the fall was so great that I could hardly see where it ends and the path was as inclined as it always was.

My misery was not to get over soon, and next was an inclined patch of snow almost 70 degrees and we got on all fours to keep climbing up. Adi (6feet 4) was behind me and ashu bhai was behind him, as Adi was trying to climb up he straightened his leg and whaaaammm, straight on the face of Ashu bhai, Ashu bhai blanked out for a moment but thankfully did not loose his grip and fall. Thankfully nothing major had happened.

Praveen Standing on the Summit

By this time I am more worried on how am I going to come down on this steep slope as looking down was the more difficult part, and it had really got me worried. But then we kept moving and reached the summit. Being on the summit was a great feeling J, a bit of relief for me, and it was really beautiful. We relaxed and njoied the view for some time, everyone clicked pictures. Visited the temple up top and njoied the view some more.

It was time to descend down and as we started it wasn’t seeming as difficult as I thought it would be and within 10-15 minutes the fear had gone away and I was descending comfortably. We were going through a different route and the route was really beautiful, snow patches and meadows and the peaks coming in between the misty layers looked amazing, it was not like the regular cloud cover, it was like thin layers of mist like waves covering the mountains.

Cant Walk, time to slide 

We approached some snowy patches now and I was comfortable getting down, there came a patch with extreme slope and Raj mohan told us to slide down, that’s the fun that was needed. I slid down th first path and Mehta was behind me, Mehta overshot the mark and was almost at the edge of the slope. It gave him the shivers and I continued on the slide down, we had a fun filled 5 minutes sliding down the snow and everyone quite njoied it. We stopped for a minute to remove the snow from our clothes and shoes. I really wanted to do that again, it really was great fun.

We continued to descend down slowly and now we didn’t require to take breathers keep walking slowly and you will reach. By afternoon we had reached the base camp and everyone was overjoyed. All of us had made it to the summit and was back safely. Lunch was served and everyone had it. We collected our stuff together and had a few group photographs. I bid adieu to Kedar Kantha.

We start descending again after lunch, its just afternoon and we need to reach somewhere around 9000 feet before nightfall which might happen as early as 5 and it was time to push the paddle and speed on. The initial part of the descent (now with the back pack) was ok, and we keep moving on without much stoppages. After half an hour my body was giving up and I started to slow down a bit.

Soon most of the trekkers had overtaken us and it was me ashu bhai and Praveen. At one point I could see two trails and couldnot not see any one on any of the trails, I started descending on one of the trails and asked ashu bhai to look at the other and unluckily I was on the wrong one and retreated to move on in the right direction.

Mayukh posing at the stream

We could hear a stream of river and thought there was a waterfall near by, immediately I thot of Gladston (my collegue, loves taking bath in a waterfall) and was excited to see it. As we turned we found out that it was a stream of river. As we approached the first thing I see is Imran slipping and falling hard, luckily he was not injured and just made everyone else aware to take a bit of precaution. As we came across the stream was frozen from above and the water was flowing from beneath, it was a lovely site to watch. Above all that it was fresh water, unbelievably fresh water. We had been drinking smoked water (the ice was cut or collected in pans and was heated in the fire made from burning wood, so it made the water taste like smoke and we named it smoked water) for the past three days and fresh water tasted tooooooo gud.

There were steep snow patches and with the back pack it was a bit difficult to walk across them, but then that’s what I was there for, to test my limits (between its not testing my limits, its just telling me that I sit on my ass too much and I need to start working out). We stopped at the same place where we had rested while going up and seen the summit for the first time. I was tired by now and the my knees, calf muscles and especially my toes were hurting bad. Arjun said it’s a decent of another 40 minutes and we should be there.

We now started descending along an empty river bed, which might be filled with water in summers and for long we kept following it. Every time I saw a meadow I thought it’s the place we camp today and no RajMohan asked us to descend some more. My toes were hurting real bad and I was loosing all energy. I was starting to slip backwards and now people were going out of sight.

I don’t know what took over me, and I decided to take on the challenge and I started to quicken my pace and seriously started to walk like a mad man, now I did not care about slipping or sliding and I just kept walking as fast as I could and believe me I overtook a lot of people, and reached near RajMohan. And we finally made a stop, oh I couldn’t walk anymore, Aditya was mad at RajMohan as to why we need to go so fast, and except for 4-5 of us no one was in near sight, we waited for 10-15 minutes and still there was no sign of anyone and I didn’t even want to move from there.

RajMohan told us that the camp was very near and asked us to move ahead, and the camp was in breathing distance and as I reached I crashed on the ground. It was a great relief to reach and rest. And as the camp fire was on everyone gathered along. Others started coming in and we found  out that one of the groups had lost its way and took time to find their way back.

Another important development was that LA had got cuts in his legs and he was unable to walk. As everyone was trying to give him support and encouragement, Imran said that if you are unable to wlak then they will bring the stretcher and u ll be carried along, and after hearing this who would want to move J. So it took a lot of effort from others and a lot of will power and strength on the part of LA that he slowly and steadily made back to the camp. It was a job well done.

It was around 7 and everyone gathered around the fire and Aditya wanted RajMohan to tell some ghost stories, and RajMohan tried his best. Aditya actually bet everyone to go in the jungle for half an hour in the dark and he wont be afraid, but then we weren’t so lucky that he would go J.

Antaksri Time :)

And the only thing to do was to play Antakshri, we got divided into 2 groups and started off, it was fun, our team had mainly myself, Sandhya, samyuktha, ashu bhai, Kuldeep and believe me the other team was headed entirely by sirlaxmi. My song knowledge goes backs 15-20 years and she was singing songs of 50’s, none of the people had heard 70% of the songs she was singing, but then she would keep singing, one after the other. Believe me you cant win against her, ever. In between the session dinner was served and todays dinner was egg curry and rajma ..yuuuuuuuuummmmmmmyyyy. loved the food the preparation and the quality of food that we had was just amazing, I loved each diet I had there.

The fire was going out and Arjun asked us to retreat in our tents. We decided to keep on playing and invited everyone to our tent, well then it was 8 people in one tent playing antaksri in freezing temperatures. It was a great experience. If it wasn’t for our protective Arjun who asked us to disperse we wouldn’t have stopped playing and yes Sri would have never run out of songs. Well then it was time to doze off with a day extremely well spent J .

Kedar Kantha : Juda ka Talab to KK Base Camp 27th Dec 2010

Since I had some sleep in the afternoon I couldn’t sleep at night and hearing snores all over the place wasn’t helping. The sleeping bag was also small and maneuvering inside it was fairly difficult, so another sleepless night for me. Got up around 6 again and got ready by 7. The breakfast was ready and we had bread butter and bread jam which was gud as well.

I had more energy now and took some pics of the frozen talab which looked fabulous in the sunlight. After the breakfast we got along with the loosening up exercises and then everyone went around the camp looking for plastics and other stuff so that we don’t pollute the place. It was wonderful thing to do and I felt happy to help. I couldn’t have carried all of my stuff and I removed my slippers and one sweater and handed it to Arjun to be carried by the porters. I knew I wasn’t gonna use em and I didn’t want them for the rest of the trip.

It was a big relief and I was all set to make a move. 10 minutes into the hike, I was starting to feel the weight of the bag again, but what to do cant complain now J . Around half an hour later we reached a beautiful spot where we could see the snow covered mountains, it was a lovely site, we stopped and savored the view, clicked some pics and back on the trail.

Soon afterwards we were lost in the pine forest and its beauty, keep relishing the views and keep on moving. The atmosphere was great but the water was running out, almost all the bottles were empty in around one and half hours, and water was a priced commodity now. We reached a meadow for some welcome rest and Arjun showed us the KedarKantha peak, it looked beautiful, and the site was gud enuf to pump up energy in our bodies to start moving on.

Slowly and steadily we moved on and reached the KK Basecamp by afternoon. It was a nice sunshine but the temperatures were touching -3, everyone got there and started resting, it was a nice sunshine to njoi and the view was terrific. Ankur wasn’t feeling too well and he had a quick nap. We chatted for a while and it was time for lunch. To my surprise the lunch had Rajma (slurp ..) its always good to eat rajma and at an altitude of 11K feet with absolutely tired bodies, it was bliss, relished every byte I ate and was completely satisfied.

After the lunch Arjun collected us for a quick briefing and the point was “How to walk or climb on ice/ snow?” The instructions were clear, avoid ice at all times, it will be very slippery. Dig in with your front part while climbing up, body weight forward and dig with your heels and body weight backwards while coming down. And we were given a task to try what we learnt by climbing up, on a small part it wasn’t tough to climb up but coming down seemed like a problem, but all our fears were gone when we were asked to simply run and not think while coming down. Believe me it was fun J.

It was around 4:30 and the sun was setting down, and to my surprise we were served onion and potato pakodas with lemon tea, it was just the day for awesome food that I couldn’t resist. I desperately wanted to add on to my sunset collection of pics, but more important was to njoi the view. The beauty of the sunset is that every few minutes the colour of the landscape changes from yellow to orange to pink and I really wish I could capture exactly what our eyes could see, it would have been great. Everyone was clicking pics in every direction and it itself formed a great view.

By now Ashu bhai wasn’t feeling too well and he felt he had fever, we got him into the tent and he tried to sleep for a while. We gathered around a campfire to keep ourselves warm. When I returned to the camp Ashu bhais condition was deteriorating and I was feeling responsible in getting him into this. He asked what needs to be done and Arjun suggested him to have a Crocin and he had it and back to sleep.     

We got into the tent as well but me and Kuldeep started talking about our life and Ashu bhai also started feeling better, I was glad to see that, soon he joined us and we chatted for a long time. It was a nice bonding session and everyone went to sleep.

Kedar Kantha : Sankri -- Juda Ka Talab 26th Dec 2010

We had slept early and were supposed to be tired but I couldn’t sleep all that well and at 4 when Ankur asked for the time almost everyone answered implying no one had slept. We got up at 6 and started getting ready as there were 7 ppl with a single bathroom it was going to take time, but we were all ready by 7:30 and went down for breakfast. The breakfast was yummy gobhi paranthas and we hogged em.

After the breakfast Arjun gathered all of us and asjed us to do some loosening exercises, the exercises were gud for the body and I cud do all except the jumping jacks, which are supposed to be easy, but then I have been sleeping a long long time for the last 2 months. Then he divided us into 3 ropes, 3 groups of 6 persons each and we were to stay together.

I was part of the third rope Me, Aditya, shuvadeep, Kuldeep, Madhu and Ajay. Once we started our rope started very slowly and Shuvadeep’s taking pictures of everything on the way wasn’t helping. After 10 minutes of walk the bagpack started to take its toll, mine was actually excessively heavy and the burden had started to become a lot, But then it was just the starting. Another half an hour and I had forgotten all about the rope the more I tried to be with them, the more I felt that I was just standing carrying weight and it wont help my cause, so I started walking in the midst of other ropes and soon there were no ropes J ..

My strategy slowly developed into walking as close to the leader as possible and stop for small breaks when the bagpack could not be carried anymore. The funniest thing that happened was I used to move with full effort go up and always always found Ajay sitting in front of me relaxing, I used to cross him and after 10 mins he would be sitting, resting in front of me. Well then its gud to see just the funny side of it.

Laxmi and Aditya were the chirpiest of the lot and kept entertaining everyone. Some of the ppl really needed a boost. After two hours the bag had become a liability and I thot my habit of overpacking will break my back this time, but this was not the time to brood but to move on. We were walking almost the whole day in the pine forest and the new patch as Arjun told us was surrounded by Maple trees, the Maple  leaves were spread all over the place. There was a stream of water flowing from where we refilled our bottles, the water was really gud to drink but it was really cold. It was a steady climb with regular stoppages and we finally reached Juda ka talab by 2. The first thing I did was to put the back pack down and rest, my back was really hurting and so were my calf and thigh muscles.

I had no energy left in me, the tents were being set up and we had chai and snacks, which gave me some energy to have a look around. The glimpse of Juda ka Talab didn’t impress me much, but when I went near it and saw it was completely frozen I was amazed. The temperature of the place at 3PM was -2 degrees. People were having fun crossing the frozen lake and going to the middle, but I was too tired and wanted my sleeping bag to straighten my back, we had lunch and soon I got into the sleeping bag. The back was really hurting and it was gud that I got in.

Ashu bhai, Kuldeep and myself were in the same tenet and both of them had lied down as well. We got up around 7 deciding it was enough to lie down and were presented with dinner straight away. I had a terrible headache and wasn’t feeling like having anything right now, and when I told about the headache to Arjun and also that I took a Combiflame to cure it, he got furious and wanted everyone to consult him before taking any medication, he asked me to drink a lot of water and take a Disprin. I knew disprin would cure me and felt ok after half an hour.

The important thing about water was that the ice was being taken from the talab and melted in the camp fire and that was the only source. Other than not being clear the problem with the water was the smell of smoke, it actually was Smoked Water, unusual taste but that was what was available, and no one complained.

Since I was feeling well now, we kept chattering, by the time we arrived actually everyone had dinner and went to sleep and we (myself, Ashu Bahi, Kuldeep, Amit, Ankur and Atul) were the only ones around. Atul and Ankur were also in problem of sorts and they needed some warmth besides the fire.

The sky was studded with stars and it we could actually see the milky way, I really wished we could captured as and what our eyes can see, and I tried with the max shutter speed of 15 secs and couldn’t gather much. We kept looking at the stars for more than an hour and decided to go to sleep by 10.

Kedar Kantha : Winter trek from 6900 – 12500 Feet

I have been home for a long time and really wanted to go out, and when Atul and Ankur presented me with the idea of a winter trek, it was another chance for me to check my limits. And as I was looking for more company, I got Ashu bhai into it as well. I knew I had to prepare for the trek, specially to survive the cold and walking in the snow.  With a lot of thought, effort and the checklist a got a lot of stuff and thot I was quite ready for the trek. Ashu bhai was very busy with the office and did not have much , he packed whatever he thought should be packed and our bags had the max weight L …

24^th Night – Delhi Dehradun

Me and Ashu bhai left for CP to catch the bus and the first setback was the Chivas could not be carried in the Metro and we had to take the Auto, though the auto is really not a gud option but then we didn’t have much of an option J (no compromise there). We reached CP and Ashu bhai decided on some last minute shopping, we came back and found Imran who was also going for the trek, Ankur and Atul and also arrived. As we were boarding the bus we found out that there were two more ppl in the same bus, Amit and Kuldeep, so now it was 7 of us and we got off from Delhi.

But the excitement of the night had just started and out of nowhere I got a call from Shuvadeep that hes at the ISBT and does our bus have space for another person. I asked the conductor and it was decided to pick him from ISBT. I was still surprised why did he call me of all ppl, but then it was ok. We stopped by at ISBT for like 2 hours and it was almost 11 and we were still in Delhi. Eight of us in the same bus and got acquainted pretty well. The chemistry between Ashu Bhai and Deep had taken off and it kept everyone amused. Deep was now known as LAPD (no specific reason other than he was just back from LA).

I was tired and excited as well and by 12 we were still in Ghaziabad, I was worried of getting late but then 8 of us were in the same bus, so everyone had to wait for us in dehradun. It was pretty uneventful after that and we were woken up by the commotion at 5 in Haridwar. So it was 5 and we were still in Haridwar, we needed to be in Ddn by 6, which was neva gonna happen. But the commotion was that the bus wasn’t going anywhere., and ppl were getting into heated arguments which eventually made the bus move. By 6:30 we had finally reached Dehradun.

25^th Dec (Dehradun – Sankri)

The night in the bus was really tyring, and by 6 laxmi had started calling everyone asking there whereabouts as she was incharge of the team till we reach Sankri. Sri, Nikhil and Mayuk were the first ones I met in Dehradun. We had tea there and boarded the bus. While waiting for us the Noida – Andhra gang had gone out to freshen up and they finally got back by 8. Time to move on to Sankri.

By now everyone knows about LA and everyone is being entertained by Ashu bhai and LA as well. Imran gets the second name as “Sleeping Beauty” as he kept sleeping throughout the journey and Praveen who was happy in a Tshirt, track pant and chappals, is named “Superman”.

We soon stopped for breakfast at Kempty Falls after crossing Mussorie. Didn’t want to eat much but ended up hogging since it had been a long time since I had anything.  I called up home telling em that there might be no signal by the evening and it would not be possible to talk to me.

Some of the guys had not realized about the signal and hadn’t called home, well it was a big mistake as there was no way to contact home after we reach Sankri. The rest of the day went on in sharing pleasantries and sleeping. We stopped for lunch at 3:30 in purola and the major concern was to reach Sankri which by now means not possible before 7 and it wasn’t a gud feeling as it was gonna be dark. But then everyone doesn’t think alike and it was 4:30 by the time we left Purola.

We reached Sankri at 7:30 and it was quite dark, but then the bus ride and finally ended and i was in the bus for almost 22 hours which was not gud signs for my back, but then things were gud. We had tea and pakodas and then moved on to our respective rooms. Everyone collected for dinner and we got an acquaintance session with Arjun and Sandhya and met up with RajMohan and Gazzi bhai. We had a nice dinner and were to doze of early as everyone was quite tired.