When you are traveling from Delhi to Leh via Flight, it is suggested to take rest for two consecutive days before you leave for the high altitude. I rested the whole day, went to local market and than again came back to Hotel to Sleep.
I reached Leh in the morning at 9, since than I preferred resting until I was hungry.
Acclimatization Day - Leh
It was the second day of my trek, and our trek leader visited us to brief about the plan and the conditions up on the mountain.
All the team members were introduced and we all had breakfast together. To remove the differences we also had a introduction session, detailing about what made you do this trek?
We started from Matho Village to walk towards our dream Mountain Stok Kangri which is of 6153 mtrs altitude.
First day of trek had 14 kms to walk and 5 river streams to cross, we had been given packed lunches, it was an amazing day with all the team members.
The surroundings were so beautiful that we could not stop ourselves from taking frequent breaks to appreciate the nature's beauty.
We pitched our tents at an height of 4200m and slept after eating amazing dinner.
7 kms walk to cross Matho La and reach Mankorma Campsite.
This day was suppose to be the easiest though which turned out to be a little tiring. We had to climb almost 700m to reach Matho Pass which is at 5000m and we managed to be there and get the first glimpses of our dream mountain.
After Matho La we only had to descend and reach our campsite at Mankorma which we did in 2 hours crom the Pass.
Day to reach Base Camp at 5000m above.
We started this day early to reach base camp on time so we can practise short hikes and enjoy ourselves.
The view from the base was awesome because it was surrounded by a glacier and mighty Stok Kangri.
Again a rest day at Base Camp, we had been given buffer time to prepare ourselves for the summit night.
Though we had to go and practice our Rope up custom and walk to small hike to be sure about the system & process.
We had to leave early in the morning around 12 AM, and we all were ready to test our body and see if all of us could climb Mt. STOK KANGRI.
It was pitch dark, was only able to see Stars from naked eyes, which was the best thing ever.I felt sleepy whileà climbing uphill with help of headlamp because it was hard to only focus on the footsteps on the leader, just looking down on the way, entire time till we reached shoulder. On the way, after hiking for 2 hours, there comes a Crossing, Glacier Crossing. At 2:30 AM, with the help of moonlight, we were able to figure out the way to cross. Our trek leader was so experienced, that he went ahead of us, to search for the right direction to cross the giant glacier.
It was amazing to reach shoulder before sunrise and sit there peacefully to enjoy the surroundings and vibes. It was an amazing experience, which could be writen down here, it was a feeling that I will not be able to describe effeciently here.
We all finally managed to summit our dream mountain, and it was one of the outstanding moment for everyone.