Every mountain has its soul... if the mountain does not accept you & you don't submit to her will, she will destroy you.
After months of anticipation, hours at the gym/yoga, hunting for all the right gears, days of shopping at Decathlon, Finally I was ready for my dream to be fulfilled.
I started my journey from Hyderabad ( a place in the southern India ) to a place which is known as Dev-bhumi ["Land of the Gods"], Uttrakhand. I boarded the flight from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad to Jolly grant Airport, Dehradun. The first day of the journey was mesmerising, from 28 degree celsius to 3 degree celsius. :) The very first day of the journey and I was scared, whether my body will adopt this temperature change or not. I reached Dehradun Airport around 7:00 PM and started looking for the cab by which I could have reach the city. Unfortunately, the taxi driver were asking to pay the charge of 1200/- INR which I was not in the mood to pay, I started searching for the bus. Suddenly, A married couple from Jaipur came in-front of me and asked - Hey, Are you coming from Hyderabad? Me: YES. You are going for the trekking? Me: YES. Can we go together upto City? Me: Ofcourse (After 5 sec pause). They were about to go to Dayara Bugyal Trek, I shared the taxi with them and reached Dehradun city by 9:00 PM
Day - 1 (Dehradun to Sankri)
I stayed at Dehradun, the day before my trek was about to start. I took rest for 5-6 hours as I had to reach sankri, the next day.
Sankari is a village in Uttarakhand that route to The Paradise of Himalayas for every trekker. It is not just a scenic hamlet situated in Uttarkashi district but also a trekker’s delight. The village is the last road head to the Govind Wildlife Sanctuary. The village offers ecstatic views of the Himalayan skyline and a plethora of mountain peaks, gazing at you from a distance.
Bus/Taxi/Cab to Sankri from Dehradun are only available till 8 am. It takes almost 9-10 hrs to reach there. AdventurEscape already communicated about the venue, taxi driver contact and all important details one week prior, to all the trekkers. I reached to the reporting point (Prince Chowk, Dehradun) 1 hr prior and luckily, the provided tempo traveller was already there. We started our journey for Sankri almost around 7:30 AM. It was a scenic drive and I interacted with a few of the other trekkers from my group.
We took 20-30 mins break for 4 times in the whole day journey - 3 times for breakfast/lunch/snacks and the 4th time I requested my driver to stop the Tempo Traveller aside as I was mesmerised by the impeccable beauty of The Yamunotri River.
Around 5:00pm we reached the point from where we had to start our journey. Within 15 mins we got our rooms, where we kept all our stuff. The trek leaders came to our room and called all of us out for the meeting. They welcomed and explained us all pros and cons about the mountains. After listening them I was a bit scared and understood that challenging the mountain wasn't going to be an easy task. We had our dinner and went for bed, we were told not to bath as we might expose ourselves to risk of hypothermia. In high altitudes AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) is common and hence we followed the professional's advice.
Day - 2 (Sankri to Juda ka talab)
Next morning I woke up around 5:00am, it was a very cold weather last night and the whole night I was not able to sleep properly. We had a light breakfast [Bread Jam/Butter, Tea, Paratha] and quickly formed a circle around the trek-leaders. We were all geared up, extremely excited, though few of us were sacred (especially me :D ), I was carrying a 60L bag with almost 12-14 kgs of weight which was making me more uncomfortable to walk on those inclined rocky roads.
The whole team left Sankri village around 8:30 am and entered in the wildlife sanctuary. When the trek started, I was ahead of all my fellow team-mates but only after 15-20 mins of journey all of them surpassed me.
The first day of the journey to Juda ka talab was very difficult for me, I was sweating badly even in that cold weather. As I walked and gained altitude, I started taking short gaps to restore my breath or to sip in liquid from my hydration pack. Finally, after 4-5 kms of journey we reached to our 1st base camp (2,700 meters)
The place "Ohhh my god", I never saw any place like that.... Frozen Lake.... Ahhhhhhh, I still can not forget that moment.
Apart from some captivating and charming sights of great Himalayas, I was experiencing the verdant greenery, lush landscapes, variety of collection of flora, beauty of lush meadows, dense pine forests, cascading beautiful streams, and the gorgeous maple trees. The sight was completely like a heaven.
Tents were already put in place and there was a delicious spread of lunch. I enjoyed the meal thoroughly, lazed around the lake in the sun. After the lunch our trek leader asked us to gather in the open area. They provided us tents and sleeping bags and shown us the demo of how to use it. While discussion we planned for the next day followed by a 30 mins of exercise.
The night in the base camp was amazing, sky was clear with the millions of stars twinkling around. I put my eyes towards the sky for more than an hour and kept on finding the "big dipper". For few minutes, I felt like I am in my childhood days... watching stars... counting stars... making pattern of the "Saptarishi" by pointing the finger towards the sky.
It was the feeling that nobody can explain by his/her words, It was Just Wow ... Wonderful... Nature, at all its best :)
Day - 3 (Juda Ka Talab to Kedarkantha base camp)
The last night at Juda ka Talab was very difficult, temperature almost fallen around -10 degree celcius and again I wasn't able to sleep the whole night properly. The valley was so calm and silent such that if someone shouts louder, their voice were echoing against the rock.
After having breakfast we started the journey to our next base camp ie, (kedarkantha base camp). The journey to this base camp was quite easy, it took very less time to reach there. We had our lunch with the people who were coming back from the summit and were sharing their experience. After lunch we roamed around and took a lot of pics there. The final summit to the peak was clearly visible from there.
Around 4:00pm our trek leader summoned us, they provided us some additional gears like gaiters and micro spikes (crampons) and gave a demo of how to use it. The journey to the final summit was going to be complex as summit climb are usually done at night and we had to start the trek around 3 am. The logic behind doing the summit at nights or at wee hours is, snow is a bit rock solid due to freezing temperatures of night and hence the crampons and micro spikes under the shoes have a firm grip on it. By day time, it becomes soft and shallow.
Day - 4 (Kedarkantha base camp to Summit)
Finally, the day came which I was waiting for. Waking up the next morning was very tough! But the adrenaline of reaching the summit was gushing through. I woke up around 2 O'clock, had the morning tea, refilled the hot water bottle, mounted the head lamp and geared up within 30 mins. The weather was not good at all and our trek leader said that we might not see the sunrise today. - But , we were at the mountains, where you can't say what will happen in next few hours.
At high altitude, there is less oxygen in the air that you breathe - I always heard this from many people but never felt the same. After 30mins of the journey I felt like I am not able to breathe properly. I started taking quick breaks, took out some camphor out from my pocket and started smelling, it gave me some relief.
When the whole team covered almost half way, the snowfall started. The trek leader started calling us back as it was not safe for us to go forward. I became so sad and despondent and started shouting "After reaching so far, I don't want to go back now"
Luckily, the snow-fall stopped within 5 minutes and I saw everyone moving towards the peak. The gradient started to turn a bit steeper however, slowly and steadily we pulled through. The trail was not easy, despite having the good trekking boots, I was facing difficulty to keep up my grip.
Last 30 mins of the trek to summit was amazing, I can't forget it my entire life. There was a few moment came when I became emotional as It was not the mountain I conquered , but myself.
At an elevation of 12,500 feet realizing all this was a memorable experience. The sight of the forests, mountains and trek trails covered in deep snow, the sheer size of the mountains, the time around the camp, sleeping inside the tents, the food, the snow storm..... I will cherish my first snow trek throughout my life. It was just an amazing lifetime experience.
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