Kumauni trails

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into the trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.” John Muir’s gripping wisdom has been a continuous source of an inspiration to me.

I do not remember which incident, book or person influenced me so much that I chose to quit my job and take outdoors very seriously. After quitting the job I came back to Pune to explore various avenues and future possibilities in this field. In the initial days everything looked very scary and uncertain. But I had made up my mind. There was no way I could do a job that I didn’t have an interest in. I took a year off and decided to do what I really love to do.

Meanwhile I came to know about an organization named ‘National Outdoor Leadership School’ (NOLS) headquartered at U.S.; a nonprofit organization founded in 1965 by the legendary mountaineer Paul Petzoldt. The motive behind its schooling is to take students of all ages in remote wilderness expeditions and teach them technical outdoor skills, environmental ethics and leadership values. NOLS has its Indian branch in Ranikhet, Uttarakhand.

I went through the contents of the course ‘Himalaya Mountaineering’. It was designed to teach high altitude mountaineering techniques, cooking and camping in adverse conditions, implementation of various leadership skills and environmental studies through innovative and non-classroom approaches. It seemed really fascinating. After a series of discussions with my parents and friends, I decided to sign up for this course. It was a 40 days long expedition in the Kumaun region and required extreme level of fitness and endurance, both at physical and mental level. So, along with my friends from Giripremi, I embarked on a fitness session which included a daily run on the Parvati hill, weight training and a weekly Sinhagad climb. I also continued practicing meditation which I have been doing for a long time.

The course began on the 1^st of April from Delhi, where all students arrived and were led by Manohar, NOLS Operations in charge India branch, to Ranikhet by bus. Next day in the afternoon we reached at the branch, where we were wholeheartedly welcomed by Ravi, NOLS India program director, his wife Sunitha and all the instructors’ team. After a very informal introduction session, we were briefed about the next forty days of adventure. We were 11 students and 4 instructors for the expedition.

Next day morning we were issued all the gears, while in the afternoon we packed our food ration for the expedition. It was dealt in a very scientific and a systematic approach. We tried to ensure that our bodies would get the right amount of all nutrients. Variety in items and tastes was also essential otherwise one would get bored, as the expedition was long. Thus, under Sunitha`s guidance, we weighed and packed all items as per the standards. (1.75 pounds for low altitude and 1.5 pounds for high altitude per person per day). In the evening, Evan taught us the art of packing a pack. We had to carry practically everything with us, including the individual gears, food rations, group climbing & camping gears, navigational tools, first aid and emergency kits. It looked so simple to watch but packing our own packs as precisely as Evan, was a nightmare for us all. Finally we managed somehow. 

On the 4^th we travelled to Bageshwar by jeep. Soon after lunch, we visited Lord Shiva’s temple, unloaded our packs from the jeep and started hiking towards our first camping location, Loharkhet.

For the next 8 days we hiked through the established trails, covering various settlements such as Dhakuri, Khati, Dwali, Phurkia and finally reached zero point Pindari glacier at 12666 ft. During these 8 days we learnt, practiced and implemented ‘Leave No Trace’ principles, which are the guidelines in hiking comfortably and safely without affecting the integrity of wilderness.  We learnt climbing knots, fixed rope ascend and descend techniques, navigation with the help of maps, compass, GPS and altimeters. Some of the classes were dedicated for learning leadership lessons and their applications in various situations. The best thing about the course was that the instructor- student ratio was 1:3, which created an enthusiastic learning atmosphere and a strong bonding between students and instructors. We tried our hands at our culinary skills and there was a great deal of cross cultural exchange in terms of cuisines, religion, culture and lifestyle.

Zero point was surrounded with famous mountains. To its north, stood Nanda Khat and Pwalidwar, while Changuch and Nanda Kot stood next to each other to its north-east. At the zero point, we spent a few days in learning and practicing more climbing skills in snow and ice. We also studied avalanche theories and practiced avalanche rescue operations with the help of avalanche beacon and probe system. On the Easter Day we celebrated the festival by cooking a variety of cuisines. Willy made a spicy delicious soup, while Jeson cooked Italian style pasta. Kristin made delightful pastries while I made cheesy spicy parathas. Everybody enjoyed the food and appreciated the hard work of all the chefs.

But just after the Easter celebrations, came a crucial moment. Few of the members were not able to cope up with the strenuous hikes and heavy packs. And as it was obvious that reaching zero point was just a tip of an ice berg and the real challenge was yet to come, we had to decide upon whether all of us should sacrifice the idea of traversing the glaciers and passes, learn the remaining skills at zero point and return back via different route or split the group in two depending upon the individuals strength; those who were fit would continue while remaining would stay back. It is important to mention here that the instructors had no role to play in the decision making. They encouraged us to take a call on our own. That was certainly one of the wonderful leadership learning experiences. How as a sound leader and an expedition member, you discuss and come up with decisions which are best suited for all the members. Finally after torrents of arguments and counter arguments, we decided to go with the second option. Three students along with two instructors Willy and Bharat, stayed back while the remaining eight, along with Evan and Dilip set forth early morning at 2:00 AM. It was a brutally honest decision that had to be made and we were glad that it was accepted by all in a sportive spirit.

The climb from zero point to camp one was long but less tiring. Reason being, couple of days before we had cashed our ration to a point some 200 feet below camp one. Camp one was the place from where we could see sister peaks, Nanda Devi and Nanda Devi East. Entire Uttarakhand worships Nanda Devi as a holy mountain. Needless to say we were also extremely overwhelmed by its splendor and dazzling scenic beauty.

We stayed at camp one for a couple of nights. During our stay we learnt glacier travel and arrest techniques. Camping in snow was also a new experience. Cooking inside the vestibules, boiling snow for hydration, creating solar ice melting systems, maintaining good hygiene without creating any significant impact on the surroundings etc. Soon we moved to camp two. This was perhaps the most difficult and enervating day of the expedition. We were carrying the heaviest pack; also as the day broke, we were continuously oppressed by Him; and to make the going even tougher, we were roped up and were walking on the glacier. Almost everybody felt the heats of exhaustion and some headaches as we reached camp two. Dilip had taught us about glacier travel and Evan led us through the arduous glacier hike.

Our next goal was to cross famous Kafni col at around 17500 ft., skip camp three, and directly reach the camp four. We reached the camp four at around 4:00 PM after traversing for more than 9 hours. And without taking any rest, on the morning of the very next day, we began our journey to Dhana dura col, which was at approx. 18500 ft. By noon, we reached the base of the col. The last push consisted on fixed rope 200 ft. climb to the top of the col. One by one we reached at the top. It was the highest altitude gain during the expedition and we were very glad to have achieved this goal.

The other side of the col was a huge Shalang glacier and we had to descend down almost 3000 ft on a 45-50 degree steep snowy section. Again we decided to skip the camp five and moved directly to camp six, in a safer zone, away from avalanche and ice falls. We were certainly happy for having reached the highest point of the expedition, but until camp four, there was always a possibility of bad weather and high altitude sickness cases, which would have left us with no choice but to turn back. At camp six, we were happy that we were not turning back as it was utterly impossible to climb up the 3000 ft wall and go back to zero point. Even in the case of emergency, the only way was the forward march.

Two rest days at Shalang glacier, were invested in practicing crevasse rescue operations and anchoring techniques after which, our descend continued to a place called Karbasia where the only sign of civilization was an abandoned tea shop buried under snow. Next day, we hiked to a small village called Martoli, where we were hoping that we would find tea shops as we had ran out of ration and some porters who would make our later journey relatively easier. To our surprise, the entire village was deserted; no sign of any human nor cattle; let alone tea shops. But even in those trying conditions, it was indefatigable Baxter who showed great courage and accompanied Dilip to search and bring some ration from the nearby ITBP stations. We were all thankful for his efforts as we would have starved the entire night after a tiring eight hours hike.

The next day we hiked down to Raikot, where ITBP officers gave us a warm hearted welcome. They arranged a home stay for us and fed us well. The satisfaction I noticed on their faces when they served us was unparalleled. I remembered Gandhiji`s words, ‘All the pleasures and possessions pale into nothingness before the service which is rendered selflessly in a spirit of joy.’

Every next day we hiked through Bugdiyar, Raragari, Lilam and Gimighat along the Gori Ganga River through narrow valleys. Finally we reached at Munsiari where our expedition officially ended and we royally celebrated our triumph feasting on local delicacies. We confluenced our parted buddies at Bageshwar and the feelings were more overwhelming than the summit fever. On 8^th May, we were felicitated in a very informal and simple manner.

We had left behind huge glaciers, deadly crevasses, gruesome storms and nerve wrecking steep climbs. But what we carried along with us is a magnificent memoir of friendship, knowledge& skills and an optimistic outlook towards life. I feel so blessed to have spent such precious times in the lap of these great mountains and shared & cultivated marvelous lifelong friendships with the people I met here.