Climbathon 2014 – Bara Shigri Glacier Part 1

Manali!! Again??

After a grandiose success & magnificent memories of Kumaun expedition in April but equally disastrous failure yet wonderful learning curves through mistakes in Unam expedition in the month of July; my next Himalayan journey was Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) funded Alpine Leadership Climbathon Expedition. I was little anxious about myself in terms of experience and knowledge compared to the participants; most of whom had at least one eight thousander; if not a few six and seven thousander summits as feathers in their hats. But my friend Bhushan cheered me up and boosted my confidence with a pat on my back. I was a novice climber which meant I had ample of skills to learn, ocean of knowledge to dive in, new mountains to explore and that too at a very cheap cost. Honestly speaking, the idea of less expenses made some resounding impression on my mind and I immediately started arranging my climbing gears. Gokhale kaka helped me get the best possible gears from our GiriPremi club. By now I can claim to have gained fairly decent expertise in packing a pack however complex it might seem when everything is unpacked. All one needs to have is a basic knowledge of school physics and shear brute to stuff everything inside; thanks to the 30 days of daily inevitable packing-unpacking exercise in Kumaun trails. On the departure day, my mother had come to the station to bid me farewell. With a smile and a tacit appreciations to her kindness & support, I departed for the journey.

It was my fifth trip to Manali. More I climbed more I was getting intimate with valleys and mountains. I`m sure that in near future countless trips are going to drive me to this gateway of mountains.

Despite all the theories of exponential growth in pollution and commercialized tourism; apple orchards, pine and deodar forests maintain the charming beauty of this valley. Beas river bisects the town with relentless rapids and sharp curves. Hadimba Temple continues to be a serene destination while Vashishtha temple being a polar opposite. But I must confess that every time I have come here, Manali has never been the same. What has remarkably changed here is the climate, for I remember my first trip during which it was impossible to walk out at night without sweaters and sleeping without thick blankets was a nightmare; I`m pretty sure in few years down the line, hotels and mountaineering institute will have to put up sealing fans to restore Manali’s status of a hill station. 

I reached the institute by 9:00 AM where I was greeted by my AMC companion Ashok Rangra; who towards the end of the expedition earned the reputation of a man who climbs with jeans pant. Be it a snowfall, rains, glacier travel or a summit attempt; a leather jacket, jeans pant and an umbrella were his primary faithful gears.

Breakfast was being served in a newly constructed mess. While going to the mess I met Marishaa, a friend from Pune. It was she who had long before told me about the climbathon. I was surprised and equally happy to see her there. Breakfast menu was Daliya, 2 eggs/ cheese slices and parathas. A menu that hasn’t been changed for the past few years!!

A group of Iranian climbers had just reached along with IMF team. Two of them were to instruct us while others as participants. Truth to be told, all of them were far from being just mere instructors. Most of them were with 10-15 years of climbing experience and had summited mighty peaks such as G1, G2 and broad peak in Karakoram ranges. Among Indian instructors, most of them were with exceptional experiences in Himalayas. I was very delighted to find my friend Bharat among the instructors’ team. His dedication to mountains and caring attitude towards environment and participants was noteworthy.   

In the afternoon, I met Akash, Saachi and Toolika. Akash, because of his super jolly and naughty behavior was hard to be accepted as youngest to climb Mt. Elbruse. But his climbing stories and knowledge about mountaineering eventually convinced me to believe in him. Saachi, a super travel & adventure enthusiast was no less for she had also climbed Mt. Elbruse and attempted Mt. Everest upto camp III. Toolika was an Air Force squadron leader who after her failed Everest attempt in 2011, reached the top in 2012. Entire evening we spent in listening Toolika’s fauji life stories and Everest incidences. Toolika told us that it was necessary to reattempt not just because she missed it in the previous year but to regain the confidence in herself. Her mother was instrumental in reinvigorating her to climb up again. She still dresses her frostbitten toe daily but the euphoria of summit and the spirit of the fight her mother indoctrinated, would have subdued her pains.

Next day new member who joined in our bakar katta was Captain Sandeep. His first impression of an innocent boy was soon superseded by a caring gentleman and a die hard patriot. Both Toolika and Sandeep had that charisma of military officers and their behavior during the entire expedition uplifted the brilliance of Indian military. We spent the evening on the mall road buying few essentials and satisfying our taste buds. By late night almost all participants had arrived and the campus came to life.

Next day on 12^th Aug, we were divided in seven different ropes and were assigned a practical rock climbing case study. It probably was a brush up exercise and a platform to interact with new rope mates and respective instructors. In my rope Roopa was not only an experienced climber but a very caring and down to earth person. Uday and Lotus were the strongmen while Hiten was quite knowledgeable in terms of techniques and first aid treatments. Suman, whom we nicknamed dada (he was Bengali; so no brainer name :P) was the most senior person but his climbing enthusiasm (at times frenzied enthusiasm) was legendary. It was a small patch of rock which we climbed with roped up formation.