Royal Flush!! Mt. CB 13 Expedition

Part 1-

I walked back to the mountains:

Year 2011. IIT Kharagpur. Inter IIT cricket tournament.

Our team of young players lost to IIT Delhi. We prepared well. We defeated previous champions but we failed to keep the winning momentum going. After the match, I spoke to my ex. Captain Kartik. He was totally disappointed & frustrated. He had seen our progress very closely during the training days and not only Kartik but all IIT Bombay cricket fraternity was holding high hopes from our energetic team. That we could win the series. That we could defeat IIT Delhi and avenge previous years’ loss. But sadly, total disappointment came to their way. So did to me. That scar never healed. Never.

Here on CB13 expedition, after 6 years, almost similar situation had arisen. Our team of young mountaineers after putting up a stellar attempt, fell short in reaching the summit. And we were left choiceless and had to turn back leaving last 400 m due to worsening weather conditions and shortage of resources. When I reached back to Manali along with the team, those old defeat memories reappeared. Sleepless nights, frustration, sympathies haunted me with another deep wound. Do I have to bear another wound? No!! Not that again. To hell with that bull shits of ‘Oh its okay.. hard luck.. you will do it next year..it was just 400 m. Its almost a summit..’ Indeed it was almost a summit but it was not THE Summit.  But I realized that, unlike Cricket, although we had packed our bags and preponed our flight tickets to Pune, the game wasn’t over yet. All wickets were not fallen. Just that the game had come to hold for a while. Batsman could still come out on the crease.

Having a resolute confidence, matured experience, and invaluable learning from the wounds of previous defeats, I walked back to the mountains.

Part 2-

Beginning:

Giripremi officially launched our expedition on an auspicious day of Vijaya Dashmi, 11^th Oct 2016. Coincidentally, it was my birthday too! But the idea CB13 had been shaping up in our minds from past one year. Pawan, Sanket, Jayant, and I had become close friends. We would practice rock climbing at fort Sinhagad, rock mines in Pune or at times artificial wall climbing gyms. Soon we began climbing multi pitch & sports routes in plus valley, tailbaila, CBD Belapur etc. Our confidence was growing and so was our hunger to climb ambitious routes. Duke’s nose, Khada Parshi, Scottish, Pahine, Bhumi, Shivgiri; each climb gave us a confidence and drove us for the next. Many a times we failed, got hit by rock fall and what not; but the Sahyadri silently stood by us and continued to inspire us with its overwhelming basalt features. It was in these action packed days, the thought of climbing a Himalayan peak emerged. Having some experience and knowledge of Spiti region from the previous expedition, I asked everyone, “Let’s go to CB13. Its relatively an easy six thousender and I have already been in that region.” All agreed.

In all our rock climbing trips, we always pursued the idea of climbing self-sufficiently. Now what it means is, we wanted to be able to climb unguided; without any support of basecamp managers, helpers etc etc. Which means we should be trained enough not only in just climbing but in handling peripheral responsibilities as well. We wanted to do similar here. But being on first ever Giripremi’s expedition, after a long debate with Giripremi seniors, it was decided that we should hire at least 1 guide, 1 cook and 4 mules for Batal-basecamp commute from safety point of view. For a bunch of newbies, climbing in remote areas of Himalaya with such laughable support was not a good idea. Most of the seniors perhaps did not agree to it but we wanted to do it this way and were very firm on it. Finally mama agreed. Deep inside he must have felt concerns about us but somewhere our stubbornness must have delighted him too.

Duke's Nose, me on third pitch

Patience. Until the weather got clear before Duke's Nose Climb.

With Jayant & Sanket. After the Duke's Nose climb

Pawan embarking on Bhumi. Sanket his belayer. Me and Jayant to go next.

First time lead climbing at Plus Valley

Right Outer route, Tailbaila with Sanket

Pawan & I making series of consecutive climbs. within 4 days, we climbed 1300 ft.

Came scorching heats of February 2017 and we decided to put a break to rock climbing aspirations and began training for cardio endurance, uphill running etc. Strength training and endurance training generally have counter opposite effects on body. So it was essential for us to switch from rock climbing training, which involved more muscular strength training to cardio endurance and aerobic training regime, which was a need of a time then.

Giripremi climbers had series of expeditions this year. Mt. CB13, Mt. Kun, Mt. Nun, & Mt. Manaslu. So all team members were training together. Rupesh had initiated intense cardio workout. Soon, we realised that just training for cardio endurance wasn’t enough. We needed to improve our muscular endurance as well. Along with larger aerobic pool, we needed to improve upon anaerobic threshold limits. We got in touch with Sanatan, who runs a functional training gym in Pune. Thus, we were introduced to new training modules. This not only helped us achieve targets that we wanted but also brought novelty and fun elements to the otherwise monotonous training regime.

Our team grew from four to six. Lokesh & Varun roped in. They were just BMC graduates and had no experience of any expedition but had a strong urge to make a debut. Mama strictly warned each team members to practice religiously otherwise he would remove those who were irregular and undisciplined.

While fitness training was going regularly, biggest hurdle for us was to raise funds. We decided to raise money through sponsorship for the expedition. It was not an easy task. But, I thought, lets jump in it at least. We shall see where and how the funds shall come in due course. Our intentions were honest. If we put in sincere efforts, we were sure that success would come. Sooner or later. And one day it did. Mumbai based outdoor travel clothing firm ‘Kosha’ gladly decided to sponsor us with their entire outdoor clothing apparels. It was a major breakthrough. We all were happy and so was Mama. This magnanimous support from Kosha exponentially rose our team’s confidence in raising funds. This was somewhat like the ‘Torna’s wealth moment’ from Shivaji Maharaj’s times.

Soon financial aid started flowing in from our relatives, friends and well-wishers. Giripremi’s close associate Mufi, who manufactures expedition tents, decided to provide us with his 2 robust four men tents. To keep the accountability as well as to ensure responsible behaviour in our duties, we decided that each one of us should contribute 15000/- each from personal accounts. Support wasn’t restricted here to just finances. Some of our close friends provided us with healthy dry foods. We decided to raise our personal contribution by giving responsibility to bring some dry ration for the whole team. Sanket’s mother made dates rolls while Lokesh brought a bag full of dry fruits. Aai gave Chivda, moog ladoos, Gul poli; while a courier full of almond-cashew-nuts laddoos landed at our doorstep from Nagpur. It was from Jayant’s mother. Varun’s generosity knew no limits. He brought 5 kgs of Bakarwadi!! We were wondering whether he was dating someone in Chitale family. After a lot of requests, pleads at times, we managed to restrict his Spartan honesty to Chitale Bandhu and gourmet appetite for Bakarwadi upto 3 kgs.  

My house had become mini Giripremi. Jayant had been staying at my place for a month and rest of the members would come and go almost daily. A lot of discussions, planning, and most importantly lukkhagiri used to happen there. Jayant used to be the ‘bali ka bakra’ most of the times. Often Sanket & Varun would pull his legs but sometimes he himself would give in. And Lokesh would blabber out some dark spells from Harry Potter series upon him, leaving him in total bewilderment. Pawan and I would just look at each other and laugh to Jayant’s miserable innocence. I could feel that, day by day the all were coming closer; making the team bonds stronger.

During these days, I struck with another idea. To study the effect of high altitude on human body. For that, after consulting with my father, we decided to conduct certain medical tests before and after the expedition and monitor some of the vital health parameters daily during the expedition. This way we could generate some important data and draw meaningful inferences about how a human body responds to the low Oxygen conditions. Giripremi has a strong association with Dr. Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital.  We approached Dr. Sachin Vyavahare & his colleague Mr. Vivek Naralikar. Many thanks to their prompt help and keenness to collaborate on our project that they readily conducted various tests just a day before expedition. Another unexpected splendid help and a boost of encouragement!! (Unfortunately due to limited time and lack of resources, the project could not go to its completion and I sincerely apologise to them but I look forward to working on this project in subsequent expeditions.)

After the flag off ceremony, Mama gathered us in a close room to review our preparations and planning. He had been an exemplary leader of Giripremi’s major expeditions. He explained to us about how important is the leader’s role in adverse conditions of mountaineering and all team members should follow leader’s calls and abide by team ethics.

Flag off Ceremony 

Aai had come to stay with me during the last days as all of a sudden I started having stomach-aches and loose motions. Just 4 days before the departure. Still a lot of work had to be done.. More funds had to be raised.. and this illness would have led efforts of 4-5 months to go in vain.. Aai Pappa came to rescue. As always! Pappa sent medicines and Aai ensured that I ate well. Their efforts got me fine in couple of days. Even on the last day, we were running here and there for raising funds. And all of a sudden, Bhagyasree, my old friend, who had been to France for ages, buzzed me on whatsApp. I told her about the shortage of funds and asked if she could help. Within an hour she responded favourably. Before leaving for airport, we all visited Lord Ganesh Temple. We had everything in our armour now.

Part 3-

Manali: A Gateway to Spiti Region

8^th July 2017, 10:00 PM. Manali, Prini Camp, 6726 ft.

Finally after 16 hrs of snail speed bus journey, we reached Manali. Khemraj Thakur, owner, Mountain Expeditions, warmly greeted us in his own Pahadi style banters. Our guide, Namgyal Negi, cook Bharat & his helper Dheerendra aka Kancha were already arrived. Khem sir introduced us to our mountain companions on whom, our destiny for next few days was dependant.

It was slightly an awkward moment for me as Negi sir was the course incharge of our Advance Mountaineering Course in 2013. And here, he was our guide. In previous role, I was a student. Now a colleague with rather more decision making authority. But thankfully, he himself made me feel comfortable by clearing the role difference and extended a friendly partnership.

In a brief team meeting that followed, he explained to us that there were two different routes for the mountain up to summit camp at 5500 m. One was a shorter but steeper & technically challenging through the maze of hidden crevasses and the other was a longer but relatively easier with less technicalities. Although he was hinting us to take option 2, I made it clear that we shall take option 1.

Next two days we spent for buying expedition ration and arranging the equipment. We divided in two teams. Sanket, Jayant & Lokesh looked after the equipment arrangement; while Pawan, Varun and I roamed in the busy markets of Manali for food and fuel for expedition. Biggest task in front of us was high altitude food. In most of the expeditions, people used Maggie as an instant food. We were a bit reluctant to take Maggie. Pranav, my friend from Manali offered us dehydrated high altitude items. His mother had home cooked jeera rice, pulav, variety of dals and mix veg. These items were thoroughly dehydrated and packed 100 g each in a sealed polythene. These packets not only served our purpose of lightness but also provided homemade instant nutritious food.

Jayant & Pawan busy packing the ration

All team members with Negi Sir

Part 4-

Batal, and its Godsend Hosts:

On 10^th July early morning, all of us (team members, Negi sir, Bharat & Kancha) left for Batal. The weather along Rohtang road was cloudy and drizzling but beyond Rohtang, the skies were clear and the climate was colder. The road after Gramphu, that takes a sharp right turn towards rugged Spiti regions, was notoriously known as extremely risky means of transport. Bumpy and narrowness can be understandable since we were driving through the remote sections of Himalayas. But at times, the ferocious streams flowing over the roads and unpredictable landslides!! Someone might just miss a heartbeat. I was travelling by this route for the third time but the journey was scarier than before. Hats off to the drivers who manoeuvre heavy machines through this terrifying regions so swiftly, so confidently! But the rugged Spiti landscapes were so incredibly mesmerizing that we were indifferent to the bum numbing ride on a nearly non-existent roads. After a 5 hours drive crossing Rohtang pass, driving through the spiti villages Gramphu, Chhatdu, Chota dara, we reached Batal.

Batal was at 13100 ft. and due to this sudden gain in altitude fro Manali, Batal turned out to be not so pretty host for Sanket, Pawan & Varun. We decided to pitch our tents but eat at ‘Chacha-chachi’ aka Chandra dhaba, so that we could save on mountain ration. It was also vital to go for an acclimatization hike next day and spare another night at Batal, so that we could acclimate better. We wanted to talk to Ganesh and know about updated weather forecasts. There was one ITBP station with satellite phone facility but unfortunately, it wasn’t working at that time.

Next day after a breakfast, we hiked towards a valley situated on western side of the Batal camp. The hike was easy and relaxing. We trekked for around 4 hrs, and scaled 1500 ft from the camp. From the ridge where we took a halt, we could clearly see roads going to Kumzum la & Chandratal.

Batal being a trail head to most of the Spiti expeditions and treks, and a bus stop enroute Manali-Kaza travel; it is densely populated by climbers, trekkers, cyclists, bikers, and other tourists. I met my friend Karn from Delhi, who and his friend had arrived there for Bara Sigri expedition. He mentioned that he was just returning from CB 13 expedition. They could manage to reach upto 5800 m. and had to turn back due to Blizzard. I wished him good luck for Bara shigri and gulped down my lemon tea. Soon Pranav and his partner Abhijit arrived. They were to attempt CB13 but in a very rapid ascent. They seemed to have acclimated already as their plan was to not take any extra rest day or acclimatization day. I do not intend to doubt on their capacities and experiences but living in mountains do give an added advantage to locals as opposed to those coming from the plains. So, here, it is very important to understand and accept the limitations of individual and plan trips. Else the mountains shall be the most hostile place to be in. (Later, while we were at camp 1, we could see two tiny dots on the slops of CB13. They made a brilliant summit bid, climbing in pair without a fixed rope.) In my team, half the members were on their first expedition. It was important to have a proper acclimatisation before we hit the summit attempt. Abhijit had already attempted the peak till 5800 m. Fuck! Again 5800 m!! I had started to get some nervousness with this 5800 number. We discussed about the route and technical gear requirement. As per our references, there was going to be a col, which would not require any fixed rope. Then a rock chimney, upto 20-25 ft and then another rocky ridge of 50 m. near summit. In all, my presumption was that, it was a relatively easy, just a slightly technical peak. But then even Abhijit could not make it to the summit in his first attempt? I had read three different blogs on CB13 expedition and none of the expeditions achieved success. Was the peak well known for its notoriety to deny summit? Would we make it then? Thoughts began to make me feel uneasy even though I was sitting on a warm couch inside dhaba. But then I decided not to discuss with others about their expedition stories but focus on devouring aloo parathas and lemon tea.

Team had a great time, relaxing at the Dhaba 

Chachi :)

Chacha-Chachi dhaba has been an incredibly bustling place since very long time. Even that night dhaba was lively with people talking, laughing, playing cards etc. In one corner, an Israeli couple was busy strumming their guitars while others were singing in chorus. I haven’t seen a person who passed by Batal and failed to greet old couple who work relentlessly behind the cook stove, offering delightful Dhal-Bhat-Chatni with equally delightful smiles! Their photos and banners displaying the media coverage & felicitations were put up inside the walls. There was one Times of India article mentioning the couple as ‘’Saviour couple of Spiti valley’’.

As there isn't a single petrol pump, a ration store or even a permanent human habitation within 100 km, the couple believe in stocking up. In a worst case scenario, Chandra Dhaba can accommodate and feed 10 people for a couple of months. Bus drivers plying between Manali and Kaza, who stop at the dhaba for lunch, carry consignments of rice, rajma, dal, eggs, soap, etc for the couple.

Needless to say, they were Godsend. Chacha was a funny man. If the bill is 300/- , he would say ‘only 3000/-’ with a big smirk on his face and the usual payer would laugh heartily and know the silent zero in the amount. And Chachi! She had a caring motherly nature in her, whose tender welcoming words ‘Jule’ and a kind smile was always a soothing gesture to her hosts.

In the evening after a good acclimatization day, all the members seemed to have regained their composure and I felt that the team was ready for a base camp trek. We hired 4 mules to transport ration, common gear, fuels and tents till the base camp. On 12^th morning, after packing up all the luggage to be transported on mules, at 8:30 AM we left Batal.

The trek to basecamp began with the Chandra river on right side of the trail. It was relatively moderate trek. Only obstacle that day was to cross a stream which was infamous for its ferocity. It’s notoriety had earned it a name as ‘Pagal’ nallah. (Violent stream) From the Batal camp, it took hardly half hour to reach the stream. It was indeed risky to cross without any aid. Some trekkers or the local authorities had put up a makeshift bridge to cross the stream but even it was broken. With the help of Negi sir, we crossed the stream. Pranav, Abhijit & their friend, who was to accompany them till camp 2, were on their way. Pranav and I were in Climbathon back in 2014. From Batal, throughout the expedition, we were tent mates. Such good old days! We relived those memories and continued walking further.

River Chandra along the right side of the trail.

After around two and a half hour of almost plain hike by the river, we arrived on a meadow from where the trail turned left towards South Dhaka glacier. From that point, the hike was uphill. The privileges like grasslands, ever flowing rivers, clear whether were to be forgotten and preparedness for rugged glaciers, brutal moraine and harsh cold conditions was to begin. Within next 2 hrs, we reached basecamp.

Basecamp at South Dhaka Glacier:

Basecamp, at 14600 ft, was situated in the moraine along the stream that originated from the glacier snout, just half a km away from the campsite. On the south side, stood CB14 engulfed in clouds, while towards west, but far away from the camp, CB11 & CB12 were standing like silent guardians. Cb13 was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps as if the queen of entire CB range, protected by her guards, she was residing deep inside the glacier in southward direction.

Negi sir initiated the camp set up. It was raining already and the Kitchen tent had to be set up on priority. Once the kitchen tent was ready, Bharat & Kancha rolled up their sleeves and began kitchen arrangement and lunch preparations. While, rest of us pitched other tents and made arrangement for Pooja. In every expedition, Pooja has a significant importance. It is a humble gesture of worshiping the mountain goddess and praying for successful and safe journey. I think this gesture is less a superstition but more a reminder to oneself that more than the summit, coming back safely is important. Mountains are benign only in their best times. And only in these best times we should attempt to climb. Sometimes, the inner urge to reach to the top, or the pressure of expectations dulls our rationale and foresight. And it can lead to a life or death situation. Pooja instilled in us, a sense of modesty and cautioned us of prioritizing everyone’s safety at first.

Temple at basecamp

Just after the pooja, we discussed the plan of action for next 3 days

Her first Glimpse and our first Nightmare.

Team marching through the glacier

South Dhaka Glacier

Steep 200-250 m climb towards camp 1

On 13^th, we planned to go for a load ferry to Camp 1. It was at 16100 ft. at the snout of a tributary of South Dhaka glacier. From the base camp it was a hike of around 4 hrs, through moraine, glacier, and lastly, in the direction of CB14’s north ridge, (taking a sharp left turn), a steep 200-250 m of scree climb would take climbers to the Camp 1. It was also a summit camp for CB14.

Since we had arrived at basecamp just on a previous day, and were to go for a load ferry next day, we decided to go for a load ferry a bit late; at around 9:00 AM. So that everyone could relax and eat well before the hike. This hike was important not only for load ferry but also from acclimatization point of view. ‘Work high Sleep low’! The next day after load ferry was kept as a rest day before shifting to Camp 1.

We distributed and stuffed our rucksacks with all high altitude ration and necessary group equipment and left basecamp at 9:30 AM. Negi sir was leading the route. Kancha had roped in with us as he was excited for the first glimpse of the peak. Varun was walking very fast. I told him a couple of times to slow down and reserve his fuel for the big push. The thought of first ever expedition might be very amusing but that was the time when patience was the key. After around one hour of walk, we stepped on to the glacier. Large open crevasses, broken ice slabs and torrential ice cold water underneath… Ice tables & huge boulders were scattered all over. We negotiated our ways through this cold and in a literal sense cold labyrinth of boulders, streams and ice. Sanket had started to develop a mild headache. And so did Lokesh. They took some water while rest of us took their load and we continued further. Within half an hour, Sanket’s headache got nastier. It was a bad indication. I realized that Sanket should be sent back. He initially protested. But I told him how much I counted on him and how the success of entire team was heavily relying on his sound health. He agreed. Lokesh was also unwell. They both went to basecamp while we continued to camp 1.

Negi sir led the route to the camp 1 and we saw the peak for the first time. The weather had cleared for a few minutes just at the time we reached. First glimpses were surely not encouraging. The summit climb seemed steeper than what we presumed and the rock craft at the summit was substantial. I was a bit nervous about the rope we had was sufficient or not. We pitched one tent there, unloaded all inside the tent and descended quickly back to basecamp.

As we started coming closer to the mountain, brutal and raw facets of her started to unravel

At basecamp, Sanket told us something that just blew my mind. He had a migrain problems and had not brought his special medicines. It was a colossal mistake. For someone who has been in mountains for a couple of times, who was well aware of his own health, not carrying personal medication would only lead to a jeopardy. Not only personal but for the whole group. I spoke to Negi sir. He was silent. For someone suffering from migrain, cold conditions; loss of Oxygen could trigger the disease even more. I was exasperated. How could Sanket? The best among all might just have to quit at base camp. But I thought of holding the decision for another day. Next day was a rest day and I was hoping that this rest day might be of helpful for him.

Most of the rest day, we checked our crampons, Ice ax etc. Since we were to face crevasse field, we practiced crevasse rescue techniques. We also practiced putting figure 8, clove hitch etc. with bulky handgloves. Negi sir refreshed our c-pulley & z-pulley systems. In all, it was an excellent revision session and we felt pretty confident. Post lunch afternoon till late night, we played poker.. Sanket and Varun were the pros. I never had cards with winning combinations. I always ended up having lost all the money (virtual) and having led banks to the bankruptcy. I didn’t mind with such losses in the gambles of cards but I definitely wanted a winning combination out there.

At 3:00 AM, Varun came rushing to my tent saying that Sanket was having unbearable headache. I grabbed my head torch and walked to his tent, having made a clear decision. By now I understood that the migrain could be controlled only by his special medication. Disprin might just help him relieve some pain. He drank some water and gulped down disprin. In the morning, he was okay. But I had made a decision. Irrevocable. For his safety. For team’s safety and success. However harsh it had been for him. My decision had ramifications on his subsequent expedition too. He was to go for Manaslu expedition next. I foresaw his exclusion from there too.  Sad but nothing could be done. He was the strongest among all and he had to quit. I was nervous and a bit scared then. 1^st wicket had fallen. I tried to keep myself calm. And he too understood the gravity and agreed.

Pranav & Abhijit, who had already gone for the summit camp that day, were to return back to basecamp next day. So, I told Sanket to stay at basecamp with Kancha and when Pranav would head back to Manali, he could take Sanket along with him. Looking at Lokesh’s overall health, I had a feeling that Lokesh too, would very soon go back to base camp. I even told him to wait for Lokesh. But as per Kancha, He had headache again at night so he left basecamp the very next day.. All alone without any intimation.

On 15^th, at 12:30 PM, Negi sir, Bharat, Varun and I reached camp 1. Jayant followed soon. But Lokesh & Pawan took a lot of time to reach camp 1. Lokesh was completely exhausted. But Pawan perhaps was more. He was the driving force in bringing Lokesh till camp 1. I admired Pawan’s patience and ‘never get angry’ attitude. We were close friends for past 3 years now and never had I seen him even vaguely angry.

After the lunch, we ferried our loads to camp 2 and returned to camp 1 only to find Lokesh in a terrible state. He ate little. We had to force him to drink water. Exhaustion, dehydration seemed to have been developing Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). We decided to send him down to Basecamp at the strike of dawn. Wicket No. 2. Next day, Bharat took him down to basecamp. In Bharat’s absence, we decided to stay at Camp 1 as it gave some respite to Pawan who had had a long exhausting slog on previous day. 

I was nervous because of Sanket’s unexpected, & uninformed departure. Going alone was a risky affair. I wish he could have taken Kancha along with him till Batal and sent him back to basecamp. That was the time when I realized the need of extra support at basecamp. (Although he went back to Manali safely, but I understood that as a leader, going forward one should always keep special arrangements for emergency evacuation; however expensive they may be.) Thankfully, at basecamp, Lokesh’s news of improved health gave me some confidence to march ahead.

Camp 1 to Camp 2 and the graveyards at 16000 ft:

16^th passed as a rest day. On 17^th, we began our walk to camp 2, which was situated at 17000 ft. Walk to summit camp consisted of crossing humps of moraine, one after another. I really hated their very nature of deceiving the trekker. You feel like you have reached the top of a hump but then once you reach the top of a hump, another hump pops up. And this is unending. Such fucking decepticons! Varun and I devised a simple strategy to divert our attention from the moraine torture. One at a time would decide a landmark rock (generally 30-40 steps ahead) and then together we would chase it. Where the physical prowess ended, perhaps there began the mental game. And it indeed had a potential if explored, to bring victory out of near defeat situations.

By 12:30 PM we reached the camp 2. While crossing the glacier, we came across debris and shattered pieces of Aeroplane. They were strewn everywhere. The terrain seemed like a graveyard more and less a mountain glacier. As per Negi sir, back in 1968, Indian army plane had crashed here. All the crew of 98 officers had died. Since then, countless Indian Army expeditions took placed in south Dhaka glacier to retrieve the dead bodies and they did succeed but failed to recover the black box. Till now the airplane crash is a mystery. News papers mentioned that, since 2004-05, these special expeditions involved massive explosions to dig out the dead bodies. Apparently, the glacier level has drastically diminished by 6-8 ft since then. 

Camp 2 (17100 ft.) was situated at the foot of CB 13 on opposite side of CB 14. From this point, the summit route was clearly visible. If the weather conditions were good, one could watch almost entire climb. We were six members but were having a single 4 men tent. Quickly, we set up the camp, had lunch and got ready for the load ferry to Col (18050 ft.)

Entire glacier field had plane crash rubble scattered everywhere 

Trek to col was a 2 hrs walk but through snow and at last, involved some ice & rock climbing. All the route opening gear had to be deposited at the col. We had to carry 300 m polypropylene rope (10 mm ), 8 ice screws, 10 rock pitons, 4 mekha, 4 snow stacks, 2 kernmental ropes (total 90 m), 14 quick-draws.  We were already outnumbered by 2 and as if this was less the stress, Pawan had to rest at the camp due to his ever excruciating backache. On top of that, he seemed tired too. Yet he was trying to give his best for team’s success.

We trekked very close to the right side of mountains, keeping an eye for a rockfall. I wondered why Negi sir was taking such a long route and at times, was walking through a high rockfall proximity areas. Later after discussing with him, two times summitter Negi sir told me that, the whole charming snow amphitheater was in fact a deceptive field full of hidden long crevasses. I gulped down a huge lump in my throat. Since Camp 1 times, I had begun to accept how important the role of a local guide was in such remote mountaineering expeditions. (Before the expedition, I was stubborn to not take any external help and attempt as much as we could on our own capabilities) It might be the arrogance but surely the lack of experience more. Again the fundamental principal of mountaineering: safe departure of everyone; flashed in front of me. We watch and read a lot about solo climbing or expeditions in western countries. In India also, the culture has started to take shape. I believe it is a great thing. We must always seek self-sufficiency, try to expand our boundaries, but not by compromising the safety. Having an experienced local guide in your team doesn’t diminish your achievement. In fact, your chance of successful summit and safe return enhances. You get to know the terrain better. You learn new skills and at times very practical skills that you wouldn’t get to learn in courses or textbooks. I felt very fortunate to have Negi sir as our guide. He had a teacher within him, an urge to share his wisdom and and he would always encourage youngsters to take challenges.

When we returned to camp 2, it was 6:00 PM. Our ration was dying. We perhaps miscalculated and did not anticipate the extra stay at Camp 1. At the same time, the weather was to turn bad after 18^th. (As per the reports which I had discussed with Ganesh, before leaving from Pune) The only suitable window was that night. Varun and Jayant seemed tired. Pawan’s condition was worsening. And my confidence was shaking. But I tried my best to encourage them for tonight. Within seconds, Varun seemed to have gotten muscles of 10 bulls. He was breathing so furiously and was overexcited for the final show. Jayant was calm and stable as usual. Good thing about him was, though he walked slowly, he ate and slept very well throughout the expedition. He never showed a single sign of health issues. In fact, he was always there to help and encourage others. A perfect team spirit he displayed. I was happy to have influenced them positively. But Pawan! He was my closest. We had dreamed it together. Climbed a lot of routes in Sahyadri together. Every single plan, every single development, I had discussed with him. No decision I took, which did not involve his inputs. And now he didn’t seem to be capable enough to go up. I did not speak anything to him at that time. Nor did he.

At 1:00 AM, we got up. The plan was to leave at 2:00. And we did leave; but not until 3:30. One of the biggest errors of our team was, our consistency in not following the timelines. Not even once, the team was ready on time. While earlier delays were acceptable, on a summit push, it was just not the case. And in a situation like that.. Unpardonable!!

Negi sir asked us to go ahead and he would join us at the col. Four of us roped up. I was leading while Pawan was at the rear end. (Pawan was trying hard to push himself. And I had no wish to turn him down. I knew his degree of tolerance and stoic attitude.) I had remembered the route previous night but in such darkness and in cloudy conditions, it was a bit difficult to navigate.  Slowly and steadily we kept going. Just within half an hour, Pawan began to slow down. Backache again.  We had to take pause every after 5-7 min. We were already late and now were delaying even more when the need of a time was to cover as much distance as we could in fresh times.

With heavy heart, I went back to Pawan and said what needed to be said. He also wanted not to slow others down and so he readily unroped himself. He went back to the camp 2 while three of us continued further.  I reached Col at 6:30. Varun and Jayant were yet to arrive. We were already late by 1 hr 30 min than our estimated times.

Varun approaching the Col

From this point onward, more technical climb had begun. Actually, it had already begun from the base of the col. On previous night, Negi sir had fixed 50 m rope at col. It was a near vertical, 70-75 ft wall with loose rocks and roughly 65 degree ice slope as base. Despite the late movements, Negi sir asked me to open the route from the col. His confidence in me, probably revitalized my loosing spirit. I quickly clipped my ice ax pair to harness; attached anchoring gears to the harness loops; tied figure 8 knot to my belay loop, stuffed extra rope in my bag, and told him that I was ready. He began belaying me. It was easy to climb on that 60 degree slope with some hard snow and easily penetrable ice conditions. I fixed first 50 m coil with 3 rock pitons. Once Negi sir arrived near me, we began fixing the next rope. I do not exactly remember the number of rock pitons used in the next section but at the end of this pitch, there was a relatively flat scree area, where, Negi sir firmly anchored the rope to a big rock. Meanwhile Jayant, Varun & Bharat jumared up along the fixed route.

Next challenge was to fix a rope in a 40 ft. rock gully. Negi sir fixed that section of the rope. The next section after rock gully was a longer one, through the ice, with exposure of around 65-70 degree angle. We fixed 100 m coil here with the help of 1 mekh, 1 ice screw and at top, 1 snow stack. At this point, we had reached around 5800 m. (19000ft.) The number 5800!! As I sat on the scree rocks, waiting for others to reach, I felt that everything till then was under control. Except time. It was already 9:30 AM. We had to hurry.

But then I saw Jayant struggling to cope up with the speed. He seemed exhausted. He was not climbing smoothly. That wasn’t a good sign. I looked at Negi sir and he said clearly that it was still a long and even tougher way to go. That stop was perhaps the last exit option. I walked where Jayant was sitting. The time was less and I straightforwardly asked him to anchor himself there and stay awake until we were back. I took a risk of asking him to stay there alone because, then the weather was okay, he had enough water, food and clothing to stay warm and hydrated and was resting on a flat area with self-anchor. Also, we were badly outnumbered by then and sending someone or myself going down with him would only mean putting curtains on the expedition. Later he mentioned that he himself was approaching me to tell that he wanted to quit as a rock had hit him on his knee and he didn’t want team’s speed to get hampered. He stayed there and I quickly got back on ice along with Varun.

The route after rock gully. Varun & Jayant could be seen on ice slopes. Negi sir, I & Bharat had already reached on a flat region.

I realized that, there were two extra ropes that Jayant & Varun each were supposed to bring with them for further route opening, and they had forgotten them at the col, 1000 ft. below.  That pink 60 m neatly coiled rope, lying at the col was clearly visible. With that a serious error, our chance of summit had almost gone.

But a short 30 m polypropylene rope was still remained. And Varun despite all odds was determined to go up. From this point onward, there was no fixed rope. On a slope of approx. 65 degree, two of us were marching in a roped up state and Negi sir along our side. Varun was climbing confidently even though, we had shifted into icy slopes from the hard snow conditions. I felt proud of him and we continued for another 100 m. At that point, the weather started to become ugly with whiteout, mild snow fall and rocks hurling down from above. With each step, I took a break to analyse the situation. Tried to anticipate potential hazards and possible exit options. Varun reached towards me. We thrusted our crampons in the ice, secured ourselves with ice ax and discussed about the possibilities.

Part 5-

Retreat:

11:30 AM., 19350 ft.

Negi sir told that it was too late and the summit was still 3 hrs away. Also, I realised that, that sudden change in weather could bring drowsiness to the tired and resting climbers. Jayant was sitting down there. And the thought of Jayant falling asleep on the slopes was just enough for me to make the decision. At the same time, it was getting whiteout and some rocks had already came down from above. Considering the worsening weather conditions, anticipating the difficulty in descend, and overall health status of the team, I decided to call of the expedition and go down. We hurriedly turned back and reached Jayant. He mentioned that he fell asleep for a couple of minutes. But in such tough conditions, realizing the potential danger and quickly acting upon it, were vital responsibilities of a climber. And Jayant did show presence of mind there. He quickly took out the camera and began shooting the climb. And his own speech! (Damn! Why? You could have shot the climb and still spoken.. You missed the action :P) But I was glad the way he ensured his own safety without putting others in trouble.

Having quit the attempt, we came back to Camp 2 unenthused. Pawan was sleeping. Jayant was almost drained off. Varun too, was probably saddened. A team of Bengali climbers had arrived at the camp 2. They seemed very much ill prepared in terms of equipment, overall team’s physical fitness levels etc. On top of that, they had come without guide; just 3 HAPs. Their leader was persuading Negi sir to guide their team too. So unprofessional and so cheap behavior it was. As per Negi sir, for a few thousand rupees, they had not hired any guide but were hoping that Negi sir would accept their request in the mountain. And as if I would let that happen. Seeing our attempt from the camp 2, and the worsening weather conditions, they packed up and went back to camp 1. We also went descended to camp 1.

19^th July 2017, Camp 1. 3:00 AM

I woke up. How could I sleep when all the efforts had gone in vein? I did not feel even remotely tired. Nor any health issues. In fact I was in my best form at the moment. But what was the use of that best form if I let it decay inside the tent? I analysed all my cards calmly. Pawan had his tanks fully loaded yet. Just needed to recover from the backache. Varun, having performed fiercely, was high on confidence. So we still had a chance to reattempt after taking rest for a day at basecamp. If anyone of them would make up the mind and join with me, we could go speedily for a reattempt. I discussed this with team and all agreed. Negi sir didn’t look sure but he asked if we could discuss the matters at basecamp. Early morning, we went back to basecamp where Lokesh was waiting for us. While we were at higher camps, he and Kancha had managed the basecamp very well. He prepared an energy drink and greeted us warmly.

20^th July 2017, Basecamp.

On a previous night at basecamp, Pawan was starting to feel better as his backache seemed to have disappeared. He confidently told me that he would join me for the reattempt. I guess that night I really slept well. But next day Pawan woke up with severe backache and sudden weakness. And Varun too felt some tiredness and muscle aches. Still I asked Negi sir, if he, Bharat and I, three of us should go up while Pawan would lead the group back to Manali. He knew the overall condition of the team and suggested me to take the whole team back to Manali safely. Also, he had other commitments, so he definitely not wanted to go for a reattempt. My pleads fell upon deaf ears and very unpleasingly I accepted that the game was lost and the expedition was over.

22^nd July 2017, Manali.

Two days had past uneventfully. There was nothing to celebrate nor talk about anything. Sympathy calls/sms were to begin soon. Khem sir already praised us for ‘almost summit’.  Mama was in Nepal and he called me at night. He had immense confidence and expectation from us. He was deeply pained to hear our retreat. He bluntly lashed out on me about my stubbornness of not taking enough support team that had led to that state. He was right. My team was inexperienced. The peak, I once presumed to be easy, had turned out to be a difficult climb with such minimal resources.

Mama’s call left me in total disarray. This yet another defeat onus was upon my shoulder. I had to wear this defeated badge forever now. Until now I had participated in 3 to 4 organized expeditions. But this was my own idea. Now I was leading an expedition for the first time and for the first time I was part of Giripremi’s expedition. Duel responsibility! And having received the honour of leading Giripremi’s expedition, the responsibility had become tenfold. Right from its birth I along with my team mates, have been nurturing and raising this goal. And now it was all shattered.

Whole night I couldn’t sleep. I felt offended to have let Giripremi’s name down. I felt sorry for all the sponsors and well-wishers who stood by us. But nothing I could do. I had already preponed my flight tickets too.

Part 6-

Anguish, Anger & the burning fire within

23^rd July 2017, Prini Camp, Manali.

Dipali gave us a surprise visit at 7:00 AM when we were lying inside our tents at Prini. (Dipali was Pawan’s wife and one of our close friends. They had married just a month ago and she had planned to celebrate the summit with us! See, her confidence!!)  For a while we forgot our sorrows and decided to hangout in Manali market with her. My mind wasn’t entirely there but I was trying to put up the smiles and pay attention there.

And while in the local Manali bus, all of a sudden a wild thought struck my mind and I shared it to Dipali in a very casual way. I asked her, “It may sound funny but see.. I`m not even slightly tired nor having any sorts of health issues. So, what if I pack my bag, hire a new guide and go for a reattempt tomorrow itself? Being already acclimatized and in a perfect shape, ideally it would just take 5 days from Manali to Manali. If I take 2 spare days, still I can come back to Pune before 1^st Aug. What say?” And I laughed as if it was some fantastic imaginations trying to console my mind. But she grew anxious and asked if I could really do so. It was at that moment, thoughts began to gather in my mind. Indeed it was possible. Others were exhausted and had strived with their best potential. But me? Not even a bruise nor any fatigue. How could I go back without trying to my best potential? Next person I spoke to was Pranav. He was still in Manali and he said it can be done and started hunting a guide for me. Meanwhile, I called mama. I was very sure that mama would ask to stick to the plan and go back to Pune but still I decided to take a chance and to my surprise, mama asked me just two questions. 1. Will your parents permit? 2. Do you have confidence and the strength to go back?    

My firm reply to Mama changed the mood of the team completely. Jayant asked if he could join till the basecamp from safety point of view. Varun was ready for the whole climb. Based on Varun’s calibre, I wanted to take him along with me. I appreciated both of their willingness and motives but this time I wanted to take no risk. There was substantial money to be poured. Secondly, now the output would be only binary. I knew that the summit would bring incredible glory to those who will go, to our entire team and to the club; but the defeat even by 100 m, would only bring misery to those who will go for a reattempt. Do or die like situation. No mercy if there was to come any mistakes, indiscipline, illness or an injury. I decided to go for it by myself and take one guide along with me. This time mama intervened and warned me to take another technical helper from safety point of view. I obediently agreed. Even in that moment, I asked Pawan whether he thought I could do it or not. Whether the decision was rational or emotionally driven. He too believed that I could do it. Within 2 hours, mama & Khem sir arranged guides while Jayant and I bought food ration. Mama asked me to take rest for another day and prepare to leave on 25^th. Mama permitted me to go, not just based on my firm ‘Yes’ response. At night, he spoke to Negi sir about my performance in first attempt and asked if I could go for a reattempt. It was when Negi sir gave a green signal, mama finally wished me good luck. Till then he had just told me to be ready. I realized how safety of the team members had always been his paramount focus.

Chandi (aka Balakrishna Thakur) & Gopal Thakur were my new companions. Chandi had never been above 6189 m altitude but had more than 12 years of guiding experience. While, Gopal was my AMC course mate and was on his first ever expedition.  Interestingly, neither of them had ever been in that valley, let alone CB13. I was delighted to have gotten such responsibility to even guide the route. (This opportunity to guide helped me in Elbrus expedition during August 2017, where I independently guided 2 members for entire summit bid without any aid from local guides.) Technically, it turned out that we were like three partners attempting the peak in a purely self-sufficient ways.We had packed all common and personal gears, ration & fuel in our rucksacks. We dismantled the tent and distributed in our sacks. This time there was no cook, no helper, and no mules. Just three of us. Thankfully, we had left our polypropylene ropes on the mountain, so we only carried our climbing ropes. (Later it turned out that we hardly needed 70-80 m rope.)

Part 7-

25^th July 2017, 3:00 AM, Manali.

I was ready sharp at 2:50 AM waiting for Chandi & Gopal to arrive. I was nervous. Till 23^rd, my mind was in the fantasy world of reattempt but in reality, there was just hopelessness. But today, it was all happening. I had gotten an opportunity to prove my worth. If I make it, I shall be remembered for ages to come but if I fail, I shall be in a bottomfuckingless pit.

My parents, firmly believed in me. Pappa was overjoyed to see his son going for such extraordinary task. Ganesh send me weather updates on WhatsApp. It showed summit window on 28^th. Yuktie was happy to hear about my reattempt plans. She told me that she would pray for our success and safe return. Mama too, called me and told that he went to a temple the previous day at 4:00 AM to offer his prayers for the success. And Aai, unending source of my energy, she also made her prayers and wished me good luck. I bade farewell to my teammates and we left by a private jeep to Batal.

We reached Batal at 9:30 AM. Chacha-chachi were surprised to see us again. I enquired for my friend Jayant Sharma’s whereabouts. The day we left basecamp in first attempt, he had also come to CB13 expedition with his partner. Chacha-chachi mentioned that all those who had come for CB13 had already returned. I was surprised. It was just a 5^th day from the day they arrived at basecamp. On top of that, they were not pre acclimatized. It was nearly impossible for them to complete so soon unless there had been any mishap or an accident that would have forced them to get out of the mountains. But Chacha said that nothing like that happened. I grew a bit worried about them.

After the breakfast, we packed 15 extra parathas from dhaba and began our trek at 10:30.  That Pagal nallah had to be crossed in early morning. Else the glacier melting would have led to rise in water levels. And we were already late.

Chandi swiftly crossed the stream barefoot. Gopal and I negotiated with the help of sticks. It had become more violent than before. Now the water wasn’t flowing beneath that broken bridge but had changed its course completely.  In initial 30-40 min. the trail was visible and I remembered it well. But something had happened in past few days. 4-5 glacial feeds were newly formed. Some were flooded with glacier water while some were dry but with huge rubbles. Chandi said, that there must have been a lot of landslides and rock fall and all that was carried down by the waters. Because of this, the trail route in that area had also vanished. Thankfully, it was like a flat open field and clear sky. So heading along the river, without worrying about the defined trail, wasn’t really a problem.

We took 4 hours to reach basecamp. But it was quite a walk! Chandi was surprised to see my fitness on the first day itself.  He appreciated. And that gesture made me feel comfortable with the new companions.

On 26^th we trekked up to Camp 1 and on 27^th to Camp 2.  I never felt myself so strong and so fast before. Intense and systematic training programme really paid. I was feeling a lot of optimistic for next two days. Within 48 hours my fate was going to come in light. Victory or Defeat. But I decided not to delve into any fantasy, not build any castles in the air. But just focus in that present moment.

With Gopal & Chandi

From Camp 2, the appearance of CB 13 and the route towards col had changed downright. So many crevasses were opened and the snow had vanished from the slopes. Same was the case with col trek route. 5 crevasses welcomed us with their jaws wide open. Some were 2-3 ft wide and 300-350 ft. in length. It was so unbelievable. Within a week’s time, so much had changed. And more was to change within a day! (While descending, 2 new crevasses were opened. They were deadlier than all the previous ones.) I glanced inside one of them. It was brutally cold and dark as hell. Of all the challenges or the risks involved in the mountains, falling in crevasses is one I fear the most. Frankly speaking, we were committing mistake by not being roped up, while traversing that crevasse field. Fortunately, no casualty happened but had any happened, you wouldn’t be reading this. I made it a point to not getting complacent and just follow by the book in times of extreme dangers. (Almost a month later, I and my guide fell thrice in crevasses while climbing Elbrus from North route. One of them was a monster but thankfully heavy snowfall on previous nights and being roped up together, avoided accident.)

The crevasse. They were not just wide but unpredictably long. 

Gopal & I walking through the snow field.

By 12:30 PM, we were at the col. Instead of Camp 2, we pitched our tent at col. This was an advantage as we managed to cover initial 2 hrs of time and 300 m altitude gain, thus reserving our fuel boosters for a tough climb ahead. The col was an interesting place. In fact better camping place than camp 2, especially because of the magnificent views of endless CB range, placid Chandratal and splendid sough Dhaka glacier. The narrow col had a designated campsite surrounded by stone walls, just enough to pitch 2 tents. The snow slopes were just nearby and apparently, a noble person had carried a peace of rubber pipe and had buried it in a stream underneath the glacier, making a perpetual provision of a flowing stream at campsite. That saved our efforts to melt snow for cooking and drinking.

The Col Camp.

At, 2:00 PM, we were ready with all the preparations of summit attempt scheduled at 2:30 AM same night. To be honest, I had started to get feelings of a grand success and it would be a success no one would have thought. Mama had discussed about the reattempt plans with very few in Giripremi. I was having goose bumps kind of feelings. But I decided not to get carried away until I actually return back to Batal. Anything could happen within next 48 hrs. Fingers crossed.

From the col we spotted, two tiny dots steadily approaching the CB14 summit. (While we were at camp 1, Jayant and his friend had returned from the CB13 attempt. So they were still in the mountains and safe! My anxiety stopped the moment I saw them outside our tent. They had put up an attempt till 6000 m. and after a gap of 2 days, they were planning to attempt CB14 from Camp 1.) I think they summited at around 2:00- 3:00 PM and were back to camp 1 by 7:00 PM. We appreciated their climb and got back inside our sleeping bags.

28^th July 2017. 1:00 AM.

Anxiety didn’t let us sleep. None of us. It was obvious. Tiredness from past 4 consecutive treks was looming on my face. But it was going to be the last hectic day. Lethargy, Complacency, indiscipline would mean only loss. And they shouldn’t have popped up at this last moment. I gathered all my strength and went directly outside the tent to flex my arms and legs. Meanwhile, Chandi made tea for us. We ate some pasta and soup and quickly got ready for the go. Exactly as planned, sharp at 2:25 AM, we hit the snow slopes. Most of the rope was already fixed in previous attempt. But we carried the fixed rope from the col with us. Also, couple of climbing ropes were with us. I kept that pink 60 m climbing coil in my bag and attached 3 ice screws, 4 rock pitons, jumar, belay device and a few carabiners. I carefully stuffed summit flags, Banners, Camera, dry food & 2 litre water. Chandi also carried 80 m fixed coil and similar anchoring gear set like mine. Gopal carried 35 m coil and snow stacks.

I swung my left foot in the snow. It was a hard snow now. I quickly clipped the self-anchors into the fixed rope and began to climb up by 4 point technique. Chandi and Gopal followed me. Till 5800 m, only I knew the route, so naturally I was leading. :D Slope must have been 60 degrees only but it was dark and with every step, hard snow was getting replaced by ice. At certain points, slope had so much melted that each front point had to be hit firmly into the ice else a small slippage would have tumbled us down the glacier. Chandi was already impressed by my fitness; and now by my ice climbing skills. We decided to not brake the pace and so, avoided getting roped up. Soon we cleared rock gully. Even here, we climbed in darkness without using jumar. I couldn’t believe the speed with which I was climbing. Fixed rope was slowing us down. After the gully, we got rid of the fixed rope and began freely climbing on the ice slopes. It was in fact sensible to do so, because the snow stack and the ice screw were already out and relying on them would only mean uncontrolled tumble 2000 ft below in the crevasse field. At 5:00 AM, we were at 5900 m. The point from where we were forced to retreat.

We climbed free over the ice slopes for 500 m.

From this point, we were not sure which way to go. We searched for signs of any old expedition fixed ropes under the ice. After 5-7 min, we found one. It was going through the scree, sometimes buried under the ice in a frozen state. We took a rest for a while since it was still dark. At that point, Chandi scanned the route and he figured out that the rope was stretched all the way till the summit point. And mostly it was passing through the scree.

Chandi removed his crampons and decided to go through the scree. He seemed absolutely comfortable to deal with the slippery scree. I was reluctant to use fixed rope since there was a challenging ice gradient just left to the scree.

We continued marching forward. At 6040 m, the ice part was over and the route turned towards left through scree. From that point onward, there was only loose scree and some rock slabs. Crampons & ice ax became liability. The sky had lit in rainbow of colours. On our right side, many of the CB peaks and at distant, Mt. Indrasan were popping their sharp rocky heads out of dense white clouds. And on the left, we could see the fixed rope turning towards left, in a direction of a small gully, just 60-70 m below the summit. There were a few more fixed ropes fixed in some arbitrary directions which caused some confusion. But I remembered, Negi sir had mentioned of a narrow gully near the summit. So we decided to follow towards left in the direction of gully. 

Even in screes and rock, we did not use fixed rope. I had terribly slowed down due to ever slippery scree terrain. In between there were easy rock patches to climb. Indeed they were easy, but the wetness due to snow had made it a difficult task to climb. By 8:00 Am, we reached to the gully. It was around 8-10 ft long with a gradual climb and only one person could pass. From the gully, the route took a sharp turn to right and rose up above 80 degrees till the summit. I glanced at the route above and immediately decided to use fixed rope from this point onward. From the gully, I stole a look directly below me and could see the entire plane crash glacier, including the camp 1. Shivers went down my spine and I quickly installed even jumar to the fixed rope.

“Enough free climbing”, I said to myself. From here a miniscule mistake and the result was death! I had a strong will to climb without fixed rope but ultimately, I decided to hold on my ambitious aims for a while. With some more experience, more stamina I may be able to do free climb in future but not today! No compromise to safety. The gully was a silent indication of a thin line between adventure and stupidity.  

Jumar was just to avoid fall. We had to actually climb the rock  

Jumar also helped take rests at vital times.

We carefully checked the fixed rope. As per Chandi, it was reliable and not very old. Still, we fixed 30 m. coil, taking a small diversion to the right side of the original fixed rope. And from that point onward, we used old fixed rope. Even with jumar, it wasn’t an easy task to go up. The rock was loose and occasionally, it came out. Sometimes, the hand gripping was enough to set the rock slabs in motion. Performing typical rock climbing moves with all the equipment in rucksack and with mountaineering boots, in a loose rock and at 80 degree angle! And if this was less, ever daunting 3000 ft drop right under out feet.

Speaking of rock climbing with mountaineering boots, back in May 2017, I had been in Manali with a bunch of 50 kids for adventure camp. I insisted them to do rock climbing without PA shoes, but with their regular trekking shoes. Annoyed by inability to climb in those heavy shoes, they asked me why I was insisting on not climbing without PA shoes. It was an easy climb with PA shoes otherwise. But with heavy trekking shoes, it had become an impossible task for them. In Himalayas, one has to face with snow, ice rock, scree and what not. And one doesn’t always have a luxury to carry whole lot of equipment; truth be told, that’s not even possible. It was essential to be able to adapt to required conditions and make a climb with whatever available resources.

 

Inch by inch, balancing in awkward positions, I jumared up and reached a landmark stone, just 10 m below the summit. And finally at 9:00 AM, all three of us reached the summit. Tricolour fluttered and Giripremi flag was raised high up on the summit. The mission, which exactly 10 days ago was aborted, was now accomplished!! First attempt was a 12 days long, today we made it in just 4 days. It was a proud moment indeed. I bowed at the prayer flag at summit and thanked each one who believed in me. I hugged Gopal & Chandi. We spend half an hour taking pictures, making videos and trying to absorb the awe-inspiring views from the top.

Breathtaking views from top

Chandi & I at the summit.

Finally all efforts had paid.

Descend till the gully was equally risky. We rappelled down till gully. After the scree section was over, the weather started to turn bad with snow fall and whiteout. We decided to go in the direction of fixed line throughout. While descending in ice, we climbed down freely as we removed all our anchor equipment, carried down to col camp all 200 m rope that was fixed in previous attempt. ( 30 m was left at the upper chimney 20 at the lower chimney and 50 m at the col.) After a rewarding summit treat of Maggie, we descended all the way to camp 1. I was completely drenched in rains. Down jacket was soaked completely. But I was just indifferent to the cold. Unburdened from the expectations and high hopes, immersed in thoughts of how yearlong efforts had paid off, and eager to share jubilant news to the beloved ones; I entered in our tent at 6:00 PM and slept like a dead corpse for hours.

On 31^st, July, exactly as planned, rather one day before, I was back in Pune. In hindsight, it was all there. The plot was there, the characters were ready. All I needed was to make a firm choice, stand by my beliefs unflinchingly and when opportunity would come, deliver to my fullest. I think, for the first time in my life, I felt as if entire universe had conspired to make the summit happen. Or perhaps, for the first time, I toiled far beyond my limits I was aware of. I looked back in time. I had learnt lessons of lifetime. The instinctive pressure of a success, continually depleted team strength, weather uncertainties.. Then I bore the most painful distress to quit the climb and turn back; listened in embarrassment mama’s icy words; dreaded by mockery, taunts or sympathies that might follow. And feared the most, my diminishing self-confidence with every passing day. I did not fight with Negi sir for his blatant denial to reattempt. I tried my best to remain cheerful and caring to my teammates, despite my self was eating me inside out. Patience was the key. The sufferings gave rise to the inception of reattempt. And when the opportunity seemed arising out of nowhere, I grabbed it without wasting any time. I followed to the advice of elders and experienced climbers and just in 5 days, overcoming all obstacles, physical, mental even emotional; got done what otherwise would have remained undone. All the pains, worries, nervousness, exhaustion, everything vanished into thin air when I breathed the sigh of relief at 6264!! The summit indeed was a memorable moment, a royal flush moment.. But what I shall cherish for rest of my life is, the decision I took, chased it with patience and grit, and firmly stood by my guts until the dream was accomplished.   

What is it that drives mankind to come again and again to the mountains? Summit? Success? Praise, glamour, fame, and respect? Perhaps in the deeper sense all of them really dont matter in a long race. They go away and hide in the backpacks of memories. What really matters is the realization that being in mountains, each moment is testing us at every step with newer challenges; giving us ample opportunities to raise our potential beyond what we can imagine. We fail. We suffer. However, they give us a chance to rise up again. So what really matters is the NEXT STEP we take. And in that next step we find our truer self. We realise that we have that indestructible strength to get up. We learn to face adversities and endure pain with smiles. With smiles, we learn to heal ourselves and help others heal too. We become sensitive to things around us and grow confident as we march forward. Simply put, we transform and begin to understand who we truly are. Then what else do we really want?

CB13 expedition route. From Batal to Summit.

                                                                                                                                  

Acknowledgement:

For the success, only climbers efforts don't count. The supporters of the expedition were plenty. The well wishers were countless. Without their support and blessings, such arduous expeditions just cant be successfully, safely completed. Our sincere thanks to Mr. Khem Raj Thakur, owner, Mountain expeditions, Prini; for making excellent expedition arrangements for the team and providing thoughtful guidance to the team. We extend our greatest thanks to Mr. Namgyal Negi, Mr. Balkrishna Thakur (Chandi) for their wonderful guidance throughout the mountain days. We also thank Mr. Gopal Thakur, Bharat and Kancha for their continuous support in keeping all the team members fit. All the team members were generously supported by Kosha outdoor adventure & travel clothing firm, with their brilliant outdoor adventure clothing sets. Yuktie Jhangiani, Co-founder, Kosha, has been not only encouraging the team with her updates but also prayed for the successful 2nd attempt. Gypsy tents offered extremely durable and comfortable tents for the team. Harshad food products, owner Bhagyasree Savarkar provided the team instant energy products. The team was supported magnanimously by Mr. Rajesh Asher, Mt. Mahesh Thakare, Nikhil Apte, Smita Kale, Samved Mathpati, Chetan Munalli, Sitaramayya Uppala. We also thank Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, Dr. Sachin Vyavahare & Mr. Vivek Naralikar, who conducted medical fitness tests for all the participants.We express our gratitude for all their support and hope to continue to achieve higher heights in near future.  

CB 13 Expedition Sponsors: