Wanderer's Diaries

Happiness is in as simple things as laying on the seashore watching the oppressor setting beyond oblivion; waves making a gushing sound, tickling the bare feet, and a tiny boat trying hard to stay up deep on the endless blues. The time never stops. It keeps ticking endlessly. Fortunately you have some clarity of what in a bigger picture you wish to do in your live. But sometimes, even though you are pursuing goals with all your hearts and brains, your efforts dont see the outcome you had expected. Not that you lose interest in your passion and start hunting for something new; but in the tug of war that life plays with you, the spark which keeps the fire within burning.. one that puts the propeller in full swing, dulls briefly. The life rebels. Bonds that seem incredibly precious and unbreakable, quakes all of a sudden leaving you in complete bewilderment. The safe harbor that you once anchored to, remains only in the memories. The loss blurs the site of who you really w...

Mt. Elbrus ((left) west summit at 5642 m & (right) east summit at 5621 m) 14 th Aug 2016, 23:30 PM Barrels, Elbrus, Russia 3700 m. It was a moderate warmth inside our Barrel. But outside it was windy and cold. Hazy lights of Garabhashi station just 200 m above our barrels were the primary navigational tool. And in the midst of subzero temperature of -10 degree celsius ( That’s a usual cold on Elbrus at night ), assured 35-40 km/hr wind speeds and possible storm towards the end of the day, Anatoli & I had embarked on Elbrus slopes with just enough clothing layers. We packed light and even dressed not that bulky. Slightly bold but more of a risky decision I thought initially. I had a feeling that I could do this. Training for an expedition doesn’t mean just slogging in gyms and running on long trails. It’s a way of life. A routine as simple as cold water baths helped me deal with the shivers and initial hyperventilating phase on the summit push. It didn't make...

Somewhere in early March 2016, the idea of GGIM’s first ever guided expedition to Mt. Elbrus was concocted. I had heard stories of Mt. Elbrus from Akash, for whom Elbrus trip has now become a routine business. So after hearing his climbing stories, the curiosity for exploring this celebrated peak peeked in my mind. By the end of Apr 2016, we rolled out the expedition. Within a month we got 8 clients on board and we set out for the Caucasus mountains!! What was started or perceived as a core mountaineering expedition eventually turned out to be a fairly leisure adventure except for the summit bid which offered challenges, none of us had faced before or even foreseen. In my personal opinion, from a staunch mountaineer’s point of view, it’s a relatively easy game but for an avid adventurer, it’s surely a ‘must go’ destination.        After multiple rounds of pack-in and pack-out business, I was ready with a rucksack on my back and a duffle bag as heavy as 17...

Prologue: I was under this presumption that mountaineering is all about reaching the summits of mighty Himalayas, Alps and Patagonia etc. Until one day I came to Pune and became part of Giripremi family. Giripremi is Pune's mountaineering club which has been promoting mountaineering sport since 1982. Notable ascents of not only Indian Himalaya but also Sahyadri rock climbing were successfully summited by Giripremi members. 2012's Mt. Everest expedition was the landmark event for the club and since then Giripremians have been scaling giant 8000ers one after the other. I have been with Giripremi family for past two years now. When I came here, I had already Basic & Advance mountaineering courses under my belt. Both ‘A’ grades. Enough to get a high of being a ‘qualified’ mountaineer. But just a couple of courses make you a capable mountaineer? In retrospect, I could hear clear ‘NO’. And here I was, having left a potentially money minting job, in pursuit of scalin...

22:00, Thursday, 7 th Apr 2016. After a satisfactory dinner at Annapurna restaurant, we parked our vehicle at the Lonavla bus station and were waiting for Jayant to come who had agreed to reach there by 22:30. And he did come. But not before 1:15 AM. Needless to say, he was greeted with an overwhelmingly touching ovation. At 2:30 in the night, Tailbaila dyke looked as stunning as it always. And we were glad that we were the only mad minds who skipped Gudipadva celebration at homes and came to this lonely place for climbing. Generally our hosts are a pack of monkeys from whom keeping our luggage secured is an adventure in itself. But today even they seemed to be on vacation on the eve of the festive day. At 6:55 AM, after snacks of a few dark chocolates and black tea, Sanket and I set forth on the easiest route (left inner). Although the route was easy but we had a different plan in mind. Simultaneous climbing. Which means, no belay. We had 10-12 m rope and ...

Introduction Unlike my previous accounts, this is not a narration of scenic beauties of Himalaya despite there was plethora of exquisiteness in Gangotri National Park, Nandanban meadows and shear elegance of giant mountains. You may hardly find any mention of glacier walks, fixed ropes, summit and happy endings, although few of us had wonderful feelings in experiencing them all. There is no talk about the floral outburst on well-marked trails that snake along the Bhagirathi River. The experiences and feelings I had in me during those days, were perhaps entirely different from that of others despite we shared the same physical reality. This is rather than a thrilling, adrenaline gushing adventure story; a brief recollection of the things that happened up there and what I felt about how some of those could have been done differently to make the expedition an even better journey. My faults, however minor they seemed then, have defeated my purpose of coming here. There were a fe...