Mountaineering Course - Icy Affair!
Catch up! Catch up...चलो चलो मिलो ..
Coming....Coming!
टरकाओ मत! Chalo Chalo..
थोडा पानी थोड़ा, सर!
(and then follows another one throwing off
his 25kgs rucksack.. .while others, the army folks, zoom off as if a bullet
train trespasses little hamlets enroute... )
Duty instructors try to gather their patience
and roars back to get those weakers up & hiking again....patiently tries to gather some roar over
and calmly ask to get on...
Resting off, one rather feels why not just
camp up in this lovely forest and have a great campfire tonite...and someone
somehow please get us something to munch on..)
And there goes on the folks again following
the trails up another mountain...
कितना है सर, Sir?(~~How much is remaining?)
...such is the eternal question on a long
day hike only to fetch a wonderfully manipulated answer...
बस इधर ही, और दो पहाड़ी....rest point वोह दिख रहा है ...(~~just here, only the next hill)
...and the mind even if it knows all the
manipulation in the count just wants to be believe the manipulation and carry
on...
इतना slow क्यों? Ropes है क्या...
हाँ सर...
Rope leader कौन है...?
अरे रोप लीडर रोप change karo... ( fyi ropes are 5 kgs/- only...)
(...then on with the 'now' feather-weighted rucksack
goes on the journey...
Only to make you realize at another ascend
that ice boots and crampons are still hovering around on your back probably around 22-25kgs... but now that’s
considerable ...)
Goes on the trek to Tela Camp as our 1st
campsite...
After first day trek (24.03) to Tela, we
head for Gujjar next day(25.03).
Quite likely for March, we do our first
rendezvous with snow today but that’s a tad early still! Nevertheless those
steep ascends & fast pace left me with any energy if at all only to stop, drink
& munch on. With 11k hike and mostly
hike through snow post lunch for around 6-7 hrs, I was dying....
 |
| Beating the snow! Are there any crevasse left yet? ;) |
Beat It! Beat It! Beat It! Pave paths to tents, ek number area, do number area, kitchen...
Camp Site Ready! Now get tents camped up.
26.03 Load
Ferry to Base Camp
 |
| Load Ferry to Dokrani Bamak Base Camp |
Next day 27.03 Ascend to Base Camp (12,800 ft)
Finally we ascend to Base Camp(12,800ft), our stationed site for next 10
days...for all the ice and snow activities....
Usual chores at Base camp
(early morning at 5) Whistle blows..
Pheeeee...pheeeeeee... Early morning teatime!
Hardly just out of sleep but not really
bothered for tea, I get back in my cosy sleeping bag. With more hustle buzzing
building up around in our white 'arctic' tent, finally it’s time to say good bye to
sleeping bag and BIG God morning! So beacons pretty bright with clear skies...
And snow all around the campsite and literally just about every direction my
eyesight can wander around welcomes us.
Breakfast usually at 0730/0800 used to on top
of everyone’s mind...usually 3 bread sandwiches, omelette, some jam, butter
& cheese, cornflakes with milk, sometimes porridge though later on it got
monotonous.
Roar comes along..
Fall in... Fall in... Fall in......poor Co-senior roars off having real hard time getting people together...
Gradually, folks flock up like the army
lineup ready for next in line instructions for the day. And thereafter all the participants rush on wearing their ice boots, collecting their axes, sacks
with all the necessary equipment and run on to get in their respective ropes
(P.S. a rope is a group of 4-5 people). Usually someone used to forget the depressingly heavy rope
In such a hurry, Chintu misses out the depressingly heavy
rope (now that’s the real rope...freaking just 5kg/- only) and runs off back to
the tent and collect that neatly coiled rope that was lying silently in the
corner.
So goes on the daily routine for next 10-12 odd days learning various types of manoveuring methods in Ice crafting, snow crafting and Rescue operations in general.
After a hard day's work, everyone used to be back by 12.30-1pm for lunch at base camp. No later than 3-4, a tea break and then on a mandatory mountaineering-movie session, yes in wilderliness at 12,800ft. Nevertheless, everyone used to usually too tired to bother at all...but I must say, couple of those mountain movies/documentaries were amazing! To name a few, we saw 7 years in Tibet, Everest based documentaries.
So goes on the daily routine for next 10-12 odd days learning various types of manoveuring methods in Ice crafting, snow crafting and Rescue operations in general.
After a hard day's work, everyone used to be back by 12.30-1pm for lunch at base camp. No later than 3-4, a tea break and then on a mandatory mountaineering-movie session, yes in wilderliness at 12,800ft. Nevertheless, everyone used to usually too tired to bother at all...but I must say, couple of those mountain movies/documentaries were amazing! To name a few, we saw 7 years in Tibet, Everest based documentaries.
{ It's just a subtle attempt to recreate the magic one might experience while undergoing a mountaineering course at NIM, Uttarkashi, India based on my experience in Mar-Apr 2012. If you've any specific questions related to course, mail me over or post on course's FB page. }
Fuel on the adventure and fun will follow suit....:-)
Always Yours Adventurers,
Ankur