Kaamandurg : A Saturday well spent

It had been some time since a 'real' trek, real being defined as having a certain amount of challenge ,mystery and exertion. The recent rock climbing course had only served to heighten this desire.So when Dnyanesh called up asking whether anything was planned for the weekend , Saturday preferably , I jumped at the chance and had Google working overtime.A random search of forts near Vasai-Virar ,threw up names, of some which were already completed and some which seemed too simple .One name stood out with dense forests and substantial rock patches,seeming to be the perfect mix , Kaamandurg it was then .Though it was Kaamandurg, trekkers were quite uncommon there ( sorry , couldn't resist )

With the rest of the T2B gang tied up in work, it was going to be just the two of us .The lack of transportation in the form of cars meant that we either use public transport or take the bike.The Indian Railways won this contract due to the never ending repair job at the Versova bridge at Ghondbundar junction and the horror that is Dahisar toll naka.

Waiting at Dahisar station, it was 05.55 ,the train was at 06.02 ,there was no sign of Dnyanesh and I roundly started cursing him , a sport in which I very freely indulge in, as I have known him since school days ( as if that is an excuse) .He came just in the nick of time and we were deciding which compartment to get in , so that we get space to sit , can de-train easily and other such matters of national importance.We casually checked the indicator on the platform which said that the next train was arriving after 24 minutes, simultaneously the 06.02 pulled nonchalantly away from the other platform .Now both of us cursed the railways and made a dash for the train, albeit very safely by using the underpass and not by crossing the tracks , as drilled in by the constant announcements .But our heroics were in vain and we ended up waving frustrated good byes to the motorman .But as the popular saying goes; in Mumbai you never run after trains and girls, as every 2 minutes another one comes ( feminists please note- it is a popular saying and I have no role in either creating or popularising said sentiment). And true to form , the next train pulled in , an empty Borivali - Vasai ,needless to say , we had ample space to set up camp in it .

Vasai was blanketed in pre dawn fog and had a surreal look to it , we were more concerned with matters gastronomic than artistic and our focussed eyes cut through the haze to try and spot eligible feeding spots .2 were narrowed down, we had no choice actually , these were the only 2 open .Candidate one's poha didn't look too appetising and to our luck , candidate 2 was just removing steaming hot wadas from the kadhai.He went one step ahead and announced that he had fresh idlis too , and to us that was reason enough for beatifying him.We had second and third helpings and thus fully satiated , turned towards organising transport .There were 2 options - an ST bus to Kaaman village or a rick beyond Kaaman, direct to the base village , Devkundi.Since we spotted a rick right in front , we haggled and settled at 200 rs. to Devkundi , 2-3 kms beyond Kaaman.Be forewarned he said , anything beyond 2 kms & I would charge you at least 50 rs more . With a sullen nod of the head , we started off and were 'admiring' the views of Vasai , the development , the buildings , the malls when suddenly our rick guy turned the rick to the side of the road .We thought it was probably a fuel halt , after all we had a long way to go ,didn't we . It turned out that the rick was punctured , hmm a good start .The next minute there was another rick , whose driver seemed much more cheerful and readily agreed to 200 rs to our destination , no terms and conditions .Happy at losing grumpy rick guy , we again started our Vasai darshan pastime. Our driver seemed quite chatty and with the conversation we didn't realise when we reached Kaaman .Here we asked a red Tshirt and jeans clad guy for directions , but he seemed clueless .But … his Chachu , a typical chachu with flowing beard , skull cap et al ,was only too eager to help and pointed us further towards a Jain mandir from where we were to take a left turn , if we wanted to go to the 'pahaad'. We went almost 5 kms and realised that we were in no way connected to Kaaman , in fact the board announced that this was Poman , the next village , yes, it was actually called that. As another gentleman had just finished pointing out the obvious, that we were lost and directing us to the correct path ,who should get down from a rick but Red T and his chachu ! They looked sheepish and apologetic enough and we spared them the verbal lashing.

We reached Kaaman village & were on our way to Devkundi where the road just gave up and in it's place was a beautiful off road track , perfect for cross country racing , stunt jumping and allied activities .Taking pity on the relatively new rick, we decided to walk the final 2 kms.Call me old fashioned but for some reason I am allergic to those wonderful harbingers of progress - the excavators , and their entire guild was represented here in the form of the JCB , the Tata-Hitachi and so on and so forth .Their deep rumbles and high pitched whines reassured one that progress and development had not left this hamlet untouched .If this was a Marathi essay , I would have said 'Aso' and moved on , loosely translated as an expression of resignation and acceptance and frustration.

Devkundi was the picture perfect hamlet , towering mountains in front , a river to the left and paddy fields dotted by tree houses to the right .A kindly soul lead us to the path towards Kaamandurg and we set off , 2 of us, old time friends, excited at prospecting a new trail .The fort itself was on our left , the path led us straight to the top of 1 mountain from whose ridge we would turn left ,climb down and then tackle the rocky slopes of the fort itself, this was internet knowledge , now we would test it for ourselves .Once on the trail , we started chatting , me cursing Dnyanesh for no rhyme or reason save for the fact that it felt good , and he presenting a more dignified outlook , or probably he couldn't find anything in me to curse about.The forest was dense with an early layer of tall evergreens transitioning to dense Karvi ( Strobilanthes callosa for the botanically inclined ) about 10 feet high and continuing for about an hour or so .The gradient was moderate , the path narrow but more or less distinct .Dnyanesh announced that he had an orange which we could have when we reached the end of this particular section .We did reach a clearing where the climbing for this particular stretch was done .There was a panorama composed of hills , forests and the sea. After having drunk in this figurative beauty , we turned towards actual means to quench our thirst and the solitary orange came out .The next round of admonitions were to discover why there was just a single orange , why didn't he get more ,Dnyanesh had a lame answer to that , something to the effect that more would have got crushed .Since the oranges are limited in number , please pass me the orange flavoured electrolyte drink at least .Forgot ?? And what followed was , you guessed it , curse Dnyanesh royally !

From the clearing , the path turned left and entered a sylvan paradise , an alcove with rocks strewn around on which you could sit easily , a stream running through and completely surrounded by trees whose branches formed a canopy, add to this petite flowers of various hues and the dream like scene is complete. The path true to it's nature wouldn't stop and stare but continued onward as this was just the first slope climbed and the woods ahead were indeed dark and deep .The Karvi gave way to dense bamboo of varying heights shielding the valleys on both side. After some time of this bamboo trail the path opened up to reveal the fort proper , and it was an exciting sight , hundreds of metres of rock ,not very sheer and not too pedestrian either , just perfect for unaided climbing, our eyes twinkled at this thrilling prospect. We tried reading the route through the rocks , Dnyanesh mentioned left and me right , final resolution was deferred till the actual location.

After this tantalising glimpse , the path again dove into the before mentioned deep woods only to descend this time. We were truly dismayed , a descent was all very well , but we would have to climb all of it again , that too in the blazing sun. And such are trails , if you don't want such twists , turns and descents , the PS4 dutifully awaits at home .


And finally the rocky mountain was reached , bereft of any trees , a complete contrast to the trail completed so far .The mountain solved our left or right conundrum , it was neither , it was straight up ! We made a flying start, negotiating the first rock patch in less than a minute or so , to be honest it was very simple with step like notches carved in for good effect. This effort put us on top of our first in a series of summits. From here we gazed upon the towering rock of the second summit , again checking whether left or right , again the mountain replying- straight on ! As if to seek blessings before this campaign was undertaken, there was a small stone deity, richly decorated with flowers and buntings .The net had assured us that there were 5 tanks on this particular fort and water wouldn't be a problem till January , at least. 2 of these 5 tanks were behind and to the right of the deity. These were large rectangular ,carved out of the rock, structures. Unlike other mountain reservoirs , they didn't have any live spring but served to harvest rain water .Currently they were in a bad state with styrofoam plates , plastic bottles and beer cans thrown in .There was about half a foot of water in them , but drinking it was out of question , given the less than clean conditions and trash.

We turned our attention to the rock and started clambering over the scree . We passed another smaller tank which was filled in and after about 5 minutes of scree and slope we reached our first big (relatively) rock patch of around 20 feet .We tried 2 different routes simultaneously and were happy with the results .Then there was another patch again around 15 feet in height , again joyfully climbed up. Then there was another patch now about 50 feet high , and there was no route visible , we were not equipped to do technical climbs , a fall here would definitely have nasty consequences. And suddenly we noticed a well concealed path , a notch actually ,shielded by the rock, hence not visible very easily. This route was peppered with large and thick cactii and though not recommended , if you were very careful , you could get good holds in them. The cactus filled notch yielded to the 2nd and the most challenging summit. After that it was just a hop, skip and jump to the next summit , where the customary flag flew .

On this summit we saw 3 boys already chatting , we were very sure that we were the only ones climbing today , so how did they reach before us and from where ? All these and more questions were posed to the boys themselves and they told us that they had come from the other side from the village of Paygaon and were here hunting birds with their catapults. Today was a bad day , they hadn't managed a single kill , I am sure the birds would disagree. They directed us to the only water source on the fort top , a large rectangular tank , dirtier than the earlier tanks by several magnitudes & we politely declined their offer to drink from it .In fact there were disposable plates, remains of killed animals and liquor bottles and cans strewn all over the top .The boys mentioned that this was a popular party destination ,an answer which eluded me was why take so much trouble to reach the top and then party when you could have more inebriated bashes right there at sea level .To each his own , but in that we were losing out through mass degradation of historical as well as environmentally sensitive sites.

We decided to explore the fort some more , there were hardly any remnants worth mentioning. It was a small top with stunning views and scorching heat .We found the last of the 5 promised tanks , this too was small and filled in.The rock climbing in the heat had sapped us and we found a small ,shaded clearing to have our lunch .But it was not food that our bodies craved for but water , and there we realised the true meaning of why water is said to be life giving. We had only 1 litre remaining and about 3-4 hours of descent left .While discussing this Dnyanesh spotted the ridge towards Paygaon and it seemed to be a continuous gradual descent without all the theatrics involved in our current route .Plus there was a railhead nearby which we could tap to reach Vasai.Having all but made up our mind to descend to Paygaon , we set off in search of the boys for more detailed directions .Before that we went to the big tank with the dirty water , filled up a bottle attached it to a membrane filter which promised to keep out anything above 0.1 microns and prayed that it worked .We were so parched that we would have drunk the water straight, even without the filter , quite a turnaround from just an hour ago !

Dnyanesh had a conversation with the boys again and found their descriptions of the route beyond Paygaon contradicting, plus the entire descent was over the ridge , not affording any shade at all .With these factors favouring the original route we bade farewell to the boys who had just jumped into the tank for a quick bath and made our way down at around 1 pm . Though the climb over these patches was equally exciting and exhilarating , the descent was similarly tricky and treacherous. The first slope itself greeted us with scree and we became aware of gravity as a major force in our part of the universe. The forced careful descent set the pace for the rest of the journey and we were looking at descent times which would stretch longer than ascent times .The scree was followed by searing hot rock and invisible holds .We were consuming our last remaining 1 litre of water at an alarmingly fast rate and it did not take even 2 minutes by the watch to have it being sucked dry by the heat .We managed to reach the 1 st 2 tanks and Dnyanesh spying some shade immediately collapsed to recuperate.

Let me describe the 2 tanks , they were large rectangular ,carved out of the rock, structures. Unlike other mountain reservoirs , they didn't have any live spring but served to harvest rain water .Currently they were in an excellent state with just the odd styrofoam plate , 1-2 plastic bottles and beer cans thrown in .There was about half a foot of water in them , and boy did it resemble the Ganga itself descended onto earth. Drinking it was essential , so what if there was a bit of trash and lack of cleanliness.

How people change !

The art of obtaining the water was a matter of gymnastics .One had to carefully navigate to the centre of the tank (as that's where the cleanest water was ) using strategically fallen rocks ,it was imperative that nothing else other than the bottle make contact with the water , else you end up muddying it and getting squelchy shoes in the bargain.

Thus armed with 2 litres of tank water , we filtered 1 litre immediately , itself a time consuming process, and started the ascent back into the deep dark woods. This was accompanied by quite a bit of trepidation but thank God for small mercies , at least it wasn't directly exposed to the sun. Our minds had taken solace from the fact that once this ascent was complete it would be all plain sailing and a quick descent to Devkundi.We crossed the ridge at a surprisingly fast pace and started the descent .But something was wrong , it just kept going on and on and on , had we actually climbed up all this , without complaining even , hmm now that was a feather in our individual caps .How much ever we descended there didn't seem to be any height lost at all .And we discussed the possibility of a 'Chakva' - a paranormal activity where mischievous spirits take you for a ride in the guise of telling you directions and you just keep roaming in circles .Given the time spent and the apparent lack of distance being covered , the discussion was only half in jest .The knees and ankles were being punished over the rocky terrain and both of us vowed to lose weight . Suddenly a nostalgic tune started playing , it was the Nokia tune , Dnyanesh clarified that it was his cell , whew, no paranormal activities there ! Cell range meant that we were nearing civilisation and in some time the idyllic hamlet came into view ,our step quickened and we literally dropped ourselves at the first house which we saw .

The residents were threshing rice and very kindly offered us water .Pure H2O had never felt SO good .They enquired about our expedition and were surprised that it was just two of us. They were even more amazed about the route which we had chosen , mentioning that quite a few people go up by the Paygaon route but this one was difficult and fewer people attempted it .Getting local validation made our day and we were beaming from ear to ear .Then they offered to speak to the truck driver of one of those quarries and he would leave us till Kaaman.This was heaven sent , as 3 kms. on the tar road after all those shenanigans would be punishing, to put it mildly.Dnyanesh got into the truck cabin and it got full , not because of him but because there were already people inside. I was just about to squeeze in when the driver requested if I could stand behind in the carriage space. This was filled to the brim with freshly excavated mud , I climbed up and firmly planted my feet in the mud , holding onto the roof of the cabin for support .From my perch so high up it felt like I was riding a chariot , this changed to a jet ski when the truck started following the contours of the non existent road .I was engrossed in being Lord of the Waves expertly balancing by shifting weight etc when I was snapped out of fantasy by a tree branch scraping against my hand and drawing blood.Now ducking was added to my repertoire of moves and I was Lord of the Waves again .Suddenly I felt the truck veering to the far left of the path and was puzzled by this .While deliberating over the cause, suddenly out of nowhere I saw twin power cables approaching me at an alarming speed. The excellent fight or flight response decided that it was a moment for flight and I dropped instantly onto the mud saving myself from a dramatic decapitation. Later I came to know that the truck driver had deliberately swerved to the left to increase the space between the truck and the wires .Chalk one up for the Guardian Angel , that was literally a close shave !

We reached the warehouse of the truck's firm where the other trucks were parked and ours too slowed down .I made preparations to disembark and to my surprise the trek kept going .The surprise was due to the obvious river flowing in front of the warehouse and our truck was driving straight into it ! Hey Mr.Driver , Lord of the Waves was just a figure of speech ! We actually went into the water and the truck actually rocked like a boat and I actually rode the waves ! We pulled up at the opposite bank and that was where the journey ended .We thanked him profusely and went in search of ricks to take us to Vasai or Naigaon but they were acting pricey & suggested that we take the ST which had just pulled in .And we did just that , they were asking for 300 rs. & the conductor settled for 34 rs. all the way to Vasai .The smug grins on our faces stayed for a long time.

At Vasai we gorged ourselves on all the junk we could find but topped it off with a healthy lassi , thus lessening the guilt .The excessive fun we had made us promise each other that this should be a regular affair and we entered the Borivali local, drawing to a close an exciting, adventurous , tiring , thrilling ,chilling Saturday.

. . . & a year later, Stok the trek that was

After the previous year's heroics & theatrics , we were geared up once  again to try our luck at climbing Stok Kangri ,in the Zanskar range at Ladakh.Introducing the main characters , there was Savitha - someone who had started trekking around a year and a half ago & who had cried her heart out when denied the chance to climb Stok last year .Then came Rohit - another new trekker , who had agonisingly cancelled his trek last year due to a last minute illness. Third in line was Sameer - a dedicated family man, who though the eldest of us all , had the best fitness .Lastly was me , with a very hectic schedule leaving no time for preparation & the protagonist of last years drama.

Learning from previous experience on matters of acclimatisation , we decided to drive to Leh from Srinagar .It was a classic case of man proposes & God disposes , the protestors at Srinagar were least interested in our acclimatisation schedule & there were clashes galore in

the erstwhile paradise on earth. Having no option but to fly directly to Leh , we reluctantly modified our bookings.

Given the travails of last year , the buzz word for us was' judiciousness',  and we followed all the instructions given by all authorities to prevent altitude related issues.Day 1 in Leh passed off uneventfully with old acquaintances renewed & mild headaches tolerated.

Day 2 was spent in the Leh market stocking up on trek essentials .On our way back , we spotted a government run 'Oxygen bar' for tourists, and decided to give it a visit .Our main objective was to reassure ourselves that everyone was in good shape , and secondarily to calibrate our now famous  portable pulse oxy meter with the more robust & reliable model at the bar . Savitha was as usual at a heady reading of 90 , Rohit in the high 80s & me languishing in the 70s .Sameer had decided to rest in the hotel.The nurse in the facility felt that it would be judicious to take a 15 minute swig of the life giving gas & then proceed.Not ones to argue with judiciousness , we immediately agreed.With O2 sats raised & shopping completed we headed back to Palace View & rested .The oxygen bar also confirmed that our oxymeter gave a higher reading as compared to the actual picture.

Evening drew closer & with headaches still not completely eliminated, we decided to check O2 levels .My reading was not very comforting , though not very alarming .Keeping in line with our philosophy of a stitch in time , we decided that it would be better to let the specialists come up with a diagnosis, rather than speculate .We trooped into a cab and drove to the now familiar Sonam Norboo hospital .The doctor was of the opinion that a shot of steroids , tab diamox and an hour of O2 should do me good .The nurse in the tourist ward recognised us & roundly admonished me for coming back to her ward , not learning any lessons from the previous year . The hour of O2 still didn't push up the oxygen in my blood to desired levels & the sister felt that an overnight stay would do me good. Agreeing to this & the fact that there was nothing else overtly wrong with me  , the gang decided to go back to the hotel.

Morning dawned and carried with it the promise of happy RBCs sloshing about in a saturated pool of O2.With an uneventful discharge , we proceeded to the hotel to face a different kind of emergency .Sameer , it seems ,still had a bad headache & absolutely , positively and immediately wanted to go home to Mumbai .The fact that his daughter has been distraught as he had prepared to leave ,helped strengthen his resolve further. All our attempts at explaining to him that it was a transient state of suffering were futile & we resigned ourselves to find a travel agent & book his return tickets .Fortunately or unfortunately for him , we failed in our attempts to find an agent and reassured him that by tomorrow morning he would have the ticket in hand .Sameer was one of our fittest members and to lose him so early in the day was disheartening to say the least .

Day 3 woke us up with brilliant sunshine & wonder of wonders ,Sameer, not only cheerful but also actively and vigorously practicing all sorts of exercises .When asked as to what we should do with his tickets , he looked at us in a genuinely puzzled way and asked ,What tickets ? So much for that ! Leh Palace even though just a stones throw from our hotel had still not been visited & we set about to rectify this .The climb up to the palace would also do us some good by way of practice.With all plans finalised and welcoming Sameer back to the fold , we decided to set off .

A small problem prevented all four of us from setting off , and it turned out that after the lack of oxygen , it was the turn of my stomach to have its say .Confined to the hotel room and, by now, too stoic to be affected by the turn of events,wishing the others luck , I curled up in bed with my Kindle . The gang returned after a few hours and were enthused by the speed and progress of their ascent , that augured well for us and we were pretty sure that the stomach upset would just be a momentary blip in our plans .

Thus we spent a few more days exploring Leh & shopping to our hearts content for the trek & otherwise .The day of the briefing arrived and we were introduced to our trek mates for the first time .It was a truly mixed , multinational crowd with participants from Austria , Malaysia,Netherlands ,the US ,Singapore ,Dubai & of course India. There was a wide range in the ages too, right from 20 years to 50 years and above .The fitness levels too varied from people who were football coaches to people who had completed numerous Himalayan treks to people who led sedentary lifestyles in front of computers ( guess who ) .We were already forming opinions as to who would reach the summit & who would fall short .As compared to us ,excluding Sameer, the majority of the lot looked much more fitter than us .We decided to stop speculating and to tackle events as they came, to the best of our abilities .

Day 1 of the trek : The bus deposited us at Stok village , about 15 kms away from Leh and this was to be our starting point for the Stok Kangri expedition.To say that Stok village was picturesque would be an understatement , there were clear Himalayan streams gushing through green meadows , a variety of trees adding to the beauty , the Stok palace  ,regal, at a height above the village, robins flitting around from field to field & most of all the backdrop .We had the mighty Himalayan ranges forming a fitting backdrop to Nature's bounty , and into these mountains we were to head .Our Sherpa guide was Dhanbahadur , who was on his fifth trip to the Stok summit and he set off at a slow deliberate pace , making sure that we progressed as a cohesive group. The landscape was simultaneously awe inspiring , ruggedly beautiful and harsh .It showcased the formation of the young mountains beautifully , there were entire river beds which had been pushed skywards by the relentless tectonic activity, inclined scarps hinting that they were horizontal about 50 million years ago and vast moraines reminiscent of ancient glacial activity. The bare mountains though lacking in vegetation had  myriad green , purple & red hues owing to the various mineral deposits .The sheer scale of the mountains did full justice to the term Himalayan !

The meandering path led us to an ascent which culminated in a pass .This was defended by a stone watch tower , an outpost of the fort at Chang Ma, incidentally our first camp. We were to have 3 camps before our final summit attempt - Chang Ma at 13,087 feet,Mankarmo at 14,200 feet , and the base camp at 16,300 feet. It was difficult to imagine  warriors actually fighting at these heights , where even walking was a task ,but then they must have been born here and would be one with  the local conditions. The initial part of the climb to Chang Ma was a pleasure , but as the incline became steeper I was hyperventilating as though in a 100 metre sprint .Usually there is a bit of panting as the body warms up but once in its groove further progress is a pleasure .But this just was not happening & every 2 steps were accomplished as though I was climbing the last few steps to the Everest summit,with superlative effort.This didn't bode well and my only goal was to reach ChangMa by whatever means possible .

ChangMa was a small camping site with a permanent tent providing all sorts of snacks , bottled water and coke even ( the drinking variety , not the snorting one ) .We had the river for company on one side & were surrounded by the mountains on three sides .We were issued tents & taught how to pitch them & very soon we had a small camp of blue tents  dotting the ChangMa landscape .Our team was doing well , with all three members, save me ,making good time.I was pretty disheartened by the dismal show & the effort needed to reach just the first camp , if things proceeded in this way , reaching Mankarmo would be a  herculean task , leave alone attempting the summit .To add to  the merry mix , my left ankle tendon and right knee had excruciating pain , Rohit had to pull me up every time I sat down , with the tented accommodation, problems were only compounded . Our schedule at each camp was fixed - food & liquids at designated times & an acclimatisation walk to a higher place , keeping with the adage of climb high & sleep low .

I dug in deep and tried to bring to the fore all the accumulated experience, wisdom and what have you, to carry on & not quit at that instance itself .What had happened to me ? Agreed that I hadn't been able to put in the requisite hours of training , but I was pretty sure of myself when it came to the mountains & this most definitely wasn't my first Himalayan experience .I was unravelling and it wasn't a pretty sight .

I was a pathetic caricature of the normally self assured nay even overconfident self which I was used to . This manifested in my outward behaviour & Savitha nicknamed me not only Radu but also Chidu !

First things first , just hang in there ! I made a deal with myself that as long as my O2 sats were within limits , I would go as far as I could .That could have been the next camp or even to the summit ,and I didn't care how long I took or how much I hyperventilated .

The night's rest did me good & from the foggy recesses of my brain I tried recollecting how Diamox worked. It plays around with your acid base balance & to re establish it , the body has a higher frequency as well as depth of breathing , which probably is  good if you are static at one place but if you add a continuous climb then continuous hyperventilation it was & not a very pretty sight I assure you.It was a catch 22 , couldn't stop diamox & couldn't climb with it .

O2 sats were good so no excuses & off to Mankarmo it was .It was a 3-4 hour trek and surprisingly I was feeling good .Etoshine had taken care of the tendon & the knee and since I was acclimatised to that height there was no panting just smooth,swift progress to the next camp .This lifted my spirits & it was with a happy heart that I set about pitching our tent.My tent mate was a Singaporean of Indian origin ,who too was finding the going tough .Emboldened by my recent climb I proceeded to give him a pep talk & promised him that however long it took , we would do it together! 

Mankarmo's acclimatisation walk was special , there had been a light rain & a seven coloured arch spread across the sky .Since we were at an elevation we were treated to an almost 270 degrees of the rainbow.The view from our elevated perch was stunning to say the least , the mountains had acquired a lunar feel with closely spaced crags & stunning colours .The valley on the other side was cut across by the river & the prayer flags fluttering in the evening breeze imparted an other worldly feel to the already surreal landscape .

This was turning to be a roller coaster of a trek , yesterday I was fully convinced to turn back , today I was raring to go & as if afraid of losing momentum was even ready to go to the next camp today itself .

We wound up camp from Mankarmo the next morning & proceeded towards base camp .It was smooth sailing till the final ascent when the hyperventilation hit again , somehow managing to reach the clearing of the base camp,the first thing to strike us was the extreme cold , coupled with a persistent ,bone chilling wind .Pitching a tent here was no mean task ,given the cold , the wind & the lowered oxygen levels - we were at 16,000 feet ,no less.But pitching the tent was the urgent need of the moment as that would protect us from the elements as well as help us change into the various layers needed to stave off the numbing cold .

At base camp the climate had changed drastically and it was difficult to get people out of their tents .It was here that the full purport of a Himalayan expedition hit us & there were reactions ranging from a dogged determination to outright despair .We went for our customary acclimatisation walk and saw part of the route which we were going to take for the summit .My tent mate had decided that he was not going to continue any further and conveyed his decision to the trek leader .The night was chilling with a fierce wind and occasional rain .The typical layers which we wore consisted of a thermal , a t shirt , a fleece jacket and a down jacket , but the cold made a mockery of this and cut straight through it all .Thus we spent the night trying to get the best possible position in the sleeping bag , which would afford us maximum protection from the cold .You could prepare for everything else in a place like Mumbai , but where would you get this cold ?

The less than optimal conditions of the base camp prompted varied responses from all the participants .The fact that the summit was shrouded in thick fog and clouds didn't help matters any further.Sameer had once again made up his mind that the cold was not his forte and he would prefer staying at base camp itself else go back down .Once he had vocalised this, he found sympathy with other group members notably 2 senior trekkers from Sangli who reasserted that it was not worth risking life and limb and they too decided to go back .Incidentally these 3 were among the fittest of the group.Rohit who had mentioned his aversion to the cold many a times earlier ,appeared to be swayed by these concerns ,but then made up his mind and decided to give it his all , come hell or high water.The confined quarters of the tent , the rain and the long absence from home had taken its toll on Savitha too & she was all set to go back home , but that was at 2 am in the night .Now she had stabilised and was raring to tackle the summit . I too couldn't see the point in carrying on , given the extreme cold , the demanding climb and my less than optimal physical condition.Not wanting to act as a dampener for Rohit and Savitha , I kept these thoughts to myself and reasserted my deal that I would go on till it was impossible to go on further.

Today was a rest day and we would be attempting the climb at night .Since the summit attempt would need anything from 12 - 16 hours , we were advised rest in the day time .By evening we were allotted our equipment like crampons , harnesses and carabiners apart from instructions on how to use them .The plan was to start off at 9 pm & target the summit by 5 am , 15 minutes on the summit followed by the descent .The climb would involve crossing a glacier , climbing an incline till a shoulder was reached , from where the final summit ridge would be climbed . From 21 our group had shrunk to 16 now , another of our forerunners was down with altitude sickness and our football coach was also showing signs of being affected by the height .Our cooks had prepared a lavish spread to boost our spirits as well as provide the requisite energy, creditable given the adverse conditions .It was a nervous gathering of 16 which assembled outside the mess tent , ready to summit Stok Kangri at a height of 20,080 feet .The night was still , with the stars visible , and without further ado we set off .

Our fears of the cold and the rain seemed to be unfounded , but with the mountains you never know when everything can change .We made good pace up yesterday's acclimatisation slope & were actually feeling quite warm after the physical exertion .From the slope the path took a horizontal route to the left & continued over a lot of rocks carelessly strewn by ancient glacial activity.This was taxing to the shoes as well as to the ankles , one had to be alert so as not to slip and fall over the loose rocks .This continued for about an hour & we passed a small clearing ,charmingly called as the advanced base camp , this was no more than a 10 x 10 foot space where a tent could be pitched . By this time I was hyperventilating but not to the point of collapsing and decided to trudge on .One of the participants who was always in the lead was just behind me & she was too was hyperventilating like crazy , she too was on Diamox .At the advanced base camp , she expressed her inability to proceed further , all of us were very surprised and shocked , as she had been among the leaders for all 3 days .After a little coaxing by the trek leader and redistribution of her sack contents, she agreed to continue .

With this minor scare behind us , we continued for some more time over the unforgiving terrain and reached the glacier.By this time one of the participants who had completed 7 Himalayan treks was in a bad shape , constantly bending over & attempting to throw up , classic signs of altitude sickness.In spite of this she wanted to continue and the trek leader relented .Our football coach was not so lucky though , his O2 sats were very low ,coupled with a nagging headache ,his summit attempt met a sad end there .The distressed face said it all , but life being more precious than the summit he reluctantly turned back .One of the Malaysians was also in a bad shape , constantly stopping and throwing up .

Now the weather had changed and there was a numbing wind, followed by snow fall , visibility had dropped too .The glacier, though ,was fun to negotiate with our crampons.I had promised Rohit that come what may I would make it to the glacier ,and was glad to make it thus far .Our guides expertly negotiated us through the vast icefield ,pointing out crevasses & nonchalantly avoiding other pitfalls .The sound of the water furiously  rushing below the ice was at once awe inspiring as well as a bit scary. Imagine taking a tumble into that ice cold water in this chilly night  ! As the glacier climbed upwards , the air grew thinner and everyone was labouring to put their best foot forward .Our guide had thankfully built in rest stops into the route and we gratefully dropped our loads , sipping energy drinks ,trying to get our strength back .The problem with the rest stops was that as soon as your body stopped moving it was subject to the icy winds and the lack of locomotion led to a sudden drop in body temperature.During one of these stops I felt a sudden chill & felt a physical presence of a cold ice slab bearing down on my chest , no I wasn’t hallucinating , it was actually that cold !

The glacial ice gave way to a steep incline of a vast randomly strewn rock field .Apart from the hyperventilation , I was now coughing violently , with each effort draining whatever residual energy I had .It became hard to maintain my pace & I progressively dropped behind in the file of climbers .The cough was alarming as it was very frequent and at the same time very intense , going by previous experience , it could be a precursor to HAPE i.e. pulmonary oedema & neither the mountain slope nor base camp was geared to handle a medical emergency of that scale .

Having troubled people enough with a string of problems till now , I was reluctant to further bother them. The final straw was when the trek leader announced that this particular climb would last for another 4 hours followed by a steeper one of 2 hours . My body had given up & I could have still carried on on sheer will power but at the cost of a collapse sooner than later .With mixed feelings I informed the trek leader about the decision to return , there was relief that the physical torture was to end , resignation that if the mountain doesn't want then you can't ,a wistful longing to carry on with Rohit & Savitha and admiration that both of them were still soldiering on .These thoughts were rudely interrupted by a fresh bout of coughing and my feet, in a final adieu to Stok, turned valley wards .

Continuing with our determined duo , they clambered up the rocky incline , each rest stop proving colder than the previous one , the compounding factor being the drowsiness induced by the lack of sleep . The mind screaming out that this was it , no further , but a dogged determination overruling these thoughts with a simple agenda to just keep walking.There was no turning back now , come what may, the summit had to be reached .And Nature to test their resolve unleashed a fresh bout of snow with further reduction in visibility , unfazed, our climbers climbed on and were rewarded by reaching the shoulder .

Beyond the shoulder it was risky business , hence everyone was roped up into groups of 5 each .The idea was that if one of the climbers fell the others would collectively arrest the fall .Once beyond the shoulder ,one was confronted with the summit ridge , a narrow band of ice and rock barely a foot wide with dizzying falls all the way to the valley floor .Once on the ridge the summit was visible and that put renewed vigour into all the climbers , but it was a false alarm , the so called summit turned out to be one in a series of elevations which was obscuring the actual summit. An agonising hour later , the actual summit embellished with wildly fluttering prayer flags came into view .And that was that , no more steps , no more climbing ,just a blessed relief that it was all over .The preparation , the heartache , the determination all had culminated in this moment of wind & ice , a triumph of the human spirit where mental toughness mattered much more than physical .The ghosts of last year were silenced at last & Rohit & Savitha could breathe easy now .Their daily vigil of the Stok summit could now be relaxed .

Epilogue :

 I reached camp and to everyone's relief the cough was secondary to infection , deduced by the normal O2 levels .Our guide Dhanbahadur got 2 clients & he went up the mountain , blizzards , fatigue not withstanding .Would he / we have undertaken this perilous journey so soon had it not been for financial considerations .The young veteran of 7 Himalayan treks went on a bit further and unfortunately had to return as her health was just not coping up .13  people summited from our batch of 21. Rohit & Savitha staggered into camp at 1 pm and it was our privilege to provide them a guard of honour .