NORTHERN EXPEDITION 2014

THE  NORTHERN EXPEDITION

That is at bottom after close to two weeks on the road the only thought to keep moving ahead, when carefully prepared plans are hanging like a stack of dominos swaying with every burst of wind from circumstances. Ladakh, the gateway to many a imagination, the harbinger of joy and struggle, of peace and tranquility .This is an account of a journey to reach the Roof of this country, to exist amongst the simplicity of the high mountains and immerse oneself in the ever-changing landscape of the Northern Frontier….

For long I have yearned for the magical land of Ladakh “Land of high passes “, that mystical place nestled near the foothills of the mighty Himalayas. One of those places that finds itself in the list of elusive places in this country even today. There have been many who have trudged out there and have come back with tales galore but for me, it was yet to be done .The tale was yet to be written, the wonders were yet to be gazed upon, the cold wind on the face coming afar from the Karakoram up in the north and from across the pangong was yet to be felt ….

The preparation for the trip had commenced more than a year ago but then midway most of it was converted to the Spiti Expedition and the remaining was put on backburner to wait for the day when the urge would overpower everything else..

As days went by and 2014 dawned it was clear that this was the year when the Northern Expedition would fructify, this was the year when I would feel the Tibetan culture interspersed with Ladakhi hospitality upclose.This was the year when the INDOMITABLE would cross into the Land of the High Passes.

The preparation went on at a steady pace all through the year though in the end it did get a bit sticky yet somehow everything was managed well right from the administrative requirements of the job to the diktats of the DC office at Leh.The INDOMITABLE underwent one of the most intensive and serious maintenance routines of all times, anything that was a suspect was replaced, anything loose was tightened up, anything that gave a hint that it was not up to the effort required was replaced.

I was a novice when it came to the Himalaya and so was the INDOMITABLE , we both just had one sojourn in these areas and that was the entire Spiti circuit undertaken during the Spiti Expedition , however both of us knew that this had to be done , Ladakh had to be felt firsthand moving away from the comfortableness of the chair in front of the internet , the fine dust had to be beared with , the cold had to be endured with , the vibrations had to be handled with and the feeling of being out there had to be experienced with …

NORTHERN EXPEDITION