Sunday 28 December 2014

Northern Expedition 2014 : Day X , to elusive Wari La and unpredictable mighty Chang La

# DAY X: Sumur-Agam-Wari La – Tang Tse

#70.        The dawn of a bright beautiful cold day in Northern Ladakh and yet another challenge lay ahead of us .It is these challenges in the trip which made it so special when I look back into the past . Today was the climb to Wari La.

#71.        So what is special about Wari La, well am sure many would definitely relate to this pass but then a greater number would actually not !!! Not much is written about this pass in the internet barring few accounts documented by those who have crossed it . For the uninitiated like me crossing this pass is like an act of self gratification and personal achievement. To have been to a place which has so sketchy mention and remains elusive even in this day, is worth more than numerous trips to places which are much more pretty and scenic but easily reached. Will the Indomitable, a sedan be able to make this pass, again I had no documented record of this so there was no comparison that I could draw. Only SUVs had done this or maybe bikes.

#72.        So with these apprehensions on a glorious morning we set out from Sumur after bidding adieu to our hosts and dropping off their small daughter to the school. The point which struck me was the trust factor that is developed while interacting with the people who live out there, here we as a couple totally unknown to them, took their daughter in our car to drop her off to school .The magnitude of trust which they so easily put on us is immense, in the cities that we live in I hardly think anyone would dare to even think of taking such a step.

#73.        So then we were on the road to Khalsar where we stopped for a quick breakfast which simply was just not up to the mark , after the breakfast we moved ahead and reached the cut where we took left to Agham and Shyok. The route was hugging the mountain all the way with the walls of the mountain just dropping off on the other side. The road was extremely narrow and I am sure that in the months following the opening of the route this section of the road would definitely be worrisome for all those who wish to reach Wari La.

#74.        I was on the lookout for any incoming vehicle who could tell me if Wari La is open or not for none of the people at Khalsar could give me a correct picture, such is the anonymity of this pass. Soon we descended from the mountain and reached the valley floor with the Shyok River flowing next to us on the river bed.The path was quite scenic as we moved ahead on a road in the middle of mountains ranges , soon after around 25 kms from the diversion to Agham we reached a bridge where the left turn after the bridge would take one to Shyok village and to the infamous path towards Tangtse which bypasses both Wari La as well as Chang La and meets up on the militarized route which leads to Daulat Beg Oldi. But on this occasion we were not interested in that, that is reserved for someday in the future  for the moment we took a right after crossing the bridge and on to the climb toward Wari La.

#75.        The scenic beauty of the route which lay in the shadow of the mountains was incredible with patches of yellow vegetation interspersed with green brown and blue topped with white snow. The climb had begun and I was moving along at a sedate pace conserving the engine temperature and making it steady preparing for the long steady climb ahead. The bane of this pass is the continuous gradual climb which is relentless and does not even out even one bit . Hence the difficulty in reaching Wari La.

#76.        Soon we were crossing the cut for Thangyar Gompa and we had a quick visit to the gompa though did not enter inside much as the climb ahead was actually playing on my mind a lot . At one section we stopped for a quite a while as we came across a group of Himalayan Deer who were having a late breakfast on the shrubs growing on the mountain side . This route is so devoid of vehicles that they were literally on the path itself basking in the morning sun. We were delighted to have had a chance to observe them for close to 30 minutes. Thereafter we moved ahead , soon the climb began in earnest and I could see the road climbing into the mountains and at one section far ahead the path was in the entire snowed out section of the mountain. The INDOMITABLE was now in first gear all the while though I tried many a time to shift into second gear for ableast 3-4 minutes so that the engine rpm could be bought down. My one eyes was constantly on the engine RPM as I was trying to reduce the rpm as much as possible to avoid overheating the engine. The outside temp was quite low and the sun was hardly able to warm up the surrounding. We were totally alone and in the distance we did observe few yaks grazing so there was human presence but absolutely empty a road with nothing coming or going other than us and the sound of the INDOMITABLE   as it moved ahead.

#77.        The last ten Kms were the toughest with the road broken and water streams having created their own path especially in places where the road took a turn upwards and with the incline coupled with bad road surface it was quite a task moving ahead. The scenic beauty was worth the trouble that I was taking and the strain that the INDOMITABLE was undergoing and by 1130 we were at Wari La with the last 5 kms totally snowed out however the Michelin XM2 held up very well and with the extreme slow speed I was able to manage the traction to move ahead.

#78.        The feeling of standing at Wari La slowly sunk in as I sat down next to the Indomitable and looked around at the snow covered mountains at all sides with the cold wind on my face. After spending some time and allowing the engine to cool down we started our descent towards Sakti. The going was totally downhill as we moved on a extremely narrow path hugging the mountain.

#79.        Sakti was reached by 1245 and instead of turning left towards Chang La I turned right towards Karu as the reserves of fuel that I was carrying was coming down and there was no more fuel that I could be assured of as I headed into Eastern Ladakh towards Pangong and then Hanle.At Karu we had lunch followed by topping up of fuel and by 1400 hours we were on our way. We retraced our way and then turned right towards Zingraal. The Chemrey gompa was crossed and I actually wanted to visit the gompa however it was a long road ahead and the visit would easily take around an hour so we gave it a miss, there is always a next time when it comes to Ladakh J

#80.        Zingraal and the famous Z of Zingraal was reached by 1500 hours as we sped on in the afternoon sun towards Chang La. The road to Chang La was quite decent and we were able to make steady progress, numerous army convoys were crossed and the afternoon sun bore down quite strongly. Chang La was reached by 1600 hours and we spent some time at the Chang La Baba shrine .Thereafter we were on our way towards Tang Tse and here we had our first casualty.

#81.        The electrical supply was being provided using the power point in the car through a invertor and in a casual approach by me wherein a immersion coil for heating the water was connected which resulted in the fuse being blown off for both the invertor as well as the power supply point of the car. This was a bad news as now I could neither use the Navigator nor have the services of the mobile for long as both devices consume battery charge at a very high rate. The journey in the days ahead was at the extreme fringes of Ladakh and the services of both the devices was essential. I did have printed maps with me as a backup case which had now become the primary asset.


#82.        I was pretty mad at myself for this development but then there was nothing to do.. I was carrying spare fuses and thought of looking into the matter when I reach TangTse. Soon we were on our way and reached Tangtse by 1800 hours and booked into the Chang La GH which was more or less the only place to stay. The evening was super cold and I tried to understand the signs of the various fuses in the fuse box to locate the one which indicated the power supply point however the ones which I indentified, replacement did not solve the issue and I did not tamper with the remaining fuses as I did not wish to compound the problem .ODO for the day stood at 75552.


PRAYER FLAGS AT CHANG LA BABA TEMPLE  


PROUD TO BE HERE  


SOLITARY TRAVELER  



CHEMDEY GOMPA 


CHORTENS FROM THE BY GONE ERA 



ON THE ROAD TO WARI LA 



IN THE DOMAIN OF CHANG LA 


INDIAN ARMY : THE NAME SAYS ALL  



THIRD HIGHEST MOTORABLE PASS IN THE WORLD  


LONG WAY TO GO  






COOLING DOWN AT WARI LA 



PRISTINE LADAKH  





THE SHYOK GURGLES  




STANDING PROUD WHERE MOST WOULD BE DETERRED  






LOOKING BACK  




WARI LA VISITED  



THE FAMOUS "Z" 

Wednesday 24 December 2014

NORTHERN EXPEDITION 2014 : DAY IX , The Siachen Trail

# DAY IX: Deskit-Siachen Base Camp-Sumur

#60.       This day was one of the red lettered days in the whole trip. This day we were supposed to go right up to the Siachen Base Camp. However whether we would be allowed to reach one of few elusive places within Ladakh Sector, that would be decided when we reached the TCP @Sasoma.

#61.       The morning was not very encouraging as I was able to see a huge dust storm in the  horizon on the mountains and the cloud cover was grey and dark like it was snowing in the general direction of where I was supposed to be travelling. The GH owner assured me that the day would be a clear one and these occurrences were common.

#62.       Accordingly we moved towards the Deskit Gompa where we wanted to take part in the morning prayers .We assembled in the main prayer hall by around 0615 hours and took our predetermined place normally reserved for the guests. Soon the monks started coming in and each had its own determined place. Each monk firstly payed his respect to the idol of the Padmasambhava and thereafter took his place. The seating was in line throughout the length of the prayer hall with a desk in front on which the sutras were placed which was supposed to be read collectively.

#63.       Once everyone had assembled, the butter lamps were  lit and placed in front of the idols of the various forms of Lord Buddha .Young monks distributed salted tea to all including us which was really delicious .The prayers started soon after and the hall reverberated with the deep throatings of chants and the glow of the butter lamps, a sublime atmosphere indeed.

#64.       We left the prayer hall at around eight back towards the GH where we had a delicious breakfast of Ladakhi bread and eggs. Finally close to nine we were ready to roll for the day. Soon on empty roads we reached the cut of Khalsar and thereafter turned left towards Panamik, sumur. This road I believe is much more picturesque than the one towards Deskit.The villages of Sumur , Panamik were crossed soon which are around 18 and 30 kms from the cut.

#65.       As we travelled on the road ahead there was hardly any traffic and after Panamik we were all alone on the narrow road extending into the mountains ahead. The village of staksha was soon crossed as we continued ahead. The landscape was truly awe inspiring now as there were towering mountain peaks all around and the narrow lonely road snaked its way through them. The road had experienced heavy rock fall for almost two weeks and the devastating result could be seen. Soon we were at the Sasoma TCP where after few discussions and phone calls we were permitted to move ahead . That was the major bottleneck and I was literally grinning as I crossed it.

#66.       The road deteriorated even further thanks to the recent rock fall and snow and grew lonelier by the metre. The solitude was truly epic and with towering mountains on either side I felt very apprehensive driving through with the fear of imminent rock fall was ever present. Till date I have rarely been apprehensive or worried with fear but yes on this road I was.. The fear of the unknown and getting stuck in one of the loneliest stretches ever seen. The vistas were truly inspiring with raw power and beauty. Base camp was reached and there we visited the various troop formations stationed, payed homage to the shrine of OP Baba, the guardian angel for the troops who trek to the glacier. The visit to the Siachen War Memorial will remain etched in memory and so will be the visual of the glacier from where the trek starts for the troops. The black ice melting in the afternoon sun forming rivulets of glacial streams was quite a relevation.

#67.       Base camp was truly a different world, sadly not everything can be written down in public forums but a visit to a place like this is worth something much more tangible. By early evening we were ready for our journey back and we were cautioned to drive soon through the mountains and not stop often for the winds were building and so were the dangers on the lonely road. By the time we left a huge sand storm could be seen on our right and I gunned the Indomitable on the road.

#68.       It was a literal race on a lonely narrow curvy road hugging the mountain floor with broken surface and boulders strewn all over and the sand storm breathing down on me. But somehow we kept the momentum going and with absolutely no stoppages crossed the designated area safely. Once I reached the diversion to Saser La I stopped for a breather and for a moment did consider taking the left towards the hair pin turns filled  road climbing up the mountains to the elusive Saser La.However in view that the evening was fast approaching and I had a long way ahead and going up an absolutely militarized route in the late evening was like the perfect recipe for some hard questioning later , I reluctantly dropped the idea but am sure one day I will be on that road overcoming the hair pin bends J

#69.       Soon I retraced my route and crossed Sasoma TCP and thereafter Panamik towards my destination of Sumur where I was supposed to stay for the night. Enroute we filled petrol from the military grade jerry cans that we were carrying .Sumur was reached by around six in the evening and in the fading light we located our guest house called Hotel Mansarovar, an absolutely delightful place to say tucked in the bylanes of the town. The lady host served us hot tea with a welcoming smile and that concluded the end to just about a perfect day in our Ladakh Odyssey. ODO stood at 75330.


ON THE ROAD TO SIACHEN  


RAW BEAUTY 



THE SNOUT OF THE GLACIER  


ICE ALL AROUND  



SECLUDED ROADS 



PEAKS  

SIACHEN CALLS










LEGEND OF OP BABA 


OP BABA TEMPLE  



PRISTINE BEAUTY 




FORTUNATE TO BE HERE  



THERE IS NO ROAD