Stok Kangri - The Acclimatization

It was visible from the road to Leh. It was visible from the market places in the town of Leh. It was visible from the Shanti Stupa and the Leh palace. It was even visible from the bathroom window of our hotel room. There was just no ignoring this huge mountain of Stok Kangri that we had come to climb.

Over the two days that we were given to get acclimatized at Leh, we went back to our eat-play-sleep routine. The several restaurants in Leh catering to the torrent of tourists that flocked the town in that season, served, surprisingly, the widest range of cuisines that I had seen under one roof. We could eat Indian, English, Italian, Tibetan, Israeli, Ladakhi, German and Chinese food sitting in the same café. One morning we climbed the 400 steps to Shanti Stupa, one of the modern Buddhist stupas in Leh, from where we got a great view of the town. This being the summer time in Leh, the days were very hot and sunny, and dissuaded us from venturing out of our hotel rooms. So we played all the card games we could think of. One evening, we went to the very unusual looking Leh palace, and also climbed to the nearby monastery. During all these moderate climbs, I was not happy with the way I soon started panting and puffing, and made me seriously doubt the possibility of me summiting Stok Kangri.

The Shanti Stupa

View from the Leh Palace

 Pangong Tso

On the third day, having nothing very interesting to do at Leh, I half-heartedly decided to join a few of my fellow-trekkers on a day trip to the Pangong Lake. The idea of another long drive on the mountain roads made me hesitate. But as it turned out, the trip, although tiring, was one of the highlights of this entire vacation. This huge 150 km long lake, two-thirds of which lies in China, made me redefine the meaning of ‘enormous’. Being in such vast expanses, which make me feel so insignificant, has always had a strangely comforting effect on me. I saw at least fifty different shades of blue that day. I was thankful that I got a chance to set my eyes on a landscape so enchanting.

On the deserted banks of the lake, I saw a man sitting outside a small tent that he had pitched, with his car strategically parked so that there would be shade on this tent. He was sitting there peacefully, reading a book. He looked like a snapshot from one of my dreams. Much as I wanted to go talk to him, I left him alone. When one day I sit in his position reading my book and looking at the mountains, I do not want random travelers disturbing me with small talk.

The man living my dream

Pangong Lake

Trek to the Base Camp

After all this great build-up, we started trekking from the village of Stok, which was about an hour’s drive from Leh. There were fourteen of us in all, and five members from the Trek the Himalayas team. The approach to the base camp was supposed to be tortoise-like - slow and steady. The idea was to gain altitude gradually, and then spend enough time at a higher altitude each day before coming back to camp. Almost throughout the trek to the base camp, we walked along the Stok River, or rather, on the wide rocky bed of the river. The river looked more like a stream early in the morning, but the water would increase in volume later in the day.

The Stok River

En-route the Base Camp

Our first camp was at Chang Ma, and on the next day, we camped at Mankor Ma. On the third day, we reached the base camp, which was at an altitude of approximately 5000 meters. On all the occasions, even after keeping a leisurely pace, we reached the next campsite in three hours tops. After settling down a bit at the camp, we were taken for acclimatization walks.

And there was a lot to explore. We just used to pick out a slope with a suitable gradient depending on how strenuous an exercise we were in a mood for. Many a times, we saw some wildlife around – herds of blue sheep and some majestic yaks. We also saw a lot of Marmots – or mountain squirrels. A dog had joined our trek group somewhere on the way, and he used to have a great game of chasing these Marmots, imaginary at times, over the mountains. It was incredible how the little canine used to run across the river and over the slopes at that altitude.  

Base Camp

It was always fun to walk among the mountains to work up an appetite. But my favorite pastime was to pick a nice spot and sit with my book near the river. My beloved Nook, my e-book reader, served me really well on this trek. This life suited me – walk some, breathe pure, eat well, drink fresh cold water from the river whenever thirsty, feel the warmth of the sun, read a lot, and look up to see the incredible mountains all around.  

One day before the summit stretch, we were asked by Sandeep, the trek leader, to sort ourselves out in two groups according to our pace – the faster ones and the slower ones. He would then describe the strategy that each of these groups were to follow for the summit stretch. That is when I was in a real dilemma - I considered myself slower than the fast ones, but faster than the slow ones. Not knowing how my body would respond to the rarefied air of the increasing altitude, the only logical thing for me to do was to put myself in the slower group. But I was feeling strong and healthy after all this acclimatizing – the initial foreboding and self doubt I had about summiting had disappeared. Despite all the show of vulnerability, I was confident that sometime over the next twenty-four hours, I would be standing on top of the Stok Kangri. 

In front of the Stok Kangri

Stok Kangri - the Travel to Leh

Thanks to the exorbitant flight costs from Delhi to Leh, Emily and I decided to reach Leh by road, with a stop-over at Manali. We took a bus from Delhi one evening, which promised to deposit us at Manali early the next morning. The journey was uneventful – we reminisced about the Chadar trek that Emily and I did together earlier this year, and tried our best to ignore the insufferable movie 'Ashiqui 2' which was playing on the TV in the bus. Finally the hero of the movie died and the movie got over; and we dozed off to sleep.

Manali

The next couple of days that I spent at Manali were the kind which one gets impatient with while they are occurring, but the memory of which is a source of comfort during the chaotic and busy day-to-day life. We did NOTHING at Manali – except eating and sleeping. We hopped from cafe to cafe, sat with our books on the banks of the Beas, and made fun of the typical tourists who throng Manali at that time of the year. The joblessness bored us at the time, but now, when I shuttle daily between home and office enduring the suffocating traffic, I fondly remember the fun I had walking up and down the hilly roads amidst the misty rain, looking at the tall Deodar trees.

The Beas

The Streets of Manali

This eat-sleep-and-eat-some-more routine was put to an end when we met Sandeep and the rest of Trek The Himalayas team (who would be guiding the trek) at Manali. We also met Abhijeet, another fellow-trekker, and all of us set out in a mini-bus on the long journey to Leh.

Heavenly Highway

There is no worthwhile travel show which has not featured the Manali-Leh highway at one point or the other. I was looking forward to this road trip almost as much as the trek to Stok itself. And the journey proved to be every bit as exciting as I expected, and then some.

We started off from Manali on an overcast afternoon, and made our way towards Rohtang. Dense clouds had descended on the road, and visibility was close to zero. I have no idea how the driver managed to keep the bus on the road, but I decided to leave those troubles to him, and settled down at a window seat for the roller-coaster path ahead. Rohtang pass was lost somewhere amidst these clouds, and we continued further till Khoksar. There was a tea-break here, and when I got out of the bus, I could feel the chill in the air. The road was along the Chandrabhaga River, and at Tandi, we saw the confluence of the Chandra and Bhaga rivers. Here, the road followed the Bhaga. Soon we were driving through the Lahaul Spiti valley. When we passed Keylong, it had started getting dark.

Khoksar

Zingzingbar

This highway is only two-lane wide at max, and is open in the summer months thanks to the BRO, which keeps constantly working at this road, cutting snow, clearing off landslides and repairing bridges. All along the road, we saw message boards put up by the BRO asking drivers to be alert and drive carefully. (Some of them were so amusing that the messages themselves could have distracted the driver: “Love thy neighbor; but not while driving”, “Driving after whisky can be risky”). The road was extremely bumpy in places. At one point, when it was pitch dark outside, the tires of the bus got stuck among the rocks and the bus would not go any further. The driver asked all the guys to get down and push the vehicle, while Emily and I kept sitting in the bus. As the bus climbed over the rocks, it tilted at a precarious angle, and the guys had to support it from the outside to keep it from toppling over. I was getting tired of this difficult drive, when we decided to stop for the night at Zingzingbar (4290 meters). Warm and cozy tented accommodation was available here for only Rs.100 per person. It was very cold at Zingzingbar. After a quick dinner of rajma-chawal, we borrowed extra blankets, and called it a night.

Suraj Taal

Baralach La

The next morning we proceeded towards Baralacha La (4890 m), after passing along Suraj Taal. A little further, the inevitable flat tire occurred. The sun had raised high in the sky by now, and we stood soaking in the sunlight while the tire was replaced. At Sarchu, there was one of the numerous army check posts that we saw on the way. Emily had to get her passport checked at each of these check posts. The road climbed from here over one hairpin bend after another. This series of hairpin bends is called the Gata Loops, and it is guaranteed that no organ in your body remains in its proper place once you have traversed these loops. To let them settle a bit, we stopped at Pang, and also decided to have lunch there.

At Pang - the Mother-Daughter who served us lunch

The bus with the flat tire

Bikers

As we were sitting down for lunch at one of the temporary tented restaurants on the way, we saw several groups of motorcyclists passing by. This highway attracts biking enthusiasts from all over the world. Though not easy to ride on, riding on a bike on this road is an experience one should not miss. Sitting inside a closed vehicle and driving down the road cannot be compared to being in direct contact with the atmosphere with the pure mountain air brushing against the biker’s faces. Seeing the bikers stopping at their will to rest or to spend some time just gazing at the rugged mountains and staring up at the wide sky made me envious of them. ‘I have to defer this dream till another time’, I thought.

Gata Loops

Morey Planes

Vire from Taglang La

Taglang La

The driver got the punctured tire repaired and we set off further. After Pang, the stretch of road becomes almost flat as it traverses the Morey plateau. In the summer time, these planes were covered with lush green grass framed by enormous mountains on the sides. I found this stretch of the road most stunning in the entire journey. And so the road continued until it started ascending again. This time the ascent brought us to Taglang La, the world’s second highest pass at 5238 meters. The deep brown mountains contrasted against the blue sky lent a nice backdrop to the colorful Buddhist prayer flags fluttering in the wind.

Descending from Taglang La, we drove alongside the Indus till the check point at Upshi. As we got closer to Leh, we got our first glimpse of the Stok Kangri, the mountain, to climb which, we had travelled so far and so long. The journey to Leh had been beautiful and thoroughly enjoyable, but equally tiring. When we reached Leh, I was thankful to set feet on the ground again. 

Leh

Stok Kangri - So Near Yet So Far!

Prologue

I am sitting poised at the top of the slope of the ridge, ready to push off. On my left, I see the peak of Stok, raising a couple of hundred meters above me. I see little dots of people on the summit moving around, and I can almost feel their elation at reaching the top. A little way down the slope, I see Mubarak sitting on the snow hugging a rock. He has not moved since a long time. I am not sure if he is tired or hurt or both.

Shimoj, at the ridge

It is 7:30 in the morning, there is still one hour to go before the officially announced turnaround time. But my mind tells me that there is no point in waiting around anymore. I have been sitting here for a hour and a half. The snow which was so hard and rock-solid two hours back that we had a tough time cutting steps in it, has become mushy and crumbly now, and will only become more and more difficult to navigate as the sun climbs higher in the sky. There is not enough time for Sandeep, the trek leader, to bring the first summiters back to the ridge and take the rest of us for another shot at the summit. I see Prakash, the other trek guide, a long way down, moving around in random patterns. I try to shout out to him, but am not able to hear the reply properly. The possibility of Prakash reaching the ridge and guiding me to the summit also looks slim. I am not sure what's going on down there with the rest of my team either. Dr. Raja and Shimoj, who were there at the ridge with me a few moments ago, have already slid down the slope of the ridge in the most dangerous manner. The slide is not easy - Shimoj tumbling head over heels at one point, Dr. Raja’s leg getting buried thigh-deep in the snow at other.

Finally, as I accept the inevitable, as my heart accepts what my mind has been telling me for a long time, my eyes well up. I think of all the elaborate planning and preparation that I had put in before attempting Stok Kangri and my heart sinks into my stomach. ‘You are at 5900 meters above sea level,’ I tell myself dejectedly, ‘and you are not going any higher today.’ At long last, I turn my back at Stok Kangri and I start sliding down the 60 degree incline of the snowy slope. The miles long return journey has begun.

Stok Kangri - As seen from the ridge

The Preparation – Physical Conditioning

I am not a naturally fit person. And the fact that my day job requires me to remain parked in one place for the better part of the day only makes it worse. So a couple of months before the Stok Kangri trek, I started to sweat it out in the gym in a most un-lady-like manner. I started running 5 km on the treadmill every alternate day, which was exhausting initially, but eventually I managed that without ending up dead on my feet at the end of the run. The gym-trainer had no clue why I was running like a maniac each day.

I read up as much as I could on high-altitude trekking on the internet, and found that it was essential to have good haemoglobin content in the blood to sustain high level cardio activity in the oxygen starved air of the higher mountains. So each morning I gulped down a shot of wheat-grass juice (which, by the by, tastes revolting), which is supposed to improve blood-quality tremendously. I ate everything which I suspected was healthy, ditched everything that wasn’t, and climbed every flight of steps that I came across. The last thing I wanted to happen was my body and my stamina letting me down on the mountains. 

(to be continued.... )