| Base Camp - Advanced Base camp - Summit push - Base Camp |
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Deepak and Jayant on Summit |
Big day started with a spectacular sunriseThe night was cold and not so good for many of us. Pravin our lead organiser who was carrying cold and cough, now was having some fever. Dr. Padya was getting altitude sick and his condition was declining even with a diamox shot. Sudhir was also not feeling well. Out of the 9 of us 3 more wickets were down. but all these injured folks would still give a try atleast till Advanced base say hello to the summit and get back. I appreciate their effort and determination.
As decided four of us Deepak, Hiten Jayanat and myself left the base camp around 830A towards the advanced base camp. This was just a warm up and acclimatize trek. The route starts with a long treacheorous climb to a hill above the base camp. We four trugged along a well beaten path along the slopes of the hill/mountain and as we climbed higher the views got better and better. The climb actually takes you the height of advanced base camp once you reach the top of the hill its a plain traverse towards the glacier of Stok kangri. It took me around 30 mins to get to the top some 100 m from the base camp, Jayant was was express and reached the top in 22 mins flat. We waited for a while waved at the folks sitting down at base camp. From here the stok kangri peak is visble and looks achieveable. |
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Apperances and deceptive I would find that out tonite on the real climb. The traverse after the climb is very well defined and is interesting to walk here at some places you really want to balance yourself. There is another route to the advanced base camp, and the summit from the valley we were traversing, this would fork off from Manikarmo and climb just below advanced base camp. This camp would be parallel to the real base camp plateau. We met a trio of men Father-son, and their friend from the UK, younger age reached the top successfully and the father probably had just come to supervise the climb. He was happy enough to reach the glacier and return. I would also want to climb some mountain in the himalayas with my son, long time thiough he is just 3 months old. It a very different feeling when you meet people returning from a summit-push successful, you want to go there, you are skeptic, less confident, may be burdened with expectation and then you meet folks who just did that. Its like lots of unanswered questions, a feeling of 'So near yet so far'. I may not be able to explain the feeling here with my poor command over any language :-).
So now we had reached the advanced base camp and the glacier was glittering in all its blinding glory. Dorjey briefed us with the route that we would take tonite. For here you still have a physical 1000m to climb and may be 3rice that mentally. Every step physically upwards uses 3 units of mental strength. So the strongest mind wins.. enough of philosophical crap. It boils down to "We (atleast I) were neck deep in the hell of physical labour" Boy that mountain is high. I wonder what would the Everest climbers go through for 60 days on the mountain.
We came back from advanced base camp at around 1145A, had lunch and then we had a meeting on our climbing strategy. We decided to walk in groups of 3 atleast till the advanced base and then cross the glacier together. Padya pravin and sudhir were not very sure of joining us. Their condition had worsened by then. In fact for Padya we were thinking of taking him down to Manikarmo the same day, but bravely he decided to give himself one more night. Pravin would sit at base camp and go down with Padya and sudhir the next morning. The rest of us Me milind, hiten deepak, suhas arun jayant would attempt the summit starting very early morning 1AM the following day. |
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We had a early dinner around 730P and all hit bed at 8PM the plan was to attempt the summit starting 1AM. It would be freezing out there then. I was tired feeling sleepy already and I remember sleeping atleast 2 hours till midnight. We started our slow ascent towards the first hillwithout moonlight, the moon rise was expected sometime later. When we reached the top it was pretty bright as the moon had risen well above the horizon. I walked the nexthour or so to the advanced base camp w/o my head light. The night was not all that cold, or may be because I was wearing 4 layers up and 3 below the waist. Just before the glacier we were overtaken by the germans a group of 6. We could also see many lights on the trails leading upto the stok kangri shoulder ridge. Till the time we crossed glacier it was already dawn if I am not wrong it was almost 6AM. Arun had given up and he returned along with norboo. We had reduced to 6 people now. From here on we were walking with our own speed, It was getting very tough on me and my speed was dead. I would walk to 10-20 steps uphill and wait for next 10 mins. Dorjey was pulling me on but then I asked him to go ahead and guide the others who were at least 50 m above me. I thought I am out of energy and lethargy kicked had in. I dumped my back pack at a place and resumed again but another 100 m and I gave-up. I did not have and headache or any AMS signs just pure loss of strength all i felt like was sleeping and doing nothing. I thought over it and gave up. I met hiten some where on the way up he was feeling dizzy and was unable to continue. Milind Suhas Deepak and Jayant were trudgging along nicely and I saw them all reaching the ridge before I turned my back on to the mountain. Everything from here on was down hill and hence easy but remorsing. It is so difficult to write about your failure I really have a heavy heart right now writing this. The youngest man on the team was not able to climb it, many such masculine thoughts bruised me on the way down I sat at the glaciers edge some 200 m below where i gave up, looking at the summit with some tears. But you have to accept defeat at some time and not risk life, the mountain will always stay. The fight is against the most powerful competitor "Nature". All said and done I didnt want to end my trek like this but I tried is all I can say.
Meanwhile Milind and Suhas had given up at the ridge and Deepak and Jayant along with Dorjey, went on the climb to the summit successfully. Hats off to them. Deepak and Jayant heartiest congrats and I wish to stand on some summit some day with you guys. I came to the base camp along with Hiten and did nothing but wait for others. Deepak and Jayant were the last guys to check in at around 3 PM, extremely happy and tired at the same time. After luch we listened to their summit story. The 20000 air is still far up for me and I some day will reach it. |
Glacier |
Where I gave up |
On Stok kangri |
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