Climbing Bhagirathi - II, Alpine Style

Tearful Departure

31st May of 1912 was my grandfather’s birthday, and exactly 101 years later, I was embarking on yet another expedition in the Himalayas. Around 4:30 pm, when we were in Nainital, we had our last lunch of sumptuous Chhole-Bhature with the family. I had told Yuvaan since the last 2 days that I would be leaving, and will be meeting him and Manasi after 2 weeks. Yet, when the time arrived – he hugged me, and started crying! It was such a difficult time for me when I realized that Yuvaan is no longer a kid and he understands the feeling of separation. He put forth two conditions – he wanted to come with me, or he wasn’t allowing me to leave. Tears welled up in his eyes, and I still remember the time when Manasi had to actually pull him away from me so that I could change cars and start my journey down to Kathgodam, to board my train to Haridwar. I held my tears back quite strongly, but I must admit – it was tough. For Sonia (Ravi’s daughter), it was her first experience. She probably did not understand the gravity of the situation and bid goodbye to Ravi, with a sweet smile on her face. Meeta (Ravi’s wife) was very emotional, and with a very choked “Samarth, take care of Ravi”, she shook hands with me.  I could sense that her handshake was shaky, but sought assurance from my end, as I sat in the car. I nodded gesturing that I would do whatever is needed, to make sure Ravi stays OK. After all these incidents, I decided – next time onwards, I will have to think of a different way to depart.

Going Back

 I got immersed in a sea of memories, when I started walking out from Gangotri towards Goumukh. It was around 12 years ago that I had visited this place with my would-be wife and people who are my best of friends today. At every turn and curve, I could visualize the situations that had arisen, and how we all handled them.  There were people who were so tired that they couldn’t take a single step forward, there was a serious mishap that we all averted, there was last-minute running around for fuel, there was stay overs in local dhabas because our porters had not arrived. With these and many more incidents in my mind, I revisited this place which is called a “haven for mountaineers”.  The last time was for Thelu, this time the aim was Bhagirathi – II. Little did I know that this visit is going to be an equally eventful one.
  

Ravi and I

It is only after our kids started going to school that I got to know Ravi and Meeta. After a couple of meet-ups at the school gate and at our respective homes, we got to know each other better, and our friendship grew. This was in the last 2 years.  This was also when I had started my Himalayan expedition upon my return from the US. Ravi discussed with me a couple of times, about the Kshitidhar and Stok expedition, as he wanted to come with me this time. January – I started training, and Ravi was initially a little hesitant.  He joined me for the initial climbs up the usual mountain near my city, but he took about a month to finally decide – he is in with me, for the Bhagirathi –II expedition, in the 1st week of June. And, the training sessions started, which did not go according to what was planned. And, as a consequence, the seed was sown for Ravi and I to face difficult times ahead in the mountains, 4 months later.

Never-Ending Travel – (249.7 m to 3100 m)

Our trip in Kumaon ended on the 31st of May, a day before the rest of the families were headed home, back to Pune. After a couple of taxi-changes,  Ravi and I finally boarded the Kathgodam – Haridwar train, in a hope to catch the much needed 6 hour sleep, as our day ahead was going to be a real bad one – in terms of travelling. We had covered a distance of around 24 km, and our train travel was another 224 km, followed by a road travel of 268 km. So, it was a total of around 520 km that we had to travel within a day! And, this was after a 700 km trip around Kumaon in the last 8 days. So, we were almost going to become “mountain people” after our expedition.  Throughout the journey, all my mind was thinking of was the expression in my son’s eyes. I just couldn’t take my mind off from that expression, and every time I thought of them, I felt sad.
We got down all sleepy eyed at Haridwar @ 2:30 am on the 1st of June, refused a taxi guy from giving us a lift and ripping us off, and took the Haridwar-Rishikesh local bus at 1/10th the price of the taxi guy. The ticket counter guy flatly refused when I asked him if there is a bus plying to Uttarkashi. Bewildered, I looked around if anybody knew anything about this, and as if in a coordinated manner, a private taxi owner’s “guy” walked over and asked if we would like to go to Uttarkashi in a private taxi – assuring us of seats in the front or middle. He was used to seeing people with backpacks at Rishikesh, and he got his customers. We bought his idea, only to realize that the assurance was a fake one, and we ended up being dumped onto the last seats in the taxi. This was around 4 am, but the driver didn’t take off until 5 am. So, there was one hour – wasted, but chatted up with a few locals from Uttarkashi who had nothing but abuses for the local government which was the reason for this non-plying of buses.It’s only when we took off that we noticed that the locals had occupied the middle seats andsitting comfortably. Enraged, we shouted at the driver but he was merely doing his job and had absolutely nothing to do with the seat allocation. Worse than that – as soon as the car started rushing through the winding road, this family started taking turns puking out of the window. We had a guy from Rajasthan sitting with us who was coming to the Himalayas for the first time in his life. A sudden shift from the straight-and-heat-scorched-roads of his state to the winding-and-chillier roads of Himalaya was too much for him to handle. Towards the middle of our journey, at a place called Chamba, he vowed never to come to this place ever. Again. With people puking all the time, some of it flying onto us (this was indeed disgusting), this Rajasthani guy lamenting about how the travel sucks, we both surely weren’t enjoying the ride. But one thing was good – with the 8-day Kumaon trip’s experience backing us, we were completely acclimatized to travel the Himalayan roads. The taxi dropped us in front of Bhandari Restaurant and Hotel – a place where we all had stayed in 2001, and planned the entire Tapowan trek and Thelu expedition.  I remember sitting in the restaurant, eating Aaloo parathas with Vinod Mahadik, listening to the people sitting around. This used to be the epicenter of mountaineering in the Uttarkashi region. A polish expedition on Shivling, an Austrian expedition on Satopanth, a casualty on KharchaKund etc. It was as if we were living in heaven, listening to all updates from guides, porters, HAPs and members sitting in the restaurant, discussing details of all the expeditions in the higher mountains.
Dev from Uttarkashi came to receive us, and after a quick lunch and equipment gathering for Ravi from NIM, we left for Gangotri. Dev and Govind accompanied us. Dev was supposed to come with us upto the base camp, but he deputed Govind instead. Our arduous travel finished at Gangotri at around 6 pm. The hotel where our arrangement was done was already full, so we were “adjusted” in another place which neither had hot water nor electricity. So, we could neither take a bath nor could be charge our phones, camera batteries etc. The next day, a final goodbye over phone to our respective family members in Pune and off we were – towards the base camp.

Gangotri to Bhojwasa – The Initial Stretch (3100m to 3775m)

On the 2nd of June, with our backpacks filled upto the brim, Ravi, Govind and I crossed Mandakini guest house where the entire team had stayed a few days ago. The owner gave us a sleeping bag to carry along.  This was for Ravi, as Ravi didn’t have his own. With his pack completely full, there was no way the bag would have fitted in his pack. So, Govind wrapped the sleeping bag chord around his neck and shoulders and started walking with us, with a 10-liter kerosene can in his hand, and his 1 set of clothes in a small knapsack on his back.
The trail starts off in a good amount of shade, upto the Gangotri National Park entrance check-post, and then – shade can only be experienced in Chidbasa, a small place near the river which is 9 km away from Gangotri. At the check-post, the forest officials validated our documents and confirmed that our earlier group had left, and we were the only 2 members joining them later on. After their approval, our trek started. Initially, I started walking with Ravi and we continued for a good 10 minutes. After this, I started getting tired as I was forcibly slowing myself down, and my breathing pace didn’t match with my walking pace. I have a steady combination of both which I follow, and it has always helped me immensely in the mountains. Govind used to sprint ahead of both of us, and wait for about 10 minutes till we caught up with him. I used to go and sit with him, waiting for Ravi. Ravi told me that he is deliberately walking slowly as he wanted to acclimatize in a slow manner, and not gain height / altitude suddenly.
In 2001, the check-post was merely a small shed, with nobody manning it. In 2001, on the trail it was difficult to walk as there were so many people walking towards Goumukh, and treks and expeditions further. Since 2005, the Uttarakhand government has changed the rules considerably, and has become very strict. They no longer allow more than 150 people on the trail, and there is a ton of paperwork (in terms of permissions) that needs to be taken care of, before anybody can even think of planning an expedition in the newly formed Gangotri National Park. This has adversely affected the climbing community in this area, as the number of expeditions in this area has gone down to a trickle whereas the number is exponentially increasing in the Leh area. Lots of guides, sherpas and porters are feeling the pinch due to these bureaucratic hurdles. But, if you see it in the longer run, with a bigger vision, what the government has done is good – they want to conserve the environment in this area.  It is said that if anybody is spotted within a 500m radius of Goumukh, and a forest official documents it, then that person can be booked under a forest act, which can lead to heavy fines and imprisonment as well.
I reached Chidbasa and gorged on the hot aloo parathas that were made available there in a dhaba which got erected in 2007. Due to the local guides and citizens visiting this place, an urgent request was put up to the government for at least 1 place in the entire 18 km stretch, which could provide some respite to the hungry, tired and utterly exhausted travelers on the trail. And, a result of this was this dhaba – this was the ONLY place that has government permission to operate for fellow climbers and pilgrims on the trail. This was in stark irony to 12 years ago, when we had spent 2 nights in a dhaba within 200 m of Goumukh because our porters had not arrived with the expedition load.
Ravi reached after about 45 minutes, all drained out. An aloo paratha and chai (tea) refreshed him for the remaining 5 km walk to Bhojwasa. We almost took a hour-long break here, and chatted with fellow groups going to Tapowan (a group from Gujarat), a single guy coming down from Tapowan, and two westerners – Tom and David, both in whites, long beards with a purpose to this part of the country – to meditate. Tom had been staying in Rishikesh for the past 10 years, and belonged to New York, while David had been in India since the past 6 months, and belonged to Iowa. Conversations started and as soon as David learnt that I went to school to UMR (now MST), he said – those guys in northern MO are pretty conservative; you should’ve gone to UMC (C stands for Columbia), and you would have had a better American learning experience, from a cultural perspective. I mentioned that I had a friend studying in UMR, hence my decision was to go there, and I don’t regret any bit of my stay there.
The trail from Chidbasa to Bhojwasa was only 5 km, but was full of rock-fall area, which is called the Gila Pahar, or wet mountain. There were many places where, if one rock fell from top, the entire trail would get washed away, along with whosoever is walking on it. I made sure that I walk past these patches as quickly as possible, as they were pretty unsafe. There were instances when mules were coming from the opposite side, and I had to press myself to the mountain-side, to give them way. A though of “what if they push me” always used to cross my mind at such mule-meeting spots. My memory of the dhabas and stalls around Bhojwasa were there, but physically nothing was there. The “Lal Baba Ashram”, an ashram which has been around in Bhojwasa since many decades stood there, with a few newly constructed GMVN huts. The ashram staff offers accommodation and meals for a price of 300 INR per person. I rested for a while, had something to eat, and got stuff ready for Ravi (dry fruits, Tang, chocolates etc.). Ravi arrived about an hour and half late, carrying the kerosene can and Govind’s pack. Govind carried Ravi’s pack in the last 2 km stretch, as Ravi was extremely tired. I was a little worried about him, and when Govind told me – “Sir, today’s walk was nothing compared to what we have tomorrow. So, with Ravi Sir’s speed, we need to be moving out of Bhojwasa tomorrow at 6 am, and I am envisioning us reaching Nandanvan (base camp) at 6 pm” I got the shock of my life! 12 hours of walking, out of which there was about 2 hours on the trail, and rest on moraine.  My mind immediately went back to my Kshitidhar expedition, when while walking down from Beas Kund, I almost had my foot under a huge boulder which moved when I stepped on it. Moraine is bad, very bad. There is very less clue about the direction in which you are walking, earlier groups always put cairns along the way but they can be seen all over, confusing you even more. I told myself to be calm and “cross the bridge when it comes”.
Warm tea and common dinner at the ashram was followed by chats with Harish and his friend from Chandigarh. They were on their way to  Tapowan and had no clue where their guide was, so they requested us to show them the way after Goumukh.

Bhojwasa to Nandanvan – Long and Tiring! (3775 m to 4340 m)

A much needed sleep in cozy quilts provided by the ashram staff refreshed us in the morning, to continue with our trek towards Nandanvan. After the usual rounds of clicks of Bhagirathi group, on the 3rd of June, we started at 7:15 am, instead of 6 am which Govind had suggested.  The trail upto Goumukh is fairly simple, and there is very little elevation gain. But, after Goumukh when one gets on to the glacier and moraine, the elevation gain starts and continues for quite some time. I and Govind reached Goumukh and took a break, taking in the beauty of the Bhagirathi peaks opening up on one side, and the Shivling and Meru peaks opening up from the clouded sky on the other. I recollected how a mishap was avoided at this point, when one of our team members was rescued from the other side of Goumukh. And, he was rescued only because somebody shouted out loud – “what the hell is that guy doing on that side of the glacier? The path is supposed to be on this side!”
Ravi came up to Goumukh,  and we all took photographs of the beauty around. I could see his heart sinking, when Govind told him that there is another 6 km of trek left before we reach Nandanvan, where we had our camp but I didn’t react. We started off from Goumukh, and I made it a point to be with Ravi from here on. I told him that I would be following him, and he has to set short term goals before he takes the next break. Had I not told him this, he had gotten used to taking breaks after every 4 steps. That rock, that outcrop, that point, that point where Govind is sitting, that ice-section – these became our milestones which had to be reached before Ravi took a break. With these instructions, he first resisted but eventually did good; even Govind applauded his effort. The camelback which he had bought in Uttarkashi helped him immensely as he was constantly drinking fluids – needed for your body to acclimatize. Once we were on top of the snout (Goumukh), Govind showed us a ridge which would be the end of the moraine walk. After that ridge, we were supposed to skirt a glacier, and climb up on the left hand side, towards Nandanvan. The moment I told Ravi that we are close and he needs to pull on some more, my reaction (in my mind) to this was like – “dude, don’t you screw around and make a fool of us. You are a local guy; you very well know that THAT is NOT the ridge beyond which we will see the glacier.” But like all good guides / porters / sherpas / HAPs, he employed the method of constantly motivating Ravi by showing him the next possible stop beyond which we would see Nandanvan. Ravi got motivated, and started walking briskly. I was with him for about 2 hours after which I told him that I will go ahead and get a realistic estimate of how much is left. I knew 6 km on the glacier is by no means a small feat to achieve, but we had no other option with us – we just “had” to reach Nandanvan that day. 
One ridge gave way to another ridge. I could feel myself getting impatient to see the glacier. In the mountains, it becomes a lot easier if you “know” and “see” where the final goal / destination is. Even if it is hid behind a bend or a corner, human psychology tends to push a person to get to a point from where that goal gets visible.  And, once that goal is visible, then it does it work of motivating the hiker to reach it, one step at a time. However, if it is not visible, a lot of self motivation is required to just keep on going, and not stopping at any cost. In the Himalaya, the weather (especially after 12 pm) is known to start playing havoc (rainfall, snowfall) within a minute, and before you know – the whole landscape changes, your goals change, your motivation nosedives and you stand there helpless, sometimes asking yourself – why did I come here? And sometimes asking god only one question – Why? 
My impatience gave me more strength to just keep on going, and told my feet to not stop until I see the glacier. Once we reach the glacier, we are in “visible distance” of Nandanvan, so all should be OK.  However, as I was walking furiously, I noticed that the entire left side of the mountain was a serious rock fall area, and there were streams tricking down from between the rocks. I could see a huge gap in the mountainside, with a stream trickling out and thunderous noises emanating from there. On top of this gap were precariously positioned 2 huge, room sized boulders. I realized that if the water gave way to these boulders, there is a high chance that they are going to come down rolling, on to the trail we were walking on. In the mountains, if this happens, then there is very less that one can do. One can either dump his / her pack and just start running away from the line of rock fall or get onto the other side, in a hope that the rock will stop midway. I literally ran through that area, and it was only about 50 – 70 feet later, I heard a loud thunder. I took shelter behind a rock, and looked back. To my horror, those two rocks and a third one, came rolling down the mountainside! I knew Govind was behind me and Ravi was behind him. Fearing the worst possible situation, I dropped my backpack and ran towards them to see if they were alright. I did not see the customary “two black spots” anywhere, and I felt the entire energy draining out of my legs, and a shiver ran through my body. Fuck – I don’t see them! My eyes were fixed on the trail, with the sand from the rock fall covering up most of it. My ears started to get hot and tingly, and I repeatedly asked myself the same question – where is Govind, where is Ravi? Meeta’s face flashed in front of my face, her handshake reminded me that my palms were sweating, and her choked voice echoed in my mind. I stood there. Frozen. Clueless, thinking of what to do, where to go, whom to call, and what to answer – to whomsoever that asks – what happened?
It must have been a minute or two that I stood there – utterly and completely frozen – before I saw a “black spot” waving his hand to be, around 200 feet behind the rock fall area. I recognized it to be Ravi, and my mind started getting back to normal. But still, the question remained – Govind was ahead of Ravi – where is he? And, within the next ten seconds, another figure emerged from behind the rocks, and it is only then that I could hear myself breathe again. I regained my strength, brushed aside whatever thoughts that had come in my mind, and just so happy to see these two figures moving and walking slowly towards me. Isn’t it funny how our mind thinks in a relative fashion? In the morning, while leaving, my mind said – “we have to reach base camp as soon as possible, to avoid situations like rainfall and snowfall”. But after this incident my mind said – “what’s the big deal if it snows and rains. The main thing is that we are alive. As long as we are alive, we will reach the base camp – no matter what the situation.
Putting the deadly incident behind, I reach the place from where we see the glacier. As mentioned by Dev and Govind, the “small” traverse didn’t seem small at all. In fact there were many places where crevasses had opened up and the only way to go to Nandanvan was to go all around the glacier. Cairns were visible, but I thought of going though this difficult terrain with Govind and Ravi, so I waited for both of them. It was 2:15 pm, and all of a sudden it started raining. I literally prayed to god to stop the rains as we had quite a distance to cover. The walk around the glacier certainly added a km or two to the already existing ten. Govind and Ravi arrived, and after a short break of chocolates and water, we resumed our walk on the glacier, trying to negotiate which cairn to follow, or to carve our own route. I had a word with Govind when he said we could take a shortcut through the glacier. I warned him that although we have all the equipment needed in the case of a rescue from a crevasse, we didn’t have a rope. Also my mind wandered to the 1998 basic course instructions of crevasse rescue when we had used a C and a Z pulley to rescue teammates from crevasses. Did we have any of those – NO, I told myself. I told Govind to take the longer route, because it was safer, not caring if it took longer. Once in a while, Govind would drop Ravi’s backpack (he was carrying it for quite some time now), run up a small mount to see if we can reduce time. In the middle of the glacier, Ravi pointed to the place where we were supposed to reach, and we saw a figure standing, waiting for us.  This again energized me, and Govind got assured that even though our team had not placed a camp at Nandanvan, there was at least “somebody” who will help us out. There was immense relief that there are people up there whom we can turn for help, if Ravi needs it. Or worse, we can go to their campsite, have some tea or coffee and go further to advance base camp (ABC), which was supposed to have been set up at upper Nandanvan, at about 4500 m.
We took a much needed break once we crossed the glacier. I felt very happy to notice that the rocks under my feet were not shifting anymore. Adding to our happiness, we saw people on top and a few coming down for us. They met us mid-way on the climb, and told us to take off our backpacks. We rested for a while, drank water and started climbing again, without the packs. It was about 15 minute of walk up to the base camp when we were without packs. I felt light – very light.  I reached the base camp at around 4:30 pm, and introduced myself to the members who had come down from ABC to help us. Udisha, Narender, Prashant and Peter had come, and they had got roti and subzi for us to eat. They had been here at the base camp since 1:30 pm, and the food had gotten all cold. But, I forced myself to eat 2 rotis and subzi, and washed it all down by drinking a bottle full of water. Ravi arrived at about 6 pm, and was in an extremely tired state. He could hardly speak, and all he said was – he wanted to rest.
The aim of the team that had descended from ABC was to help us get from Nandanvan (base camp) to ABC that same day. Peter told me that tonight, you have to get to ABC at any cost, and tomorrow, you guys will move with the team to Camp 1, as load ferry to camp 1 has already been done. I got angry but didn’t show it on my face. We had just hiked about 12 km from Bhojwasa and here were these guys telling us to walk another 3-4 hours, to ABC! This is too much! After the roti and subzi, I felt energized again, and had I been alone, I would have walked with them to ABC. But, Ravi was not in a condition to even put one foot forward. His condition was pretty bad, and he was almost ready to get into the sleeping bag and doze off. Now, this is EXACTLY the ONE thing that should be avoided. One should stay out as much as possible, eat, re-hydrate and after spending an hour or two in the open, should retire to the sleeping bag. He promised me that he would get up after a while and eat some more but I knew that was not going to happen. I told him to stay out for some time, and then sleep, but he just couldn’t hold his sleep. He slid into a sleeping bag, and felt good.  Meanwhile, Peter radioed ABC and told them that one member can come but the other member can’t make it to ABC tonight.ABC radioed back that if the single member is fine, then everybody should come up, and let him sleep the night, and come up the next day. They probably didn’t know the intensity of exhaustion we were talking about. I told Peter, and I decided to not leave Ravi behind, all by himself. He also said, “Samarth, I want you here with me. We will go to ABC tomorrow together.” It was decided that we would stay and Govind would go with the team, and get dinner for us. Ravi’s mattress was at ABC, so I made him a temporary mattress from plastic sheets and gunny bags lying around in the only tent that the team had left at base camp. I went to the nearby stream and filled up our bottles with dirty water. I knew that the dirt would settle down overnight, and we would be able to drink the water. This was somewhere around 8 pm, and we were the only two people at the camp. The rest of the team had left for ABC, as the weather outside was getting packed with clouds. We were woken up by shouts of “Reached Base Camp, Over” at around 10 pm at night. The tent fly and door opened and Govind and Akash, our team HAP entered the tent. They had gotten food for us, which – to our dismay – was the same that we had eaten in the evening – roti and subzi (made of aloo and soya).  As we just HAD to eat to regain whatever we had lost during the climb up to Nandanvan, I ate another one and a half roti. I told Ravi to force the food down his throat, and he somehow managed to eat 1 roti and decided to sleep.  Akash asked me if we would leave at 6 am in the morning, a time I highly suspected. Without any response, I just let the question hang in mid-air. Ravi was in no position to change his location within the tent, so I hopped onto the side, and Govind and Akash took managed on one mattress and 1 sleeping bag. With tired legs, exhausted body and a worried mind – I dozed off to see what the next day had to offer.

Conversations with Ravi (and myself): A Tense Decision Making Day – Above 14,000 ft

I woke up when Ravi first started coughing. I checked the tent from inside; there was condensation everywhere, and the roof had started to brighten up signaling sunrise. As much as it was heartening to see that the weather had opened up, Ravi’s cough was getting me worried. He was incessantly coughing, with no signs of stopping. His cough woke up Govind as well as Akash. I started rubbing his back to help ease off the coughing, but it didn’t provide any help. Akash and Govind got up and sprung into action for the new day. The agenda in their mind was fixed – I, Akash and Ravi were supposed to hike upto the ABC, and Govind was supposed to return back to Gangotri. It seemed very simple for them while in actuality it turned out to be quite a tense situation. It progressed something like this, at around 8 am in the morning:
Govind: Samarth Sir, I have spoken to Negi (our deputy leader) at ABC. He will give you a thousand rupees. You give that amount to me so that I return back.
Me: OK, here it is. I should be reaching ABC in the next 2 – 3 hours, and I will take it from him.
Govind leaves for Gangotri.
Akash: Samarth and Ravi Sir, get ready. We have to leave so that we reach ABC by lunch time. The entire team is moving to Camp 1 today, so let’s try to meet them before they depart from ABC.
Me: OK, let’s get ready. Although we don’t have anything to eat for breakfast, we have sufficient dry fruits, biscuits and chocolates which can replace a breakfast. Let’s get going. Ravi, you OK today? I hope you can walk to ABC as we have had enough rest at night. And, also its past 8:30 am. It’s not as if we are leaving at 6 in the morning.
Ravi: I feel tired, but I think I can make it.
We all got ready, ate snacks which we had which provided the necessary energy to walk the next 3 hours or so. Akash takes his pack, which only has a mattress and a sleeping bag, while our packs are around 25 kg each. After about 10 steps,
Ravi: I feel very tired. I don’t think I can walk. I feel like there is absolutely no energy left in my feet.
Akash: OK, let’s do one thing – you take my pack, I will carry yours. This way, you won’t have load on you, and it will get easier.
Ravi: OK
They exchange packs, and we start walking. After about 100 feet, Ravi drops his pack, and sits down, and after a while lies down besides the trail. 
Ravi: Akash bhai, I think I can’t walk, at all. I think my body needs another day’s rest, and I should be able to come to ABC tomorrow.
When we came from Uttarkashi, Dev handed us a weather report for the area we were climbing in. He had received it just a day ago, and we were supposed to hand it over to the expedition leader when we met him. It said something like this:
June 1 to 6: Clear weather.
June 7, 8, 9: Heavy snowfall.
June 10, 11, 12: Clear weather.
It was the 4th of June, and with Ravi unable to walk, and bad weather coming in – there were not many choices we had at our disposal. 
Akash (over radio, 8:45 am): Base calling ABC, over. We have one member who is unable to walk, as he is very tired. What should we do?
Negi (over radio): There is no chance that we can leave anybody behind at base camp. The entire team is going to move to Camp 1 in some time. You HAVE to get both the members up to ABC.
Akash: Ravi Sir, there is an entire set up at ABC. Once you reach there, you will be able to have whatever you need – coffee, soup, tea, warm water and a variety of foods. You should regain your strength quickly. You just have to muster courage to reach ABC today, even if we go very slow.
Ravi (lying on the trail): I don’t think I can make it to ABC today. I need another days rest.
It was the same thing he was repeating. And, that too – it took efforts for him to speak these few words.
Akash and I looked at each other, not knowing what to do and how to go about the situation. We were at the base camp, where a tent was erected for emergency purposes only. There was hardly any food or water here. Water had to be taken from the stream nearby, so warm water was out of question. Ravi’s mattress was at ABC but that was not a problem. Akash could leave his mattress here, and use Ravi’s at ABC. But, the question was – who will stay back with Ravi for another day? The entire team had started moving from ABC to Camp 1.
Akash (over radio, 9:30 am): Base calling ABC, over. You have to send somebody down to base camp. One member can’t walk and there is no way he can reach ABC. Please send some help who can stay the night with Ravi.
No response from ABC. Despite Akash trying hard to connect with ABC, there was no response. There seemed to be some problem with the signal and communication had stopped completely. With ABC about 3 hours away, Akash didn’t know what to do. Meanwhile, I gave Ravi a chocolate to eat, and made him a bottle of Tang, an energy drink. He munched on the chocolate, drank a few sips of Tang, and again went back to the lying position.
Me: Ravi, don’t sleep. Get up and sit. Eat something and you will feel good. Drink this entire bottle of Tang and I am sure you will feel rejuvenated. You might just be able to walk to ABC. 
Ravi: No Samarth. I am actually feeling quite good right now, lying in the sun. I think I will lie here for some time, and then let’s decide what to do.
With Ravi feeling good, my hopes rise – not for him to make it to ABC, but about his condition improving.
Meanwhile, Akash comes up to me and says (10:30 am) – I was able to make contact with ABC, and they have sent a helper who will stay the night with Ravi here. He is also getting food for all of us. With a big sigh of relief, the tension in my mind eased a bit. But still, I was a little hesitant till the person ACTUALLY arrives.  
Ravi kept on lying besides the trail for about 2 hours, after which he said: Samarth, let’s go to the tent. I want to go inside and sleep in the sleeping bag.
This is the time I got nervous. I didn’t want him to go inside the tent as his situation might deteriorate. But, I don’t know what I would’ve done, had I been in his state. Still, I cautioned him not to go into the tent, but he was adamant. He went inside the tent.
Akash (1:00 pm): Samarth Sir, I don’t know why this guy is taking so long to come down to base camp. It shouldn’t take this long. Also, I am unable to make any communication with ABC. Here, take this radio and keep it with you. I will take Ravi’s pack and run towards ABC, and send some help.
Me: Akash, don’t take Ravi’s pack. Most likely he will be staying here. And if he needs something, his pack needs to be with him all the time. You take your pack, but leave your mattress behind. I will try to contact ABC and see what the status is. You reach ABC as soon as possible, and tell them to send some help.
Akash takes his pack minus the mattress, leaves Ravi’s pack in the tent, and dashes off towards ABC. With a non-communicating radio in my hand, Ravi in the tent, Akash gone – I helplessly wait outside the tent, my gaze fixed on the trail, to see if I can spot help arriving from ABC.
Ravi (from inside the tent): Samarth, I am having a terrible headache, which is not possible for me to bear. I think my head is going to explode. I am applying Vicks to ease off the pain. I hate to ask you this but can you please massage my forehead for some time?
Me: Sure. You don’t have to feel bad about asking such things. In the mountains, it’s always a team effort. Don’t worry, I am here with you – you should feel OK in some time.
With another generous dose of Vicks, I rub it in on his forehead, and start massaging his forehead. I see him whimpering with pain, and at the same time he is feeling cold and his coughing starts again. This worries me, and I ask him if he would want to get outside the tent so that sunlight can warm him a bit. He refuses. After about 10 minutes of massaging, he feels OK and dozes off to sleep. I get outside my tent, try to make contact with ABC, and again impatiently wait for someone, anyone to be seen coming from ABC’s direction.
About 10 minutes later, Ravi calls for me. His coughing has increased significantly, and he is falling short of breath. I assist him to come out of the tent, and he coughs and spits out a considerable amount of mucus and phlegm. I look closely to see if I see any traces of blood in it, and gladly don’t see any. Had I seen blood in it, I would have known for sure that the situation is indeed critical. And, knowledge of the fact that “basic” medical help is 28 km away further intensifies the worry.
After the coughing, spitting and mouth rinsing, Ravi hugs me tightly and says: I am unable to bear this, and I can cry any moment. I think I have HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Edema) and my lungs are filling up with water. I need to get down, lower my altitude and that too – immediately! I knew that HAPE can strike people but 14,200 feet was an altitude at which novice trekkers also come, and rarely had I heard of a HAPE case.
Me: Ravi, I don’t think this is HAPE. In 2001, we had gotten around 30 people for a trek to Tapowan, which is at the same altitude, and nobody ever complained of any such problem. You are thinking too much. Don’t worry, let the help from ABC arrive and then we will decide what to do.
I help him settle back in the tent. While settling, he tells me that he is completely finished physically as well as psychologically. He can’t think of anything now. I calm him down, and go outside the tent to check if I see somebody coming our way. 5 minutes later, an incident happened that shook me to my core, as I had never experienced anything like this in my 20 years in the mountains.
Ravi (from inside the tent): Samarth, come. Come and sit with me. I need to talk to you. I need you besides me right now. Don’t go anywhere, not even outside the tent. I think I have HAPE, and my condition is deteriorating by the minute. If I have to stay alive, I have to descend immediately. I reassure him that we will take a decision once we have somebody else with us. This will prevent us from taking hasty decisions. And then he says – “Now I am going to read a letter which Meeta has written to me.” And he pulls out a neatly folded letter from his waist pouch.
THAT was the point where I could not take it any longer. My eyes welled up instantly, and I was on the verge of breakdown myself, but I HAD to hold myself together. Had I let it go, it would have demoralized Ravi and sent him into a downward spiral from where there would not have been a point of return. He wanted me to sit with him, but I couldn’t gulp down the scene of my friend (in the condition he was) reading his wife’s letter besides me. I looked away from him, and tried to hold back my tears, fighting the sea of questions that arose in my mind like a giant Tsunami – has he given up hope completely? Does he think he is going to die here? Or, is he reading this just for the heck of it? What is he dies? What do I do? How do I take him down from here? With no help by my side, with this fucking two-way radio not communicating, how do I let the expedition leader know of this casualty? I have myself, my backpack, his pack, and him. The closest I can get a mule to carry him would be Bhojwasa, how do I reach there? Is there a chance that I can keep him alive? Even if I keep him alive, how will he come down all the way to Gangotri? Do we have any satellite phone with our team? Can we contact the Indian Army? How can we get him to be heli-rescued? What should I tell Meeta? How will I face Ravi’s father? His family? His father-in-law, who spoke with me for a good half-an-hour explaining the risks involved in this activity and how we shouldn’t be doing this? If something happens to him, am I responsible for it? Did I force him to come with me? I don’t think so, but his family may think otherwise. He is an adult, and I think it’s a decision he took in all his senses that he wants to come with me. We have trained together, and he is a tough guy. Just that he has never been to this altitude before. What will happen when we reach Pune? It will be a shame on the mountaineering community of Pune that such an incident happened? Will people think I am to blame for this? Is this situation similar to “touching the void”, when Joe’s partner could not take it any longer and just HAD to cut the rope? The film magnificently shows how Simon takes around a week at the base camp to deal with his inner demons, to deal with what happened? Did he do the right thing? What if he would have held on for some more time?
My efforts of trying to brush aside all these thoughts were breached by Ravi.
Ravi (smiling after having read the letter): Samarth, do you want to read this letter? It is a very nicely written letter.
Me (fighting back my tears): No, it’s a letter your wife has written for you. It’s a very personal thing, and I am not entitled to read it. It would be highly unethical if I were to read it.
Ravi: No, don’t worry. There is nothing personal in it. I assure you. If you want you can read it.
Saying this, he neatly folded the letter, and coughing furiously, tucked it away back in his waist pouch. It was around 2:15 pm, and I rushed out of the tent to see if I see anybody coming our way. I see a figure moving. If it a human? Or is it an ibex? Or is it a rock and am I hallucinating? I told Ravi that I see something. He gave me a good suggestion to zoom in on it with his camera and see what it is. I saw that it was a human, so I told Ravi to be by himself in the tent – just for 10 minutes, while I go and check out who was there. I ran to the human figure and upon closing in, found him to be Akash. He had not gone ahead, and was waiting for the help to arrive. I told him the urgency of the situation, and was almost choked when I narrated the “letter” incident. This made him ‘wake up” and he decided to get going towards ABC. I told him to run and tell the ABC staff that there is absolutely no way that Ravi could stay at base camp, and he just had to be descended as soon as possible. Today itself. With this, I bid adieu to him and came back running to Ravi and found him to be in deep sleep. Honest to god – I DID go close to him, and checked whether he was breathing or not. He was, and I was relieved. With him in the tent, I kept a check outside the tent – checking as to when is help arriving.
Around 3 pm, I saw two figures coming towards me. And, at the same time, my two-way radio crackled.
Me: Base camp to ABC, Over.
Negi (over radio): ABC to Base camp, over. How is Ravi doing? What is his exact condition? Over.
Me: Severe coughing, headache and breathlessness, Over. He needs to be descended to a lower altitude ASAP, over.
Negi(over radio): The helper called Dharam is coming down. He will take Ravi down, over. What is your plan? Over.
Me: Let Dharam come, let Ravi have something to eat, and once we decide, we will let you know, over.
As I was standing outside the tent, seeing the size of these two figures increasing as they were closing in, Ravi called for me. I asked him how he was, and he responded:
Ravi: Samarth, I know it is very wrong and unethical for me to say this to you – but I would really like you to come down with me to Bhojwasa.
In my heart, I knew this is bound to come – now or later. And, when it came, I was prepared. Nevertheless, all the effort, 6 months of training, expenditure incurred and the dream of summiting B-II did race across my mind. And I thought if I go down with Ravi, all of this will go waste. Going ahead with the expedition was not at all a choice. Being with my friend and helping him reach home safely was the 1st priority. But, to be honest – one thought did cut across my mind – why me? Why do I have to go through this, for no fault of mine? Why do I have to forgo everything that I trained for, just because Ravi could not make it? There were multiple reasons I could think of, as to why Ravi landed up in this state, some his own actions, some not. But, I was nowhere a part of those actions, then why should I be giving up on my intended plan? Isn’t a man all by himself in the mountains? Shouldn’t a man be prepared to face all that comes his way? Then, why can’t Ravi go down with Dharam, and I go up and join the entire team?
Me: OK, I will come with you. Don’t worry. Let Dharam come, you have something to eat, and then we will talk.
Dharam and Akash came. Akash met Dharam mid-way, and the two came down together. Akash took my handset, and went to a point he knew where the signal strength was good. I got Ravi out of the tent; Dharam had gotten some fresh poori-chhole. He gave Ravi some and while he was eating, Akash called me over. 
Akash: What is your plan today? The team is already gone to Camp 1. You will have to go to ABC today (i.e 4th of June), head to Camp 1 tomorrow (5th of June), and on the 6th, you will go to summit camp and the same night, you will take a summit attempt and come back to ABC.
Hearing the plan itself, I got exhausted! Climbing from 4340 m to 4715 m that day – this seemed OK, as I had had enough rest at night. Then, climbing from 4715 m to 5360 m the next day, and then the day after, 5360 m to 6512 m (summit) and back to 4715 m. All in one day! It would be an ultimate test of endurance.
Me: Ravi is telling me to go down with him. Is it possible that I go to Bhojwasa, drop him off, and come back straight to ABC and join the team at Camp 1 tomorrow?
Akash (over radio): Negi, Samarth is saying he would like to go down with Ravi. Also, he is asking what is the plan of action for the entire team, over? Is it possible for him to join the team on the 5th of June, i.e. tomorrow and then go for the summit attempt? Over.
Negi (over radio): The weather report is in. Along with Samarth’s weather report, we have another report here. The weather is going to be packed from 7th onwards. So, we are going to take a summit attempt on 5th night itself, over. Tell Samarth that there are two options with him:
1 – He goes down with Ravi, and pretty much abandons the expedition. Tell him to not come back.
2 – He comes up to ABC (4715 m) today, i.e. on 4th of June, and stays over the night at ABC. The next day, i.e. on the 5th of June, he climbs from ABC to Summit camp (5900 m), takes a summit attempt (6512 m) with the team, and descends back to ABC the same day!
Hearing this, my heartbeat stopped. I told Akash to tell Negi, we will get back to him with our plan in 10 minutes. I couldn’t believe my ears – almost 6000 ft of climbing and descending in one day! That was insane. I called Negi myself:
Me: Negi, is there a chance that we could take the summit attempt on the 10, 11 and 12 June, when the weather clears?
Negi: No, once there is heavy snowfall, we have to sit out at least 3-4 days before an attempt. We do have official permission until 17th, but we are not taking any chances. The team is in camp 1 already, and is going to leave for the summit camp tomorrow. We are taking an attempt tomorrow night itself, and that’s the best chance we have.
Me: OK, let me have a word with Ravi, and I will get back to you.
I walk upto Ravi. He had eaten 2 pooris and was feeling much better now. His voice had gained strength.
Me: Ravi, how are you feeling now?
Ravi: I am feeling much better and stronger. I think if I stay overnight here, than I should be able to come to ABC tomorrow. However, I don’t want to stretch myself. I think I should descend, no matter what.
Me: OK, here’s the deal. You want me to come with you to Bhojwasa. I don’t have any problem with that. I just had a word with Negi. Tomorrow night the entire team is going for the summit. I have two days in front of me. If you feel good and if Dharam can take you down, and if you think you are OK with that –then I will go to ABC right now, and will at least attempt the summit. There are very less chances, as climbing up 6000 ft in one day and returning back is not a joke, but nevertheless I will give it a shot. But, you tell me what you think.
Ravi: You go ahead. I am feeling good now. I will probably stay the night at base camp.
Dharam: Sir, I think we should be descending right away because if we stay here for the night, and something happens to you at night, there is nothing I can do. Neither will I have any radio, nor will I have any help with me to get you down at night. And, crossing the glacier at night is something we should completely avoid, at any cost.
I and Akash agreed with Dharam, and asked Ravi if he could walk. It was already 3:20 pm, and he needed to walk fast, to be able to at least reach Goumukh, further from where a trail starts. He agreed, Dharam packed Ravi’s sleeping bag and mattress, his sleeping bag and put it on his broad shoulders. Ravi was going to walk only with his waist pouch.
After all this tense real-life-drama, we finally parted at 3:30 pm, when I and Akash headed for the base camp, and Ravi and Dharam headed for Bhojwasa. I and Akash reached ABC around 5:30 pm, and were greeted by Negi, Pasang (our HAP), and our cook – Kishan. The entire team had already reached and established Camp 1, and Negi and Akash were going to go to Camp 1 at 6 pm. I was supposed to take rest in the evening and go off to sleep early, as instructions from Negi were clear:
Tomorrow, take only what you need for the summit. Leave ABC early (6 am) with Pasang, meet us at Camp 1, and head towards summit camp. I think you should reach summit camp around 2 pm, after which you can rest till night. At 11 pm or 12 am, we will go for the summit, and upon return, we will come back to ABC. These are two very hectic days for you, but I think you may be able to make it.
With these instructions Negi left for Camp 1. I took a few photos of the nearby peaks. Pasang showed me Vasuki, rising right in front of us, Radhanath was amongst the two peaks he showed me, Bhagirathi – I was seen, as well Chaturangi. I sifted thought my backpack, kept only those things that were necessary and left everything behind. A round of hot coffee followed by hot rotis and subji and jam gave me some energy. I drank lots of water to acclimatize to the thin air and went to my tent to sleep. I had no idea as to how Negi thought I could make it in the next 2 days, but I told myself – time has come for all the practice, all the training to get tested – to its max. It’s unfortunate that such situation has come where I need to attempt a speed-climb of a 6000 m peak, but there was nothing that I could do. I and Ravi joined the expedition a week late, and weather is going to go bad in the next two days, forcing the team to take an attempt. All that is in my hand is just giving it my best shot. With a thought that reaching the summit camp itself would be an achievement – I dozed off thinking of the monumental effort required in the next 48 hours. I prayed to god to not let any accident happen.

Stories from the Mountains

- Vasuki has only been climbed by westerners. No Indian has ever climbed it till date. 
- Some Japanese guy came and climbed a mountain and named it Radhanath. A few years later he came and didn’t recognize which one he climbed, the left one or right one.
- One of the well known mountaineering club members suffered from acute HAPE on B-II expedition, and he had to be lowered from C1 to Goumukh within a night.  
- They used to say – Kedar Dome was a mountain which could be climbed by NIM’s dog also. Now, with the crevasse field open, it has claimed a lot of lives. Last year, 2 Indian Army officers lost their lives, which the Army tried to recover this year, but failed.  
- A well known mountaineering club had been on Satopanth, and the team left a member when the member fell ill at high altitude. He was rescued by a member of a different expedition. 
- While climbing B-II, a massive rock fell from above, missed the head of a climber, and went piercing through Koflach, cutting his two fingers. He had to be rescued immediately.
- Last year, a team of Russians were stuck in the Kalindi Khal trek (one of the most dangerous treks in Garhwal Himalayas), along with a guide from Uttarkashi. They were stuck for 3 days, without any food or water. They had prepared their minds to eat the dead body that they had been seeing lying near their campsite. Luckily, they could contact the Indian Army, and they were heli-rescued. A lady member of the team perished. 
- Pasang Sherpa, the Sherpa who was with us, once left Dehradun for an expedition on B-II. In Uttarkashi he got the news that his mother has taken ill. He finished the B-II expedition (Dehradun – Summit – Dehradun) in 4 days, and was back with his mother.
- Gyalbu Sherpa, the most skilled Sherpa in Uttarkashi has had a record of summitting every mountaineering expedition he has ever been a part of. When we met him, he had just returned from summitting Trishul, along with Indian Army.
- An expedition on Kamet was on, and on the summit camp, a climber felt as if a ghost is strangling his neck, and he felt so much of breathlessness that the entire expedition failed, and they all had to be rescued. 
- The newly opened route on Meru’s Shark’s fin can be seen on YouTube. It was great seeing the face in actuality.
- Chaturangi also has been climbed very few times due to its approach being so long.
- Col. Ajay Kothiyal, when climbing Kamet with his team, was entirely buried in his tent in an avalanche. He had a knife with which he could come out, and pull out 1 more member. With all their equipment gone, the two of them came down from Camp 2 to base camp – barefoot. This has led to the blackening of his toe nails on both his feet. 
- In this region, there are many dead bodies that can be seen. Not only on higher seven thousanders like Satopanth, but also on B-II.
- Last year, a team from Sahara attempted Shivling. Due to extreme bad weather, they had to go back from 300 m. 
- A few years ago, a female team member of Shivling expedition gave her Maggi noodles packets to a dhaba guy (at Goumukh), saying that he should keep them and she will have them when she returns back from the mountain. Days later, she came back, had her Maggi prepared, ate it all and went back towards Gangotri. The dhaba guy found it strange that she was alone. A few days later, the remaining team arrived and gave him the news that the lady had died up there on the climb. It is said that her ghost still haunts people on the route, asking for Maggi.

The Toughest Two Days of My Life in the Mountains (4715 m to 6512 m and back)

  Everything was already packed. I was even sleeping in my summit attempt clothes. We had decided to leave my mattress behind, and Pasang would carry my sleeping bag. A quick tea and breakfast later, we both left ABC at 7:15 am. Kishan gave me a packed lunch packet, which consisted of 10 parathas and pickle, which was supposed to last for that day’s lunch, dinner and the next day’s lunch. Seemed quite less for three meals but I didn’t complain.   
After negotiating a couple of tricky sections of rock with verglass, Pasang almost ran up the route. I followed in his footsteps and reached Camp 1 at 9:15 am.  The team had just left Camp 1 and Negi and the leader were breaking camp. Negi told me that we would keep my sleeping bag at Camp 1 itself, and I would be sharing one with somebody as there is not going to be enough time to sleep at the summit camp.
I crossed Prashant, Nishant, Narender and Sandeep (Sandy) on the way and reached a rocky section, from where the team had gone, and they had fixed a rope for all of us to jumar up. The problem with that rope was that the lower end was not anchored.  So, we spent a considerable amount of time trying to figure out how to negotiate this. At the end, Prashant took the lead and said, I will hold the rope, you guys climb up one by one. Past the rocky patch, one had to skirt right, and negotiate another rocky patch before one reaches summit camp. 
I reached summit camp around 2:30 pm, and wondered how Negi had predicted this time for me. It was the first time I got introduced to the team members – Nischal, Shashi, Udisha and Rajee, along with Peter.  They all congratulated me on having reached the summit camp successfully and motivated me by saying that it’s an achievement within itself, and that I shouldn’t be having problems in summiting B-II. I had my reservations but I kept them to myself. I took a few photos of Vasuki, B-I, SriKailash. Also, the entire route for the Kalindi Khal trek was visible.
Everybody reached by 5 pm, and everybody was followed by Negi and the leader, Rajiv Rawat. A quick bit and coffee session followed and off we were in our respective tents. There were only three tents – one for the female team members, one for the HAP and guides and one for the guys. So, here we were – 5 guys in a 4 man tent, resting on shared mattresses with shared sleeping bags pulled over our bodies like blankets. To say that we were very uncomfortable would be a big understatement. 
10 pm – the call came for all of us to go outside and get our water bottles / camelbacks filled. I got mine filled and did a grave mistake – I left it outside till 1 am, when we actually left for the summit. The pipe had frozen, and I could not drink any water till the sun rose and de-froze my pipe.  After everybody was assembled, we all put on our crampons and left the summit camp at 1 am on the 6th of June, an hour later than the scheduled time.
Bhagirathi – II is a very rocky peak, and has numerous stories of accidents (both fatal and non-fatal) on it. We were instructed to be very careful while climbing up, as large pieces of loose rocks can get disconnected from the mountain face and come onto you. So, even though the rope was getting fixed, one could not put one’s weight on it, as the anchors were not very solid.  The rock pitons that were placed had a chance of slipping out if the rock gives way, and nothing could be done in such a case.
When we left, the leader (for whatever reason) told a group to go ahead, along with the Sherpas, to fix the rope, had the entire team in the middle and told me to stay with him – in the end. After climbing for about 2 hours, we reached a point where we could not go any further, as rope was not fixed, and the Sherpa team had gone far ahead. We wasted about an hour here before Peter came down the ropes and fixed it. One by one, we all climbed and at around 4 am, we saw the sun rising in the far-east. The moon was still there, but the sun was lighting up the sky, slowly. The towering peaks of this region glistened in the mixed light from both the moon and the sun, and like I have experienced multiple times, this was a surreal experience. Prashant took out his digital SLR and clicked a few snaps. While climbing it was very difficult to recognize which rope to clip in, as there were so many ropes that were tied there. At one point in time, I could almost see 7 – 8 ropes fixed at one spot.  All the old expeditions leave their ropes behind and it creates immense confusion to the climbers as to which one of them is theirs.
He was behind me, and Udisha was ahead of me. Slowly, I realized how the previous day’s climbing was taking a toll on me, and I saw Udisha gaining distance. Prashant was strong from behind, and I stuck with him for a while but could not sustain the pace any longer. Prashant overtook me and went ahead, and it was just me at the end. By this time, the pipe was giving way to some water. I ate a chocolate and drank some water which gave me strength to push ahead. When I saw Prashant and Udisha at the same level, I decided that I had to be with them, if I need to summit this peak. With little efforts in small steps, I negotiated rocky patches which were completely icy and reached the same location where everybody was anchored onto a rope. It was one piece of rope onto which everybody was anchored. I also clipped onto it, and realized that clouds were coming in from everywhere – top as well as bottom. That very moment I knew that a white-out was inevitable. There is usually no option in a white-out but to return back. Visibility becomes nil, and accidents are common. We waited patiently to see if the weather cleared. It showed no signs of clearing. We took a few photos here, concluding that this was going to be our last point from where we will have to return back, in any case.   

Meanwhile, Pasang, Peter, Rajee and Akash returned from top. They had summitted the peak, and they told us that we all were just 15 minutes away from the summit. We all had an urge to make it to the summit, and unfurl our respective flags, but we knew that if we attempt it, we would be risking our lives by putting them in extreme danger. We all decided to return back from that point when we were told that the expedition was a success as three members of the team had summitted Bhagirathi – II. I knew from a lot of references including those of my own friends that an expedition is called to be a successful one, if even 1 member of the team summits the mountain. Here, in our case we had three members who summitted the mountain, and the rest just 15 minutes away from the summit.  So, technically the expedition was a success, with us probably a few meters away from the summit. Lot of people (including the HAPs) on my way down told me that if one reaches within 100 m of a summit, it is considered a summit here. Also, there are many mountains where climbers don’t go to the summit (as a gesture of religious and spiritual offering to the mountain god) and stop a few meters from the summit. So, technically speaking – did I stand on the summit of B-II – No, but was I and the other team members close enough – Yes. Now, it’s for each of the member to decide whether they want to call themselves summiteers or not.


The descent on the mountain consisted of partly climbing down, partly rappelling, carefully observing the loose rock sections. It was pretty scary, considering the almost 70 degree gradient that we had to negotiate. I always feel that climbing up is way easier than climbing down, and climbing down is what invites most of the accidents. By the time I reached the summit camp (I glissaded down the last section, which consisted of no rocks), I was so exhausted that I could relate with what Ravi went through when we walked up from Bhojwasa to Nandanvan. I was the second last to reach the summit camp, and after me walked in Sandy. Almost everything at the summit camp was wrapped up, and everybody was packing to go to ABC.
I did have an earnest request to the deputy leader, Negi that if possible, I would like to stay behind at the summit camp. He flatly refused, and because a white-out had already happened, he said it would be dangerous to stay put. With these words, he left the summit camp with the rest of the team, to go down to ABC. I will admit having thoughts of going against the deputy leader’s directive and doing a bivouac at the summit camp. While going down, some members even talked of a possibility of going all the way down to base camp. I shivered at that thought, as even reaching ABC seemed like a distant dream in my mind, with the kind of exhaustion that I was experiencing.
Everybody had left, and only Nishant was lying beside me. I asked him if he was leaving, and he didn’t answer. It seemed he was in deep sleep. Sandy returned about 15 minutes after me, and was already preparing to go down and join the team on its way back. I lay on the carrymat for about an hour before I realized that I haven’t even taken off my shoes, gaiters which were wet from the summit attempt. I needed to let my feet have some sunlight. But, as I got up to do the needful, I noticed that I didn’t have ANY energy left in me whatsoever. So I slid back in my lying position. Sandy told me that I look very weak, and he would wait for me so that we could go together. He didn’t want to leave me alone at that altitude. It’s actually dangerous if one sleeps off and the weather goes bad. It was just 5 minutes later that I noticed something on my face and my goggle glass. I woke up, half asleep to see what it was, and was alarmed to see a snowflake resting on my goggle! I looked up – B-II was no longer to be seen, and the white clouds were descending into the valley in front of me at a rapid speed. Like the Duracell bunny, it’s as if my batteries got charged up all of a sudden, and I don’t know from where I got that strength to pick myself up. Sandy said – “we should leave”, and I repeated – “NOW”. Without taking off the gaiters or shoes, I drank a few sips of water, ate a chocolate and packed up my sack. Me, Nishant and Sandy left the summit camp at 2 pm. A series of glissades took us down to Camp 1 within an hour and a half. But, the walk from Camp 1 to ABC was a tedious one, both in snow as well as on mossy surface. The summit camp was no longer to be seen, and heavy snowfall had started. The two bad things that snowfall does are – erases all the footprints of previous climbers, and intensifies the efforts of walking in it, as your leg gets buried at every step. At Camp 1, I realized that something is lugging onto my feet. Thinking it was a huge chunk of snow, I tried to shrug it off by jerking my boot a couple of times. Still the same situation. To my horror, when I looked at the shoe, almost 3/4th of my climbing shoe sole had come off, and more than that – it had broken! What worse could happen than this – shit tired from the climb, heavy snowfall and now – a broken climbing shoe.
Limping on one foot, and using the support of the other one, I, Nishant and Sandy reached ABC at around 5:30 pm, and were welcomed by hot tea and some salty snacks. Tents were set up, and we all rested. When I back-tracked the last 48 hours in my mind, it seemed impossible what all had happened. I just thanked god for keeping me fit throughout this time and switched my mind off to the outside world.

The Only Easy Day in the Expedition (ABC to BC)

After having woken up by everybody in the morning (otherwise we would have slept in), all got packed, ate breakfast and headed to the base camp. I, Prashant, Sandy and Narender took our own sweet time, walking at our pace, taking photographs, chatting, taking rest breaks whenever we felt like. We reached the base camp at somewhere around lunch time. Had lunch, and took a good amount of time soaking in the beauty around. I had never gotten a chance to take time and look at the peaks around us. The majestic Shivling rose right into the sky in front of us, with baby shivling beside it. On the south of Shivling, there was Kedar Dome and Kedarnath, along with KharchaKund, a highly technical peak. To the north of Shivling, parts of Meru were to be seen. Meru was much more visible from the trail that brings us to Nandanvan. I remembered the panorama that I captured from Thelu base camp, which had Shivling, baby shivling, Meru, Thalaysagar as well as Bhrigupanth.
Evening consisted of the 1st time when I got a chance to talk to everybody in the team. What do you do, where do you work, what are your interests and where do you stay were the customary questions that were exchanged, and the conversations cut across multiple domains, right from mountaineering to politics to corruption to interests. Post dinner, everybody took off to their tents, as the next day was going to be a really long one.

Long and Tiring Day - The Last One! (Nandanvan - Gangotri - Uttarkashi)

While descending from Nandanvan, I could recollect the tough climb up, just 4 days ago, when Ravi was with me. The glacier in front of me looked dangerous. I and Sandy took our time going through it, and reached the other end after a few stops on it. On the way, I asked Negi in a hopeful manner, whether we are going to stay in Gangotri for the night or not? He refused saying that we have to move to some place nice and quiet, between Gangotri and Uttarkashi. Along with me, the entire team would have loved to stay the night in Gangotri, after a 28 km walk from Nandanvan, but it wasn’t planned. A quick stop at Goumukh involved munching on dry fruits, drinking water, and filling up of holy water from Goumukh (it being the source of Bhagirathi river, which later merges with Alaknanda at Devprayag to become Ganga or Ganges). The next stop was Chidbasa where a quick lunch involved Maggi noodles, tea and a few liters of Mazza – a mongo drink which is not aerated. Nobody was interested in eating packed lunch which was provided while leaving base camp, as packed pooris, subzi and parathas had become nauseating for everybody.
At Chidbasa, for some reason, I felt very tired. And knowing the fact the there was going to be no stop at Gangotri, I decided to finish of the remaining 9 km as soon as possible. I matched my breathing pace to my walking pace, and covered the 9km in an hour and forty five minutes. By the time I reached Mandakini guest house at Gangotri, my right knee was beginning to ache a bit and both my ankles were sore from the long walk, with the heavy backpack (although the climbing boots had been loaded in the porter’s load). A half a liter of refreshing Nimbooz drink made me feel better. I had Nishant for company, and we chatted for quite some time before everybody else arrived.
Negi and Akash being from Uttarkashi, practically knew all the private drivers that plied from Uttarkashi to Gangotri and back. They struck a deal with two drivers to take us to Uttarkashi, and we left Gangotri at 6 pm. Negi asked if everybody was in a mood to celebrate, and a unanimous “Yes” echoed in the car. We thought he was talking of a celebration in Uttarkashi, but he was eager to start off, so he picked up 2 bottles of rum, a few sodas and some snacks in Bhaironghati, and our celebrations started off in the car itself.
A drink in hand, munching on snacks, savoring on mutton from Harshil, the sweet feeling of expedition success, fresh air from outside caressing our faces and Kishore Kumar songs to complement the atmosphere – everybody was in a happy spot. With the awesome company and tired mind and body, we hardly realized when the car stopped and we were told that Uttarkashi had come.
Dinner consisted of lots of rice, and succulent mutton prepared by Pasang’s wife. It was in Chidbasa that he had called up and had given an order to prepare mutton for dinner. Rice got finished, mutton got finished, even the extra Shahi Paneer that we ordered got finished. Each member took 4 – 5 servings of rice. I am sure the hotel owner must have felt that these guys have emerged from a famine-like state. 2 am was when our dinners finished, and we all dumped our bodies on the beds that we got after a week’s time.

Last Day of the Expedition - Celebrations at NIM

A move from the previous last night’s hotel to Indraprastha Hotel on NIM’s route, re-packing all that was lying around (wet clothes, dirty equipment etc.), and we were all set to visit the Principal of one of the most prestigious mountaineering institutes of India – Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, which sits atop a hill on the other side of Uttarkashi town. I remember visiting this place both in 1997 and 2001, but this time – it looked like a completely different place! Neat and clean, each building is named after a peak in this region, with the Principal’s home aptly called “Satopath”.
The celebrations continued till late night, and the next day we were off to Dehradun. This time, instead of going down to Delhi via Rishikesh, I opted the Dehradun route which is much more scenic. A stop at a scenic pass and within an hour’s time we were in Dehradun, at one of our friend’s place.

Dehradun to Delhi - Return Travel

One more expedition, one more experience, one more set of learning, one more set of thoughts, and one more challenge. As I sat (with my bones getting rattled) in the front seat of the Uttarakhand Roadways bus, passing through forests, fields, western U.P towns like Roorkee and Meerut, my mind wandered back to the scenic mountains that had been my abode for the last 10 days. After having experienced purity in its most pristine form, it surely felt bad to come back to the civilized life. But, as they say – “Anything that goes up has to come down.” And, here I was – travelling the plains of India. Thoughts criss-crossing my mind:
- The whole group started the expedition on the 25th, when I and Ravi were busy with our respective families, on a road trip to Kumaon. Because of the delay in our joining the group, we didn’t get any time to acclimatize, rest or even look at the beauty that was around. This late joining and accelerated climbing was a major cause in Ravi’s health deteriorating in the mountains. Something that certainly needs to be avoided the next time.
- Also, had Ravi been on the summit attempt, it would have been a difficult situation, as he was not very well conversed with things like fixed rope, anchoring, knots, and jumaring. He had read about all of these, but then we all know - theory is very different than practical!
- There are quite a few things which Negi can improve before he plans his next expedition.
- Since the time we left Nainital, there had not been a single day when I have not traveled / hiked / climbed, and it had been very hectic. This “accelerated” attempt of mine was termed asan “alpine ascent” by Negi, who also published the same in the local newspaper. I would call it pseudo-alpine, as I didn’t carry my own tent etc. all the way. It is only tomorrow night, after I get back to Pune, will I get a good night’s sleep – with no travel whatsoever the next day! From the deepest of my heart, I thanked god because at the end of the day, it was nothing but god’s grace that he tolerated my stupidity and nothing untoward happened.

Afterthoughts

I was in Uttarkashi area just 4 days before the massive cloudburst, landslides and floods engulfed the entire town, and the entire state. With around 73,000 people stranded in various pilgrim centers around the state, my thoughts go out to them as well as to their families back home.
When Negi changed the climbing dates from 10 – 12th June to 6th of June, I had gotten angry and frustrated. But, that helped the entire team reach their homes safely.When we left the base camp, there were two expeditions that had arrived, one American and one all-female expedition from IMF, Delhi. Also, on our descent, two groups had been on their way to the Kalindi Khal trek. On the 17th of June, I received a message that 11 choppers had been flown in to rescue both these groups as well as the expedition members. The way we luckily missed the calamity that struck the state of Uttarakhand affirmed the saying in my heart – whatever happens, happens for good.

Images

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