The Incredible Kang Yatse Expedition
So here are the protagonists…
Dr Neelam Vaid, Dr Sanjay Vaid, Prabhjot Singh, Saahiban, Nishtha (Nonu), Nandini, Hemant, Dr Jhambre, Dr Karale, Yassin, Yogesh Jijaji (also called “kaka” by some), Didi (known as “Didi” as she is Anit’s older sister), and Yours truly.
Here goes….
Day 1 (14 June 2011)
Arrived in Leh at 3.30 pm after a 36 hour drive from Srinagar. It is when I entered Leh that my driver announced that this was his first visit to Leh. So off I went searching for Hotel Lha-Ri-Sa. Since it was a new hotel, not many people knew about it. Tried reaching Anit (the Expedition Leader) on his mobile number. That is another story. The number that was expected to work did not, and the number that was not expected to work was! Thankfully something was working! Checked into the Hotel and the rest of the evening was spent walking around Leh. Met up with other members of the gang, Dr Neelam and Dr Sanjay Vaid from Pune, Prabhjot and his daughter, Sahibaan, from Delhi. And the usual suspects: Binnu, Mannu, Ramesh, Deven, Rajjo, Rahul-da, Ram Singh, Chandan Singh and Yogesh, all of whom were known as “X-Men” by the end of the expedition.
The mandatory visit to Neha Snacks (now Lonely Planet recommended) was made and the best Aloo Tikki’s and Papdi Chaat on this side of Rohtang Pass were consumed with great gusto.
We were still awaiting the arrival of Dr Jhambre, Hemant and Nandini and the one member who no one knew about…Yassin. All we knew is that he is a Foreign National and he is Dan Rubin’s friend.
Day 2 (15 July 2011)
Dr Jhambre, Hemant and Nandini arrived early in the morning. Hemant and Nandini were accompanied by duffel bags the size of a fully grown Yak. It left us wondering if they were planning to commence their around-the-world trek from Leh. Then we heard that all the Medicine shops in Delhi had downed their shutters as their entire stock was bought by Nandini. Further news came in that even bottled water and Tang was out of stock in Delhi. Now that explained the XXXL duffel bags.
The Phantom-Yassin, was still missing in action. Frantic calls were placed to Dan to check Yassin’s whereabouts, and we figured that Yassin had missed his flight from Mumbai. Finally Yassin did land in Leh….with a backpack that gave H&N’s duffel bags a run for its money!
The rest of the day was spent buying equipment and clothing. Snowpants, Gators, Inners, Headlamps, Towels, Caps, Diamox, Daypacks, Bottled Water (an exclusive H&N purchase), Aloo Tikki and Papdi Chaat. The group single handedly doubled the Per Capita Income of Leh in a few hours. Nandini ensured the Per Capita Income did not increase three times, thanks to her outstanding bargaining skills. Shopkeepers now cower in her presence and offer her their wares for free.
Yassin slept.
Day 3 (16 July 2011)
With all hands aboard, we set sail towards the trek-head, Chilling. No. Chilling is a noun, being the name of the place and not a verb depicting mood of the group. Driving on the Srinagar-Leh highway we went past the omnipresent military bases, the awe-inspiring sight of the Zanskar and Indus rivers’ merging point and the Magnetic Hill. Downhill into the Zanskar River Valley until we reached the point where there was no more road. From here on, it was all on foot. But the first step we took was on a Flying Fox as there was no bridge on the river that we needed to cross. The equipment went first. And then the people. To stress test the Flying Fox Dr Karale and Hemant, the biggest people in the group were sent across first. We knew that if the Flying Fox could take their weight then everyone else was safe. Once tested, everyone’s confidence in the Flying Fox increased dramatically and we when across the river without incident.
17 ponies were waiting on the other side of the river. Some of us thought that we can ride on them right up to the summit but our joy was short-lived when we realized that the ponies were meant for the equipment and not us! Thankfully, our backpacks were to be carried by the ponies. 17 ponies, 50 kilos each…that’s 850 kilos of stuff…to be lugged for a 3 ½ day trek to the base camp.
And the trek actually began. The group was divided into:
The Fastest Feet First: Dr Neelam, Dr Sanjay, H&N
The Middle-ton Muddlers: Yassin, Jijaji, Prabhjot, Sahibaan, Nonu, Didi, Your’s truly
The Base Camp Back-packers: Messrs Dr Jhambre and Dr Karale
Given the average age of the group, not surprising that the middle was quite large!
The position left vacant by Mridul “GPS” Sharma was filled by Dr Sanjay who was carrying…well, a GPS device.
3 hours of trekking through typical Ladakhi terrain brought us to Skiu , our camp-site for the first night in the wilderness. Tents were allocated. Off went the shoes, out came the floaters. Most of us washed our feet in the Markha River. Prabhjot had a dip that put the Liril girl to shame.
Everyone then settled down to play cards, and “bluff” was the preferred game. Soon with 2 packs of cards, there were 18 Jacks and 21 Aces!
Yassin slept.
Day 4 (17 July 2011)
After a trademark “Altitudes” breakfast, we started walking again. Today was going to be a 20 km trek to the next campsite in Markha Village. Since the distance was communicated by Anit, we mentally prepared ourselves to walk for 30 kms.
The order of walking remained the same with the Pune Doctors leading the charge. For a change N&H decided to join us Middle-ton Muddlers. And then we reached our first Ladakhi Parachute Dhaba (LPD). For the uninitiated, the LPD is a small restaurant which has a discarded Army Parachute as a shelter. This dhaba serves Maggi, tea, coffee, eggs and stocked with all kinds of cold drinks (Fanta, Coke, Mountain Dew et all). And Rum. Chinar Rum. For Rs 300 per bottle. The sight is mouthwatering. While we all had black tea or fanta or a mango drink, each one of us looked longingly at Chinar Rum….the way one looks at the picture of an old flame! The sight of alcohol at 3500 meters is alluring and can convert a hardcore single malt drinker to drinking whatever is available…even Chinar Rum. A little birdy told me that one of the group members did give in to the temptation!
As one would expect in Ladakh we saw some awe inspiring sights, including a mountain that looked like it was melting, a stone-made trap for trapping snow leopards and gorges that make you wonder why do people fuss about the Grand Canyon so much.
Also met groups of foreigners who Nandini quickly befriended and offered diamox, tang etc. Methinks she realized she was carrying a lot of load and wanted to reduce her burden.
We eventually reached the campsite at 5.30 pm, having walked for over 7 hours. The mess tent was already in place. Had Tang, shoes replaced with floaters and played Bluff.
Yassin slept.
Day 5 (18 July 2011)
The final day of trekking to the base camp started at 7.30 am-ish. When you have a steep slope staring at you first thing in the morning, you know it’s going to be a long day. When we saw this slope the previous evening, we were hoping that we may just circumvent it and go by the seemingly easier route. But no such luck. The slope had to be climbed, and so we did. And that pretty much set the tempo for the rest of the day. While we walked lesser than the previous day (17 kms) we took longer due the increased altitude and the fact that we were walking for the 3rd day straight.
Packed lunch was consumed in an LPD. This one actually had a telephone! And a young brat who refused to have any chocolate and insisted on eating eggs. Most of the guys generously let him have the brat his way. By the end of it the 2 Feet-something Ladakh lad had polished of 3-4 eggs.
We river crossed thrice. Each time removing our shoes and putting on floaters…and some bare feet. The river crossing was a welcome break from all the walking.
After a 17-odd kms trek we reached Thangutse. Tired, but freshened by an assortment of drinks…Tang, Lemon tea, Green Tea, Milky sweet tea, water…but no Chinar Rum L.
Any guesses what we did in the evening? Well, off came the shoes, out came the floaters, bluff…you know the routine now.
Yassin slept.
Day 6 (19 July 2011)
The final day of trekking to the Base Camp. This was expected to be gentle walk of 7-odd kms. But 3 days of walking and the increased altitude was now taking effect. It was also a day where we sighted Mount Kang Yatse for the first time. The slopes looked friendly. The snow looked ok-ish. Walk in the park I say!
At 4 pm-ish we felt we were very close to the Base Camp. Most of us were tired and bored of walking and were longing to see Base Camp. After the last river crossing Anit showed us prayer flags and told us that the Base Camp was right there. It looked like a 15-20 minute walk. Bummer. We walked for the next 1 hour and finally…yes, finally reached the Base Camp.
The sight awaiting us was: 1 tent, with 10 people laying flat on their backs. Some of them sleeping, the others just staring at the roof of the tent. All of us were dog tired.
Shoes off, floaters on, bluff…but with a twist. Dr Sanjay decided to invite the leader of the horse-men to join the game of bluff. His intelligence meant that everyone wanted him to be sitting next to them. His intellect lit up the tent and provided an edge to the game.
Yassin slept.
Over dinner we were told that the summit attempt will take place in 2 groups. The groups were to be announced the following morning.
Day 7 (20 July 2011)
The first thing that everyone did when they got up in the morning for to look upwards at Mt Kang Yatse. The day of reckoning had final come. We nervously fidgeted with our stuff, waiting to find out whether we were to summit tomorrow or day-after.
Anit and his X-men stood in a straight line just behind the mess tent…just out of everyone’s earshot and were in a seemingly casual discussion. One of them would suddenly nod towards Kang Yatse and mutter something under his breath. All of us were straining our ears to catch a few words. I would guess the discussion was about the grouping and whose butt would requiring hauling up the mountain and whose would not!
Ever so casually the names were announced over breakfast. Dr Sanjay, Dr Neelam, Prabhjot, Jijaji and I would form group 1 and will move to occupy summit camp in the afternoon. H&N, and Yassin will attempt the summit on 22 July. So there it was. Most of us slept through the afternoon and at 3 pm we were all packed up and started the climb to the Summit Camp. The rest of the group also joined us for an acclimatization climb.
After a 3 hour climb we reached the Summit Camp. It was damp, windy and precarious…so was like any other Summit Camp! The wind was so strong that it took a while to get the 3 tents standing. The tent configurations were: the Docs along with Prabhjot in 1 tent, Jijaji, Anit and I in another tent. We were only 3 in a tent! Yay!
No bluff today. This was the real thing.
Yassin was at the Base Camp. He must have slept.
Day 8 (21 July 2011)
We were woken up at 4 am with coffee and good day biscuits. The monstrous Kofalchs shoes were added to the body already padded up with 4 layers on the upper torso and 3 below the waist. At 4 pm sharp, we started walking. The order had changed. Leading the pack was yours truly, followed by Jijaji, Dr Neelam, Dr Sanjay and Prabhjot.
For the next 1 hour, we were walking on scree. Once we reached the snow patch the crampons were added to the Kofalchs. And then we stepped on the snow. Hang on; it was not snow at all. It was ice! Some miscalculation in the number of crampons meant that Chandan had a crampon only in one shoe and Mannu did not have them on at all. Chandan slipped while climbing but luckily dug into the snow the only crampon he had on. After this the progress slowed down quite a bit as most had the Chandan incident at the back of their minds. Since the ice was very hard we had to kick our feet to dig the crampons in. When we were waiting to take a breath, it was on a steep incline…one false step and we could find ourselves in Base Camp! We saw a crevasse on our way up. Prabhjot fell in love with it. More about the crevasse later.
Where the ice patch ended the snow patch started. No respite from the incline, it just kept going straight up. All of us were struggling to breath and keep our feet moving. On a particularly steep patch a rope was put up so we could climb. Once on top of this patch, we were all roped up with Deven in front. Tne group collectively decided that we would take 10 steps and stop for rest. Deven obviously is not good in numbers, like all professional mountaineers. He would climb 20 steps but count only 10. The group now was really struggling and decided to climb only 3 steps at a time. But Deven’s number skills showed no improvement. I tried to remind Dr Neelam that she was going to create a Guinness Record for being the first Female ENT Surgeon to climb a 6000 meter peak. But my attempt at humour fell flat. No one was in a mood for jokes. Prabhjot announced that he is sleepy and come what may, will take a nap. From here on he was helped by 2 instructors.
At 12.30 pm, a whole 8 and a half hour of climbing, Anit announced that we were close to the Summit. But since there was a cornice on the actual Summit, we will stop 30 meters short. One by one, Anit escorted each one of us to the Summit. Dr Neelam, the only lady in the group was
the first one to Summit. Followed by Dr Sanjay, jijaji, myself and Prabhjot. Exactly 365 days after watching by buddies summit Chamsher Kangri, I was sitting on the Summit of Kang Yatse. Personally, unfinished business was taken care of.
Prabhjot did a Yassin on the Summit. Prabhjot slept.
After spending about 15 minutes, Anit announced that it was time to descend. Each of us had an escort. I was escorted by Rajjo the Yak. And like 2 lovers we descended hand in hand for the next 5 hours. The snow had softened because of the sun and walking on it was getting more and more difficult. The slopes were pretty steep and we had to rappel down large patches. Prabhjot reached the crevasse mentioned earlier, and fell in it head over heels! Literally. Thankfully he was roped up to Mannu who ensured that the infatuation did not last too long.
Now that the descent on the snow was done, another daunting task awaited us. Negotiating the descent on ice that was melting fast. Anit and Co put ropes so we can rappel down the ice patch. The rope used to be anchored and all of us would rappel down one by one. The last person, usually Rajjo the Yak would remove it, pass it down to be anchored again and the process would repeat. Each waiting period was approximately 15-20 minutes. At one point I could hear water gushing under the ice just a few feet away from where I was standing. Yes, that was a crevasse. I could also see ice melting under my feet and running away in many small streams. That was one scary sound and sight.
And finally we came back to be scree patch where we had started climbing. And if we thought that it was done and dusted, we had not anticipated the pain of walking on stones with Koflachs on. It was another 45-60 minute walk before we reached the Summit Camp. 13 ½ hours after starting the Summit attempt, we had all made back to the Summit Camp, alive and safe! The 2nd group meanwhile had reached the summit camp and was waiting for us. Claps and hoots and hugs welcomed us.
After a quick cuppa tea, we had to vacate the Summit Camp and walk back to Base Camp. It took me another 3 hours to reach Base Camp where more hugs were exchanged, none bigger than the one given by Dr Karale! And then the ultimate luxurious experience! For the first time on an expedition, I had a tent to myself!
Everyone slept.
Day 9 (22 July 2011)
Woke up again looking upwards at the peak and figure out where the 2nd Group had reached. They appeared to be climbing at a breakneck speed. Most of the morning was spent lazing around, clicking pictures and keeping a watch on the progress of Group 2. News came through of them summiting at 12.30-ish.
Meanwhile we had to wind up Base Camp and cross over to Nimaling. The Group 2 members were to join us there directly. The walk to Nimaling was a breeze after the Summit attempt. The Nimaling valley was interesting with another LPD (Ladakhi Parachute Dhaba) which sold amongst other things…Chinar Rum!
The evening was spent picturing Yaks, Sheep herds and the Nimaling river whose water was black thanks to the black soil of the glacier from where it originates.
News came through that the Group 2 members were exhausted and would spend the night at Base Camp. For me, it meant another night of ultimate luxury.
Day 10 (23 July 2011)
The morning began with Nandini tearing downhill to Nimaling. Followed by Hemant and Yassin. Rumors were than Yassin was offered a ride on a pony but chose to walk. After a quick breakfast, we all started climbing the Kongmaru La Pass (5,100 m). Yes, we did climb that high after the Summit! It was a walk in the park compared to the Kang Yatse.
Descended from Kongmaru La to Chuskurmo. The valley was straight out of an Indiana Jones movie with gorges and ragged wind beaten peaks, along a fast moving river. After a
7 hour trek, we reached Chuskurmo and spotted another LPD. This one had beer. Godfather beer. Hemant and I swooped down on it. Yassin was told that it was Italian Beer. He bought it. Pakodas and French Fries were quickly rustled up by the mess tent guys. It was a small precursor to the bigger, wilder party that would take place in 24 hours.
Day 11 (24 July 2011)
The final day was a pleasant 3 hour walk to the road head, Shang Sumdo. After 10 days of excitement it was back to civilization. We broke the rules of civility in Shang Sumdo itself where more Italian Beer was consumed.
We reached Leh at 1.00-ish. After a quick bath it was time to tickle the taste buds. Yassin, N&H and I went to the Global Café and had Trout in Garlic Butter, 2 Pizza’s, Schnitzel, Garlic bread, all washed down with flat fresh lime soda.
Nandini decided to terrorize the shopkeepers in Leh again, while Yassin and I decided to get a shave done. Followed by some junk jewellery shopping which was dotted by polite conversation till Nandini made an appearance. The shopkeepers gave up after that and offered her the entire stock free.
Caught up with the rest of the gang in the market. Neha snacks (now recommended by Lonely Planet). Anit and Co were missing in action. Then we figured he had gone to buy the booze for the party.
The party began at 8-ish, and everything that happened after that is a blur……
By
Arjun Naik
