north india (ladakh) in september/october ?

shiko

Hi all,
Me and my new wife are planning a 4-5 weeks trip to north india (kind of a late honeymoon). I want to do a few short (few days) treks, and I really like snowy peaks...
The only problem is the dates. we can arrive india in the end of september (probablly a week before october), so I was wandering if we can do something like this:
arrive to delhi and catch a flight strate to leh. spend there around 2 weeks (2 short treks), than, if it's possible (since i unedstood that the road is beautiful) take a jeep to manali, than trek there some more.
another option we were thinking about is after ladakh going to the sikim area, where i undersdtood there are less tourists than in manali area, and it is possible to trek as well (i haven't figured out yet if there is a way to fly from leh to Sikim or from somewhere in the area, since going back to delhi sounds quiet stupid to me...).
The only thing that bothers me is the weather, since my wife isn't the most passionate trekker in the world (if you know what i mean...), and a few night in minus a few degrees with snow all over can cause an early divorce... .
so, any advice will be welcomed !

whatsilliness

the roads close during winter, and the dates vary year to year, though on here ive read something about a consideration of keeping the roads open 365/a year except for when there are heavy snowstorms.. but i dont know if thats trustworthy. usually, during the winter the only way out is by plane (which is actually in a way quite exciting.)
october is the beginning of the winter. november is really when its fully in swing, but october its already prettyyy chilly:
according to lonely planet, winter is october through May
and winter temperatures are (in Leh) -20C to 13 C
summer temperatures are -3C to 30C
but, there are still plenty of trekkers in october, and its still considered a really good time for doing so- if your wife can handle it ;O)

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dhananjay

Hi,
Last year 2004 it snowed first week of October and the road closed ... So where it is possible to trek last week september I dont see why would you do it risking Marital bliss ... It is going to be cold and almost all nights in Minus ... No way you can fly from Leh to Sikkim .. the only way is to get back to Delhi and take a flight to Bagdogra from there ... The possible trek in Ladakh last week september would be walking the Nubra valley ... rest all would be too cold to carry on ... also rule out a road journey back to Manali in second week October ... back in 2003 we did the same as part of the Raid de Himalaya and got frozen at -25 all the way ... It can be done but be prepared .... My suggestion would be flying to Leh ... spending a week ten days there exploring by road ... Drop the trek ... Latest by October5th driving to manali and doing a trek there ... Maybe Beas Kund Trek, or From Naggar to Bijli Mahadev in Kullu, or better still from Bharshaini/Manikaran to Khirganga, maybe if good weather persists then definitely over Chanderkhani to Malana and from there to Kasol ... good moderate trek through nice woods ... back to Delhi ... fly to Bagdogra ... a four hour journey to Gangtok ...spend your days visiting Rumtek Dharma Chakra Centre ... Sritbos .. Enchey(Solitary) Monastery and the Tsongo Lake .. two days for this and then head for a moderate trek again ... do the Gangtok - rabangla - gangtok trek .. 5-6 days depending on how u walk .. leading you through typical sikkimese villages ...
Hope this helps ... happy travels ...

Cheers,
dhananjay