Back from Himalayas

babuchand

Hi all,

I have come back to Kolkata yesterday (16th Oct) after successfully completing Madmaheshwar and tapovan trek at one go.

we left kolkata by doon exp on 30th Sept and reached haridwar on 2nd Oct. on the same day we went ahead to Ukhimath and stayed there. next day we hired a jeep to Jugasu and started for Madmaheshwar. after lunch at ransi we treked to Bantoli (total 12km from Jugasu) ans stayed. next day we started early at 8am to cover another 9km stiff uphill. at Nanu we had lunch and reached Madmaheshwar at 3:30pm. Next day we climbed the peak near madmaheshwar, called budamaheshwar due to existence of an ancient temple over that, to relish the grand view of Chowkhamba, mandani and some other peaks at satopanth range.

2 days it took to come back to srinagar and then we headed for uttarkashi.
from that we hired snow spider treks and tours for porters, guide cum cook and tent. they didn't perform well enough. send one less porter but chagred for thet extra elusive one. their guide didnt serve well and last but not the least the charged some extra hidden charges after we came back. If any one is going in thet region be ware of that or this kind of agents.

anyway to talk abt our trek....first day we went to bhujwasa to pitch tent on 9th Oct. on 10th Oct we started at 10am to reach gomukh in one and a half hours. I took another 3 to 3.5 hours to reach tapovan. due to rock falls and glacier shifting, the roads across gangotri glacier is not so easy just now. we have heard that army has fixed rope for nandanvan. the climb of near about 400m to tapovan was also not cakewalk. the path is rocky, fulll of small pebbles those are not at all stable. we went along the flow of Amarganga. at tapovan we pitched tent but stayed in mataji ashram for Rs50 per head. it was -10 degree C at night in our thermometer. the next day we returned to gangotri straight away. descending was not also easy. we heard the sound of glacier cracking like a bomb blast. but fortunately that didnt happened just below us.

returning from gangotri we stayed in a nice place in between uttarkashi and tehri, called Chiniyalsaur. A small place, bhagirathi flowing by. that has a GMVNL bunglow but we sytayed near the bazar area in a private hotel for cheap.

I will upload some photos in a few days to come.

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babu
visit : http://www.webmania.co.za/travelmania/babu/index.shtml

"The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget."

dooms

Congrats on the successful Trek babuchand

I too was there a few days before you. Returned to Gangotri by 6th. Surprised to know the temperture was -10 C We did feel the chill but had no way to know the temperature. All our guide could tell us was "minus"

We too hired guides from Uttarkashi (Peaks and Pines, Adventure Club, Batwari Road) They also rented us tents and sleeping bags. The sleeping bags were very good . Felt warm and cosy as long as we were in the sleeping bag. The Guide and the 2 porters did a very good job.

Wow! Tapovan to Gangotri in one day?

navinkurian2002

Congrats Babuchand and doom waiting to see the pics of your treks .
Cheers

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jyotipg

Babu,
Congrats.. I am just surprised why a seasoned IMer and trekker like you needed to hire a local agency for trek to Tapovan..

Anyway, howz Madhyamaheshwar.. Do let me know abt the accomodation enroute madhyamaheshwar.. Panch kedar is on my cards and I would require your guidance.. and now that you went all the way to that place, did you find any info about the route to Nandi kund from madhyamaheshwar??

Waiting for pics...

Cheers,
JP

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AvidTrekker

Congrats, Babu

You did it in October, which makes it more special. Minus 10 at night should give a fair idea to budding trekkers to go in proper trekking season.

That even a veteran trekker can get taken for a ride [by agencies] is what I tell quite often. I too got taken for a [very small] ride on my Pin Bhaba Pass portion. These things happen!

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Aristocat

Congrats Babu and Dooms… I was there too in September but it was not that cold. The temp. went below freezing at night but during the day it was around 8 to 12 C. I trekked from Gangotri to Chidbasa which took me about five hours. From Chidbasa to Gaumukh, again about five hours. Gaumukh to Tapovan took six hours over absolutely inhospitable terrain. Tapovan was really beautiful. Tapovan to Nandanvan was the scariest bit with the route quite undefined and, at times, even the guide was not too sure. Nandanvan was as beautiful as Tapovan. Nandanvan to Vasuki Tal was good except for one bit just before reaching Vasuki Tal, where we had to fix a rope. Vasuki Tal was grand. Returned from Vasuki Tal to Nandanvan to Bhujbasa to Gangotri. Spent a couple of days in Harsil before returning home. All in all, an experience to remember for life and a very good way to lose excess weight.

dooms

Congrats to you too Aristocrat

I wanted to know about this Nanadanvan to Vasuki Tal stretch. How is it for a beginner? Some people told me there is an ice wall to negotiate inorder to get to Vasuki Tal. Can it be tried by a beginner once the ropes are fixed? Do you need any mountaineering gear for this?

Aristocat

Thank you dooms. As far as beginners go you won't find anyone greener than me. There is no ice wall involved. There is a small river to be crossed which had very little water in September. Ropes were fixed to make climbing up the loose moraine wall a little easier. If you have acclimatised well, going to Vasuki Tal should not be a problem. No mountaineering gear is required.

jyotirmoy

Congrats babu.
As a seasoned trekker in the Garhwal Himalayas I do recomend taking a guide for going to places like Nandan van, Tapo van & Kuari pass. I often hire a ponny or two. The ponny wallahs are great guides & since I am for some time doomed with spondolysis can not carry my stuff. A few years back we travelled the old pilgrimage route from Gangotri to Kedarnath through the Belak meadow & the panwali Bugiyal. This route is just fantastic. I will post about the trek soon.
I have treked in many places in India & abroad but the Uttaranchal Himalayas are some thing very special to us, majestic beauty & an air of sprituality.

vistet

Congrats
looking forward to the pics...

dooms

Thanks for the info Aristocrat.
I should have planned for Nandanvan/Vasuki Tal before hand itself. We didnt have much food left to try it. At first we thought Tapovan itself will be a big deal for us first timers. Could have atleast prepared to try Nandanvan/Vasuki Tal after having gone that far. Anyways no regrets and there is always a next time.

What kind of food did you carry? I found out that food is the most important thing on the trek to keep up your spirits. Suffered a bit at Tapovan due to this. So whats a good idea in these conditions? Daal/Chaaval, maggie?

Aristocat

The food was arranged for by the agency. Although daal/chaval was on the menu there were other goodies too. Soup and a hot drink was a must for dinner and lunch comprised puri or roti with subzi accompanied by pickles and a sweet and fruit. Breakfast was aloo paratha or eggs with toast with cereal/corn flakes/porridge and fruit. In general, food was good. The menu was changed frequently. No complaints there.

dooms

Wow thats a 4/5 course meal in such inhospitable conditions
Whats the agency/cost?

Aristocat

To be honest, I don't know. The whole thing was arranged by my brother through a friend of his who is with the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in Uttarkashi. I just had to reach the Institute on a certain day after which it was all taken care of.

dooms

Was it under the official banner of NIM?