har-ki-doon ruinsara taal in march2008

babuchand

I am planning for har-ki-doon ruinsara taal trek in march2008. please give me info about
1. snow condition at that time
2. fooding and lodging options at that time
3. any other relevent info/advice

thanks in advance

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babu
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hima22vin

in march may encounter snow. ruisara tal may be tough
try to cover village datmir also on the way to junction point of har ki doon and ruisara. datmir used to have full hut for honey bees. interesting to see. you can enjoy pure honey.
on the way to ruisara, there is a gujjar place, u may miss gujjar in march. this gujjar is last man u can see on way to ruisara. May is definitely better. from ruisara there is also trek to yamunotri (tough and not in march)
hima22vin@yahoo.com

clawhammer

any detailed info on ruinsara tal to yamunotri crossing?

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babuchand

a bengali magazine bhraman published one travelogue long ago. one has to cross a pass called bali pass. its tough

Almoraboy

check my blog. i went there in march 2006. lots of snow at hkd..and lots on the ruinsara tal route also. it was tough coz walking in the snow really required some effort.

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hima22vin

Yes, HKD and Ruisara in Mar have good chances of snow and some time heavy snow
I note of caution to all planning in that period.

amitsankrani

We are going to HKD during last week December 2007 till early Jan. Chance are some good snowfall and chilled climate would add to the experience here.

babuchand

hi almoraboy,

please ans these specific queries

1. how deep snow did u encounter??? the maximum.
2. did u have to pitch tent on snow???
3. guide porter availability at that time.
4. rest house/trekkers hut availability and fooding arrangements

babu

ashutosh69

Hi
Just returned from an arduous trek to Bali Pass. I believe there has been a round of light snowfall around 8th of November.

This might mean that at HKD you would expect say a foot of snow. Ruinsara Taal did not have any snow as of 2nd November. But I believe it would have 6 inches to a foot of snow by December....of course depends on the quantum f snowfall in November-December.

For people interested in Bali Pass(Not recommended to be done now till May)...you can find the itinerary at
snowscapes.blogspot.com

The pics can eb found at
picasaweb.google.com/ashutosh69

Almoraboy

hi almoraboy,

please ans these specific queries

1. how deep snow did u encounter??? the maximum.

maximumat HKd itself..near the forest guest house. it was getting to be around 3 feet.

2. did u have to pitch tent on snow???

nopes. till seema/osla, we stayed in the forest guest house. from sankri, when we went to HKD, we also took along the forest chowkidaar along with us. he had the keys and opened the guest house for us.

3. guide porter availability at that time.

yes, you can get them also at that time. just tell them that there should be no drinking till the trek is over.

4. rest house/trekkers hut availability and fooding arrangements

GMVN/Forest rest houses are available in Sankri, Taluka, Seema/Osla and har ki dun. hence we did not require tents. for ruinsara tal, you might require tents. however, i remember my guide telling me that he knew of a cave near ruinsara tal (you might have to fight for sleeping space with some bears).

ashutosh69

Well if you are interested in Ruinsara Tal info..

There surely would be snow there by December end- not so sure about Nov...it was absolutely caked earth when we passed it. One needs camping equipment at Ruinsara Tal....there is a hut by forest department near the Tal..but I do not know how reliable the chances are.

The cave that Almoraboy mentioned is at Upper Tange Camping ground (on the way to Balipass- 1.5 Km from Ruinsara tal)....but its actually barely a cave...one can in summer sleep there with a mattress and sleeping bag...but not in Winters

hima22vin

I have already intimated caution in winter for Ruisara even in March. I share my experience. Even easier trek in April I have noticed trek near by where we were, sudden climate change in high altitude trek had caused deaths to mountaineer. Even HKD in winter has good probability of sudden heavy snow fall and 20 years of experienced guides/ porters finding their limit over stretched. Most of trekking guides even most popular ones actually miss this point and push trekkers (even some with mountaineering experience and gears) to 99.99% level of survival, I have rescued many.

ashutosh69

Check out
snowscapes.blogspot.com

only thing is....the whole narration is the other way....Ymunotri to Ruinsara and Sankri

babuchand

dear hima,
we ar planning in 2nd 3rd week of march. we are concerned about the remaining snow of this winter. but that will make this mundane trek more interesting for us.

please provide the following information
1. when have u been to this region?
2. are jeeps plying to taluka from sankri?
3. how is the taluka - seema trail which goes along the river (the shorter one).
4. how is the trail from seema to ruinsara???

please respond considering our trek from sankri starting on 19-20 march.

thanks in advance

Dilliwala

Watch this thread: http://www.indiamike.com/india/trekk...cember-t44770/

amit has just returned from HKD and shud be posting more details soon.