Off to Roopkund end of October

onetrek

Hello all

Well we have finally narrowed down to Roopkund (thanks to pics i saw at Almoraboy's blog http://almoraboy.blogspot.com/2006/0...himalayas.html)

Lohargunj-didna-bedni bugyal (ali)-bhagwabas-roopkund

Just wondering will roopkund be trekable at the this time of the year (complete novices here)

If someone could help me decide what you u essentially need for a 8-10 day trek. We have four months to get ourselves in shape. We also need to know the kind of personal equipment one would need to carry on this trek.

Since I am based in Bombay, a reliable place to find the required equipment

All the help much appreciated.

Dhanyavad

SSG

Talk to Bombay's redoubtable trekking resource Avid Trekker!He is the best person to guide you in this regard.

arjunm

I hope this blog on Roopkund will be of some help to you.

http://indiahikes.blogspot.com/


Arjun

onetrek

Hello Arjun

Thank you for your prompt reply, Yes i have seen your beautifully detailed post. In fact we have dared to get ourselves a hard copy of the same.

But there are certain apprehensions still lurking in our minds, such as
How difficult is the trek to Roopkund at this time of the year?

Since this is only our second trek is it advisable to take it on?

I am completely taken in with the sights and Sounds of this trail, so I don't want any last minute retreats. We are very passionate outdoors people, but we have our limitations, and these limitations are what we are trying to overcome.

What would be very helpful is to know the kind of personal equipment one would need for a trek like this

Much Appreciated

Almoraboy

hello OneTrek and welcome to the Roopkund fan club.

hope this is the beginning of a serious love story with treks and nature.

Ok, when we had tried to do roopkund, i had only 4 days (from chennai and back to chennai). so i could manage only bedni bugyal and a detour to ali bugyal. still, it was a wonderful trip and i had even met a leopard in the jungles in the night (i will never forget that experience in my life).

so, what i want to say is that when you set out to roopkund, remember it is not the destination that is important, but the journey. this is an amazingly beautiful trek, but a bit hard also. even the road journey (from kathgodam side) is more beautiful. so, even if you do not reach roopkund, do not be disappointed. you will still enjoy the journey till the last point you are able to go to.

i was joined by 2 friends, one from delhi and one from bhowali. they had 1 full week so they managed to complete the whole trek and even spend some days of rest in almora). here is their blog link: http://kamalkandpal.blogspot.com/200...-roopkund.html

if you had seen my blog, there was a photo with the captiion - wan super market. that was the guy we got the tents and sleeping bags from. we also arrnaged for our cooking oil, utensils, raw food (flour, maggie, rice, lentils, etc) from that shop. we also arranged for porters from that same shop. also, there is a small guest house in lohajung. i think it is called panwari lodge. these people also rent out sleeping bags, tents, etc. so, if you just reach lohajung or wan, you can arrange for most fo the stuff over there itself.

just make sure you have ->

enough number of tents (there are places available to sleep at bedni, but not after that).
enough number of sleeping bags
around 5 pairs of inner wears
5 pairs of warm socks
1 pair of gloves per person
1 topi (woolen caps) per person
1 raincoat per person
foodstuffs and utensils (the ppl at wan/lohajung can arrange for that)

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Trek blog over here

arjunm

Hi

Thanks for finding the blog useful. Meanwhile, let me address your aprehensions.

I would rate Roopkund as a medium difficult trek. There are sections of long climbs and at parts easy walks. The good news is, they alternate. Climbs followed by easy sections.

For a trek like Roopkund, you need to prepare yourself physically. You have four months to go and it is sufficient time. If you can jog continuously for 25 minutes (and cover a distance of 4 kms) you are fit for this trek.

You may perhaps not be in such a good physical shape at this stage, but you can slowly lead yourself to it. 4 months is ample time for that.

As for trekking skills, don't worry if you are a beginner. This route does not require any skills that requires technical knowledge of mountaineering (after all this is trekking!). All you need is a good pair of lungs.

About the equipment required, Almoraboy has covered it all. However, you'll find details on my blog too.

Arjun

onetrek

Almoraboy, Again a much appreciated response from you. Yes I know what your saying, in the quest to reach the destination we might lose out on all that the trail has to offer. Infact everytime I looked at Roopkund all I could imagine was Roopkund, the walk I would imagine us just brooding and sulking. Thank you again for the reminder.

About the equipment, wouldn't it be advisable to carry our own sleeping bags rather then hiring them, ofcourse the tent we will hire.

But thanks to you and Arjun my doubts have cleared

Thanks

onetrek

Hi Arjun

Yesterday on my way to work in the hot trains of bombay I was cooling off reading your blog to roopkund. I am finding 4 months too distant. But as you rightly put it, we will use the time to get the body and mind in shape.

Another thing, do u suggest we refer to the people mentioned in your blog or going to GMVN would make any diff. I am sure the people mentioned in you blog are reliable and much handy.

Thanks
Rajat

solo_trekker

Just one issue here -

Are we certain to get those sleeping bags and 2-person or 4-person tentsfrom wan / lohajung itself...???

Or is it better to play safe and get the equipment from the city itself...??? In my past treks though, I have noticed that the village folk are extremely helpful and enterprising and one can usually get most of the stuff even at the very last village where one can make a night halt...

Apprehensive, but only at times...!

Cheers...!

AvidTrekker

End October is dicey. If there is heavy snowfall (happened last year in end Sept) then you cannot reach Roopkund Proper. Even Bedni Bugyal was under snow for a few days. (yes, one can wait for the snow to melt and start after 2 to 3 days, most of us don't have that much leave... )

Advance your date to around 10th Sept to 20th Sept, no later



Go to http://www.aviindustries.com in Matunga. (map & tele no in link)They are very highly experienced mountaineers themselves. They have everything you need. Including proper advice.
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ashutosh69

Agree with Avidtrekker
October is too risky for Rupkund. Please remember that after Kaluwa Vinayak you are on a 4400+ mtrs of high ridge that leads you up to 5000. A minor precipitation in the plains translates into 2 feet of snow at that height. Even if you plan to go in Mid September I would recommend an iceaxe as part of the equipment list just in case you need to cut steps(the guide should be able to do it)in particular sections. Do deinitely take hard metal tipped trekking poles with you.

Almoraboy

Hi,

If you can arrange for tents/sleeping bags by yourself, then go for it.

onetrek

Hey Avidtrekker

Thank you for your timely intervention , the one problem is getting our leaves preponed. I was planning to reach Dehradun by the 18th, getting ourselves acquainted with the guides and the porters, sorting all that we'll need on the trek and finally heading out on the 20th.

But now you have planted the seed of doubt in our minds. We were very keen to do Roopkund. What if we started earlier in october, say we start by the 2nd or 3rd. Do you think I should speak to concerned parties right from this instant.

Also if you could guide me to a very good guide, may be I could get a conversation going this instant.

Again thank you for the concern, will surely mull over it.

onetrek

thanks ashutosh will reconsider

onetrek

Just one more question to the lot of yous

Does the no-no apply to all the trails in Uttaranchal at this time of the year or is it only for trails of mid to hight altitudes.

May be I could do the Yuksam Guicha La trek

What Say

BUT STILL VERY VEEEEERRRRRRY KEEEEEEEEEEEEEN ON ROOOPJUND