Please advice trekking options in december

kidsan

im not sure you can realistically plan to trek anywhere in the himalayas in december as most places will most likely be under snow by this point.

But, if the snow comes late you may just be able to trek at lower altitudes in which case uttaranchal may be the best place for you? pindari glacier?

No doubt Avidtrekker will be along with more precise advice

Abhi_trekker

hi santosh........
u can look fr sandakphu and phalut in orkut
u will have a community
and details
just do a search......

santos_g15

Thanks man Thats exactly is the place i am looking at late december.

blwetorch

Hello Somnath.....reviving an old thread. We are just having the same plans this winter...I and my family intend to do the Sari-Deoria Taal trek while basing in Ukhimath.....tentative date 28/12/08. Hope that is feasible......what is your opinion?

ashutosh69

Couple of things
Auli in Spring/winter without snow is actually nothing much to write home about compared to some other places in Uttarakhand. December is not exactly a highly probable month in terms of snow even at 2000-3500 mtrs region. You would get one round of snow in mid-december and another round in End december / first week of January.

If you get to do the trekking to places like Tunganath/ chandrashila and Dayara without the weather going bad, it would be a good idea cause these places are pretty high in terms of altitude and the jungle/snow experience would be good.

I would have my reservations for taking spouses for the trek part of it however, unless the ladies have interest and passion in trekking. Inclement weather can make their experience swing either way. Just to be on the safer side, I would probably take help of some agency or a local support team to make affairs smooth.
Otherwise, if trekking, vacation and photography are the purpose, why wont you just drive in to some place like Harsil(Sattaal), Barsu(Dayara) and have little excusrsion treks of not more than 7/8 kilometers where you kinda touch the snowline and come back to guest house!

somnath biswas

Please go ahead. You will enjoy it.

sriram_world

I might also plan this trek ( chopta-tungnath-chandrashila) as well as deoriatal during december 2008. My plans are not confirmed,but the dates will most probably be from (Dec 27 to jan 4) <chennai to chennai).

Even after reading many threads,snow conditions during december not clear. Any idea how much will be the snow ,especially the path from chopta to tungnath and tungnath to chandrashila ?

Is it possible to trek just like that or do we need snow gears like ice axe and rope ?

How will be the weather conditions ? Usually it snows heavy in himlayas,during feb-march whn the "western disturbance" moves in. This normally do not occur in december right ??

Sriram.B

blwetorch

You will require good trekking shoes, if not ice-axe and all the snow gears. A stick in hand may suffice...........for the deoria-taal trek atleast..........there will be a scattering of snow for sure. Ofcourse, there will be more snow in the Tungnath route. I'll be on the Deoria-Taal trail on the 28th of December. There may be some rain too...

sriram_world

Are you covering chandrashhila also ?

Which is the best route which both deaoriatal and tungnath(if possible chandrahsila) can be covered ??

Is deoriatal near chopta ?

Sriram.B

blwetorch

Deoria taal is near Okhimath( 8 kms).....but on the route to Chopta which is abt 37 kms from Okhimath.
If you are trekking up Chandrashila and Tungnath, you will probably need some more snow gear, because they are at a considerably higher altitude.
I am not covering Chandrashila, etc......as my group consists of slightly elderly persons and even the Deoria taal trek from Sari ( 3 kms) may be quite daunting for them.
You can refer to the Google Earth and you will get a clear picture of the National highway from Okhimath towards Chopta.....then there is a detour towards Sari village by a village road. From Sari village you can also identify the trek-path all the way up to the lake. Just check the link below.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9035816@N02/2914511176/

I read in one of the blogs that there is a trek- route from Deoria Taal to Chopta thru thick rhododendron forest. Must be about 20 odd kms. But you need a guide for this.....better you hire him from Sari village itself.
Below are some relevant contact numbers you can try:

Mr Rawat : Proprietor Mayadeep Guest House, Duggalbitta
Phone number : +919412029486

Dinesh Bajwal : Runs a Dhaba at Duggalbitta, also a Guide for this area and can arrange for
stay at Chopta.
Phone number : 919761212951

Rajendra Sing Bhatt: For staying at Deoria Taal
Sari Village
Phone number : +91 9359910475, +919359927389.
I have got these from the link given below-
http://tungnath-chopta.blogspot.com/...eferences.html

I could talk to Mr. Rawat( the first mentioned person) on this numbers and inquire abt road conditions, etc in December- end over there. Duggalbitta is a nearby village....near to Sari on the Okhimath -Chopta route.

I have also found some blogs on the net with descriptions of the Deori taal- Chandrashila-Tungnath treks. They are given below-
http://pankajmolekhi.blogspot.com/20...1_archive.html
http://himalayan-magpie.blogspot.com...ta-part-i.html
http://himalayan-magpie.blogspot.com...a-part-ii.html

Also search this Board....and you will get some very useful information. I am also going thru all these information available in this Board and elsewhere thru Google search.

rishabh6296

guys atleast Chandrashila is snowed down in december, the weather is freakish nowadays.

sriram_world

Thanks blwetorch..for the loads ofinformation. Will definitely call upon these guys..once my plan is confirmed.

kartikiyer

If you are game for a small 5 day trek you can check this option http://www.yhaindia.org/files/adv_pr.../himalayan.htm which is a winter trek in Dalhousie and covers Khajjiar. The trek give a different perspective to see these places.

sriram_world

I did look at the Yhai winter trek photos in picasaweb. Comparitively,Tungnath pictures are awesome.

Also..Yhai is cheap..but very crowded.. In some of the blogs,people have said..that they stand in q's to use the toilet and bathrooms :-)

Sriram.B

kartikiyer

Yes I agree, but YHAI trek is quite a different experience, it takes you back to college days. Also this trek is a quick fix with respect to planning.

If you are traveling with family this is not an option.