Roopkund Experince (Oct 1st Week)

chits007 · Oct 9th, 2007, 21:35

Hello Friends..

I went to roopkund last week...unable to complete because of so much snow and that too hard snow..

Their is sudden change in weather during 20-26th Sep ..during that period it snowfall heavily in hills...which made the bagguwasa-roopkund trail 4-6 feet of snow ...acoording to local news papers some foreigneer still stuck in nanda devi east region ..and ITBP is looking for them..

Day 1 (28th Sep): We left for Kathgodam ..it rained heavily that day in Delhi.

Day 2: Train reached 2 hrs late at KGM ..our driver for Wan also came late we started for Wan at 9 AM..target was to reach Wan by 7-8 PM... their was landslide before Almora that cost 2 hours delay. At 6 PM we were at Gwaldam. Our Guide and porters was from Gwaldam .

Day 3: We started for Wan. The road after Debal was bad somewhere .Due to mud one of the incoming jeep tyre stuck deep and it take 1 hour . Then again a huge land slide..locals says it would take 2-3 days to clear it off..we then decided to leave our Taxi and call another one from Loharjung..we crossed the land slide area and transferred our stuff and waited for the jeep to come ..Reached wan at 5 ..the road from loharjung to wan is a deadly ride ..stayed in GMVN Wan..GMVN wan is situdated on top of village from the road point its a moderate trek of 2 Kms to reach that place...the location of GMVN is nice..

Day 4: Started for Bedni Bugyal at 7:30 reached Bedni at 1:15 ..
weather till 12 was bright and clear afterward cloud cover ..
we decided to take the zila panchayat rooms for 100 bucks instead of camping that also require 100 per tent as camping fee .

Day 5: Started for Bagguwasa at 7:30 reached at 3:15 ...from Pathar Nanuchni to Kaluvinayak its a steep climb..
we also took diamox to prevent AMS. At Bagguwasa we encoutered some snow and have a glimpse of roopkund trail ..

Day 6: It was very very cold at bagguwasa..at 5 PM it was 7C ..i have [url="http://www.lacrossetechnology.com/xg55/index.php"]la crosse watch which shows bagguwasa at 4100 mts above sea level..
night was very cold and windy...

Day 7 : We were waiting for the sun to come ...since we are on the other side of mountain it came to us at 8 AM..
it was decided that guide will go and check the way and others will go tommorow..we dont have the crampons or other technical stuff .guide only has the ice axe..
3 of us including me decided to join guide in checking the way..this made the start late we sarted at 9:30..it was bright and sunny..trishul nanda ghunti all visible in full glory ..
after charia nag..snow level was getting more and more it was hard snow ..so it was decided that guide will march ahead and mark the way with axe and then on that path we will move..

At 1:30 PM the weather turned bad and we decided to turn back..

I didnot agree to the decision of return back but for team sake we returned back.

The last 4-5 kms was technical as you see in pics...the trail was on a inclined ..the descent was tought ..we used ropes i slipeed 3-4 times while descending ..

I am new to trekking ..what I feel is if we had crampons we could have made atleast roopkund ..what do u guys say?

I met some IM friends ..and many foreigners from different country ..NOLS guys ..whole bagguwasa was occupied ..some guys camped at hunia thar..nobody reached roopkund in last 15 days..as per locals..

navinkurian2002 · Oct 9th, 2007, 22:04

Did you say NOLS

. My memories of the roopkund trek in 2000 is still so fresh . wow.

Who was there from NOLS?

From roopkund we took a detour to sutol and chamoli to catch our jeep.

Cheers
Navin

chits007 · Oct 9th, 2007, 22:31

yes its was NOLS..how much NOLS charge?? i heard they have full semester..?

Some of the pics are here
http://picasaweb.google.com/k.roopes...rekToRoopkundu

Almoraboy · Oct 9th, 2007, 22:39

hey chits,

welcoem back. will enjoy the pics on the weekend.

dooms · Oct 9th, 2007, 23:02

chits007 congrats on the effort

Good decision to turn back in the end because weather can turn very bad that late in the day at those altitudes. I was there in June this year and probably was able to do it because my team left at 5am. After sunrise the path becomes very slippery. Good effort to reach till Charia Nag that late in the day with so much of snow actually.

And nice pics too!

Sadanand Kamath · Oct 10th, 2007, 12:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by chits007

I didnot agree to the decision of return back but for team sake we returned back.

The last 4-5 kms was technical as you see in pics...the trail was on a inclined ..the descent was tought ..we used ropes i slipeed 3-4 times while descending ..

I am new to trekking ..what I feel is if we had crampons we could have made atleast roopkund ..what do u guys say?

I think, it was a good decision to return back.

In bad weather such as the one you faced, it would not have been prudent to continue the trek even with crampons.

From your pictures, I am sure, you must have enjoyed the beautiful views of Nanda Ghunti, Trishul besides the beautiful bedni bugiyal. Let for the time being, be happy with these memories than sad to miss Rupkund

.

Sadanand

arjunm · Oct 10th, 2007, 12:37

Hi Chits

Welcome back! Too bad you didn't make it to Roopkund. Why on earth didn't you start earlier like I had suggested? However, this trek is beautiful all along the route and you haven't missed much.

And from your pictures something is clear. You may be new to trekking but you have a damn good eye for pictures. Great shots!

The decent to Suthol and Sitel via Bhagwasa is terrific too. My friends were all ga-ga over it.

Did you bump into my friends who went one day after you did?

Arjun

chits007 · Oct 10th, 2007, 14:15

Some more pics...

@arjun..yes i met Mr Ghosh and other Smita ,Prakash and his wife , we talked to them so much in details ..interesting guys ..Mr Sosh recognize me when i told about you...
about start at 9:30 AM ...actually day before decided that only guide will go and we will go next day afterward...guide decided to march only when the sun comes up ;which it comes at 8 AM...but yes i agree that we should have started earlier...the next day guide got snow-blindness

so we have to return back...that guy didnt put glasses while using ice-axe...

what culd be the best time ??..we are planning again in 1st week of june the whole circuit roopkund-juinar guli-shilasamudra-ronti-homkund and cameback via sithel..

amitsankrani · Oct 11th, 2007, 13:26

Chits.. Do not worry and let this disappointment get you carried away with stress. Life is long and there is always a next time. Just keep adding the excitement... Hopefully if things work out I would like to join you on this trek next year...

deeps79 · Oct 11th, 2007, 16:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by chits007

Hello Friends..

The last 4-5 kms was technical as you see in pics...the trail was on a inclined ..the descent was tought ..we used ropes i slipeed 3-4 times while descending ..

I am new to trekking ..what I feel is if we had crampons we could have made atleast roopkund ..what do u guys say?
..

welcome back chits.......i think it was the right decision to return back at that point.....i have been hearing stories of the snowfall in upper regions and was aware that u are also trekking to roopkund..so was looking for ur safe return.........u can always do it later and from the pics it seems that u saw a lot of beauty of himalayas

just bad luck this time.............but i am sure there must be plenty of happy memories of trip.....

chits007 · Oct 11th, 2007, 18:40

some more panaroma pics...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kshithish/

himadventures · Oct 14th, 2007, 11:31

Yes-roop kund is not for first timers and should have not been attempted in this time as weather was not good in that area.

I congratulate you tobe safe. Mountain becomes very dangerous when it is beyond your expectations.

We tried ROOP KUND in June and had gone through same scene but as we carry rope/ice axe and snow shows...we manage to reach on LIP of kund but it is still one of the most daring attempt we made. Whole trail was in snow and ascending and descending from KALUA BINAYAK was done in heavy snowfall.

ujan · Oct 17th, 2007, 17:18

dear friends it seems you all are very excited about roopkund and sorroundings.here you can enjoy my travel photoes to ronti.we conquered ronti on 16 th september 2007.our guide was hari sing bist..................if you u need any further information do relpy

http://picasaweb.google.com/rajamukh...RONTIPEAK6023m

ujan · Oct 17th, 2007, 17:19

http://picasaweb.google.com/rajamukh...RONTIPEAK6023m

chits007 · Oct 17th, 2007, 23:33

@ujan..
great success..we wanted to do the same circuit ...dodang /shilasamudra looks beautiful..
our guide was also hari singh bisht..man this guy talks so much..

one thing..did the ropes u guys used @ronti was provided by Harish or you guys took ur own?

Oct 9th, 2007, 21:35	#1
chits007 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Noida Posts: 269	Roopkund Experince (Oct 1st Week) Hello Friends.. I went to roopkund last week...unable to complete because of so much snow and that too hard snow.. Their is sudden change in weather during 20-26th Sep ..during that period it snowfall heavily in hills...which made the bagguwasa-roopkund trail 4-6 feet of snow ...acoording to local news papers some foreigneer still stuck in nanda devi east region ..and ITBP is looking for them.. Day 1 (28th Sep): We left for Kathgodam ..it rained heavily that day in Delhi. Day 2: Train reached 2 hrs late at KGM ..our driver for Wan also came late we started for Wan at 9 AM..target was to reach Wan by 7-8 PM... their was landslide before Almora that cost 2 hours delay. At 6 PM we were at Gwaldam. Our Guide and porters was from Gwaldam . Day 3: We started for Wan. The road after Debal was bad somewhere .Due to mud one of the incoming jeep tyre stuck deep and it take 1 hour . Then again a huge land slide..locals says it would take 2-3 days to clear it off..we then decided to leave our Taxi and call another one from Loharjung..we crossed the land slide area and transferred our stuff and waited for the jeep to come ..Reached wan at 5 ..the road from loharjung to wan is a deadly ride ..stayed in GMVN Wan..GMVN wan is situdated on top of village from the road point its a moderate trek of 2 Kms to reach that place...the location of GMVN is nice.. Day 4: Started for Bedni Bugyal at 7:30 reached Bedni at 1:15 .. weather till 12 was bright and clear afterward cloud cover .. we decided to take the zila panchayat rooms for 100 bucks instead of camping that also require 100 per tent as camping fee . Day 5: Started for Bagguwasa at 7:30 reached at 3:15 ...from Pathar Nanuchni to Kaluvinayak its a steep climb.. we also took diamox to prevent AMS. At Bagguwasa we encoutered some snow and have a glimpse of roopkund trail .. Day 6: It was very very cold at bagguwasa..at 5 PM it was 7C ..i have [url="http://www.lacrossetechnology.com/xg55/index.php"]la crosse watch which shows bagguwasa at 4100 mts above sea level.. night was very cold and windy... Day 7 : We were waiting for the sun to come ...since we are on the other side of mountain it came to us at 8 AM.. it was decided that guide will go and check the way and others will go tommorow..we dont have the crampons or other technical stuff .guide only has the ice axe.. 3 of us including me decided to join guide in checking the way..this made the start late we sarted at 9:30..it was bright and sunny..trishul nanda ghunti all visible in full glory .. after charia nag..snow level was getting more and more it was hard snow ..so it was decided that guide will march ahead and mark the way with axe and then on that path we will move.. At 1:30 PM the weather turned bad and we decided to turn back.. I didnot agree to the decision of return back but for team sake we returned back. The last 4-5 kms was technical as you see in pics...the trail was on a inclined ..the descent was tought ..we used ropes i slipeed 3-4 times while descending .. I am new to trekking ..what I feel is if we had crampons we could have made atleast roopkund ..what do u guys say? I met some IM friends ..and many foreigners from different country ..NOLS guys ..whole bagguwasa was occupied ..some guys camped at hunia thar..nobody reached roopkund in last 15 days..as per locals..

Oct 9th, 2007, 22:04	#2
navinkurian2002 Maha Guru Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Mumbai,India Posts: 782	Did you say NOLS . My memories of the roopkund trek in 2000 is still so fresh . wow. Who was there from NOLS? From roopkund we took a detour to sutol and chamoli to catch our jeep. Cheers Navin __________________ It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare dream of meeting your heart's longing. Budget Hotels ]

Oct 9th, 2007, 22:39	#4
Almoraboy Trekker Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: London.....Himalayas in between Posts: 953	hey chits, welcoem back. will enjoy the pics on the weekend. __________________ Trek blog over here

Oct 10th, 2007, 14:15	#8
chits007 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Noida Posts: 269	Some more pics... @arjun..yes i met Mr Ghosh and other Smita ,Prakash and his wife , we talked to them so much in details ..interesting guys ..Mr Sosh recognize me when i told about you... about start at 9:30 AM ...actually day before decided that only guide will go and we will go next day afterward...guide decided to march only when the sun comes up ;which it comes at 8 AM...but yes i agree that we should have started earlier...the next day guide got snow-blindness so we have to return back...that guy didnt put glasses while using ice-axe... what culd be the best time ??..we are planning again in 1st week of june the whole circuit roopkund-juinar guli-shilasamudra-ronti-homkund and cameback via sithel.. Attached Thumbnails

Oct 11th, 2007, 13:26	#9
amitsankrani Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Mumbai Posts: 117	@ Chits Chits.. Do not worry and let this disappointment get you carried away with stress. Life is long and there is always a next time. Just keep adding the excitement... Hopefully if things work out I would like to join you on this trek next year...

Oct 9th, 2007, 22:31	#3
chits007 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Noida Posts: 269	yes its was NOLS..how much NOLS charge?? i heard they have full semester..? Some of the pics are here http://picasaweb.google.com/k.roopes...rekToRoopkundu

Oct 9th, 2007, 23:02	#5
dooms Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 164	chits007 congrats on the effort Good decision to turn back in the end because weather can turn very bad that late in the day at those altitudes. I was there in June this year and probably was able to do it because my team left at 5am. After sunrise the path becomes very slippery. Good effort to reach till Charia Nag that late in the day with so much of snow actually. And nice pics too!

Oct 10th, 2007, 12:37	#7
arjunm Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 215	Hi Chits Welcome back! Too bad you didn't make it to Roopkund. Why on earth didn't you start earlier like I had suggested? However, this trek is beautiful all along the route and you haven't missed much. And from your pictures something is clear. You may be new to trekking but you have a damn good eye for pictures. Great shots! The decent to Suthol and Sitel via Bhagwasa is terrific too. My friends were all ga-ga over it. Did you bump into my friends who went one day after you did? Arjun

Oct 11th, 2007, 18:40	#11
chits007 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Noida Posts: 269	some more panaroma pics... http://www.flickr.com/photos/kshithish/

Oct 14th, 2007, 11:31	#12
himadventures Maha Guru Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: India Posts: 1,069	Yes-roop kund is not for first timers and should have not been attempted in this time as weather was not good in that area. I congratulate you tobe safe. Mountain becomes very dangerous when it is beyond your expectations. We tried ROOP KUND in June and had gone through same scene but as we carry rope/ice axe and snow shows...we manage to reach on LIP of kund but it is still one of the most daring attempt we made. Whole trail was in snow and ascending and descending from KALUA BINAYAK was done in heavy snowfall.

Oct 17th, 2007, 17:18	#13
ujan Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: india Posts: 3	my exp to ronti dear friends it seems you all are very excited about roopkund and sorroundings.here you can enjoy my travel photoes to ronti.we conquered ronti on 16 th september 2007.our guide was hari sing bist..................if you u need any further information do relpy http://picasaweb.google.com/rajamukh...RONTIPEAK6023m Last edited by ujan : Oct 17th, 2007 at 17:24. Reason: i forgot to give it

Oct 17th, 2007, 17:19	#14
ujan Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: india Posts: 3	pics to ronti http://picasaweb.google.com/rajamukh...RONTIPEAK6023m

Oct 17th, 2007, 23:33	#15
chits007 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Noida Posts: 269	@ujan.. great success..we wanted to do the same circuit ...dodang /shilasamudra looks beautiful.. our guide was also hari singh bisht..man this guy talks so much.. one thing..did the ropes u guys used @ronti was provided by Harish or you guys took ur own?

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