Stok Kangri or Kalindi Pass, August 2008

fieldbio

Hello everyone, I have read the previous posts on Stok Kangri and Kalindi Pass, but decided to start a new thread anyways.

I am a foreigner traveling in India for the first time, and would like some suggestions on a difficult trekking or easy mountaineering trip to undertake towards the end of August. I have a fair amount of experience on snow ice and rock and have climbed past 4200m several times. I am a PhD student and therefore have very little money, and plan on doing all of my traveling 'on a shoestring.' After doing some research I've settled on either Stok Kangri or Kalindi Pass, but I am very open to other suggestions.

My questions are mostly concerning logistics about either of the trips:

Stok Kangri: From the US I'm looking at trip options via several of the trekking companies and the trip prices seem to be about 50,000 rupees, which to me seems absurdly high. But from reading previous posts it seems that the best way to climb this peak is to get to Leh, rent equipment, find a guide company and some climbing partners and do it in several days (after acclimating, of course). Am I right in thinking that this is the best way to do this trip?

Kalindi Khal: I am more interested in this trek than Stok Kangri. How many days does it take to complete? From reading several posts it seems that as a foreigner the logistics and beurocracy for this trip are very complicated and the only realistic way to complete this trek will be through a guide company that has a fixed departure and has experience dealing with this. But the companies that I am finding on the internet are charging rates of about 70,000 rupees which also seems quite high to me, and very much out of my reach. If I were to look for a tour company in Delhi or in Rikashesh what would I be looking to pay?

For either of these trips, what gear should I expect to bring and what will I be able to rent? Is anyone planning any interesting expeditions around this time who has room for one more?

Thank you very much in advance...

fieldbio

Anyone? Also, where would be the best place to try to plan a fixed departure Kalindi pass trip with a treking company: online, Delhi, or Rikashesh?

snowleopard_biswa

Fieldbio, we are back from Tapovan - Nandan Van trek on 9th of May. You can check out the photos & you can contact our guide Kuldeep Singh (Mob- 919411185358)
For photos check this link - http://community.webshots.com/user/biswaruph

Larsuld

A lot of people climb Stok Kangri without a permit, just the way you suggest. The permit is not very expensive and not difficult to get the permit, but it could take some time to process it. It is a comparatively easy peak. I passed and camped close by years back and a full group of retired Scottish ladies (age 65-75) peaked succesfully without any problems. Then a very fit and mountain experienced friend aged 35 went there last year and wanted to climb it but failed because of bad weather. It is a very high mountain, and can be dangerous in bad weather conditions. So even though chances are high you could do it alone, it is not advisable. I remember one guy, a Frenchman or Swiss with only one leg. He climbed practically all peaks around Stok Kangri on his own, and in a pace that would have prevented most others from keeping up with him.

I don't know the other trek you mention! If you go for Stok Kangri you should probably do some trekking first in order to get properly acclimatized.

Best wishes
Lars

snowleopard_biswa

You can start your trek to Kalindi Khal from Uttar Kashi. I hope you are a wel trained & ezperienced trekker/mountaineer. The Kalindi Khal rout is a bit tough. You must have the permission for that rout. From this month, government allow 150 person per day in Gangotri Region national park. So you have to let them know a month before. You can go for Kalindi in the month of September, coz at this time the weather generally stay normal. You can contact that Guide I referred (Kuldeep) coz he visit to Kalindi 4 times & he is experienced. Remember Himalaya is deferent from other mountains of the world.

Take care,
Biswa.

AvidTrekker

About Kalindi Khal trek

Back from Kalindi Khal trek

kalindi khal

Registration and Compliance of Treks

Kalindikhal trek....how difficult is it really??

Ask any further questions after reading these threads, we'll gladly answer. This month onwards, The State Govt is charging Rs 200 or so per person and allowing omly 150 persons per day beyond Gangotri. A bureaucratic hassle, can cost you one day.

Agencies can arrange this trek for Rs 7000 per day for two persons. (One person cost is too high) It comes to 3500 per day per person.

Trek from Uttarkashi to Badrinath including road travel takes 14 days including acclimatization days.

Costs estimated at 3500 X 14 = 49000 rupees.

Yes, 70000 is very high. If you want good service and safety, expect to pay at least 50000 for the Kalindi Khal crossing.

You can reduce this to about 35000 rupees but you will be compromising on safety and your life. Kalindi Khal is a nearly 19000 foot pass crossing, with crevasses and other hazards.
.
.
All the best and HAPPY TREKKING !!

__________________
The Universe is an ellipsoid?... or a Spheroid?? If the sphere smiles... it becomes an ellipse. This IS Creation.

fieldbio

Thanks everyone for the responses.

AvidTrekker, thank you for the links and the tips. I think I really want to try for Kalindi, it sounds amazing and just at the difficulty I am looking for. I followed the link in your post to the GMVN website that you had previously recomended. They are offering a fixed departure for the trek in July for 30,000 rupees. The problem is that I would rather be treking in August, if I can, but I'm not sure I can arrange a trip without other companions. Do you have any other ideas for trekking companies that may have a fixed departure in August, that maybe aren't coming up on my google search (all I'm getting are the more expensive companies that leave from Delhi and obviously cater to overseas tourists)?

solo_trekker

The Stok Kangri has been rightfully mentioned as a much simple trek - And it is best to NOT do any bookings on the net...

Once you are in Leh, check out your options with the scores of travelling agencies who are off to Stok Kangri - they always, repeat always, have room for one more...!

But, Stok Kangri can also be tricky at times - Sudden spurts of bad weather and six to eight feet of snow can surely ruin anyones plans... This happened to a fellow traveller who was caught in a blizzard and had to return...

But still, the Kalindi Khal trek is atleast ten times more difficult... Last year, there was unprecedented snowfall in September and the Army had to use their resources to rescue a group of four foreigners who were stuck mid-way... Another agency I have utilized in the past, lost one of it's porters who chose to return towards Nandanvan after abandoning camp; the others who just stayed put, lived to tell the tale...!

This was definitely not meant to scare you off but just to give you an idea to be prepared and anticipate for the worst...!

And scaling the Stok Kangri is much much cheaper...!

Cheers...!

Ladakh in 5 Days...???!!! (Or 6 or 7 or 10 or 15...!!!)

ashutosh69

The season for Kalindikhal starts in July only and continues till september. So you would see lot of threads popping up here itself about interested parties. Or you might like to subscribe to similar forums like
http://www.orkut.co.in/Community.aspx?cmm=84413

I dont think even GMVN would take a party of only one person. Talk to GMVN office at Rishikesh - +91 1352431793. They have an "Adventure" section. Talk to them about any other trek being organised in August.

Alternatively talk to Crystal Adventure in Uttarkashi - the point person is Chandan Singh Bisht +91 1374222506. They do this trek almost every year and can let you know if any trekking party is booked at that time wherein you can join.

Its definitely more difficult than Stok Kangri because of exposure to snow and elements of weather for at least a week. You surely require a team of trained support personnel and now-a-days the Govt charges some security deposit at Uttarkashi DM office in view of the mishaps last year. But going thru GMVN or any regular agency should lessen this headache of bureaucracy.

Best of Luck!

taz lawrie

fieldbio if u want a partner to climb stok kangri tell me when u arrive i live in delhi and am planning to climb it in august as well,i found all the tour operators are too exxy 65,000 from aquaterra and as i read on your thread it can be operators from leh will take another person to their group or we just get the permit and do it, i see u have the gear ,i also have all the gear except stove rope and helmet. we can also plan another trek almost as good as kalindi which will prob be easier to sucessfully complete.when are u coming to delhi??call me
i have experience on peaks in nz australia malaysia kazaksthan ,nepal mostly trekking and some climbing

solo_trekker

Taz Lawrie...
Am thoroughly impressed with your climbing credentials...!
Cheers...!

Dilliwala

Whoa Taz, cycling, then climbing?

And if you get in a run somewhere, you'll have done the Trans Himalayan version of Iron Man.
(A bit too cold in the Tsos to do the conventional version!)

fieldbio

Hi Taz,

I'll be heading to Delhi in early July and then I'm going to travel for a month or so before trying to get some trekking in in August.

After reading the posts here, I'm much more interested in Kalindi than Stok Kangri. I'm up for the challange of a good alpine traverse rather than an easy and crowded trekking peak. Although I think I'll keep Stok Kangri in mind if I cant get permits and a trip to Kalindi organized. Other than that, if you have other ideas about a similar trip that might have less red tape and might be easier to organize than Kalindi - I'm all ears.

To give you an idea of my experience: I've climbed several peaks above 13000ft and one above 14000ft. I can climb 5.8 rock and easy waterfall ice, although I haven't lead either of them. I'm comfortable with crevasse rescues, although I'd be much more comfortable around people who know it better than me. By profession I am field biologist and I spend most of my time camping and hiking for work and for fun. Finally, I'd like to bring the least amount of gear possible to India, because I don't know what to do with it while I'm backpacking around.

Feel free to email me at fieldbio88 AT gmail.com.

Cheers

ThinAir

Hi FieldBio, Taz,
I am doing the stok-kangri trek this august from 18th-25th. Initially I had decided to do it solo but now it seems that a friend in Leh would be joining me. Please feel free to join us if you wish.
Cheers.

ThinAir

Hi All,
I am back from Stok-Kangri and would like to share my wonderful experience:

- A disappointment for me was that I could not do the summit due to upset health and could go only upto few meters above advanced base camp.

- This was my first climbing experience and initially by looking at few posts here, and reading abt few stok-kangri blogs, I had assumed that one can happily trek his way up to the summit. This is not so. The trek is extremely demanding and I felt as though I was running a 20KM marathon run everyday though we were walking for only about 4 hrs a day (average). One has to be extremely fit if one has to do it in 4 days.

- We started for the summit third day at around 2AM, after 2nd day camping at base-camp-I(BC-I) for few hours (12 hrs approx). This I believe is a little less time to acclimatize. One should spend an atleast an entire day at BC-I so that he/she is comfortable.

-Trek from BC-I to advance base camp (ABC) is around 2 hours (at normal pace). This part of the trek is the most beautiful I felt. The moonlit peak and the glacier beneath make the experience surreal.

-We did not have to use crampons/ice axe as there was not much snow even after the glacier.

-Finally few words of advice: please don't forget to carry all the required medicines for headache, upset stomach, fever, cold, throat ache etc.
Drink lot of (warm)water.
Carry a pair of gloves and a cap for protecting from very chill air for early morning climbing.

Happy climbing.
-Nikhil