The Milam glacier teahouse trek - the details

Good for you. Even if you don't make it all the way, staying a while in Martoli or one of the other villages will be worth the trouble. It's here that you can walk up to the temple to catch a glimpse of the eastern Nanda Devi peak, India's highest.
Remember there are permanent stops which have tea-houses that serve cheap and delicious dal meals, so I wouldn't overdo it on the food and stoves.
The trek is not as wild as you may think - it's a wide, clear and well-used path in a deep valley all the way to Martoli with no turnings until just before Martoli. You can't really go wrong; just watch out for slippery stones where the path is narrow, and the drop steep! You'll love it - have a good trek, merry christmas, and remember to tell us how it was.

Yeah, I will certainly tell you particularly after the kind of map and details you have provided. If you need any details or photos of something specific I can get it.

As for the tea-houses etc, the general style of the people is to move down south during peak winters. They just pack up and leave. Since, you have always trekked in summers, it is possible that all these tea-houses are shut during winters. I will find out from the villages.

The PWD and FRH may be open, but i don't have the time to contact DFO etc.

Thanks again.

(Maybe we are meaning the same thing? ) I would take a foam cell ground cover that really insulates, rubber will keep u dry but not warm.

A ground cover is nice to sit on in the winter during breaks , irrespective of how u sleep. In Sweden it`s popular to carry a thin piece , folded in four that can be put in a (large) jacket pocket, big enough for the fanny.

Actually, they are probably foam. You can get it in foothills like rishikesh. They are probably foam. However, they are bulky and don't fold like you have said.

Any idea, if these "foldable foam cell covers" can be got in india?.

I attach a pic of the fanny cover , this is for sitting only. At home these are sold for the price of a cup*of coffee in sports stores, gas stations etc. I have never seen it in India but u could easily do one yourself. Dimensions 19 x 14 cms folded.

The second best thing for sleeeping comfort , and best value for money is this :

Buy two pieces of ground cover : the thinnest and the thickest u can find.

Buy a roll of broad velcro.

Measure the distance between the top of your shoulders and just below your buttocks.Cut this length from the thick cover.

Attach velcro to the thin, full length cover and other part. Plan the strips right and you get closed cells, giving better insulation.

Use stuff bag as pillow, put jacket and pants in lower section for flatter contour.

Separate and make two rolls when packing.

Thanks. I will get the needed stuff.

Hey, Kaushiks, how was the trek?

Hi Jeroen,
I remember very much and was going to log in by this weekend. Sorry about delay. Well the trip to say the least was disappointing.
We went as far as Rialkot, rather very close to it. There, we were accosted by ITBP folks who (very very) strongly forbade us from moving ahead, citing bad weather conditions.

As far as we went, your map was just impeccable. I was carrying lots of maps and details. I would recommend your details as they were very accurate.
I just disagreed with one thing though. The road from the starting point down to Lilam was not all down. May be we were expecting it be too easy. However, 2 to 2.5 hours is a good estimate as you indicated.

There were some changes. There was absolutely no life beyond Lilam. All village folks had moved down. As we moved up many villagers were coming down enquiring if we were sane. No rest houses were open. We couldn't have done withour our tents. It was very very cold. It was less than -5 when we measured and may be much lower. If you have a foam mattress and good clothing you can manage and enjoy the trip. One us had this cheap sleeping back which was not warm at all. You need those high altitude ones. Regardless, the grave problem is the weather. If the weather gets bad you just start running back to civilization. There are no two ways about it.

Right at the start of the journey, there was some confusion about the permit. Some said we need to get a permit at Munsiyari itself since there won't be anybody at Milam village. So, we went and met with SDM on Monday morning. He was the most rude, ill mannered government official I have seen in these parts. He denied us any permit for good reasons. He pointed out that a month back a private group had got 'stranded' and they needed a helicopter rescue. With the weather conditions becoming really bad and heavy heavy snow fall imminent, he didn't want to take chances. So, no permit.

All fine and fair, but he could have been a little polite.A total jerk he was. However, we figured that Indians really don't need to care and it was a mistake to ask at all.
We decided to hire a local guide, which is necessary as you may have to change routes . So, off we went . Somewhere towards Rialkot, the ITBP guys had camped. They normally are much farther up but had comed down. They stopped us and politely but firmly told us to back off. By then, it had started snowing heavily and we didn't quiet know what to make of it all. We turned back. We met a guide who said he had taken a group to Nandadevi base camp in this season. I think he really did it. It is certainly possible to go all the way to Milam. However, any trouble and you are screwed. It is a personal decision. If you are experienced in camping on your own in these sub zero conditions, I think it is doable with a guide. All this for Indians. Foriegners ofcourse should not defy authority and it is impossible to get a permit now.
In summers, Jeroen's note should make it absolutely easy. In winters it is difficult.
The mountains look so different in winters. I woud like to take this up with some precautions in a smaller group.
1) To start with decide how you will handle authorities. You won't get their blessings. It is a little risky , so they won't make your decision. If you don't want to bypass
them don't go.
2) Remember , there are no villagers or eating joints in winters. So, be absolutely self sufficient.
3) Take the highest quality sleeping bag and jackets. Not the normal ones you get in India. And the foam mattress ofcourse. Get the foam mattress at Almora. You don't get it after that. I can give you the phone number of Vinod, a friendly shop keeper in
Almora. PM me.
4) Get a good local guide. You may have to change routes and you will get lost on your own, no matter how experienced you are. We met a very smart young guide named Kapil Mehta. If you want his phone numbers, PM me.

So, thats that. And remember to take Jeroen's maps. I left a few copies at Hansling. I hope you don't have a copyright , Jeroen .
And Jeroen, thanks again. If I didn't have your details we might have not gone so far.
It was a good and necessary experience. I plan to do something like this next winter with just 2 or 3 people.

Thanks for the update, Kaushiks - I hope you still had a good time. I guess that you would have run into the same trouble at Pindari by the way. It's true my report is based on summer treks - quite a difference. Thanks for leaving the maps at Hansling - that's what I made them for!
I think we have all aspects of the Milam trek covered in this post now. Was it easy to get to Munsyari, and easy to find a guide?

>down to Lilam was not all down
You're right; changed it above. It certainly does feel like a undeservedly mean steep climb on the way back though!

The drive to Munsyari is ofcourse very very long. However, I was geared for it as I have been waiting for four years to go there. One important titbit I realized :
Taxis in Kumaon comes real cheap. For a matter of 500Rs we went from KathGodham to Almora. A distance of around 120kms. The same in Garhal or Himachal would cost around 1200Rs (Roughly 9 Rs per km in a small car) . I found out that the taxi union in Kumaon is very weak. Its good for us ofcourse.

We took a break at Almora, bought some Ropes, foam etc. Then went directly to Jageshwar. However, the hotels in Jageshwar were ridiculous and ridiculously expensive. We ended up paying 400Rs for a double room which is horrendous in off season.
Finding a guide was easy but convincing them to come along wasn't. As expected we were thoroughly discouraged by all the townsfolks. We didn't want to take a guide. However, an assessment of the situation made us change our mind. The guides who came asked for a very heavy price. Eventually, we paid around 250Rs per day. A trek like this is always enjoyable. We knew its not done and we wanted this to be an exploration. It was great and ended when it got truly himalayan.

Hi Jeroen & Kaushik,

Your posts made very interesting reading.......good job....well done both.I had read Jeroen's post on Pindari and did that trek in Oct. along with a Dutch friend...it was truly awesome!! Thanks Jeroen. Am now inspired to do the Milam trek...maybe Sept. How are May June for the Har ki Dun Trek? Any suggestions would be welcome.....plan on taking a group of 6-8 people.

Cheers,

GG

I just wanted to add a url for some pictures from this trek -

http://himalaya15.tripod.com/nandadevi/index.html

I'm in rishikesh now heading to almora in a few days... has anyone done the route up to Milam yet this year? I was originally planning on going to Milam and then Nanda Devi East BC and then over Ralam pass...but I'm afraid there is too much snow still for all that.

Did Khatling glacier last week and there was some snow towards the top of the trail...

Am I crazy for heading over there early this year? thanks

Some friends are going to attempt the route ahead of Khatling Glacier on 7th June, and try to cross Mayali Pass. What were the snow conditions when you were present last week?

This year heavy snow fall reported. Even then, I don't think it is crazy. many Indians have summer holidays right now and a good number head for the Milam Glacier trek. The crossover to Ralam valley from Tola to Ralam may be done with the help of a guide.

Since you do have some trekking experience, a bit of snow won't be a damper. I don't think you will have to walk seven hours in deep snow....

Hi ,
I am just back from doing the Milam Glacier trek . We were the first to reach the snout of the glacier this season . This is due to the fact that there was record snowing in this reagion this winter , and the route opened late . We could make it because the ITBP parties had preceded us.
We started from Munsiyari on the 12th of May , and returned back on the 19th . The route from Nahar Devi to Rilkote was under a lot of snow . As we were returning , the mules were on their way to Milam .
Will post photos soon !
Cheers !