YHAI sar pass trek

You are welcome, the photos were really great and captured the entire trek nicely. I am not able to find out how to send a private message to you right now ? Is it disabled till you do some n number of posts or duration etc ? Please PM me your email id so that I can get in touch with you.

Also I wanted to know some good place in Hyd where I can buy some trekking accessories.

Regards,
Suyash

Thanks for the advice. I will be getting my shoes day after tomorrow and will be wearing them for about 1 and half week before reporting to the base camp...

Hi,
You need to call the Delhi YHAI office (mostly they will be available during afternoon time) and straightaway ask them to transfer your call to the IT team. They will be definitely able to assist you with the cancellation status and the refund progress (if you have paid online that is). I know this because I had also talked to them some time back for nullifying the accidental cancellation request that I had initiated !

Regards,
Suyash

For PM, you need to have 10 post or 10 days of membership, which ever is earlier.

It better you visit Decathlon banglore or order online from Decathlon, you will get the best items and best rate.

Rohan

Yeah I have checked the decathlon website, but I wanted to see the goods before I buy them. Will have to ask someone in Bangalore to do that...

btw, has there been any prior discussions here about how to take care of the camera in snow / cold weather ? I have seen only the starting few posts and some of the latest ones as this thread is quite long...
Also we won't be getting electricity / re-charging capability for our mobiles / cameras anywhere other than base camp right ? or we have some of the resting points where it would be available ?

Thanks,
Suyash

@Suyash - Go ahead and post your queries here till your PM feature starts working.

There are a couple of Wildcraft stores (below Bata Showroom, Vikrampuri and GVK One Mall, Banjara Hills) in Hyderabad/Secunderabad. You might want to try them.

As for Camera, it should be fine as long as you don't expose it to direct rain/snow, in other words don't get it wet. Most of the modern cameras can operate in cold temp. What kind of camera do you have?

On treks I always prefer cameras which can use disposable alkaline batteries as most of the time there is no re-charging facility, and I don't want to lose a good shot simply because my damn camera uses a "proprietary" battery which needs "charging" - that counts out most DSLRs and ultra-compacts.

Whatever you might use, keep your camera and spare batteries warm. Batteries discharge quickly in cold weather - try storing them in spare (dry) socks. If your camera runs out juice, you can actually warm it inside your jacket for 15 mins and take a few more shots. That's how I did my Sandakphu trek with just 3 pairs of alkaline AAs.

PS. Please keep used batteries in your bag, don't throw them away during the trek. Less garbage on trail the better.

Hi Vikas,
I will visit the Wildcraft store in GVK One Mall this weekend and hopefully I should get what all things I want.

As for the camera, I have a Nikon Coolpix p90 which is of the type Compact Cameras I guess. The main USP is the 24x optical zoom which I guess is going to be super useful while taking landscape panoramas and closeups. But it does use a "proprietary" Nikon Li-ion battery which needs recharging. I have a spare battery but dont know if I will buy another one - costing upto 1000 Rs ( maybe I can buy a cheaper non original battery but not decided yet )
Do you think I can do with 2 batteries for the duration of the trek ?
I guess I will have to keep the LCD screen shut off and only use the optical view finder to save max battery...

I have actually experienced the cold scare of the batteries when I ran out during my Sandakphu Gurdum trek (2008) also but at that time I had a different camera and only 2 pairs of AA batteries which I didnt warm enough, its indeed a herculean task to make sure the batteries live long. But I will try the tips you gave to keep them warm...

by the way, comparing this to the Sandakphu Trek, which one will you rate better in terms of awesome views ? Because Sandakphu was simply godly when we get to see the Mount Everest and Kanchenjenga (What monsters they are ) but this one offers more snow caped peaks I guess...

Regards,
Suyash

Thank you so much for the help suyash.... i ll try and get the problem solved

Hi Suyash,
I would suggest the evening bus from Delhi (HPTDC - check out the website) on May 5th. I m taking the 6.30 bus.
See ya..
Maneesh

Hi Maneesh,

I will be coming with 2 more people and we are planning to take a train till Chandigarh (to save time, which we can spend either in Delhi or Chandigarh ) and then from there we will take a bus to Kullu, get down at Bhunter and then proceed to Kasol (which is very near from Bhunter.)

Taking evening bus from Delhi to Kasol will rob you from all the fun of nice scenery that is present in the route after Chandigarh I guess ...

Anyway, when are you arriving at Delhi ? We can meet up in Delhi or at maybe directly as base camp only... anyone else with you ?

Regards,
Suyash

Suyash,
What time do u leave from Delhi for Chandigarh on 5th? As i wud reach Delhi in the afternoon.
Arvind from Chennai who I have met over Indiamike wud be joining me if he gets the reservation the same bus as mine. How do we get in touch directly through this site?

I think Vko cleared all your doubts.

1. Keep extra batteries. If its Lithium-ion battery, get along another. Keep it warm and safe from cold in a woolen towel/hanky. Higher the altitude the more battery will be drained. After used remove the battery from the camera and store it separately. Use less of Viewfinder. Avoid using flashes.

2. After base camp you will not find any electricity. If you want to make urgent calls (if network is available) you can use a small device which charges the batter after winding the device for few minutes. I forgot the name, but i saw a person using the same.

Hope this will help.

Hi,
We will be reaching Delhi early morning on 5th May (Rajdhani Express) and then catch the Kalka Shatabdi to Chandigarh at 7:40 am and will be reaching Chandigarh by around 11:30 am, so I am not sure if we can meet at Delhi on 5th... We are not yet decided how / where we will be spending time after reaching Chandigarh, but reaching Kasol from there is another 6-7 hours so we will mostly do it next day, but not sure yet...
I heard there is some place where we can enjoy rafting somewhere near, if anybody at India mike knows please let me know...

I will PM you my email Id and phone number so that we can get in touch.

Regards,
Suyash

Hi Rohan,
many thanks for the tips for saving / prolonging battery life... those would be very useful.

I tried to find the device you were mentioning - "rotary charger" but I am not able to find where I can buy it. tried to search online too, but its mostly available outside India only ?

In case any one knows where I can buy the "automatic / manual rotary emergency mobile battery charger", please do post here...

Thanks,
Suyash

I guess I am now 11+ posts old, but I am still unable to use the PM (private messaging) feature. I am in need for it to share my email id / phone number with another Sar pass trekker of the same batch (enthu_trekker aka Maneesh).
can you let me know how / when exactly can I use the PM feature ?

Thanks,
Suyash