Trekking in Kumaon

mohican

HI!

We are experienced trekkers from Hungary and are planning for September 2006.
a combined trekking tour in the Kumaon Himalaya WITHOUT GUIDES/PORTERS!?. We consider one of the following combinations: 1) Roop Kund & Kuari Pass, the so called Shipton-Tilman Trek from Mundoli to Joshimath or 2) Pindari Glacier & Milam Glacier with Nanda Devi East Base Camp.
Has anybody experience how can we solve some the logistical problems (food supplies etc.)? Both of the alternatives has a duration of 14-16 days and a total length of 140-160 kms.

many thanx
mohican

jyotirmoy

Take care the Roopkund trek is quite tricky!

AvidTrekker

Pindari and Milam are almost tea-house treks.... but sept is ending season....
yet you can do it.

Roop Kund means you will have to carry your own tent and food. Backpack load between 18 kg to 22 kg. The final day to roop kund and return may require a guide. But you will not get a guide for a day.

All the best and happy trekking!!!

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mohican

HI AvidTrekker!

You wrote:
"Pindari and Milam are almost tea-house treks.... but sept is ending season....
yet you can do it.

Roop Kund means you will have to carry your own tent and food. Backpack load between 18 kg to 22 kg. The final day to roop kund and return may require a guide. But you will not get a guide for a day."

What do You mean "sept is ending season" for P&M? You mean we cannot find ideal conditions for trekking? Can we continue our trek after Pindari Glacier (or Kafni and/or Sunderdhunga Glaciers) through some (?) passes to Milam?

We will carry our own tent, sleeping bags and so on. But where can we buy (can we?) food after Roop Kund to get Kuari Pass to Joshimath? It's impossible to take food for 14-16 days!?

AvidTrekker

Ending season means lesser trekkers on the route. Some tea houses will be closing around 1st week of Oct... so you may not get food in October, even tho its a normal tea house trek route.

Tea houses here are not like Nepal... just the bare minimum.

The Traill's Pass crossing between Pindari and Milam is an expedition where even mountaineers have failed. Don't even dream about it unless you are an all out mountaineer.

The last day's route from Bedini bugyal to Roop kund is such that many people cannot easily reach roop kund without a guide. Suppose you want to hire a guide at Bedini bugyal. There is no one there to hire.

You need a guide from the last village ... depending on your approach to Roop Kund. Apart from the first day, the entire Roop Kund trek is "carry your own tent and food" trek. Which means provisions for seven to nine days at least depending on your speed. Unless you are prepared and fully equipped to deal with getting lost in the mountains, Roop Kund is not a "do it yourself" trek.

You can do Pindari, Kafni, Sunderdunga, Milam on your own. Safely. No probs. No food or tents to be carried.

I understand that most foreigners are quite allergic to guides and porters, but this is not Nepal [the paradise for tea house trekking].... the infrastructure here is practically NIL. You have to carry everything.

Roop Kund is a beautiful trek... with a Guide / Porter. Don't attempt it alone unless you are really very experienced in the Himalaya. The area is known for sudden turns of very bad weather. This once killed some 600 locals around 1100 years ago, whose bones can still be seen in and around Roop Kund.

Take care and Happy Trekking!!!

mohican

HI Avid!
Many thanx for the very useful informations!

sudzindia

i saw the documentary on the people dying in RoopKund centuries a millenium ago..it hailed on them and the whole lot of villagers who were passing by died. Hundreds of them...a body was even preserved in the ice, even after 10 centuries! crazy...but it was green. Lil surprise!

Shunty

Pindari glacier trek is soft trek, while many tiny villages falls on this trek, so can do its easy.
but i suggest you that if you like to do roopk kund trek, first go direct to wan village which is last step and a small village, from here you buy some foods for fice day trek, and also i suggest you to hire a guide from this village which you can get easily around Rs.300 to 350 per day.
From wan trail follow to Beadni meadow, here is a small hut of forest department, and a small shop under a shelter some he open outside also, can get easily some tea and food etc..
Next day difficult day to Bhogubasa,trek all day steep, over night at camp.
Next day hve to took a ridge path to roopkund while making a round curve by approaching near by Nanda Ghunti peak. Explore the Roopkund lake and return back to Bhogubasa.
Next day return back to beadni or possible to wan or if you hire same guide for all trek, be on this trek through kulli khal / sutol / ramni / semkahrak / dhakwani / kuaripass/ auli then last joshimath.

Or you can be back to joshimath from wan while exploring roopkund trek and can do kuraipass trek 4 days from joshimath.
I hve been on this trek only get good views from beadni to roopkund and then last views at Auli and at kuaripass, rest all treks through small villages and dense forest and flat green meadow.

Also i suggest to hve a look on these websites who hve mention good details of roopkund trekking
www.gmvn.com or www.uttaranchaltoursiusm.com
www.thegarhwalhimalayas.com or www.thehimalayanadventures.com
www.kmvn.com etc..website hve good details, and hve been aproved by govt..tourisum dept... and by lonely planet..

Enjoy the trekking in uttaranchal himalayas !!

old india hand

An early season question:

Are the food/teashops or KMVN Resthouses open on the Pindari Walk in early April?

ananda2193

I did the Pindari trek in mid-april, 1998 and the resthouses were open. You can also stay in a few small hotels in Khati. It gets pretty cold at night in that time. But the resthouses had sleeping bags and blankets back then. I don't know now!


www.kmvn.org

ananda2193

I also forgot to mention that I couldn't make it all the way to the glacier at that time as it was still snowbound!