My Mountain dream: (BMC-233, NIM, Uttarkashi)
(27th May to 24th June
2014)
The best ever decision I took in my life is ‘going
in for Mountaineering’. Well, what led me into thinking that a weak- feeble
person like me should do this, was the
sense of urgency arising out of years of
thinking and analyzing over the re-current dreams of falling on-n-off a steep
mountain cliff, during my childhood, which subconsciously I’d been carrying
along all these years of my life. This sense of going into deeper became
stronger once I started doing small treks, which one fine day led me into
jumping into the conclusion that there is something more in those dreams, and
may be once in the Mountains I’ll find the answers. So, without a second
thought I just applied for the basic mountaineering course at Nehru Institute
of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi, one of the best and renowned institutes of
India.
As per the schedule, I traveled to Uttarkashi on
26th May, and reached there with loads of apprehensions whether I’d
be able to do the course, as I was physically very weak, though mentally and
emotionally I might be strong. But
leaving all thoughts at a bay, then I was there, praying everyday to end on a
good note, and at the same time thanking the mighty Himalayas for being good to
me. ;-)
On the very first day of the course, we were
divided into different ropes, and I was lucky to be part of one of the best
Ropes i.e. Rope-9. We were seven of us; Khushbu (Gujarati), Monica (from Doon),
Sonica (from Uttarkashi), Aaarushi (Delhi), Rewa (Mumbaikar), Shilpa, our
leader (from Bangalore) and me (Himachali). And we all were full time
comedians, who became a family for another 27 days, sticking together 24*7. And
also we got the best instructor, Ms. Rekha, who was the only lady instructor
over there.
After 3 days of initial training in the NIM
campus through running, PT, hill-walk of around 3-4 kms with loaded rucksack,
artificial wall climbing and market visit for buying necessary stuffs to carry
at the mountains, the training was divided into three different parts and
locations.
Part-1 : Rock Craft at Tekhla (30/05/14 to
03/06/14)
Every morning at 5:30 am, we would start our walk
to Tekhla, 9 kms from NIM, with loaded rucksacks on our back, with only one
rest point after 4 kms. Though the walk was through road only, but it would get
tedious and tiring with the loads on our back, which would become worse the day
when it’s our turn to carry the rope, which was another 3-4 kg extra. But all
the tiredness would vanish away, once we reach the beautiful Tekhla area,
surrounded by lush green hills, full of pine trees and rocks and boulders in
different shapes and sizes. Here we were taught rock craft; Bouldering,
Anchoring, Belaying, Jummaring, Rappelling, Climbing etc. The training for
every activity would start with a lecture, during which we could take notes if
we wished or we could just sleep behind our goggles (Lol). The lecture would be
followed by demonstration during which almost everyone wakes up (:P), and then
finally, our turn comes to actually do all the activities. For first timers
like me, rock craft wasn’t that easy; while climbing, looking for hand holds
and foot holds, unable to find a comfortable point, we had to struggle with
pressure holds, pushing and pulling our bodies, tiring every nerve point, which
would be very visible through our dramatically trembling legs, hands and
breathlessness. (Sigh) I just wonder how I did all these! But within I feel so
satisfied to have pushed my own limits everyday and for surprising myself at
every point.
Trek to Tela (8200 ft) (04/06/14)
So, finally came the much awaited day of leaving
the civilization behind, to walk into the mountains. We were taken by NIM bus
to Bhukki gaon, the village from where we were to trek upward. As the name
suggests ‘Tela’ (tel), it was really “Tel nikaal dene wala”. It was 9 kms
upward trek, which felt like more than that as ridges after ridges appeared
which disappointed us at every turn and our whole body ached while spirit
cried. Shilpa (nicknamed Anna), our Rope leader, and youngest amongst us, would
ask all the instructors in her cute and innocent baby like style,” Sir, how
long more?” And in her typical south
India style she would say,” My yeverything is paining!” (Being nostalgic
of every moment now) hmm.
Then with our everything paining, we kept our
pace slow and managed to reach Tela around 3 pm after taking rests at points
more than required. And finally there it was, the beautiful Tela at 8200 ft,
layers of mountains with trees like oak, walnut and rhododendron being its
beautiful possessions. It was here that I got the chance to witness both the
sunrise and sunset, spreading heavenly beauty and bliss around it. It was my
first time camping experience which was just awesome. Even the instruction to ‘Take
your ice axe, dig a pit for no. 2 and cover it’ was so cool and
interesting. ;-)
 |
| Tela Camp |
Jungle Camp (8300 ft.) (05/06/14)
3 kms further trek, sometimes through hills,
sometimes straight and sometimes down along the river bank, and we reached
Jungle camp (an extra halt for our batch). The sudden steep ascents at many
places were so painful, creating doubts in our minds about our next day trek to
Gujjar Hutt, which some of the girls said would be the ‘faadu chadhaai’ (tough
trek). At 4 o’clock we were taken for 1
hour uphill acclimatization trek, which was though steep, but not tiring as we
were holding nothing except for our water bottles. Though it was a beautiful
and peaceful halt, but the insect bites at night and waking up at 4 am and
struggling for no. 2, fearing of wild animals and walking into buddy pairs as
per the instructions, were quite challenging and memorable. Hmm.
 |
| Jungle and the Junglees. ;) |
Gujjar Hutt (11200 ft.) (06/06/14)
The 9 kms trek to Gujjar Hut was quite long, but
bearable and less tough as compared to the apprehensions and fear created by
some of the girls the previous evening.
Walking through the jungle, struggling to look up and around when a
beautiful scene came across, and crossing ridges after ridges, the moment we
entered the large patch of Gujjar hut area, all went “WOW”, and the heavenly
bliss started penetrating deep into everyone’s heart, for I could see around
girls sighing and mumbling ‘wow’, a quiet and peaceful smile surrounding their
eyes, and taking their chance of rest for photography to capture it for
lifetime. Truly said,” Heaven is
everywhere on earth. But it doesn’t come to us; we have to walk towards it.”
We left at 7:30 and reached at 2:30 pm, after
taking rests at 4-5 points. We pitched our tents, and made ourselves at
home. And at 4 o'clock we were taken to
‘Kheda Tal’ a beautiful lake at around 15-20 mnts walk from our camping area.
The beauty of the whole area including the tal, was so breathtaking and
heavenly, amusing and touching us to the core. Different kinds of wildflowers
and greenery around, and the surrounding snow covered mountains became treat to
our soul. And the kind of inner feeling each one of us felt, were so
indescribable. It was a pure bliss. :-)
 |
| "In the Heaven you feel like an angel" |
Base Camp (12300 ft.)
Finally, we reached our base camp after 4 days of
trekking and halting at above mentioned beautiful places. As the O2 level
decreased substantially and vegetation also became thin, some of the girls
started having breathing problems. But somehow we had to be mentally prepared
as it was our home for next 14 days. And also the base camp, surrounded by
beautiful snow covered mountains and peaks like Joanli, Draupadi ka danda,
Machcha dhar was another world in itself. I felt quite serene and at peace in
the serene environment of base camp, full of beautiful flowers like spring
onion, marsh marigold, premula denticulla, animoni, butter cup, iris, wild
rhododendron, and the best one to which I could associate was juniper, two
varieties of it, one of which we, the Buddhists use for incense. :-)
 |
| "The Base Camp; A home away from home" |
Part-2: Ice Craft at Dokrani Bamak Glacier (13000
ft.) (08/06/14 to 13/06/14)
So, here we go, every day following 5-6-7 morning
schedule, of tea at 5 am, breakfast at 6 am and move to Dokrani bamak glacier
at 7 am, which was located around 3 kms away from the base camp. The walk from meadows and long patch of green ground, to thinning vegetation, to no vegetation, to moraine and to glacier, was though for
just 2.5 hrs, but those walks were the most tiring and killing ones, given to
the climate and decreasing O2 level. The day would become even worse for those
whose turn it’d be to carry the rope, for when it was my turn I felt that at
any moment I’ll stop breathing and die. The morning at base camp would be
chilling, as cold wind blew so mischievously, penetrating deep into our skins
after we reluctantly washed our faces, and it felt like some sharp edged knife
being pricked all over our faces. (sigh)
 |
| "The Glacier, where we learnt ice craft" |
At Dokrani Bamak glacier, we were taught Ice
craft; Ascending & Descending on ice through different positions,
Anchoring-Belaying on ice, Fixed rope climbing on ice, Jummaring-Rappeling on
ice, Crevasse crossing and Crevasse rescue. The first day, we all were
energetic and well performed in ascending-descending session. But from day 2 in
ice, almost everyone started getting weak and sick. We could feel the
weaknesses in our body and our energy level became so low, that we were not
able to pull tight the straps of our crampons even. The no. of sick leaves also
increased everyday, which further demotivated our spirit. Most of the young
girls started crying and missing their homes badly, counting days on their fingertips. No matter what, we kept moving and dragging
ourselves with mixed feelings of hope, despair and determination and completed
our ice craft lessons on 13th june when finally everybody took sighs of relief.
On 14th June, we had load ferry to Advance base camp, where on 15th
we were supposed to move and camp. So, it was a kind of acclimatization walk,
plus lessening of our load for the next day.
Part-3: Trek to ABC and Snow craft (13600 ft.)
(15/06/14 to 16/06/14)
Wohoo! 4 kms upward trek through moraine,
crossing from one ridge to another, resting at 2 rest points, we finally
pitched our tents on snow, and it was so exciting. I've never slept on snow,
and it was wonderful, I shapath! It had been entirely a different experience
and we loved it, though we had to struggle for so many things. (I am not
mentioning them here..:P)
 |
| "Fun plus trouble went side by side at ABC" |
On 16th June, we had our entire
lessons on Snow craft; Ascending- Descending, Self arrest-Team arrest,
Anchoring-Belaying etc. Activities on snow were easiest comparatively, as we
had no fear of getting hurt if we would fall, because the snow was soooo soft. :-)
Final point : Camp-1- For Height gain (15600 ft.
) (17/06/2014)
The best day ever! The walk entirely on snow
covered mountains, which were steep and angled,
was not easy at all. This was the actual test for everyone to check
their own endurance level. Few girls stayed back at base camp only, while few
of them returned back from halfway. Khushbu and Shilpa , my rope-mates, also
fainted on the way, but they were determined to climb and refused to walk back.
Hats off to them for that! Aarushi and I were walking behind Shilpa, trying to
motivate her to walk at her own pace, mumbling through our own breathlessness.
The view around was quite mesmerizing, with layers of snow in different shapes
and shades along with the huge crevasses on the way. Though my body like all
others was not in my control, as we were dragging and pulling our steps upward,
a different kind of feeling started engulfing me, and soon I was in a trance,
which I was enjoying and which felt like a pure bliss. I was feeling no pain
and wanted nothing, but to keep walking and walking. After rests at 2 points,
we reached camp 1 after 4 hours I guess, and everybody in a jubilant mood started
congratulating each other for successfully reaching out at that height. The
frowns and tired expressions of everyone turned into huge smiles and sighs of
satisfaction. :-)
 |
| "The feelings we got after reaching at the top were worth all the pain we had to go through" |
We stayed there for quite a little time of 15-20
minutes, and descended down as per instruction. And the descent was so much
fun, as we were not walking but sliding in queue in sitting position, skidding,
scrambling, and running, at the same time laughing and giggling when we would
clash and fall on each other. By the time we reached down, our knees started
hurting as the distance was quite long.
But overall, that was my best day!
 |
| "The entire course with instructors on the top" |
And back at advance base camp, it started raining
so heavily, draining and drenching our rucksacks and clothes which we had kept
outside for further descent to base camp after lunch. Rain water poured into
our tiffins also while we were eating, though we managed to rush into kitchen
which was too small to accommodate all. The fun day soon turned into a hard
day. We got ready soon for descend and started walking, and thank God the rain
stopped midway, and we could dry ourselves a little. Again truly said,”God
gives you nothing for free, at least not the Mountain & Nature Gods.” :-)
Back to base camp, everybody, including our
senior course, Vice Principal and kitchen staff had queued themselves with one
person holding sweets, and welcomed us all back and congratulated us, which
felt so warm and touching. It was as if we had accomplished something big, and
big it was, as for city-dwellers like us it was obviously an achievement to
have climbed up-to 15600 ft. :-)
 |
| The last day at base camp; "Let me squeeze the moment..:-)" |
On 18
th June we had written test and
Navigation test at the base camp only, which was our last day there and after
lunch we were free to pack our stuffs and get mentally ready for our journey
back to civilization. I didn't feel like coming back, but no choice. Hmm. We
left BC on 19
th and stayed at Tela, where we had bone fire in the
evening and camp fun practice. And on 20
th we were back to NIM,
which was like coming home. When everybody looked fresh after taking bath after
18 days, we teased each other like,”
Aap kaun ho?' as everybody looked
so different and fresh. Lol. We were taken for market visit in the evening,
where Rewa treated us with delicious chaat papdi. On 21
st we had
graduation ceremony practice and camp fire practice. Our Rope decided to dance
on Garhwali no. and Monica became our choreographer. So, 22
nd was
our last day in NIM, when we became Mountaineering graduates (Proud feeling). In
the evening we had camp fun programme, in which everybody showed their talents.
From my rope Rewa, the singer sang a beautiful English no. on climbing, Monica
recited her Poem
'Yeh NIM ke din', and of course we performed our group
dance on Garhwali no. and yes we rocked! ;-)
Then the day to leave the dream world and to face
the real world came early morning on 23rd June, when we left NIM for
our own respective destinations, carrying along loads of memories to cherish
for lifetime. And for me, it was coming
close to my dream, and inside my heart there is still a call; Something is
there in the mountains, which touched a part of me and there seems and feels to
be something more for which I must go deeper, still deeper, and I hope and pray
that I'd be able to do so.
And now back to Mumbai and back to work, I am still
thinking and missing my Mountain days, for a part of me I'd left there only.
(A-1 experience; all smiles :-) : Nawi)
