"Madam, yahaan zanskaar pe sardi mein ana chahiye! Maza ayega aapko!"
( Madam come to Zanskaar in the winters! You will have fun!)
We were preparing to get into the raft at Zanskaar for river rafting, this was in July 2012.
"Kyun? sardi mein toh suna hai yahan bohot thand hoti hai! Kuch karne ke liye hota nahi!"
( Why? I have heard that it's very cold here around winters! One can't do much!)
"Yeh Zanskaar saarithand mein jam jaati hai! Uspe trekking kar sakte hain!"
( This Zanskaar freezes and you can trek on it!)
The famous Chadar trek happens on a
river called Zanskaar in winters when the river freezes. For what Chadar
trek is like in detail, one can easily google it. So I won't waste my
time writing about stuff that is already available online. And I will
stick to my story, as it happened!
Initially we wanted to go trekking on our own, but
we are from the coast and have no clue about what minus temperatures are
like and what to do on snow, so opted to join an organisation with
experience in these matters!
HUGE MISTAKE!!!
The
best thing to do is to go to Leh a few days in advance and get a local
guide, a small team of maybe around 6 people who are fit for trekking
and do the trek!
Whether it is TTH or IH, teams of 20 people with 10 porters is too large for a delicate trek like the Chadar!
We
were 11 people initially who started off from Goa for the trek. People
kept dropping out along the way for various reasons. You can not force
people in these matters, it's a personal decision and I believe in
respecting it!
To say the least, we all were over excited about
Chadar! The cold, the long list of equipment, fitness levels,
preparation...there was so much to buy, the budget consistently kept
going out of hand from the moment we signed up for the trek!
Now that I have been there, this is the list of things you do need: We were given a 20 point list that took 3 months of our time in whatsapp discussions as to what we really need and what we don't, where do we buy it and at what price! Damn! The sort of discussions that happened right from which flights to book at what price, to what mode of transport to take, which online shopping sites and what discounts and when the discounts are the best.......At a point I thought I could choose this as a ph.D topic and go ahead for the next 5 years researching! The numerous phone calls, misunderstandings, meetings, chain mails, and shouting! Anyway......
1. Gumboots:
Black. Cost around 350 Rs. You easily find them in Leh market. Buy one
size bigger than your current size. I am size 5, I bought size 6 and yet
they were a bit tight. In the cold when you wear the boots, your feet
freeze, feet go numb! For a moment you feel you may get a
frostbite....you may get one! You can never really say.,...but try to
wriggle your toes, and keep walking. The heat generated will warm your
toes.
2. Trekking Pole: One: Some people say get 2 poles, not necessary! ( Rs.320)
3. Camera: Thanks to Sharvani for taking the trouble to carry her DSLR the whole way! She is the reason we got some great shots!The views are certainly breath taking! But a simple point and shoot camera can make it easy and fast!
4. Hot water flask: A must: Drinking cold water in that cold weather is out of question! You must drink hot water at all times. If you even as much as take a few sips of cold water, be sure to have a bad throat for several weeks post Chadar!
5. Sports shoes/ closed shoes: To wear on campsite. Tying laces is a big pain. Because in order to tie laces, we had to remove our gloves, and it was so damn cold that our fingers would freeze in under a minute's time. So most of the times I went around without tying the laces!
6. Bag: If you can not carry your own weight, please do not be bothered to carry a bag! The best thing to do is to have a huge bag and stuff 3 people's belongings in it and let the porter's carry it. You just carry a small bag with water and some dry fruits, and camera!
7.
Woolens and other warm clothes:
- Woolen socks: 4 pairs ;
- Cotton socks 3 pairs
- Woolen gloves: 1 pair;
- 1 Heavy down jacket
- 1 fleece jacket
- 3 pairs of thermals
- Balaclava for head, and some sort of neck and mouth piece
8.
Waterproof Clothing :
- At least 1 waterproof pant! A must! And no I don't mean a raincoat pant. Waterproof pants have a fleece layering inside so it keeps you warm too. You easily find woolens and all other equipment in Leh market at very good cheap rates, do not be bothered to buy stuff online!
- Waterproof gloves: 1 pair
- Raincoat or plastic pant
9.
Toiletries:
- Wet wipes and tissue paper: wet wipes freeze and become wet solid hard sheets, but if you warm it a bit , it's good to use!
- Sunscreen and moisturizers and lip balms: Use liberally and often!
- Other stuff is as per your requirement.
10.
Head Torch: I feel this is very important! Helps a lot inside the tent , especially when you are trying to get inside the double layered sleeping bag!( Rs.120-180 on e-bay)
11.
Emergency Kit: Important medications: For cough, cold, head ache and pain and a few band aids and tapes.
Stitching kit and a Swiss knife!
12:
Sunglasses
Most of us had unnecessarily heavy bags! You don't need T-shirts , you can do with only thermals there. You don't take a bath so there is no question of changing inner clothes, just carry an extra pair in case you happen to fall and get wet somewhere! You don't need too much of dry fruits! The porters carry enough food and you are fed often, just one packet of chocolates would be good.
1 day before starting the journey
We had discussed this journey so many times and imagined
stuff for so long sitting back home that by the time it was a week to go for
the journey to begin, I was bored! What can possible happen now? Everything was
thought over, well planned....nothing was left to chance!
But alas!
Winter’s in Leh are unpredictable! A day before our journey
was to start we got a call from Go Air that our flights were cancelled due to a
technical hitch! Ours was a Mumbai to Leh flight! Panic stuck! The next 5 hours
were spent in re planning the whole journey.
I had left a lot of work to be done at the last minute, due to the
cancellation of the flight I had to leave a day in advance. We somehow managed
packing and left for Mumbai, spent the whole night on the Mumbai airport!
By the way, it happened so many times that our flights got
cancelled on this journey, that the airport became our second home! I ended up
meeting many interesting people and had some memorable conversations!
One word of advice: Keep an open mind to the kind of people
you meet! They are all strangers and you can’t look at everyone with suspicion.
The only thing you can do is to take them at face value.
On Chadar, we met people who were boasting about their
trekking experience, and some others who had 35 years of experience behind them
and were very quiet! There was me who did not want to believe anybody and
wanted to see for myself what it is like, and some others who believed in
trusting the experience of the elders!
There was Bharat who had an issue with
food, Amar who couldn’t go to sleep without playing music on his loudspeakers
in the tent, Pranali who struggled with her bag, Sangam who really got scared
for a while, Caslino who struggled with the tent and the sleeping bags since he
is 6’4’’ tall and couldn’t fit into any equipment!
There was Leena who was a
great sport, and Abhi who caught cold because he left his head open in spite of
telling him several times to keep it closed! There was Komal who gave us back
up support, Shenoy who sat quiet most of
the times but just said a sentence once in a while that cracked everyone up,
and Sharvani who mingled and mixed with everyone throughout the journey!
We met Mr. Manmohan Singh! Yes....we met this guy at our
guest house. Nice quiet fellow! We asked him his name he said call me “Mac”. “But
is that your real name or pet name?”
“ My real is Manmohan Singh but don’t call me that, it’s
kinda awkward because people turn around to look.”
And unfortunately that is what I did. I forgot his pet
name, saw him on the airport and didn’t know how to catch his attention except
for calling out to him. And I called him across the Leh airport corridor, “Manmohan
Singh!” I was loud and clear! For a few seconds the whole airport went quiet! Several
flights were cancelled due to heavy snowfall and the airport was crowded with people. I made
the whole place go into a drop dead silence mode for a few tense moments!
Everyone looked at me except Mac who purposely looked into another direction. I
called out again, more people looked and Mac realised that if he doesn’t look
in my direction I wouldn’t stop yelling, so he looked and all I could do is
give a silly grin to which he smiled back!
Delhi Airport: This is another interesting
story! Due to snowfall ,flights were constantly getting cancelled. At one point
half of our group got through, but the other half were stranded with no boarding
pass available to hand over to them. If they did not make it on the next flight
they would miss the whole trek. Tension was high and Sharvani was in the group
that got stranded behind. We waited on the other side, while Sharvani and a few
others picked up serious arguments with the Go Air ground crew! People were
screaming, it was a rebellion scene! While Sharvani tested her vocal chords in
shouting slogans against Go Air, Pranali, Bharat and Shenoy sat behind guarding
the luggage and got busy with their own gossip!
“What? You guys don’t want to come for the trek? What you
sitting down there warming your ass? Get up! Shout!” Sharvani was training
people to learn to fight for their rights!
A journey teaches you a lot! It’s not just about reaching
the destination!
And after all this, we finally reached Leh! It was
announced in the flight that the temperature outside is around -10 degrees. We
were excited to experience the cold. All that speculation and imagination was
going to actually turn into a reality! So I stepped out of the aircraft...
First 5 minutes: Woaah! It’s like stepping into a freezer!
It’s cold! It’s nice!
Next 5 minutes: Fingers are going cold , where are the
gloves? Wear the thermals, start covering yourself up!
Next 15 minutes: Damn it! Some body parts are so cold, you
are going numb!
Get oriented to Leh:
The day you arrive in Leh, please go to sleep! It’s nice, it’s cold and you are
excited, all true! But just tuck yourself in and doze off!
Last time I did no such thing. I did not take rest, just
kept popping in Diamox every 12 hours!
Result?
Some 205 kms from leh town and I suddenly go blind!
Altitude sickness tablets are very powerful. One must not take them without
prescription. I took around 6 of them, for 3 days continuously. When you take
such tablets you have to keep yourself well hydrated and sleep well. But I did
not know all that then. First 18 hours I had no medical help! I was too far off
from civilisation to see a specialist. I couldn’t see anything! You might think
it as a joke.....but When I couldn’t see for more than 18 hours I broke down
and started to cry! Plus Caslino who was driving me to Leh hospital, got stuck
on the way as the Bullet broke down. A French woman gave me the lift to the
hospital, and when I somehow got myself inside, I was told that the doctor has
just left for his private clinic which is up the market.
There is a huge wall
that connects the Leh hospital and the main market, I was helped by a nurse till
the wall, and I climbed up the whole way by just feeling the wall and asking
people for help. I somehow got myself into the clinic and the doctor checked my
eyes and said there was nothing wrong. But I couldn’t trust him, why else coudn't
I see anything? I did not know then that it was the Diamox which was causing
this.
I have never felt so helpless my whole life! I thanked the doctor and got
out. My mobile battery had conked off, and I did not know how to get myself to
my guest house.
But do you know how lucky I am?
While I struggled outside the clinic, a guy I had met in
Bangalore the first day when I was leaving for Leh spotted me! We had just met
once on Yashwantpur railway station. It was a chance meeting! And he helped me
to my guesthouse!
Well! This was way back in 2012! But that is what Ladakh
is.....a land full of possibilities!
