and finally i could see a snow patch!! SIGH. snow is dirty afterall, none of the cartoon smoothness. i've seen snow before....that had been cleaner. we were not to stop there....this was just the first chunk of snow patch.
walked ahead ....few other steep turns later we came to THE PLACE!!! there was a sudden shift from mud coloured ground to snow covered hills....
suddenly snow patches turned to snowy hills....with my glares firmly in place....just looked around in wonder. this was SO MUCH worth it all.....people were resting, playing, all in frenzied excitement....
hills and hills covered in knee deep layer of fresh snow....surrounded by mountain peaks full of snowfall....a sight to see. my gang was far ahead....Shashank and I were slowly moving on with a few others....completely enjoying the amazing beauty that surrounded us. we took our time to just take it all in....he couldnt stop clicking photos....and i couldnt agree more! i wanted every moment to be captured. we walked around like crazy kids....taking in every bit of the scenery! he and i decided we'd capture photos of when we would fall for the first time in snow as well....
funtime. there was a frozen lake there....edges looked like plastic. used my stick to beat upon its surface few times....so many inches of ice. i didnt quite make cracks on the icy lake surface like i hoped to. we walked on....taking photographs at every few feet.
we walked for around 3 hours in the snow. it was not tough...neither was it steep and slippery. we had started in good time, so the snow was still hard below our feet and the grip was good. thank you WOODLAND TREK SHOES....
there was this last wall of snow which we were supposed to climb....steep is not even the word for it. first i thought these people were kidding me. i mean a close to 90 degree wall of snow?? how were we going to climb? surely with ropes around us and someone HAULING us up from the other end....but nah. sure enough, i saw people CLIMBING it....digging in their toes and making groves on the snow wall for grip. shashank's big boots made way for me ahead of me. all was okay, but then i was like "okay but thats it, no more snow!" no more climbing PLEASE....and no more snowy destinations. EVER. goodbye switzerland honeymoon plans. GET SNOW OUT OF MY SIGHT....
that particular climb was tough...there was a jutting out rocky patch in the middle of the "snowy wall" if you can picture what i mean. so we had to climb that rock like monkeys...(thank you Nirav and Shashank and My Legs and My Stick) (what?? these are as important as anyone and deserve a mention here.) after the rocky patch again snow wall, until we came to a steep ledge...with a sheer cliff drop. here, "people" were "resting" again....finally shashank and i reached and saw one local guide urging people on, one by one, for THE SLIDE.
pause. did i not tell you about THE SLIDE? .....its famous. from here on, close to 1 kilometer, we had to SLIDE DOWN. thats right. rucksac and all, completely on the butt....using elbows for brakes amd speed control. i dont deny it....i was scared! it was steep! how could someone POSSIBLY slide there without swerving off the cliff in random direction to death? i saw others going smoothly before me. stared at shashank. i had always thought i would slide with two-three people in a tow. less scary. but the instructor insisted on going one-by-one strictly....
i gulped and sat down on the starting point. the instructor ran by the same precaution list i heard twice before me....we were to use elbows for control, not think much and let the body loose, not widen legs, not dig in the heels at any time or that would catapult us and tumble us instead of going straight. we were not to use the rain sheets because that added slithery layer woulg give further unimaginable speed which elbows couldnt possible control....so that was it....i was going first, shashank and others later. i felt the guy push me....and i whooshed forward!
time stops, everything else loses any meaning, you just see the sky above and in your peripheral vision, the snow rushes past, with a typical sliding sound. longest 40 seconds of life...suddenly i felt my body turn...WHOOPS ....oh no....no no no no...i slithered sideways and tumbled uncontrolled in the last few seconds, landed face forward into the ice....hah. whats a snowslide without any complications eh? has to be adventurous and "different" i thought to myself. no bones broken.....how could i possibly have just a SAFE ride and no new things added? i was smiling, it wasnt a big deal! just could not feel my back anymore...numbness...
shashank had asked me to wait....i saw him glide down the snow and arrive few minutes later...we all were just having fun. now that it was done we wanted to do it over and over again. there was another snow slide after the main one....which shashank and i slid together! poor guy had a whack on his back with my boots due to the speedy slide!...( i asked u shashank whether you wanted to be in the front or behind :P ) haha.....
all was well, we slipped a million times as we walked through the snowy patches towards the tiny yellow tent in the distance that was supposedly the "lunch point". as we reached lunch point, again a sudden shift from snow to green hillock. felt the chill in the air then. as we looked back we saw a misty fog covering the mountain top we had just descended....and ominous black clouds engulfing the sky above them...
warning thunder notes resounded in the air...thats called unpredictable mountain weather. sudden sunshine then sudden rain. sudden warning for snow. the guide told us to wind up "lunch". again maggie and tea and coffee. and ofcourse the packed lunch of Nagaru. so within minutes....we rested, ate and then started off again. it was a bit too much, because this was the time the campsite should have been VERY MUCH in front of us, instead just a lunch point.....heavily moved forward...but the tiredness disappeared because more scenic beauty unfolded on way to campsite! this was a climbing-down session, the first of its kind on the trek. i thought i would love the climbing down part of it....but it was raining....slippery and again i slipped a few times, with shashank thankfully holding me (and himself) upright. falling was nothing new anymore....surprisingly no bruises or hurt. just laughing everytime and waiting for the welcome sight of tents sticking out in the distance.
soon saw the campsite....Biskeri thatch.....(11,000 ft). so a rapid descent of 2000 feet was definitely something....legs protesting after a while. all that we had learnt to ignore by then....
the welcome campsite....with a man waiting to welcome us, instructing not to get into the tent immediately and charting out places for girls and guys to use.
we were not tired. surprisingly. just happy, with minds (and clothes) full of snow...dripping wet, damp and dirty.
just like that, the day came to a close....with dinner and bournvita...and memories. we were done....with the main thing. now on the journey was downward....
the tent was thankfully not on a slope and i slept well for the first time that night. no rolling out of tent, nothing. but fever and cold took their opportunity to make their presence felt right then! i felt ill at ease....and ate less. it was all fun....what are medicines for afterall?
the original plan was to further descend next day to Bhandak Thatch...the last campsite before reaching Kasol base camp.
but we all were in no state to continue with it....and decided to skip Bhandak Thatch. i felt stupid about it, but i cared more for my health. wieghed pros and cons....and my gang and i decided to leave the next morning to the nearby village....and take a bus or cab to Kasol.
so SAR PASS was done...rucksac and all....snow and all...in a good state with lots and lots of fun...
xoxo
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