Sar Pass Diary - A Walk in the Clouds

The actual trek began on the 4th day. 4.5 days of ascent and 1.5 days of descent. First camp was Guna Pani, at 8000 ft, which we managed to reach in 5.5 hours. This one was the easiest of the 6 days. More of getting used to the terrain and the weight of our backpacks, than anything else. We managed to click some pics nearby before it started raining. Guna Pani was the last camp where there was electricity so there was a fight for charging phones and cameras.

Route to Fual Pani was the steepest & very slippery. Fual Pani was the worst of the camps I think. A camp where there was no flat ground to even stand, leave alone sleeping. The tents were inclined!

The trek to the 3rd camp at Zirmi was a similar one, just a little more slippery due to persistent rains. We occasionally looked at the valley beside our 1 foot wide path and had arguments about whether we would end up with broken limbs or not be there to even think about limbs if we slipped & fell. :P At 11,500 ft, sipping hot tea and seeing the camp surrounded by clouds was a lovely experience!

In the first 3 days we had hardly seen any ice, except for one small stretch on day 2.The route to Tila Lotni had also been a disappointment until lunch. Post lunch, we encountered snow all along the sides. Since, for most of us it was out first rendezvous with snow, we sauntered, played with snow balls, notwithstanding our group leader insistently screaming that we'll have to move quickly to avoid the rain.

Later in the day, we were greeted by more fresh snow. Now we were at an altitude of about 12,500ft and completely in awe of seeing clouds all around us, at that height. The ultimate culmination to a good day's trek.10 of us suddenly became really adventurous and decided to cross the ice sheet instead of taking the longer route on grass. How I managed to do that, with completely muddy Nike running shoes, which is most definitely not suitable for stunts on ice, is another issue altogether. Thanks to my group members! What I did not know at that point was that the next day's trek was going to be completely on fresh, white snow.

Throughout the trek the weather became chilly by 2 in the afternoon and it rained in the evenings, though not continuously! The tents were comfy, with sleeping bags to keep us warm. On all days, we bought hot Maggie, omlette, tea or buttermilk on the way. We used to pack lunch from the camps in the morning, mostly consisting of aloo and rotis. The local guides and the porters sometimes set up temporary tea/snack stalls during breaks. There were streams (source of river parvati) along the way, where we could replenish our water bottles. Those small orange chocolates were our energizers.

Now, the D-day. The plan of starting at 6 and crossing Sar Pass before noon never materialized. By the time we started, it was 7 am. We walked for an hour on steep grasslands and then from 8 am to 4 pm, the trek was on snow. Crossed Sar Pass by 2.30 pm.

The next phase involved sliding down on the snow, which meant, all of us except J had loads of fun. Because, a totally spooked J, was screaming "Mummyyyy! Somebody catch meeeee!" all the way down :D The videos are hilarious. :) (Sorry J!)

Notable things that I did:

• Slid for about 400 ft on snow :)
• We etched our names on snow to announce to the next group of trekkers that we beat them to it ! :)
• Fell some 10 times on snow.
• R, G & I slipped at the most precarious spot (we would have slid down a few hundred feet without control, if not for the guide) just before the Sar Pass and chimed 'I am alive' together, after we made it :D
• Travelled on top of the local bus.
• Played round kho kho on grassland and slipped twice. Most people slipped there actually! That was in Bandhak Tatch, the one camp which we wanted to skip, but enjoyed most! Thanks to the Sun God! This camp was a beauty. Pristine beauty is what comes to mind. Grassland in the middle and snow capped peaks all around. The place is referred to as 'mini Switzerland'.

More pics ...