Precipitous Patangini | Astounding Auden’s | Mesmerizing Mayali
I was never interested in mathematics. Nevertheless, the numbers show that I have an opportunity for a couple of glamorous Himalayan treks. This would happen within a span of just 9 months. I eagerly did all the necessary mathematics. I got an opportunity to join the extraordinary trek from Gangotri Temple to Kedarnath Temple. The trek passed through Patangini Dhar, Auden’s Col, and Mayali Pass. This took place in June 2022. The Kalindi Khal trek was just finished 9 months before in September 2021.
Sonu Negi, the founder, and leader of Raacho trekkers, encounters this significant stretch every year. They come to Harshil from Chitkul, crossing the Lamkhaga pass with his group of support staff and clients. They are an amazing team in many ways.
Navtej Ji told me that this would be his last long trek and asked me to join. I was more than ready. The coronavirus scare was ending. Hence, there was some turmoil as I had to join an office in Bangalore. But never really had a break from my workout plan till I came back from Kalindi. Rahul Bhai, Devdutt Ji, Anjan Da, Dr. Sanjay, and Raktim were joining us from our old group. I Shifted to Bangalore a month before the trek. Raktim joined me often for morning workouts and we had some day hikes around Bangalore on the weekends.
Lijo joined me and Raktim in Bangalore airport on 3rd June for an evening flight to Delhi. Lijo is a super silent guy. So, Raktim and I kept blubbering while Lijo acted as a silent listener. Raktim was nervous as it was a trek after a long gap for him. We took a cab from Delhi Airport to Hazrat Nizamuddin, where Navtej Ji, Dr. Sanjay, and Rahul Bhai joined us for the Nanda Devi Express.
We all were carrying our vaccination certificates. Still, unlike the last time, there was no checking at Dehradun junction on the 4th morning. Anjan Da, who arrived last evening, joined us at the station. Our tempo traveler was waiting outside the station. We arrived at the President Hotel in Doon City, where Devdutt Ji had spent the last night, to freshen up. It was a sixteen-seater tempo, and we were only eight souls to travel. So, our backpacks fit inside easily. We had a couple of breaks for breakfast in Subhakholi and lunch at Bhatwari. The reunion of the old group was so exciting and joyous. We didn’t realize the journey of 250 kilometers on the mountain road. We reached Gangoti at 7pm. Dr. Amit and Jitender reached almost at the same time. They came to Dehradun airport that morning and took a cab to Gangotri directly.
Sonu and his team were waiting for us at a riverside hotel. They welcomed us with coffee and pakoras. We kept our backpacks in one room and headed to the temple for the evening Aarti. The high mountains around the temple were still amusing me. Me, Raktim, and Lijo had a calming hour sitting in front of the temple. The crowd seemed too much as my last visit was in
Corona restriction. Me, Raktim, Rahul Bhai, and Anjan Da settled in the GMVN guest house that night. It is located just in front of Surya Kund. Devdutt Ji distributed us the trek t-shirt that I designed for the team. It was a good night’s sleep with a blanket and at some distance from the ground, as the next 13-15 days would have to be rolled in sleeping bags on various kinds of territories.
5th June 2022 (Gangotri-3023 mt to Bhuj Khadak-3770 mt; 5.5 km trek)
We woke up early. We packed last night’s items. Then, we met with the rest of the team. They were staying in a homestay just beside the Bhagirathi River. Warm coffee and breakfast were waiting for us. Me and Raktim took a stroll along the market alley for the last round of shopping before
we left civilization and ended up buying some chocolates and smokables. It was a pleasant surprise to find Devram Negi there. Devram was our guide for Kalindi and later on, developed a trekking business with Utkarsh. He was leaving for the Gomukh-Tapovan trek with his clients.
At 8:30 we parted ways with Devram and approached along the left bank of Bhagirathi. Our plan was to reach Kedartal as an acclimatization walk and the real climb to start from there. We took the south route that goes up along the gorge of Kedar Ganga. It was a challenging gradient for the first day of a trek. The route was well-defined and mostly covered with birch trees. Surya Kund was about 20 feet deep from the settlement. Within 30 minutes of the trek, Kedar Ganga descended approximately 350 feet into the gorge. Spider Wall was one of the infamous sections in this route, but we found it manageable. It was a big monolith that used to be without any gripping hole. Trekkers struggled a lot with this section in the past. However, we found it cracked
in the middle, which gave us a way to cross it easily. Mt. Thalaysagar started playing hide and seek. There was one loose rockfall section just before the campsite that needed some extra attention. We took intermediate halts with some chitchats and reached the campsite at 12:30. It was a small, plain ground just after the end of the treeline. It barely fit all of us. Big bushes of wild spinach surrounded it. Within a couple of hours, we lost the sunlight. A big sharp mountain wall on our west in the narrow gorge blocked it.
The evening was comparatively colder, accompanied by the nice snacks and soups coming out of the kitchen tent. Another team consisted of two members from Kolkata and one support staff. They camped on a nearby plain with the intention to trek Kedartal.
We took an acclimatization walk just to support the theory “climb high, sleep low”. The star-gazing night was amazing to welcome us on the first day into the wild.
6th June 2022 (Bhuj Khadak to Kedar Khadak-4323 mt; 3.75 km trek)
We started early at 8:20 just after breakfast. The light beams through the high mountains kept us motivated. The gradient was like the last day. Still, the loose earth patches in between kept us reminded that it was not the same day or altitude anymore. Some mountain goats were standing higher than us on a loose section. They kept kicking rocks down. This made it more challenging. The route continued along the gorge with the river lying deep down.
Sunlight hit us quite late because of the narrow gorge with high walls. The gorge opened up in a while. Along with it, the snow-capped wonders started to show up one after another. After one and a half hours of walking, we reached the side of the river. We continued walking along with it. The ground was mostly loose and the Kedar Ganga was flowing in high volume.
We reached the campsite at 12. It was one of the most spectacular campsites I have ever been to. Manda group, Brigupanth, Thalaysagar, Jogin group, and the wall of Patangini range were all around us. It felt like sitting in a huge amphitheater with the grandest view of tall white wonders. The incline of Patanging Dhar was lying on the west. It was a sunny day and there was no place
to hide from it in that open ground. We kept roaming around and clicking pictures. There was a narrow and shallow stream flowing across the place. Some of our support staff pitched their tents on the other side of where we camped. The ground was so huge that it could fit a cricket stadium in it. After lunch, we started searching for mobile networks on a suggested spot but couldn’t find any.
Once the sun went down party mood took over. A happy and healthy camp went to sleep late that night.
7th June 2022 (Kedar Khadak to Kedartal-4823 mt and back to Kedar Khadak; 6 km Trek)
The vibe in the morning was of a lazy Sunday. The only job was to stroll to Kedartal and come back before lunch. We had a heavy breakfast and started at 8 with only water bottles in hand. The direction was to follow Mt. Thalaysagar. Everyone was in a holiday mood, so the number of photographs captured was comparatively higher than the other days. Me, Rahul bhai, and Raktim were walking together. It was majorly a walk through a long dried glacier. Some of the glacial pools were still there, probably fed by fresh snowfall. As we approached the Kedartal, the
grandeur of the place kept opening. Once reached the top of the last ridge, I was spellbound. Kedartal was probably the most serene place I have ever been to. The sparkling lake of turquoise blue color was surrounded by snow-bodied giants leaving me wondering for a long time. I slowly started descending to the lake. I sat on a big boulder by the side of the waterbed. I didn’t speak to anyone. I didn’t feel blubbering, just wanted to feel the tranquility.
Kapil, one of our guides, went to Thalaysagar Base Camp. He went to meet his friends who were attempting the summit. It was about a kilometer away from us. We all felt that a camp on the bank of Kedartal would have been overwhelming. On a clear night, watching the astronomical activities would be an unearthly experience. Nonetheless, camping there is banned these days. I never felt like leaving that place. But with the team, I also started the returning stroll.
I was mentally overwhelmed but my belly was not synchronizing with it. So, had a decent lunch on our return to the campsite. Lijo was feeling down and wanted to return to Gangotri. Navtej Ji and Dr. Sanjay motivated him to continue. They promised him that if he felt the same after the next day, he could return through Rudragaira Valley. This arrangement would be made. We roamed around the place. We kept gazing toward the incline of Patangini Dhar. It looked like a super challenging morning was coming up next. There was no patch of snow visible on the gradient. However, later Sonu sent us photographs taken on the 2023 expedition. They showed that the incline and the summit were all covered with snow. Kapil returned a little late. He informed us that his friends were planning to wrap up the Thalaysagar summit attempt. The reason was a shortage of ropes, strange!
8th June 2022 (Bhuj Khadak to Dabba-4702 mt through Patangini Dhar-5190 mt; 7.1 km trek)
The super early climb started at 5:40. It was quite a foggy morning in the Kedar Ganga valley. After crossing a small stream, we started the incline. It was not a percent less than it looked from a distance. Initially, there was a hump that we crossed. Once after that, it was a continuous incline probably in 65 degree gradient. One can see the summit throughout but it
always felt far from reach. We had a plan of setting up a camp on Patanging base but only on paper. I don’t think that I have seen a place where a single tent can be accommodated. There was barely a rock to place your butt for a while. We struggled but kept climbing. Meanwhile, the weather was opening up and the views toward Kedartal were getting clearer. After a while the peaks behind Manda and the surroundings of Gangotri were in our viewing range. In climbs like this motivation is quite important as the act is monotonous. The emerging views and looking behind to see the climb I have completed, always fuel me. I did Stok Kangri in 2019 and I felt the climb of Patangini Dhar was tougher. Probably the show cover on Stok made the climb comparatively easier. Patangini was completely naked that year. After quite a struggle I reached the pass at 10.
“Dhar” means sharp in Hindi. The one who named that place must have a great sense of humor and descriptive skill at the same time. By adding Dhar to Patangini, that person has described the place with great irony. It was literally a knife-sharp continuous ridge that can fit only one person on it. The only way all can fit is by standing in a queue. The Rudragaira Valley, the Gangotri group of Peaks, and the glacier were visible from there. I kept my backpack and soaked the beauty of both the valleys. It took around an hour to gather everyone on the sharp edge. Rajib, one of Sonu’s assistants had blood coming from his nose probably because of dry weather and sudden altitude gain. Dr. Sanjay treated him. We spent quite a long time on the pass.
The support staff started the decline at 11:15 to the Rudragaira side, and we followed them. Straight from the summit, there was a 150 mt continuous drop in a significant gradient. It was a fitting downhill to the incline. Loose rocks didn’t allow us to speed up. We hit the first patch of snow after that. The knees were feeling relaxed walking on the snow after the tough toil. Once we reached a comparatively settled place after crossing a few snow patches, it was time for our
packed lunch. The first glimpse of Auden’s Col was visible from there. The Rudragaira Peak was standing straight ahead of us. The place was a moraine zone of the nearby glaciers. Hence, there was no clear visibility of the campsite. We kept tracking our support staff. At 3:30 we reached the campsite on the foothill of Jogin.
Some freshly fried Pakoras and hot coffee saved the souls. Sonu told us that we should have been faster as the challenges ahead were not easy either. We went inside the tents and started lazy chitchats comparing the Patanging climb with our other experiences. I don’t think anyone was awake that night after 8. It was quite a long day!
9th June 2022 (Dabba to Advance Auden’s Base Camp-4902 mt; 5.9km trek)
I went to brush my teeth by the side of a stream flowing near to our campsite. A big boulder looked quite satisfactory to settle on. I stepped on it, slipped, and fell bang on. A very thin layer of ice covered the rock. It reduced the grip of my shoe. The ice was not noticeable at all. Luckily there was no injury. In high mountains, this is a very common phenomenon in places surrounded by big elevations. The temperature drops significantly at night and creates thin layers of ice with the moisture available in the air.
We started at 8 for Auden’s Advance Base Camp. The elevation gain was not much that day. It was mostly a walk along the glacier that is coming from Jogin I and Gangotri III. The magnificent view of the Auden’s Col was coming closer slowly toward us. The weather turned gloomy by the time we reached the crossing point of the glacier. This glacier comes in
between the two routes coming to Auden’sCol from Gangotri. The other route comes along the left side of the Rudragaira River and later the glacier. The base camp and the advanced base
camp for Auden’s Col is set up on the west side of the glacier. So, we needed to cross the glacier to reach the campsite. It was a white icy highway. Once we stepped on it, the crunchy sound of hard ice breaking under our shoes started to come in. Toward the other side of the glacier, there was a glacial stream flowing along. A risky long jump took us to the other side. By the time we reached the campsite at 3, it was snowing heavily.
Our support staff was very generous. They transferred all the eatables from the kitchen tent to our tents that day. After a heavy snowfall, a starry night over the U-shaped Auden’s Col emerged before we got inside our sleeping bags. We slept early that night as the big day was waiting for us on the other side.
10th June 2022 (Auden’s Advance Base Camp to Khatling Glacier -4975 mt through Auden’s Col-5490 mt; 4.6 km trek)
The big day had a clear sky to offer. The time I woke up at 4:30, the sky was bluish but there was no sunlight on the peaks yet. The kitchen offered us boiled eggs, boiled potatoes, chocolates, and dry fruits as packed lunch. Sonu didn’t rope us up, as he thought that it was not important for Auden’s climb. We were wearing the crampons and the gaiters already as the snowfield started just after our campsite. It was a very brief breakfast that morning.
We started at 5:20. As we were camping at ABC, the incline started instantly. Sonu let us follow the middle route depending on his past experience. He often mentioned the glacier’s depreciation. Still, I personally felt that the snow was less that year. At 6:20, the sun touched the Gangotri III. We just crossed the first hump then and the support staff were still dismantling the camp far down. We touched the sunlight at 7:30 and it felt warm
straight away. The Col seemed far and we kept climbing slowly. About in the middle, there was a huge crevasse. To traverse it, we took a left turn toward Jogin. Once after that, we continued zigzagging. The number of crevasses also kept increasing once after halfway.
Dr. Amit was the first one to reach the summit at 10:20. I followed him. It was cloudy toward Gangotri but the surroundings of the pass seemed clear. The t-shirt I designed had a catch line “The rabbit is calling”. This is because of the two rabbit ear-like rock structures on both sides of the Col. These rabbit ears are more visible from the Khatling side. We started celebrating with joy. Everyone joined us one after another. Auden’s Col is one of the most picturesque passes. It has vast views on both sides and adequate snow cover along with emerging rock structures. Adding to all features, the Col is between two famous high mountains Gangotri III (6,577mt) and Jogin I (6,465 mt).
The other side of the pass looked scary. The infamous Khatling Glacier was waiting for us with a sinister cover of clouds. The scar-like crevasses all over it ran a chill through my spine. We had crossed a significant height of Patangini Dhar earlier. This acclimatization allowed us to spend almost a couple of hours on the pass. We had our packed lunch meanwhile. Once all of our support staff reached the Col, we started to descend.
Kapil fixed a rope for rappelling. Because of less snow that year, glissade was out of the question. It was quite a sharp downhill experience. There were 3 sections of it. In the first section, we rappelled down for 150 meters in a 75-degree gradient. Then a rocky section stands in between the decline. The key challenge was to manage the grip of our shoes attached to crampons on the
naked rocks. The 3rd section was glissade-able because of comparatively lesser gradient and thicker snow cover. The way we position our body while stepping into the 3rd section decides the future of our alignment way down. Some went down rolling, some bouncing, some somersaulting. HaHa! But most importantly everyone reached safe on Khatling.
By the time we hit Khatling, it was already snowing. We started marching ahead behind our kitchen staff. The snow got heavier and our legs started going knee-deep. Luckily it was a very comfortable decline gradient through Khatling. We were all going in a queue. The only sound was of a blizzard ripping through our rain jackets and ponchos. Khatling was welcoming us in the most decent way possible. After a kilometer of walking, we encountered an agile depression. A flat ground was visible after the decline. The tents were not yet set up. We were the first batch walking, and it looked like a campsite location.
Just after the depression, one of our members fell into a hidden crevasse covered by fresh snow. All we saw was, he zipped out of sight vertically. We all gathered around the opening and took a sigh of relief to see him stuck near down. Sonu was just coming behind us. He threw his rope down and slowly we all pulled the guy out. The guy had offloaded his backpack and walked with only a nap sack. A full backpack could have saved him going into the crevasse itself.
Don’t know about the actual plan but Sonu decided to camp on the flat ground visible after that crevasse. A safe flat ground is enough for camping on an ice field. You have to melt snow for drinking anyway. It was 3:15 in the afternoon, and we got the big dining tent over all our heads. All were quite drenched. The guy who fell into the crevasse didn’t injure himself luckily. At about 4, once it stopped snowing, we pitched our individual tents. Guess what! It was sunny after the snow. The sunglasses were out again to face the crystal clear snowfield around. The dinner tasted like heaven after the day’s struggle. It was a crunchy snow-bed that night. After the rock and roll all day, our blubbering didn’t take long to stop eventually. Rahul Bhai, Raktim, and I were sharing a 3 person tent from the start. I got comfortable in my sleeping bag, sandwiched between these two fellows.
11th June 2022 (Khatling Glacier to Bheelangana Riverside Camp-4002 mt; 9 km trek)
We were camping in the safest and most settled zone of Khatling. The encounter with the deadliest section was waiting for us. I was not feeling the best because of the freezing cold till the sunlight touched us in the morning. We started at 8:45. There was no doubt that roping up
was mandatory. Kapil was leading us and checking for hidden crevasses with his ice axe on every single step. It was a dangerous territory for walking. Thick cream like Icefield had hidden crevasses on each fold. We were surrounded by broken icefalls and avalanches. The stretch continued for the next couple of hours. We barely progressed 1.5 kilometers in that time with precautions in action. Mt. Draupadi Ka Danda was a major peak visible on the west. To see Auden’s Col I looked back, the rabbit with the rocky ears was looking toward us.
Then came the moraine zone with the underlying glacier. We were approaching toward the snout and the glacier was totally broken. I have seen some video logs before but the route was barely similar. We were going way down from the famous waterfall. The earlier route used to pass beside it. It felt that the glacier depreciated a lot there. We climbed down an unsteady section to reach the base of the glacier. It was a rocky terrain mixed with emerging black ice. Too difficult to
identify the slippery black ice from the rock. A few of us slipped along the way. Then we started taking every single step cautiously. We ensured the rock with the walking sticks before stepping. In the middle, there was a place that looked steadier from the surrounding. We had our packed lunch there with a few sips of fruit juices. In front of us, toward the west, we saw a huge broken portion of the glacier. It looked like a snout. Even water was flowing out of it. But, the water was entering below the glacier again. Hence, it can be called a fake snout.
After lunch, it was time to climb up to the other bank of the glacier. The terrain was completely different compared to the one we were walking. It was a steady earth with patches of grass over it. The flow of the glacier rattled the place. It was not an easy climb either. We crossed the broken sections with utmost attention. The glacier went down to a deep gorge and the true snout is somewhere below there. After the broken section, we found a mud trail to follow. Maybe
there was a trail from way back but it went down with the glacier. After a while, the trail took a sharp turn toward the south, along the gorge. After negotiating a rockfall zone on the way we came down to the riverbed. The tents were getting ready in a distance with some smoke coming out of the kitchen tent already. It was 6:30 when we reached the campsite.
Shallow, icy cold Bheelangana was flowing with great force toward the south-east. There was a hanging glacier way up on the other bank. This was definitely not a part of Khatling. We had some relaxed chitchats, sitting on the bank of the river with hot coffee and fries. There was a huge erect rock in our campsite. Support staff made a fire below it to dry the clothes. It was a
prehistoric frame with people in front of the illuminated rock and the moon rising in the valley from behind the snow-capped peaks. It was one of those longest days of trekking in the wild.
12th June 2022 (Bheelangana Riverside Camp to Chowki-3715 mt; 5.8 km trek)
The very day decides the endpoint of the expedition. I have heard stories of a few teams. They ended the expedition in Ghuttu instead of Kedarnath due to river crossing failure. We were ready to cross Bheelangana in our shorts. The walk along the river started at 8. After an hour of walking, Sonu stopped us on a flat point. Somehow Rajiv managed to cross the river way back and was walking on the other bank. The major challenge was the ice-cold temperature of the water and the current. The depth of the river was never an issue as it was close to the snout.
A support staff carried a line to the middle and thrown to Rajiv. Once the line connection was built, we started crossing one by one. The bags were covered by rain cover and the shoes were hanging on the neck. The key to keeping the body balanced on a shallow current is not to bring the foot out. Instead, you simply need to slide your foot underwater to take the next step. With some minor hiccups, we all crossed safely with a lifetime experience. River crossings were there in Kalindi too but not comparable to this. The other key was to gather the mental strength, that Sonu planted in us. All our legs were numb by the ice-cold water. It took about 30 minutes to get back to normal.
People attempting the Mayali pass starting from Ghuttu often abandon their trek because of river crossing failure. The shepherds used to build log bridges to cross it, but there is no guarantee.
The other side of Bheelangana is a paradise. Lush green meadows with colorful flowers and birds chirping around made me remember Har-Ki-Dun. We had to cross 4 more tributaries on the way. The one just before Chowki made us go barefoot once more. One of our members injured himself during one of the crossings. He needed to be supported by others to walk the rest of the way to the campsite.
Chowki is about 6 meters elevated from the river bed. It was a wonderful campsite that can fit a big team easily. We reached by 2. The plan for the next day was uncertain because of the injured member. He thought about calling for a helicopter too. Still, we were far deep in the wild to connect the civilization. The guides and support staff did their bit by massaging but it didn’t work.
13th June 2022 (Forced rest day at Chowki)
We decided to give the injured member a day to recover at Chowki. The whole day was like a picnic. The highlight was Raktim, Devdutt, Lijo, and I bathed after a long time in a serene lake nearby. It was a refreshing royal bath in the wild with a view of some snow-capped peaks up north. Nobody was in the mood for an acclimatization walk as there was simply no need after all
the ups and downs. In the afternoon, support staff collected wood logs and empty vegetable crates. They made a shoulder carriage to carry the injured person. However, 4 persons would be occupied to carry that. The rest of us needed to fill the void by carrying little extra loads from the next day.
14th June 2022 (Chowki to Camp below Masar Tal-4415 mt; 4.5 km trek)
We started early at 7:10. The valley was yet to get sunlight. Our injured member’s carriage was moving before us. We initially followed the trail on the west bank of the tributary of Bheelangana. The trail was very well-defined. Ghuttu and Ghamshali villagers trek to Masar Tal every year for religious activity. Mayali Pass is also a very popular trek attempted from both sides. At 8:30 we reached a lush green meadow with the first kiss of the sunlight. The gradients were not very insignificant, but we had already been accustomed to them for the last 10 days. We passed through some signs of Himalayan bears but luckily avoided a face-to-face meeting. Normally, these wild Himalayan animals don’t confront a group of people. There is a high chance of seeing them if traveling alone.
At least 4-5 waterfalls were coming down our way to enrich the tributary. Almost the whole trail that day was covered by a lush green carpet of grass. After spending days between rocks and ice, they felt heavenly. The tangy smell of wild plants and flowers was all around.
A 200-meter rocky wall stood in a 55-degree gradient after a picturesque meadow. A quiet waterfall was also descending through the wall to make the climb more difficult. It took us almost one and a half hours to reach the top of it. Then came a comparatively decent gradient covered by lush green grass cover. Streams were flowing in all directions around us. There are two big and one small lake uphill. All these streams are fed by the water of those lakes. Once after crossing that gradient, we reached our destination for that day. It was a very cozy and compact campsite with grass cover. Small elevations were on both sides of that place with a narrow and beautiful stream passing through the northern side. We pitched our tent just beside the stream.
By that time, people started getting a little impatient. Civilization was just a couple of days’ walk away from us. An efficient walk could even take us to Kedarnath in one day. Ration was running on the lower side, so the dinner was brief. The burbling sound of the stream by our side took us all to sleep quickly that night.
15th June 2022 (Camp below Masar Tal to Vasuki Tal-4251 mt through Mayali Pass-5150 mt; 13.2 km trek)
Long day started very early at 5. The sky was filled with blue and the peaks toward Khatling were already golden. The first target was to reach Masar Tal. The beginning gradient was not much
difficult, just some ridges and humps to cross. We reached near to a small lake that was misidentified as Masar initially. The actual Masar Tal was reached by 6:30, which was just a few
humps away from the smaller one. Masar Tal is bigger than Kedar Tal. It was fully melted at that time. This was probably because of longer exposure to sunlight every day. We kept progressing without spending much time. The agile gradient just after the Tal was technical. It is the
ridge between the two lakes; Masar and Paiyan. The summit of the ridge is called Masar Top. Once after reaching the top at 7:30, we start the decline toward the bank of Paiyan Tal. Snowcover started to pave our way for the first time in this stretch. Along with it, the sunlight also touched us. Once after reaching down, Kapil went to search the route. The North side of the
semi-frozen Paiyan Tal looked more approachable from a distance. However, we decided to approach through the rock wall on the south of the lake. Kapil found a major gap on the other side. It needed technical training to cross. Paiyan Tal is part of the Mayali icefall itself.
The wall on the south is almost 1.5 kilometers stretched and needed extreme attention to cross. The wall goes into the semi-frozen lake was filled with loose rocks, boulders, and patches of snow. It took about couple of hours for us to reach the base of Mayali Pass, crossing through the rock wall.
We attached our crampons to the shoes to face the last major challenge of the expedition. I broke a small part of my tooth while adjusting a rigid crampon nail. The ice field was smooth
and offered a decent incline. The sun was shining brightly upon us. After the initial 500 meters, we kept zigzagging for the rest of the incline. Our injured friend was climbing with support from the shoulders of a couple of staff members. It was too difficult to manage the carriage through that incline on snow. We reached the Pass at 12.
The weather was turning cloudy slowly. It looked like the pre-monsoon window of Uttarakhand Himalayan expeditions about to get over. A puja was organized to acknowledge the mountain god for providing us a safe passage. We started to get down quickly as the thought of reaching Kedarnath was still there in some corner of our minds. Once after descending the snow field we had our packed lunch. The dark clouds were gathering over our heads. Heavy snowfall started in
a while. We were crossing a rocky descent and about to step into another snowfield. Ponchos came out of the rucksack. Everything turned to white within 15 minutes. The knee-deep snow started to haunt us again. Speed of our movement was slashed by half because of the time we took for judging before each step.
A rocky decend was situated just after the snowfield. The intensity of the snowfall went down. The terrain was a wide open valley. Many small and medium streams came from elevated locations. They ran toward the south-east to meet Mandakini River somewhere. We keep approaching being on the northern walls of the valley. We were praying to get a glimpse of the campsite as soon as possible. The dream of reaching Kedarnath has vanished by then from our minds. The desired sight of the campsite came at 5 pm. We were more than happy to get into a tent that evening. We reached the campsite after 15 minutes or so. It was set just beside the Vasuki Tal. The calm and serene lake was almost fully melted with some snow patches around.
We came to know after reaching the campsite that Sonu and Lijo progressed straight to Kedarnath. Everything hanging from our bodies was wet. The rest of us never considered progressing ahead that day, even in our wild thoughts. Khichdi served as a life-sever that night.
16th June 2022 (Vasuki Tal to Gouri kund-1982 mt through Kedarnath-3583 mt; 24 km trek)
The morning was gloomy and we made some fire to dry our wet clothes. The ration went dry and we were on our personal stock of eatables that morning. Kitchen had only coffee to offer us. With the comparatively drier version of ourselves and the equipment, we started at 8:30. The ridge called Vasuki top was visible from the camp. However, there was quite a snow cover on the way.
We found one more lake on the way that was completely frozen. It took us a couple of hours to reach the top. From there onward, the route went continuously down to Kedarnath. The temple came
to vision within 15 minutes of descent. Helicopters were ferrying people down to the valley. The entire descent took about a couple of hours including calling breaks to home after days.
We parted with Sonu and his team. Then, we sat in a corner near Kedarnath temple. We observed the pilgrims roaming all around us. It was too contrasting with what we had for the last 12 days. Being there, we were neither overwhelmed nor disappointed at the same time. The journey that we made was a very rare and remarkable feat. It was very gracious of the ever-changing mountain weather that we crossed the significant stretch successfully. None of us wanted to spend the night in Kedarnath. Meanwhile, the 17-kilometer walk to Gourikund seemed a little too much. Me, Raktim, and Rahul Bhai tried for a darshan but failed for several reasons. Majorly, we were the only group that emerged from the mountains, the rest were registered for Yatra and Darshan. By looking into our burnt faces, people were raising their eyebrows. Some couldn’t control their surprise and asked for our whereabouts.HaHa!
We started the descent toward Gourikund at 3:30. At several points, I was disgusted by the crowds and the road full of mule shit. People were even dancing on the frozen waterfalls. At 8:30 we reached Gauri Kund.
We spent that night in a congested hotel room in Son Prayag. The next morning a SUV took us to Dehradun, and another one to Delhi from there. An early morning flight carried me and Raktim to Bangalore on the 18th.
I count myself extremely lucky to be part of such a huge successful expedition that had so many variables. Kedar Tal is a trekking expedition by itself, we made it look like an acclimatization walk. Patangini is a hell of a climb straight away on a 3rd day. Navtej Ji attempted Auden’s Col before. He had to return from the summit because a team member was sick. There are so many similar stories. The Khatling puts you in a position where you can’t really plan the next step. Everything depends on your fate. The crossing of the Bheelangana River was extremely crucial to finish the expedition as per plan. I must give a huge shout-out to Sonu and the team for making it look achievable all the time. Many such expeditions end up in Ghuttu because of the leader’s lack of courage. The Mayali Pass and Vasuki Tal are trek routes by themselves. I guess this is the only trail in Uttarakhand that connects two Dhams of the four. It literally goes from temple to temple.
There will always be variations in member’s performance, and we were not an exception. I think there were point of return to civilization on every alternate day in this expedition, unlike others. Still, all of our 15 members kept the mental and physical balance to continue till the end. It’s a very relaxing feeling when you start and end an expedition with the same team. I must mention Navtej Ji and Devdutt Ji. They are in their early sixties. I admire them just because of the mental fitness they have shown throughout. People call Kalindi Khal one of the most challenging crossover treks in India. I will rate this higher. You literally walk 10-12 hours every alternate day, why shouldn’t I?
