Day 7 11th June 04
Maybe - I will come here Again one day - Early morning at 0730hrs I somehow was hunting for a place to eat my
breakfast
and get going with my climb to khardungla done
today only. While searching for a place to find my breakfast, as it was too
early to find a place to eat - I met this chap Ales from
Chech. Republic, Europe with whom I had my
breakfast... and He was planning a trip from India
to Europe on the Motorbike and I told
him to count me in. He was here in India for
last 6 months and he can somehow even speak some broken Hindi... Good for
him but was wonderful time meeting him to start my day all charged up. I started my Journey at about 0830Hrs and it was about 41 kms of straight uphill climb and at the
beginning
roads roads were Damn good to drive on ... but once I reached
South Pullu I can see the roads ahead - Damn -
All snow, water and rocks to ride on. Soon after I crossed
South pullu, You can also see the
Khardung from here - and I can see myself
driving between the snow. And I was fighting with my Jess to take it on snow
and conditions as I would often find myself out of breath struggling to
drive on snow. Goosh .. Huh every time a vehicle to pass me I will again
have to start and my rear wheel would be struggling again in snow. As my
Michelin is not perfectly designed to take me through the snow besides it is
perfect for all other conditions. After a whole lot of struggle
I
reached The khardung Top and OH Hell - it was a
hell of a ride to reach at the top of the world at
18380ft. I reached here at 1030Hrs and spent about 45 minutes taking
shots and talking to army personnel. A couple from Mumbai were turning out to be Fan of me. Another addition in my fan club.
Out
of some lucky escapades - there was this Gypsy which crossed me while going
uphill and now it was very lucky that it was among an avalanche.. but
luckily snow didnt came down on the gypsy but right in front and behind the
Vehicle and After tolking with Army Guards they told me its quite usual as
the snow that falls on this place is quite unstable and often comes down
with very quick changes in climate. And Above All I had my reward - Cup of
tea for which I had come all the way,
Free
tea served by Army to all the passers by at this place. I guess it was the
best and most daring part of the drive. It was all an balancing act between
controlling myself and keeping fit all through the way.After spending a good time in snow I was doing a downhill climb once again and back to Leh some of the best memories added to my Treasure Chest. Once back in Leh, now I was planning to wrap it all for tomorrow to start all the way back journey. But I met Sapan once again and I
told him that I was to check Nimoo Sahib but
then he told me to go to
Stok
Palace and also promised to show me the Stok
Peak. So around in the afternoon we left for
Stok Palace and after reaching this palace I collected some of the
old maps and clicked some shots. Soon after visiting this palace we went
further to see the view of Stok peak.
Stok peak - an easy climb which takes 2 days if
you are experienced with mountaineering. A wonderful peak that I surely will
try one day and above all its not that technically tough as compared to
Nun-Pun
peak which is at a height of 21250Ft and requires one to pay to the IMF
(Indian Mountaineering Foundation) a fee of 5000USD. Anyways collecting some
wonderful memories we were about to go back to Leh
and crossed Indus once again.
I
spent my last evening with Sapan Pradhan and Stanzin Lhawang Palo who turned
out to be equally good pals for all the time I spent in
Leh. I was thankful to such pals with a
wonderful company given to me and for a moment I never felt as if I was out
to a new land. Roaming In and around Leh.
Total distance traveled 122kms
Total expenses 500Rs
