Amidst a Series of Whiteouts, We Attempted G-III

Rudugaira Valley and Naala Camp

I and Amit had been to Gangotri at least three times before, for Thelu, B2 and one more time. 

So, we were kind of bored of having come to the place yet again! However, the valley we were going to head-up was a different one altogether. We had always
been up the Bhagirathi valley, hiking up to Gaumukh, and then further to climb the magnificent peaks beyond Gaumukh – the source of river Bhagirathi, which meets river Alaknanda at Devprayag, to form the mighty Ganga. Shashi called out to the entire team – “give any load, if you have”. Neither me nor Rupesh nor Amit realized that this “load” was “everything except a daypack” that was supposed to be given to the porters, as their load was getting finalized, along with the common equipment load, which comprised of food, equipment and tents. I had told both Amit and Rupesh that an expedition means – you carry everything yourself! So, we ended up carrying everything that we had got from Pune, which ended up making our backpacks very heavy – to the order of 20 – 25 kg each! And, this tired out the three of us – a LOT! Moreover, when we realized that other expedition members like Swarjit and Manisha were carrying their daypacks only! 

Rudra-ganga, a tributary of Bhagirathi, which flows from the Rudragaira valley is a river within itself, flowing down with all its force! We crossed the bridge over Bhagirathi river, and headed straight into the valley. Guneet had been here a couple of times before, so she claimed that she knew the way.

We ended up climbing an extremely steep trail (Suunto), which we realized, on our way back (Suunto), was not the trail to enter the valley. At a point of confusion, Shashi led the way and saved additional effort of climbing, by getting us back on the right track.

The trail winded through forests with Deodar trees on one side, and the Rudra-ganga on one side. Crossing over into the Rudragaira valley entails crossing a bridge which is quite rustic. Bears are known to frequent these forests, so we were advised to

stay close and not wander off ahead of others. There was a chance that bears could attack us, with us carrying plenty of food. But, fortunately – nothing happened. We took a lunch break at a serene location, and rejuvenated ourselves. While others got rejuvenated, somehow, I and Rupesh had a tough time hiking up the trail. The lunch had, in some way – made us lethargic, and we found it hard to go further. 

A few rock-fall areas which had to be negotiated with extra care, I could see the huge fly of our kitchen tent! A bright purple, it brought a smile to our faces. But, again – to our surprise, our pace even slowed down. Somehow, we reached the camp and
relaxed after a glass of hot Tang, which refreshed us. As soon as we reached the campsite, dark clouds begin to appear higher in the valley. Within no time of the camp set up, the onslaught of the weather started! And, little did we know that this is going to be a routine, starting that day. Lower in the valley – rains and higher – incessant snowfall, which – once started, stopped only at evening / night. Among Shashi and Guneet, it was a rule that Shashi would lead the front of the group, and Guneet would act as a sweeper, getting everybody who had been left behind. So, it was a while before Guneet showed up with Amit and Mallika and Isha, who were also very tired, but we were glad – they made it to the camp before dark. Hot soup, a hearty meal led to our tired bodies slump inside the sleeping bags, and within no time – we were all off to sleep. With rain beating down on our tents, we were wondering what lay ahead – at higher camps. 

Naala Camp to Base Camp

During discussions over dinner last night, we were told that the next day entailed 3 climbs,

with the second one being the toughest! We were prepared, and with energies flowing through our body after a hearty breakfast, we all set off for the base camp. The first climb was right behind the campsite, and when we woke up in the morning, we saw the climb bathed in sunlight with the pretty blue sky as the backdrop. The initial climb was a good one, and was followed by a pretty walk through plateaus. A few months from now, I was told that this plateau blooms with flowers of all shapes, sizes and colours, and herdsmen get their cattle to feed here. I imagined the site, and was mesmerized with just the thought of it. This was a very pretty valley, with towering peaks all around, and a small beautiful trail cutting across the bottom, allowing us mere mortals to soak in and admire god’s creations, in all its splendour.

A walk on the trail for about an hour, and we faced the dreaded “second climb” that was much discussed the previous night. A while ago, some porters overtook us, and hiked up the climb quite swiftly. Some had 25 kg and some had 50 kg! It’s amazing how these people carry such huge loads, and move so fast! I and Rupesh wondered that these should be the people that should go on expeditions, and not us. Before the dreaded climb, there was a small stream running down the mountain, which had to be crossed. This stream had frozen, and it was like a mini-glacier which needed to be crossed.

I crossed it along with Shashi, and waited for Rupesh. Rupesh was careful, but had a fall, due to which his hiking stick broke! His heart sank, as the support from the sticks was immense. On the other side of the stream, he came and waited – thinking what to do. He and Shashi were sitting, and I started climbing up the steep slope. Within a few minutes, I had picked up my usual pace, and slowly I could see myself walking ahead of the porters, and a steady climb up led me to the top of the slope. This place happens to be the site for the base camp of Mt. Rudugaira (actually name is Rudragaira). A plateau sits on top of the climb, and one more summit camp / camp 1is pitched, before attempting the mountain. We didn’t have any clue that on a later date, pressed by circumstances, I would be attempting this peak along with Manisha, which also had to be abandoned due to extreme weather conditions.

I looked down, and Rupesh and Shashi were just about to reach the top. I took a few pictures at the base camp location, and carried on towards the base camp. The base camp was located three ridges away, which involved crossing a stream and walking on moraine. At the stream, I was unsure as to where I want to go, so I waited about half an hour for the porters to come. Once they crossed the stream, and I followed them to the base camp. All the porters had shrugged off their load, and were lazing around, puffing their bidis (cigarettes). It was a little past 1, and before one could notice the clouds coming in, I could see snow-flakes on my jacket! Bipin (one of the HAPS) and Kishan (cook) had reached, so I assisted them in getting the kitchen tent erected, along with a few of our’s. 

Within no time, it started snowing heavily, but gladly – tents were erected, and whatever needed to be secured (from getting wet) – had been secured.

Rupesh walked in, followed by Shashi and others, but there was no sign of Amit or Isha or Guneet. Guneet was known to get everybody, and not leave anybody behind, but with the extra load, I and Rupesh were worried for Amit.

Everybody arrived except Amit and Guneet, and we were all huddled up in the kitchen tent, near the stove, and had warmed ourselves up with tea and some snacks.

While pushing the snow off of the tent fly, everybody used to peak through the window, to see if we could see somebody emerge from the huge boulder that was besides the trail, on the last ridge. 1 hour went by, 2 hours went by – still no signs of Amit! The entire campsite had become “white”, and even the trail was slowly getting hazy, but we couldn’t see anybody yet. With eyes fixated on that boulder, we all started getting worried. So, Shashi told Bipin to go and look for Amit. Bipin, a strong guy – immediately moved out on the trail, and about an hour later, emerged at the boulder. He was carrying Amit’s sack, and told us – Amit is just about 10 minutes behind him. Around 10 minutes later, we all saw a figure come up near the boulder. Amit had worn his fleece jacket on top of his hiking pant, with a round hat on top. Snow had accumulated all over him, and he seemed very tired. He had gotten severe cramps in his calf and thigh muscles, and probably was dehydrated.

By the time Amit arrived, everybody had left the mess tent, and retreated into their own comfortable cocoons.

I and Rupesh got Amit to the mess tent, and started “working on him”. Rupesh started massaging his calves, while I got his stuff out from his backpack, looking for warm and dry clothes. I found out that he didn’t have a fleece jacket, which was dry, so I made him wear my fleece jacket. His hands had gotten cold, so gave him gloves to wear. He had mild shivering, which were on and off, so I and Rupesh made sure – all his clothes were changed, and at the same time, I requested Kishan to get him hot tea. The hot drink, and the dry, warm clothes stabilized him a little bit. Then, one by one – all team members arrived and cheered Amit up. This got him “back to normal”, and he started feeling fine. His shivering had almost gone, but hadn’t entirely gone.

The tents were pitched in such a manner, that I and Rupesh decided to keep all the backpacks in one tent, and we three (I, Rupesh and Amit) sleep in one tent. There was a problem though – although the tents were 3-man tents, three of us (with Rupesh

– the Bahubali) would have been a little too snug (on the verge of being uncomfortable), and we found out that mine and Rupesh’s carrymat was somehow soaking water from beneath, and getting wet! Was it soaking water from below (as there was a layer of tent base), or was it condensation – we didn’t know, but it was happening. And, the problem with my carrymat was more severe. This had led me to sleep very cold, back in the Nalla camp. So, had we decided to use our mats, along with Amit’s, he also would have ended up getting wet from below, while we all slept. And, getting wet was the LAST thing we wanted for Amit. So, on further discussion it was decided that Amit would sleep on his own, in a tent by himself. He said, he needed more space as well. So, after a dinner in the tent, with continuous snowfall outside, we had a lights-off at 8, and all vanished into their respective comfort zones. 

Base Camp

The base camp is supposed to be a kind of “headquarters” for any expedition. It serves as a starting point for the load ferry trips up and down the mountain. The porters carry the common equipment up to this point, and they return back to Gangotri.

Based on the climbing itinerary, they are told to come back on a specific day, when they carry the load back to the nearest road-head, Gangotri. During one of the many discussions on climbing and expeditions, while we all were holed up in a tent at Camp 1, getting beaten down by snowfall outside, I told Shashi and others about my Rainier experience. Although, mountains are not as tall in the US, like in India, one major missing element is the porter help. While climbing Rainier, I remember having 65 lbs on my back, and we had almost climbed close to 11,500 feet in a span of 3 days! All equipment is divided among team members, and we climb. Also, the mere thought of carrying 120 lbs (60 on back and 60 on a sledge) while climbing
Denali sent shivers down everybody’s spine! 

We were supposed to stay at the base camp for three nights. The earlier night had been a cold one, with Amit having reached late that evening. The next day, Shashi and Guneet, along with the HAPS had planned on doing the first load ferry to
advance base camp (ABC). But, as everybody had gotten tired, they took a call to just stay at the base camp and rest. Couple of activities that we did throughout the day were – relaxing, sorting out the equipment, and  checking the status of the weather higher up on the mountain.

The earlier day, when we arrived at the base camp, Amit came up to me and told me – “Samarth, your bottle fell down near the Nala, which we had crossed on the way. He further told me that it had fallen once, which was picked up immediately by Vineet, the boy who had come to help out Kishan, the cook.

But this time, it had gone down quite a bit, and they didn’t have the time to go and recover it, as it was snowing heavily.
The good part was – they knew “exactly” where it had slipped off. The “blue bottle” was reminiscent of my climb up Mt. Rainier, when I was told to buy one “wide-mouth-bottle”, which is most common in the mountains. I had bought one, and this bottle had been a part of all my expeditions! My heart sank at the thought of having lost it, but had hope that we would go and find it the next day, provided Vineet came with me.

So, while everybody took a walk over the nearby ridge, from where one could see the route to Auden’s Col, I hiked back on the trail where we came from, to recover my bottle. Vineet was gracious enough to accompany me, as he knew exactly where to find it. It was nice of him to have told me to wait at the point where the moraine started, while he went and fetched the bottle. It was a good time to just sit and enjoy the picture-perfect scenery around.

To my west, I had Mt. Rudugaira looking down at me, while to my east, beyond the ridge, majestic mountains like Manda, Sudarshan Parvat and Kharchkund were visible. And, we had the constant view of Gangotri – I, II and III to my south. The icefall between Rudugaira and G-I looked intimidating and Guneet told me that when you look at it from the summit of Rudugaira (she has summitted it), it “actually” looks like a cake, which has been severely molested when you give a 4-year old a very sharp knife! During our discussions, I also learnt that climbing G-I and G-II were difficult because of the large number of crevasses one has to cross, and the danger of an avalanche, as one has to climb from under huge hanging glaciers, which could come crashing down any time!

A successful bottle-finding trip for me, and a walk up the ridge for others in the team proved to be a good activity for all. Like on the previous days, almost around 12 pm, it started to snow, which again – didn’t stop! By evening – everything looked "white”, and while we shovelled snow around our tents by taking turns, we wondered what would be the case higher up on the mountain. Would it allow us to climb it? Would it send us back? 

Advance Base Camp

After a day’s rest, we all geared up for the load ferry the next day.

The load was distributed, depending on the observation of the expedition leaders and HAPS – who can carry how much. We left base camp after a heavy and healthy breakfast. The route had a few patches of snow, which we had to cross. At one point, there was a crack in the glacier, with a stream gushing below, which we had to hop and cross. It wasn’t a long distance, and we covered in quite soon. The HAPS and cook had reached earlier, and as soon as we reached the camp – AGAIN – it started snowing heavily! It disheartened us, as we had to make the site ready for camp. There were no established places, where we could pitch our tents. It was all rock and snow. Immediately, we got started and scraped off the fresh snow, and made a campsite with flat stones on top, with ice below. All the members of the expedition reached ABC, with their respective loads. However, Amit had decided to wear his Koflach today, instead of his normal backpacking shoes, as there was a high chance they would’ve gotten wet, while crossing those glaciers. 

Mallika, Shashi’s neice, who was a mountaineer herself, got a throat infection, and probably had swollen sinuses. So, at the base camp – Shashi tried to talk her into moving back to the base camp, but she refused. When Guneet told her – in the capacity
of the deputy leader of the expedition, she refused to go. There was an unfortunate exchange of heated arguments, and it was sad to see Shashi torn between the two sides – relation and profession. It went on for some time, after which Shashi came up and apologized. It was not needed, however – she felt so she did – as it led to a confusion, as to how the expedition will proceed. I told her that it wouldn’t have happened, had she told Mallika that – on the mountain, she was her expedition leader, and not her aunt! – which means – whatever decision she takes – is final, and not to be contested – by anybody in the team. This is how it’s supposed to be in the mountains – Democracy can lead to some serious (and sometimes fatal) ramifications, jeopardizing the entire expedition. The end result was – Shashi stayed back at the base camp, and couldn’t do the load ferry with us. Amit had a hard time getting all the equipment in one go – so some of it was left mid-way, and picked up the next day, when Shashi joined us.

The next day, we immediately set out to do the load ferry for Camp 1, for which – our backpacking shoes had to be wrapped up at the ABC, and we had to get into our Koflach. It was the first time that I was using my boots since I had bought them from Leh, about 4 years ago! The route upto Camp 1 was all the way on snow, interspersed with moraine. In all, there were three climbs, with the first two being quite strenuous. Pradeep and Bipin overtook us, and cut in some steps which were going zig-zag, all the way up. We know that that saves effort, as you don’t directly climb up a face – vertically. But, when I and Rupesh were climbing up, we got all the more tired following in their footsteps. So, I showed him – how much fun it is to front-point, and go up directly. He followed in my footsteps, and totally loved it! However, before going up, I briefly told him the various ways to arrest himself, should he slip on the snow, as we both were not roped up. As expected – a snowfall started, and we saw Pradeep, Kishan and Bipin taking refuge behind a huge boulder, and their the backpacks were not with them. We gladly spotted the packs, and thought it to be the location to make camp. But, as soon as we reached their packs, they came running to us, and told us that the location of the campsite was a bit over the “small hump” they were pointing their finger towards. It turned out that the “small hump” was not as small as it seemed. Oh, how deceiving distances and altitudes can be in the mountains – moreover in the snow. We reached the location, where all the equipment – ropes, snow stakes, butane, food etc were dropped off, covered with a plastic tarp, and anchored to the ground with snow stakes and ice axes. Descent on snow is something which tires me out to no extent, and I find it utterly boring as well – as your foot plunges deep in the snow, depending on the snow conditions, and it takes immense effort to come out of this. I just find it very exhaustive. I was mindful that I don’t repeatedly say this in front of Rupesh, as it would lead to him developing pre-conceived notions. But, I could see – he too was getting tired on the descent. We somehow reached ABC, and rested. Shashi had arrived with Mallika, whose throat had stopped aching. Amit wanted to do a load ferry to camp 1, but looking at the past few days, he opted to stay at ABC, till the team returned from higher camps. 

Camp 1

With all load at camp 1, the next day – we needed to pack our personal gear, and take the tents along with us – to go and occupy camp 1.

For some reason, we left later than the previous day, and to our shock – the snow had gotten way too soft, and we
had a hard time climbing up the three snowfields. With knee-length foot getting immersed in snow, we took much more time and effort to reach camp 1, than what we took the previous day. Rupesh felt a little tired, but after the camp was set up, some tea was prepared and he felt rejuvenated. We even discussed the exertion due to the delay in departure from ABC.

Once inside the tents, I and Rupesh were just lying down – relaxing.

The view in front of us – of Jogin I and II peaks, was splendid. All the others were in Guneet’s tent. In our tent, our talk slowly drifted in the philosophical realm – with the most common underlying theme –  we get so tired doing this, we get our skin burnt, bodies exhausted, face tanned, lips cracked. We don’t get to bathe for almost two weeks, we barely manage to brush our teeth, we carry so much load on our backs, our legs ache, we miss our families, we recall small, happy moments we spend with our kids, we reminisce about our wives get annoyed at some of our habits, I pitched in the “heartfelt-concern” that Poorva had expressed, while letting Amit go on this expedition, and how she thought of Manasi to be a brave, courageous woman, who has been allowing me to go for so many years – this was the same feeling with which Meeta had requested me, with moist eyes, to ensure that Ravi comes back home safe and sound, during his maiden B-II expedition – then – why the hell do we do all this? 

Shashi and team coming up to Camp 1

The talk stopped, and there was silence – as if we both were trying to search for an answer. And, there was no answer. I told Rupesh, that I have been asked this question multiple times, and I never was able to give a satisfactory answer; the closest that I could come to was – “it is spiritual”. Further, my thoughts pondered over that answer, and I was telling myself - nature, in its purest form – unadulterated, virgin beauty, where very few souls venture,  seem to exude a different kind of energy, which, in a way, brings clarity in life. You tend to get a good handle over what your priorities in life are – things that matter, and things that don’t. It seems to help you define a purpose in life, and the direction you need to take, to achieve that purpose. Rather, it teaches you the importance of small things / pleasures / moments / instances, which you otherwise tend to ignore / overlook / pass by. It teaches you the frugality of all materialistic things we, as humans, tend to attach a lot of importance to. It shows you – how survival is a function of basic, minimum things on one hand, and on the other hand – makes you wonder at the “luxuries” that we have at our disposal. And, because of these “luxuries”, it makes you become more aware of the people who are deprived of the basic necessities in life. It makes you aware of how fortunate you are, that you are born in a good family, have no disabilities, have proper access to education, have a right to decide what to do in life, and have the power of choice in all walks of life. However, despite all this, an average human being is always cribbing. Large percentage of people we see around, despite having everything – are unhappy. I have realized that being in the mountains has had the most profound effect on me – as helps me stay happy – which I feel, is above everything else. I have felt these things very strongly, and the vibes from the mountains play a big part in it. 

As soon as my thought process stopped,

I wondered how much of this had I spoken out aloud? How much did Rupesh, laying next to me, hear? If he heard, would he agree with it, or would he just dismiss it as unrelated, worthless bullshit? I had no idea, the ocean of thoughts in my mind was like a whirlpool, sucking me in – and this was broken by a call from Guneet from the other tent – “Boys, we are making dinner. Come over”. Upma for lunch, and Biryani for dinner seemed to be luxury at about 5190 m above sea level. It took an hour for the water to boil on the butane stove, which was precariously placed in the vestibule of the tent. Once the water came to a boil, the ready-to-eat Biryani packets were immersed in it, and after the prescribed time – pulled out, to savour. 3 packets, 2 spoons, 2 glasses and 6 people – everything was shared, and we retreated to our tents in temperatures of -5 deg C, to catch some good sleep, as the next two days were the most strenuous, ascent of 700 m from camp 1 to Summit Camp, and the same night – ascent of 700 m from Summit camp to Summit, and back to camp 1!

Ascent to Summit Camp

We all got up early.

We all were supposed to leave for Summit camp at 7 am, when the snow was more compact, and chances of the foot going in, are minimized. But, we left at 9:30 am! Due to heavy snowfall every day, the amount of fresh snow had increased, but the sun further softened it. It had gotten softened to such an extent, that within half an hour of our departure from camp 1, Rupesh started having trouble climbing up. The trouble wasn’t related to his fitness; his feet were getting in the snow up to his thigh level! For around half an hour, he tried very hard, trying to climb up using side-stepping as well as trying to cut his own steps. But, somehow – he was just going in. He removed his backpack, and was able to swiftly come up. However, there was no way he could have left his pack behind – the load was divided and everything was essential. Besides, nobody else could have taken that load, as everybody had close to 10 – 12 kg on their back.

Guneet and Shashi thought – westerners, who are much bulkier than Rupesh, are able to climb in snow. Technique of climbing and centre of gravity were two possibilities they voiced, because of which Rupesh was unable to climb up. Honestly speaking, I
couldn’t think of a reason as to why this was happening. Rupesh tried again – but met with no success.

Guneet, Shashi and I were ahead of all, and Manisha was with him. She tried to help him understand how to tackle the snow, but still – he was losing all his energy going down, and getting himself out of the snow. He finally decided to let go, and shouted out – “All the best guys, for the summit! I am going back!” I knew, this was the end for him. Even if he would have made it, he would be going waist deep, further on the climb, and on the return.

There was only 1 tent we had left at camp 1, and we were carrying two tents for the summit camp. 

Luckily, Rupesh wasn’t carrying a tent, and we all told him to make it safety to ABC, after taking a break at camp 1. I felt really bad for him – he had trained hard, and had great fitness levels, considering this was his first expedition. I had even told him that – should he summit G-III, it would be one of his greatest achievements, as nobody attempts a peak like this on their first Himalayan expedition. It was nothing but pure bad luck,that he was going back.

While we continued climbing, Bipin and Pradeep forged ahead, as they were going to fix ropes on the steeper and trickier slopes ahead. We could constantly see the huge icefall of G-III to our right, with massive crevasses that mar the slopes. The summit

camp was supposed to be located above the first crevasse, and below the second crevasse. The two of them went ahead and we realized that our pace had slowed down a bit, as the slope has steepened. We contacted them on the radio, as we had already endured about 2 whiteouts. It was funny – it used to be a complete whiteout, followed by heavy flurry of snow, and then it used to clear, not completely, but partially. We continued climbing, and realized that nobody was talking to anybody. Everybody was concentrating on putting one foot ahead of the other, in a mechanical fashion. Due to the whiteout, the step cutting which was automatically done by Pradeep and Bipin was completely washed out – to such an extent that we had to call-in to Pradeep, who guided us where he had fixed the rope. The two of them seemed like specks of dust, suspended high above us, in an entirely white world, which knew no boundaries, no limits and no edges. Pradeep’s voice crackled on the radio – “Have you reached the fixed rope yet?”. After an affirmative “No”, he told us to move a little to our right (west) towards the rock patch and the first ice fall. It took us another half an hour to reach the fixed rope. Pradeep told us that due to the fresh snow and slope of around 65 – 70 deg, he had to fix 4 ropes out of the 5 we had taken up for the summit attempt. We wondered how we were going to attempt the summit with only 1 remaining fixed rope.

Having reached the rope was a relief, as there was some support to tackle the steep slopes. Guneet started ahead of all – cutting steps in the snow.

After about 15 minutes, she told Shashi to take over. And, to my surprise – because I know Shashi to be one of the toughest female mountaineers I know – she declined, stating that she just couldn’t do it, and was very tired! Guneet asked me – “Can you lead and do some step-cutting for some time?” I agreed, and proceeded with cutting 5 steps, taking a break for some time – and then – repeat. After about 10 minutes, Shashi herself volunteered to take over. Then, for the next hour or so, we rotated among ourselves, but were getting extremely tired, as there was a snow blizzard every 15 minutes. Pradeep was about 200 odd meters above us. Sensing the situation at hand, Shashi asked Pradeep, if he could come down, to assist us with cutting steps, as almost everybody was drained out. To our horror, he flatly refused. Shashi asked everybody, if we should retreat, as everybody was tired, and the weather refused to clear out. We all decided to replenish ourselves, so we ate some dry fruits, and gulped down some ice-cold water. Then, Manisha volunteered to lead. She assisted the group in climbing some more and then – our rotations started. Me, Guneet and Shashi. With tired bodies and mind, we could see us getting closer to Bipin and Pradeep. But, when we asked – “how far is it from where they were sitting?”, came a reply – “About 100 m”. So,
essentially, we were about 200 m away from the summit campsite. I asked Swarjit – “Could you lead for some time”, to which he replied, “What, what does that mean?” I guess, he was just mechanically placing his feet in other’s steps, therefore he didn’t realize the meaning of the question I asked him. And, out of the blue – as if I offended him by asking – Guneet snapped at me – “If that is the case, then I WILL LEAD!”, and started moving towards the front of the group. Till date, I don’t know the reason what happened, and why she snapped at me – just because I asked Swarjit? What was wrong in that, if everybody else was trying their level best – some help from him also would’ve proved useful, and others would have gotten some respite – that was my only intention.

Another hour or so, we climbed.

I think, we were within 50 m of the two of them, when Shashi – during one of the short breaks – asked everybody – “What do you guys think? Usually, in such whiteout conditions, one is not supposed to be climbing at
all, as we can’t make out the terrain, crevasses get hidden, and there are  higher chances of avalanches.” Everybody responded by saying that her’s is the final call, being the expedition leader. She called up Pradeep, and asked him – how much time will it take, at our pace? It was already close to 4 pm, and we had been climbing for close to 6 hours. “2 – 3 hours” from Pradeep pretty much sealed the fate for our expedition. Plus, he said that due to the snow blizzard, he was not even able to locate the summit campsite. It just wasn’t possible for us to climb till 7 pm, shovel out 3-4 ft. of snow, pitch the tents, help in melting snow for water, cook, sleep – all in a snow blizzard, and then get up at 12 am, to push for the summit!

A brief nod from all was all it took for Shashi to declare that the expedition is over! We were very exhausted, and there seemed no chance for the weather opening up. Talks of reaching ABC started doing the rounds, and I was terrified! Even if everybody
would have walked back to ABC, I couldn’t think of walking down all the way back. But yes – if the team went down – I would have pushed myself, but in my heart of hearts – I wanted to stay at Camp 1.  Technically, if we camped at camp 1, we had a
spare day to AGAIN – climb up the next day, set up the summit camp, and attempt the summit. However, nobody was in a position to think of re-attempting the climb, with the weather going from bad to worse.

With everybody going deep in the snow, Shashi, Guneet and Swarjit decided to walk without the load, and just drag it behind them. Swarjit was gracious enough to ask me to dump my tent on his backpack, which he was dragging behind him. I couldn’t drag mine, as mine was the summit sack, which was packed to the brim! This helped in balancing the weight, but still Swarjit had to pull out Manisha’s leg and I had to help Shashi (by scraping the snow around the leg with an ice ax), when she almost went thigh-deep in the snow. We reached the campsite at around 6 pm. With everything wet, we started thinking – what next? 

I must admire Guneet and Shashi – who despite being equally tired – immediately started pitching a tent for us. The camp was made, and we all huddled up in Guneet’s tent. Guneet shouted out to Bipin to start melting snow, for making tea. I asked Swarjit to accompany me in my tent, as last night – he had slept with Pradeep and Bipin. More people in a tent tends to warm-up the atmosphere, and it is less cold. Bipin got us tea, and Guneet started thinking on the lines of what to eat. A common consensus for “Maggi” led to Guneet adjusting the stove in the vestibule of her tent, and getting snow to melt for Maggi. Generous portions of Maggi, and the remaining watery soup was very satisfying – as it was our first meal after the breakfast at 8 am in the morning!

Return Journey Starts

The morning was as clear as ever! We all discussed – what a perfect weather for summit attempt. A thought crossed my mind – had we left a little early the previous day, for e.g. at 6 or 7 am, instead of at 9:30 am (which was just too late!), maybe – we
could have made camp, and attempted the summit. But, yesterday evening – this seemed impossible. 

We had our tea, and left for ABC. Going down was relatively easy, as we left early. Still, at some places – our feet went knee-deep in the snow, but otherwise – 90% of the time – it was good. We made it to ABC quickly, with Amit, Rupesh, Isha and Mallika greeting us with a big and warm “Welcome Back”.

Shashi had told Mallika that we would be having our breakfast at ABC, so it was ready. After tea and a hearty breakfast, we chatted with another team which had come from Pune – Girikujan, to climb G-III. They had their HAPS with them, and I and Amit had a common contact – Anand Mali. An accomplished mountaineer, having climbed Everest, Shivling, Nun, Kun, B-II and many other peaks, he was leading their expedition on G-III. They were a team of 9 people from Pune, with budding mountaineers, for whom this was their first expedition. They had skipped ABC, and the previous day – made a load-ferry from base camp straight to Camp 1. We felt, this was a little too much, as an ABC was necessary. However, in case they would’ve decided to have an ABC, they would’ve had to make space, as there wasn’t any space anywhere in the moraine.

They had a Sherpa, who had just returned from a successful climb on Makalu, an 8000-er in Nepal. Anand had a detailed discussion with Pradeep, regarding where to make the summit camp.

He clicked a zoomed photo of the face, and Pradeep told him
exactly where to camp, and from where to push for the summit. I remember having interacted with him on email, when he climbed Shivling; he had sent me photos of the formidable ice-wall on the route, which serves as a deterrent for many who attempt the beautiful peak. Also, I realized that Pradeep Rana was the son of the guide who had helped us climb Thelu - our first expedition - what a coincidence!  

Later, in Pune, I was told by Amit that their team also had to return from around 20,000 ft., due to heavy winds and bad weather. While returning itself, at Gangotri, we were told that there was a
bad-weather warning on the 27^th of May, exact day when their team had planned their summit push. Their team had tea at our ABC, and returned back to base camp.

A light lunch later, we all started for the base camp.

It was great to slip into the backpacking shoes again, with the Koflach tucked inside my backpack! Rupesh and I left together, but when I got engrossed in taking pictures along the way, he sped ahead and reached ahead of everybody else. I reached along with Guneet, Shashi and Swarjit and Isha followed. Amit was a bit slow, with his Koflach on, as he had left his backpacking boots back at base camp. That, along with the weakness from last few days (he had a constant fever of around 99.5 deg F), slowed him down significantly.

We reached the base camp, Anand’s team welcomed us, and offered us hot tea and biscuits. It felt good to see a saffron flag (sign of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the highly idolized warrior king from Maharashtra, at the base camp. As expected, it began to snow and within no time – it picked up! I and Rupesh left to look out for Amit, and found him struggling on the second ridge beyond the base camp. Rupesh took his backpack, and I walked with him, at his pace, to finally reach base camp. Tea time was over, and with the heavy snowfall, we tucked ourselves in, in one of the tents of Anand’s team. He was glad to offer help as the tent was originally occupied by their Sherpas, who had moved to Camp 1. It was an A-shaped, spacious tent for all three of us,
with our backpacks. We came out only for dinner, after which we retired to our tent.

Mt. Rudugaira - On the Side

During our journey from Dehradun to Uttarkashi and futher to Gangotri, I had asked Shashi jokingly – “If we summit G-III, and if we have a spare day (which was already built in the itinerary), and if there is energy left – can we try an attempt on Mt
Rudugaira?” “Yes, why not?” was her quick reply, although we both realized that there were a LOT of “Ifs” in the statement. 

At the ABC, after having had a good breakfast, and while lazing around in the sun – Shashi asked me again – “Are you interested in taking a chance at Rudugaira, as we had spoken?” I nodded, and she told me that Manisha was also interested, and that
Pradeep will accompany us, if the weather is supportive. We would have to pay him his daily charges, for which we both agreed.   

Once at the base camp, we were all huddled together for tea, when I spoke to Pradeep, and he mentioned that he won’t be coming, but Kishan and Bipin would be coming along with me and Manisha. I was a little surprised as to why Pradeep quit on us at
the last moment. But, anyway – we thought – let us give it a try.

So, Kishan told me that we would be leaving at 4 am sharp, if the weather cleared. At the time, it was snowing heavily, and we all thought that there are very less chances that the weather would clear out. So, Kishan agreed to wake me and Manisha up at 3:30 am, and give us tea, so that we can leave at 4 am. This was all, if he would get up at 3:30 am, and if the weather would be clear.

Fast forward to 5:30 am, when I heard Kishan shout outside my tent – “Sir, chaai”, which means – he had gotten tea. I checked my watch and asked him – are we going? Yes, was his reply. I went out and asked him regarding our plan to leave at 4 am, and he said – the valley was entirely in clouds, so he decided against leaving at 4. 

So, while Manisha and I got ready, had tea, and we left – it was 6 am! Bipin and Kishan had packed their bags, but when Guneet came to know that these two are accompanying us – she walked over to the mess tent, and told them that the load ferry was
supposed to be done from ABC to BC, so Bipin can’t go. At the end – we were left with only Kishan. While leaving, she told me – “Take Kishan with you, and do your little thingy”. Slowly, the three of us set out. Kishan had taken breakfast with him, with some water. And, I and Manisha had water with us, along with Koflach, as they were going to be needed at higher altitudes, when we reached deeper snow.

Slowly, before sunrays hit us, melted the snow on the trail, and heated up our bodies, we kept  a good pace and started climbing. Instead of going on the trail, and climbing from the traditional base camp, we took a detour from middle of the trail, and
headed west, up the mountain. The sun was trying his bit to give us sunshine, and the clouds were playing their part in spoiling the party. While climbing, Kishan motivated both of us, by saying that we had a good pace, and that if the weather stays fine, we should be able to summit. 

Rudugaira is a trekking peak, and one which my friends from Pune did in 2002, a year after Thelu.

They had come with a good team, and had successfully climbed it. The base camp of Rudugaira expedition is situated immediately after one climbs the
second steep uphill, after having left the Nala camp. Once you are up – you are pretty much on a plateau, where the base camp is set up. After the base camp, only one more camp – summit camp is required before summitting the mountain. The mountain summit is at 5819 m, and we were starting from 4590 m, which was our base camp. So, basically – we were trying to climb about 1300 m in a day, when we started at 6 am, with not-so-friendly weather, and without camping anywhere
in between! 

Gradually, we climbed up to a location where we changed from our normal backpacking boots to Koflach. Here, we had our breakfast, which Kishan had got. He had made pancakes, except they were not sweet, but salty.

So, I couldn’t eat much. And, as soon as we started climbing up, clouds started coming in from G-III side. We didn’t worry much for these clouds, as the valley towards Gangotri looked clear. Kishan was leading, and I was following him, with Manisha behind me. I and Manisha regularly enquired about each other – whether we were feeling OK or not. At one point in time, when I took a small break, and looked back – W O W – is the only word that automatically came out….The entire range around Sudarshan Parvat, Mt. Manda, Kharchkund, Thelu was visible, and Manisha was climbing towards me and Kishan. The view was indeed surreal, and it was as if we were blessed to be present then and there – at that moment, enjoying the bliss of climbing in this pretty part of the country. And, all of a sudden Kishan called out to us – we had reached the summit camp site for a typical Rudugaira expedition. The summit camp was a very well laid out place, with sufficient space for 2 – 3 tents, and one for kitchen tent. We even found a kettle and a container, which earlier expeditions might have forgotten or deliberately kept there. I imagined what it would be – to camp at this height, with the peaks in front of you. Simply amazing!

Just when we left the summit camp, we saw the weather worsening.

It wasn’t long before we could spot clouds coming in from the lower valley as well, and before our very own eyes – everything below, above and in front of us was white! I, Kishan and Manisha took a long pause, looked at each other, and thought – that this is over. But, the weather was playing with us, and clouds started coming in and out of the valley. At some times, we saw the summit, and the next moment, it disappeared.

This happened for a while, and while in a whiteout – Kishan tried to contact Pradeep, who was off for a load ferry. However, we didn’t hear from them, and continued climbing up the mountain. After climbing for another half an hour or so, we realized that
the game for us was really over. The snow blizzard got fiercer, and the whiteout was more severe than before. The summit couldn’t be seen, and neither the valley beneath us, nor the magnificent peaks behind us. Everything was white, just plain white.

The three of us took shelter from the blizzard besides a huge boulder, and the radio crackled – “Kishan, come in….We need you three to come back to base camp. The weather is not looking good at all.” I checked my altimeter – we had reached 5140 m, which means we climbed roughly about 700 m, and that too – in a short span of around 3 hours.

Just like G-III, we bid goodbye to Rudugaira, and started our descent. On the way, we changed back into our backpacking shoes, and continued our descent. It was quite a steep descent, and our knees took a beating negotiating this. But, once we hit the trail, we took a small break, had some dry fruits, and walked our way to the base camp – disheartened – yet again. 

Hiking out of the Valley

It had been a good rest for me.

After the summit camp climb, down to camp 1, then descent to ABC and to BC, followed by a summit attempt of Mt. Rudugaira, directly from BC – it had been a little hectic. The day before, after we returned back to the BC, I retreated to the tent, and I, Rupesh and Amit JUST DID NOTHING – but lay on our backs, and our bodies went in and out of sleep. When awake – we chatted on a lot of things. While chatting, sometimes – two of us realized – one wasn’t responding, which meant – he had “again” gone back to sleep. We were finally shaken out of our lumber by Vineet, Kishan’s helper. He told us that everybody has had dinner, and they are going back to their tents. So, we should come and have dinner. None of us really felt like getting out of our bags, wearing those cold shoes, and going to the kitchen tent to have dinner. But, as a rule in the mountains – one should never skip a meal, we pushed ourselves out, ate a bit and came back to our already-warm sleeping cocoons / bags. 

The next day was going to be a long one! Hiking out of the valley, from the base camp, all the way to Gangotri was going to take some effort. However, it was all descent. But, I and Rupesh were worried about Amit, especially on the three descents that pave the way towards the Naala camp. Two days ago, when we returned to the base camp, I had had a good conversation with Amit. He was feeling tired, had constant pain in his legs, and was not eating well sometimes. Our conversation was a very honest one – I wanted to actually target the source of his tiredness. There were a couple of factors at play – first and foremost – him being a heavy diabetic, who used to take insulin twice a day. First of all, I commended him on coming this far, despite the sugar problem. It was incredible that he carried this much load and walked all the way to ABC. He also wanted to do a load ferry to camp 1, but we declined. With him being a diabetic, the food in the mountains (mostly carbohydrates) wasn’t helping much. As it gets converted to sugar, he realized that he was taking heavier doses of Insulin. Plus, along with the food, I thought – this could be the same reason that his muscles took longer than usual to recover from a long walk, as he always used to have soreness in his calves and thighs. He also told me once – it takes him a day or so, to recover, after a strenuous day. This used to happen back home as well, when he used to train for the expedition. 

While leaving base camp also, I asked him if he was doing OK. Because he had had 2 days of rest, he was feeling good. But still, I was concerned about the descents. And that concern, I realized – was quite correct. We left the camp, and I made it a point to stay with him till the end.

We crossed the two ridges and the moraine, to reach the Rudugaira base camp site. I stuck with him, but I realized that the slow pace was actually tiring me out completely. So, at the Rudugaira base camp site, everybody took a long break, as the next two descents were going to be the worst, on the knees. We took some pics, and left for the mega-descent! 

I and Rupesh bottomed out, and cross over the stream (on which Rupesh broke his stick while coming), moved out of the rock-fall area, and were shocked to see that Amit was at the top of the descent, and was struggling while coming down. Swarjit had
applied a spray on his thigh before the descent and had also done it again while coming down. When he came down, he told Shashi and Guneet that he has terrible pain in his leg, which has slowed him down considerably.

We were waiting for him to come, so that we could walk with him. But, Shashi told us to start moving forward, and have him a pain-killer. The pain killer worked, but I didn’t think he would make it on the second descent. So, I took his backpack, and wore it on the front. He did quite well, while reaching the Naala camp site, as Rupesh accompanied him throughout. At the site, we had our lunch, and saw Pradeep and his team take a short cut to the camp. They reached much faster than us, and told us that the route was very dangerous.

Post lunch, we knew that the route wasn’t particularly difficult, but it was a long way from Gangotri. But, Amit did good, walking with us 80% of the trail. In fact, the weather was so good that we wondered if it even rained here, and if the rain-gods were waiting for us to leave, for the weather to clear. We were certain that Anand’s group would summit G-III, but later (in Pune) came to know that there was a heavy snow warning on the same day when they had planned their summit – so they also had to return back from a couple of hundred meters.

After the famous bridge-crossing, we lost the trail. I and Rupesh were bored of walking, and just paced up to reach Gangotri a little ahead of the others, while Amit and the rest of the group reached soon. I actually took a picture of a bus on the road – the first sign of civilization in the last 2 weeks! By the time they reached, we had already had 2 plates of vegetable Noodles, tea, coffee, cold drinks, Frooti, chocolates and whatever we could lay our eyes on.
We were so hungry for eating “something different” than the usual mountain food, that we were behaving as if we hadn’t eaten in days! After gorging on anything and everything that came our way, we called up our homes, to let them know that we were doing fine. Everybody at home breathed a sigh of relief – that all three of us were ALIVE!

It is said – All is well, that ends well. This was a great climbing trip. We couldn’t summit, but we were fortunate enough to witness some splendid views, which we will never ever forget! We all take away lessons from this, in a hope that we learn from them for future expeditions.

Bohemian Adventures

This expedition was managed by a good friend, Shashi and her partner, Guneet. Both are strong and avid mountaineers, who have undergone courses at NIM, which gets reflected in their abilities on the mountains. Their outfit is based out of Dehradun, India and they regularly conduct treks / excursions / expeditions and trips in the mountains. They have a strong support staff, and their planning is excellent, when it comes to detailing.