MORE HIGH PASSES IN KUMAUN

Krishnan Kutty

Shin La (5500 m): July 2004

The Darma valley has somehow always sounded romantic, adventurous and exciting. The fact that it falls in the rain shadow area allows one the opportunity to be there in the July - August window that is otherwise considered a bad time to go on a trek. Akshay Shah, Jasbir Sokhi and I left Ranikhet for Pitthoragarh and planned an overnight stay to get our inner line permits. We were told that since the start of the Dhauli Ganga hydro- electric project at Sobla, (a part of which is now complete) permits were issued at Dharchula. Getting the permits turned out to be relatively easy and were glad for it. The drive to Darr (roadhead village) passes through Sobla where the massive hydro electric project is in progress. The sight of a Himalayan river that is diverted to flow through a tunnel is quite awe inspiring; the size of the bulldozers and heavy trucks not withstanding. Darr is surprisingly (yet) un-polluted as a roadhead village at 2100 m.

Our first day’s walk took us to Sela (2500 m), and reaching there in a thundershower, we were happy to find a ‘hotel’ for the night. A few houses have converted their first floor space into a dormitory of sorts that more than fulfills the needs of a trekker. A full belly and a good night’s sleep saw us awake the next morning all perked up for the day’s travel. After a four hour walk, we chose to stop at Baling (3100 m) as it offered an incredibly panoramic view of the Dhauli ganga against the backdrop of the terraced fields of this village. We inquired about the owner of a ‘hotel’ that was locked and after a few hours were able to locate him only to realise that he had left the keys back in the field he was working at. As we waited for the keys to arrive, we were treated to the sight of a Yak walking past as its owner brought it back home for the evening. We were told that a few villages in the area are experimenting with cross breeding of local cows with Yaks. The next day, a short walk brought us to Son (3170 m) where we stayed at the home of Jaswant Singh, the village sarpanch. A two hour walk from here going west would have taken us to the Panch Chuli base camp. However, we chose to focus our energies on moving towards Shin la as that was the goal. The next day we walked to the village of Tidang (3200 m) which sits at the fork of the Lassar Yankti drainage and that of the Dhauli ganga. There is a well established ITBP post here that also acts as a local STD shop for the villagers. Having arrived here early, we choose to leave our packs in camp and head further up valley past the village of Marcha to reach Sipu (3350 m) which is the last village in the Lassar Yankti valley. We were mesmerised by the beauty of the village, its surroundings and were blessed with a family that was willing to give us a room and blankets for the night and also provided us with enough nourishment to get us through.

Having reached as far as Sipu, we chose to go further the next day to check out the Nipchukang drainage. The trail here is non existent and within an hour of walking on landslide debris and on exposed ridges, we chose to retreat. We were back at our camp at Tidang by 4 p.m. that day. The next day we crossed the Lassar Yankti river and headed towards Bedang (3890 m) along the Dhauli ganga. As we gained elevation, behind us we could see the towering Panch Chuli peaks and Rajramba. The ITBP post at Bedang checked our permits and allowed us to camp in their back yard during the two nights we stayed. We also made a day trip to a hillock on the opposite side, where a solid gold statue of Buddha continues to exist, surveying the vast valley below it. We were told that devout Buddhists would come up once a year to make an offering. The next day, we woke up early for the final push over Shin la (5715 m). The trail that was very wide and obvious at the beginning, totally disappeared over the next few hours. The clouds rolled in and soon were walking in near whiteout conditions. Luckily for us, the guide we had employed to take us to the pass seemed to be very certain of the route and very sure footed. He led us through loose gravel, severe exposure, some amount of scrambling and finally by 2 p.m. we were settled at the top of the pass.

We bid him farewell as he had to return to Bedang. We too were in a hurry as we needed to get to the camp at Jolingkong (4270 m) before dark. Thankfully the trail is fairly clear on this side and by 7 p.m., we walked in totally exhausted, but happy in that we had accomplished our main goal. We rested the next day and visited the ITBP camp check post. The view of Adi Kailash was obscured by clouds, and no amount of prayers changed the weather. The next day, we descended to the village of Kuthi (3720 m) where we stayed in the home of Shanti kaki. This is the last village in the Kuthi Yankti drainage (first village when you come up valley from Jolingkong) and many decades ago was a thriving center of trade. Intricate carvings on door and window frames, massive slate slabs on the roof houses all point to a very vibrant village, once upon a time. The next day we reached Gunji (3150 m), another very important village in the past, but as important today for different reasons. It is here that the Mahakali river flowing west from Nepal enters India. Being close to the border and also on the Kailash - Mansoravar route, this town has a large ITBP post. The yatri’s have their final medical checkup done here and those found to be unfit are turned back. We continued our descent and after night halts at Gharbhayang (3050 m) and Malpa (2090 m), we reached the roadhead of Mangti nala and took a jeep to Tawaghat and on to Dharchula.

Bona - Ralam pass: July 2005

Seven friends left Ranikhet in early July for Munsiari. Our plan was to trek to Bona village, find a local guide who could take us over a few passes and reach Darr which is the Darma valley roadhead. We were delayed by a day due to landslides that blocked the road, but eventually reached Munsiari, and further down at the roadhead of Shera Ghat (1220 m). We began our trek in earnest up the trail towards Moti Ghat and Golpha. As with all first day’s, this one was a tough uphill grind. To make matters worse, water was not available on the way. We eventually reached Bona (2200 m) and were happy to settle down in the comfort of home. Bona is a very prosperous village with vast fields and neatly laid out crops. We took a day off here to acclimatise and enjoy the hospitality of our hosts. Across the valley one could see the village of Tomik. The next day, guided by a local Shepard, we started out ascent towards Daharti Dhar (3320 m). This was the first of three passes we had to cross. After the mandatory rest and offerings to the local deity, we made our way down to Kulka gad (3000 m). Thankfully we were able to cross the stream without too much difficulty and carry on towards Jan Thanga (3140 m). This is a spot in the middle of nowhere in thick foliage. We had to stomp down the thick growth for our tents and in mild rain, set up a kitchen. We had visions of camping and living in the Amazon rainforest, such were the conditions we experienced.

The next day, a two hour trek took us to the top of Guin Dhura (3675 m) from where we descended towards Jimba nala (3290 m) and eventually camped at Bhi Dhunga (3355 m). Again a nondescript place in the middle of nowhere that is only known to the local shepards who migrate through this area. The next day we crossed Balsi Dhura (3780 m) which was our third pass in three days. We continued down to Sumdum (2415 m) where we set up camp in the local school building. After three days of thick foliage, we were back in an area where terraced fields and small houses formed the landscape. It seemed like every child in the village showed up at the school to look at us, as they very rarely see folks who come from the Munsiari side of the valley. We cooked ourselves a hearty meal, washed up and relaxed that evening. We left the next morning in light rain following the drainage down towards Tijam (1890 m). The Gol gad nala comes in from the south and just past Tijam is trapped by a mini hydel project. We continued for a few hours and finally reached Darr. We walked onto Sela (2500 m) that day and stayed at the same hotel as we had the year before. Our next day’s hike took us to Baling (3060 m) and again we chose to stay at the hotel we had the year before. This was a short day’s walk and we relaxed in the evening, remembering our trek from the year before, when we saw a fully grown Yak walk down the trail in front of the hotel.

The next we continued our trek past the villages of Son and Duktu to reach the Panch Chuli base camp area. This is high alpine meadow that stretches from about 3200 m to about 3660 m with the massive Panch Chuli massif in front. We set up camp near a water source at around 3500 m and the next day, walked further up as far as one could go. We glimpsed the peaks between patches of clear sky and that evening were rewarded with a five minute view of the massif. The Darma valley and areas beyond are a part of the geographical area called the Trans- Himalaya which is in the rain shadow. The difference in the weather between the first week of our trek which was pretty much wet, and the second week in the rain shadow area was quite an eye opener. Here, while it did rain a bit on a few days, it was more like a misty shower; never long enough to get drenched.

The next day, we walked back to Son-Duktu, and walked further to the village of Tidang (3200 m) which has a large ITBP camp and check post. Our intentions of walking up the Lassar Yankti valley to a point ‘as far as possible’ was laid to rest by the ITBP who said that the areas beyond the Nipchukang drainage was in the inner line and permits were needed. The next day we hiked up to Sipu (3350 m) with the intention of hiring two guides who would take us over Ralam pass. Sipu is one of the few inhabited villages in this valley and is also the last one in this drainage. We were lucky to meet Puran Singh and Ram singh who had been over the pass many years earlier and were confident of finding the trail. We debated on hiring both or just one person, and finally decided that for the cost of the extra person, we would have the benefit of ‘two heads being better than one’. We told them to meet us at the beginning of the Nipchukang drainage the next day and we returned to Tidang. After a few hours of socialising with friends at Tidang, whom we knew from the year before, we went to bed, with dreams of crossing Ralam pass in a few days. The next day, we hiked beyond Sipu without going the final 150 m uphill to the village and found a camping site at the mouth of the Nipchukang drainage. The site was not great and even after a few hours of scouting, we were not able to find anything better. We resigned to an uncomfortable night’s sleep and in the morning were thrilled to see our two guides walking towards us by 8 a.m.

We re-divided some of our loads and followed Ram and Lakshman as they picked out a faint trail that was washed out at many places. The gradual gain in elevation took its toll and we slowed down the pace. Around noon we reached a beautiful bugyal (4200 m) with a stream flowing close by and we decided to camp here. We spent the evening looking over the moraine towards the peak Chaudhara that was playing hide and seek in the mist. The next morning, we moved further up towards the pass. We crossed the Nipchukang glacier diagonally going southwest and set up camp on a moraine at 4725 m. Apart from the route ahead looking steep, we wanted to acclimatise as best as possible before reaching the pass. We reached this camp site by 11 a.m. or so, and took a few hours to carve out some semblance of a platform for each of our tents. We left very early the next morning in an effort to gain as much elevation before noon and the inevitable clouds that would roll in. Our guides led us through some tricky terrain, often stopping and discussing between themselves on the route ahead. We crested a series of ramps only to see another one ahead of us. Finally at around 2 p.m., we were standing on Ralam Dhura (5365 m). As luck would have it, we were on top in whiteout conditions and did not feel like staying up for too long. We began our decent in earnest and by 5 p.m. we set up camp at a relatively flat spot about 300 m below the pass.

That night we had a clear sky and looking into the western horizon, were able to see the Nanda Devi massif in a moonlit sky. Though anxiety of crossing the pass and exhaustion took its toll, we were in great spirits. The next day, our journey took us over the Yankchar glacier which we eventually crossed diagonally to get to Yankchar Dhura at approx 4570 m. This was another pass that we crossed on this trip and were happy to see a faint trail that worked its way downwards towards the Shunkalpa glacier and its drainage. A bit of meandering by our guides who were trying to locate the trail in thick fog got us to a point at the toe of the Shunkalpa glacier. Our tired minds took almost an hour to decide weather to cross the glacier to get to the other side (this involved about an hour of back tracking) or to try crossing the raging Ralam gad. Eventually good sense prevailed and we chose to cross the glacier. We made good time after that and soon found ourselves walking on well established trail that took us to Ralam village (3500 m) that we reached at 7 p.m. The village folks did not seem too appreciative of seeing us, so after basic courtesies were exchanged, we settled for the night at the local school building.

The next morning, we moved down the Ralam valley with prayers on our lips. We were told that the pucca bridge at Lingunani was not in place and the only way to cross was a snow bridge (that would collapse any day), half an hour before the pucca bridge. Going down for three hours and not being cross over would mean coming back up for three hours and an hour further up to cross Birjeganj dhura and descend into the Milam valley. We were spared this ordeal in finding the snow bridge in place, but only just.... We quickly crossed over and breathed a sigh of relief. Our joy was short lived, as our Sipu guides, not knowing this area, were unable to find the trail. For the next 6 hours, we thrashed through a Ringal forest (bamboo). Eventually, after two wet crossings of the river, we reached the totally disfigured campsite of Lingunani. There is a ‘rest house’ of sorts here with the walls and flooring falling apart. There is graffiti all over. But for us tired souls, none of this mattered. We were scrapping the bottom of our food supplies and were happy to be doing so, as we figured that we had planned our food quantities well. After a basic breakfast in the morning we were looking at a 450 m uphill trudge and another 760 m descent that would take us past the village of Paton to Lilam. We reached Lilam by 1 p.m. and for the first time in many days, ate a good meal of roti, dal and rice. In the scorching afternoon sun, with humidity almost 95%, we hiked towards the roadhead at Darkot. A 20 minute taxi ride took us to Munsiari where we soaked under hot water showers, and a hearty meal. We were thrilled and excited to have completed a circuitous route that took us over five passes over 20 days. The next day’s taxi ride to Ranikhet was filled with nostalgic memories of the trek.

Summary:

High Altitude treks in Kumaun. This is the second and concluding part of the article that appeared in Himalayan Journal Vol. 62, p. 111.