Climbing UT Kangri

 UT KANGRI (6070m)

After a long hiatus have posted this blog. Missed out a lot of blogs on treks over the past 4 years. This is my first and hopefully not the last peak attempt.

Well, it all started with my cousin Sarang egging me on to do an expedition after our planned Chadar trek was scrapped by the Leh administration. We selected UT Kangri a moderate difficulty peak. Bhagwan Chawale a mountaineer was organising an expedition there so we put our names in his team. Bhagwan was a  an experienced mountaineer with multiple 8000ers under his belt. So we were sure he would bring us back in one piece. The team consisted of 9 members of which I was oldest at 59years, Sarang at 53 years and youngest was 22 years. This kind of expedition was the first for all of us except Bhagwan.The peak was a recently opened in 2019  on the Manali highway near Tanglangla pass. 

Both me and Sarang reached Leh 2 days prior to main batch on 11 Aug to ensure acclimatization. I had a short 1km walk on 12th and a 3 hour walk into the hills behind Spituk monastery with Sarang on 13th. On 14th we had a walk from Thiksey Monastery to Shey Palace and explored both the locations.

Shey Palace

   Thiksey Monastery

On15th we had a drive to Khardungla then after we went for a short walk on the Khardungla road to an altitude of 13000ft. On 16th Aug  we were dropped from Leh to near Tanglang La and walked 2 hours from elevation of 14800 feet to our first camp at an elevation of 15186 feet which was an easy walk.

Camp 1

Next day we walked 7km to our base camp at an elevation of 17100 feet.

Base Camp

Enroute we had to cross a few big streams by skipping over rocks in it. In one of the crossings I slipped on a rock and plunged into the chilly water - not an ideal situation as I had soaked all my clothes and shoes n socks. Mingyu who was with me looked a bit shocked. Fortunately the weather was kind and sunny and I waited to dry my clothes. Luckily I suffered no injuries except that of bruised ego. Fortunately I was carrying a warm hoodie and a rain cape in the day pack which were only slightly wet. Shoes however were totally soaked.

Drying myself after the dunking. Shweta and UT are in the picture.

At the base camp we were were introduced to our main equipment the Scarpa boots which are as comfortable to walk in as walking on stilts! And on top of it they weighed a ton. It took considerable effort to get in them and the shin were getting scraped unless properly fitted. The Ladakhi guides help was a saver.

Stanzin Norboo helping with the Scarpa boots

We had a couple of acclimatization walks in them. As the soles of the boot were not flexible and the ankle was  securely enclosed by the boot, stepping of rocks with an incline would put complete pressure on the side of knees. So I had to select flat rocks to step on! 
The effect of high altitude was clearly felt at the base camp. Simple actions like putting on socks and shoes or getting in and out of our tent would be exhausting. Two of our team dropped out due to being affected by High Altitude sickness. One was Shweta who was the strongest amongst us. The other was a Sandeep who started feeling nauseous and wisely decided to stay back.

The next night on 19 Aug at 1am in pitch darkness our climb to the peak began. The first part was a 2.5 km walk and 350m elevation gain over rocky scree, a slow painful walk to the ice wall of 70-80'height.

Bhagwan climbing up the ice wall

For this we used normal trekking shoes- CTR. One of our team Gayatri gave up as she found it too tough.Here we changed to Scarpa and with the help of the Ladakhi guide leader Stanzin did jumaring to scale the wall. Midway up the wall my crampons on one boot came off and I slipped and turned , hanging on to the rope halfway up the wall. Stanzin had to come up and fix the crampon as there was no way for me to go down. It was slow going up thereafter.

On top of the wall we were then roped in 3 groups of 4, with a Ladakhi at both ends of the rope, and our ascent started, this time over snow.

Roped up

By this time dawn was breaking. The distance was 1.5 km and an elevation rise of 450m. A slow tiring walk with heavy breathing due to the altitude. The last 100m were the toughest and required lot of mental strength and encouragement from the guide on my rope - Mingyu. Finally 6 of our team made it to the top- pretty good record. Only one girl of the 3 succeeded though she pleaded to be dropped in the last 100m! Stanzin ordered the guide on her rope to give her rest and food and then push her to the top.

The team on top

 Brothers on top

The view from the top at 19910 feet was mesmerising. We could see peaks and ranges all around us - a 360 degree view.

After clicking snaps our descent started.

During descent my crampon came off twice which delayed our team and increased our frustration as the rest of three teams were well ahead. Mingyu fixed the crampon but his usual smiling demeanour was showing frustration. To make things worse was my leg getting stuck in a crevasse! The situation was me sitting immobilised with my left leg properly cemented upto my knee in the crevasse, Mingyu couldn't move as he too was on top of a crevasse! Finally I had to dig myself out with the ice axe- a very tiring 30 -40min where I had to catch my breath after every 2-3 strokes of the ice axe. A few steps later I saw another crevasse on the path created by the other teams so stepped to the right and a few steps later was again embedded as I stepped into another crevasse! This time I could extricate my foot quickly. All this problem was due to the suns heat and thus the snow covering the crevasses were melting and the crevasses getting exposed. Also contributing was the size of my boot - Size 12 and my weight - 81kg.

Then Mingyu asked me to slide on my backside for a short distance to avoid the crevasse region. A risky move as with the gradient I would accelerate out of control. And that did happen but was saved due to my cousin Sarang anchoring the rope and me digging in my feet crampons and my ice axe. Not a pleasant experience as my arse was freezing and for a moment I expected to be the first ever case of an arse frostbite! The descent seemed to be never ending and frustrating as we were the last team on the snow. The youngest of our team Hardik meanwhile had collapsed due to exhaustion and was dragged over the snow by the Ladakhi guides to the ice wall. My team on the rope made it to the ice wall but not before my crampon coming off again! I was belayed down the ice wall with only one boot having the crampon as we had to change to our hiking shoes at the base of the wall which was a relief. There after the walk down over the scree with Sarang and Stanzin was done in next 2 hours to reach our base camp at 2:30pm, a total duration of 14.5 hours of walking and wading through scree and snow. 

With Stanzin and Sarang back to the camp.

Joy in the faces on completion of the climb

I was totally exhausted as was Sarang. I had never experienced this kind of exhaustion in my life. Had a quick bite and collapsed in my tent into the sleeping bag for a deep sleep.

Nevertheless it was an unforgettable experience(which my body won't forget for some time)!😃

We were lucky to have an excellent Ladakhi guide team who had a very positive attitude and an excellent cook. The meals were truly 5 star keeping the occasion in mind. Without their help we couldn't have succeeded. Special Thanks to Mingyu and Stanzin.

The team:

The team less Sarang

R to L

1. Lt Col (Retd) Kedar Pitre
2. Bhagwan Chawale
3. Darshan Dhore
4. Shweta Night
5. Gayatri Ghate
6. Anuja Pharate
7. Sandeep Gite
8. Hard Sane 
9. Sarang Pitre( Not in Photo)

Mingyu the ever smiling Ladakhi.

A few key Takeaways:

1.  Being fit is essential while attempting peaks in altitude over 16000 feet.

2. Being fit does not exempt you from getting fully acclimatized. High Altitude is unforgiving. The more you acclimatize at Leh the better. Usually trek operators have a 3 day acclimatisation, which may not be enough. Going a couple of days early would definitely help. Army has a 6 day acclimatisation in Leh for going to higher altitudes.

3. Don’t  rush, walk slowly with even breathing.

4. Preferably have a low weight - makes it easier to walk in snow.

5. Learn to fit the Scarpa boots  else they will repay you back with scraped shins and lots of pain.

6. Learn to secure crampons properly.

7. Learn how to stop a slide using the ice axe.

8. Wear multiple layers and get good gloves.

9. Good quality wool caps and sunglasses are a must.

10. With every person who quits enroute, one guide has to accompany him down. This could result in the complete team returning if more people abandon their quest to reach the top. So go ahead only if you are sure - for your team's sake.

Panshet and Back

(A very fine portrait by Ithape - Put it in my FB Profile immediately)

Last Sunday - 01July 12, was our ride to Panshet. The planning began after our ride the week before through Bahuli - Kudje. On my return from Nilkanteshwar I had checked out the route via Panshet which was good enough for cycling. I told Anil and we fixed it for Sunday. I called up Aniket Sutar who passed the word around and we had Ethape, Raj, Bhavin and Fartale joining in besides Ethape Junior.
 The ETD was fixed as 0600hrs from Rajaram Bridge. Anil and self took off at 0545hrs and were at the bridge at the fixed time with Ethape and jr reaching there at the same time.Bhavin, Fartale and Aniket followed. Ethape had been to Panshet on cycle earlier and had hitchhiked back in a tempo.








We started at around 0620 after the mandatory clicking of snaps. The first part was comfortable cycling in the cool early morning. We stopped for another photo session at the Khadakwasla lake.

(L-R:Ithape Jr, Fartale,Raj, Bhavin, Ithape , Self n Anil)

The next stop was after crossing Khanapur. Here Ethape 'n son and Anil was with us. The others did not fetch up for quite a while when on inquiring it came to light that Bhavin's cycle had a puncture at Donje phata. And no one had a puncture kit but me! So after cursing Bhavin for not calling when we were closer we looked around for ways to send the kit back to Aniket and Bhavin. Meanwhile we clicked snaps.

The first few cars  and two wheelers looked at us suspiciously and took off much to the amusement of bystanders, while others were were going unto Khanapur only. Finally one of them suggested to send it with the milkman- they were all waiting for him to come on his mobike. Fortunately the milkman turned to be a gentleman and agreed to deliver it to our stranded comrades. Meanwhile Raj and Fartale fetched upThereafter we waited for another 30 min before Aniket confirmed that the repair wasn't successful and they were returning to base. The delay had cost us almost an hour and it was past 0800hrs.
We proceeded ahead and were fortunate that the sun was feeling shy today. The weather was cool and the road allowed comfortable cycling.Most of the time the gradients were not too long and not very steep so I could give my Dahon a push and actually enjoying the climb for a change. But the king of the climb was without doubt Anil Bhide.  We reached the Panshet Dam and went straight to the base of the dam for the usual - Photographing ourselves and our cycles.

 We then settled down to have breakfast at the small restaurant  at the base. Everyone but me and Anil ordered Misal, we two had poha. The poha had an overdose of spiciness by my standard. We followed it up with Kanda bhaji.

While I looked around for way to quench the fire in my mouth - finally succeeding with a soft drink. We started  back to Pune at around 1030 hrs.

Shortly after we found another group also heading back to Pune. At Donje phata we found that it was the Lifecycle group coming from Neelkanteshwar, practicing for their Manali - Leh trip. Lifecycle owner was there as was Captain. We took the Sinhagad Road route back via Rajaram Bridge. Reached back around 1200hrs after a thoroughly enjoyable ride. The details of the ride are given out on the Endomondo map below.

Pedal Power ride -2012

Beginning of last month was the Pedal power ride - this was the second installment I had attended. Last year was one of the first interesting ride I had. Yogesh Joshi from Ruturang also was there - as his company sponsored the event apart from his love for cycling.  Last year we had the monsoon which delayed the ride and messed up the SP College ground to the extent that most participants were removing mud for the first 10 min of the ride. This year the monsoon played truant and it was a clear sky. The Ruturang team consisted of Parag, Rahul, Anil and self.  The star attraction was Milind Soman. The ride to Corinthian was meant to be be an organized one with the whole lot riding together - A rather boring way to have a ride, so I took off on my Dahon and was first in at Corinthian Boutique hotel. The rest followed bunched around Milind Soman with a camera preceding!

At the Corinthian there was the breakfast but no overhead tent as done last year, keeping us at the mercy of the sun. There was an arrangement made in the AC banquet hall which I avoided as a ride - AC - ride was not a healthy combination. Once the main group reached everyone was clamouring for a photo with Milind Soman. Samples are below.





Yogesh, Fartale and Parag(Edging in sideways:))















Ethape & Parag(finally in place! )

Ethape And Yogesh in the background

Milind and me seem to interested in something.











Ethape had also joined in the ride as had Aniket Sutar.
We all  skipped the presentation and decided to get back as it was getting quite warm. Anil, Yogesh and Parag decided to go the same route back. I decided to take the route via Katraj along with Ethape and Phartale. The return trip was uneventful and warm unlike last year when it was drizzling. Interestingly I had reached before the rest of the Rururang gang!

Mutha Khind - Kudje Necklace Ride

          Just back from a 60 km, 4.5 hr ride via Chandani chowk, Pirangut top, Mutha Khind, Kudje, Warje and back. I had planned to do this ride ever since I went on the route two weeks back. Last week Anil Bhide who was the only one interested in the long ride was down with fever so the ride was postponed and we (Parag, Shriram, Rahul and self) went on a short  ride to Deccan, SIMS, behind Pune University, through the University and back from Law college road. It was a rather boring ride but for the fall I had in University in the most odd fashion resulting in smashing the rear view mirror and bruising my ego. And all I was doing was circling on the spot waiting for the others to catch up!! My first not counting the almost one while descending Sinhagad. The ride ended as usual at Sheetal Restaurant for a cup of coffee.
      
           Coming back to the topic of the day . . . . . . . .

            I was up at 5 much to the irritation of a sleepy wife. Got a piece of chikki and Kokum sherbet as survival rations. For a change took along my cycle repair kit. Both Anil and me started at 0610 hrs. The sky was clear which meant that we had to make haste as the later part of the ride would be in sunny weather. This was my first long ride(>40km) since my back injury, which was still not fully cured as niggling pain continued. The ascent at Chandani chock and Manas was done without a hitch but slowly on my Dahon. At Pirangut top we took the left turn to Lavasa. The ride to Mutha khind as expected was a slow grind. Anil who was on this route for the first time enjoyed it and liked it. We had made it to this point by 0800 hrs and it was 21 km of mainly ascent. Took a couple of snaps here as evidence!  Going down towards Mutha we turned left towards Bahuli village and the cycling experience had a dramatic change!

Reached Mutha Khind(Pass). Below in the background you can see the hill range in front of which our route lay

Me and my Dahon and cycling goggles below.

Anil on his Hercules at the bottom

          The road which was smooth till now, thanks to Lavasa was now a rough road without surfacing or rather whose asphalt wear coat had eroded exposing the wheels to potholes, stones and the base layer. We were rattling our way ahead at 10 km/h. My Dahon must have suffered a lot here followed by my rear and my neck. This unpleasant bumpy ride continued for the next 8 km with intermittent patches of road suitable for cycling. Another interesting aspect of the route was the up and down gradient present throughout the route exercising my limbs thoroughly. Enroute Anil spotted a 7 ft long Rat snake in a roadside ditch.We stopped to admire its beautiful yellow coloring with black designs. The poor thing spotted us and was in a dilemma about its escape route. Some villagers also gathered to admire it. On my asking them not to kill it I got the reply " Who wants to kill a Dhimman?" that pleased me no end. We passed the entry to Davaje village and Nilkanteshwar which looked majestic atop the hill on our right. We carried on ahead and on one of the ascents I had to get off and walk for the last stretch of 25 mtr which was far too steep for my Dahon or me, Anil however negotiated it on his Hercules. The Dahon as usual succeeded in attracting kids attention with calls of "Arre te cycle bugh!" which I would promptly reply by honking cycles horn much to their delight! This has never failed! Else if anyone looked curiously at me on my Dahon I gave the same treatment which invariably raised their eyebrows or I would say " Jhakaas na?" which always got a smile.

           Soon we reached Splendour County and the road improved. We decided to have Tea at Splendour County but were told they only catered for bulk bookings, so we carried on. We stopped at small hotel and had a cuppa tea each(Rs7/- each) to fortify us for the last stretch.
            The route to Warje was good and was completed quickly but thereafter we were enveloped by the traffic. Till Warje junction it was choc a bloc but the cycles helped us get through unlike the four wheelers which had to literally crawl. We reached back home at 1045 hrs - a good solid ride of 4.5 hrs.

The biggest climb shown in the picture (Taken from Endomondo details of Anil's acct) is that of Mutha Khind.
 It was one of the tougher rides I had and could have been a great ride if the road condition had been better. Lets hope the Govt does something about it - a tall order till the hills on the wayside were taken by developers and they develop it like Lavasa! This bigger Necklace ride still remains one of the most interesting rides I have had.

The Theur Ganpati ride

With Tulapur trip behind us we( Ethape, Aniket and rest)started planning for the next ride. Thats when Theur came up as a suggestion. It was a comparatively short ride along Solapur road. We all gave our consent and the SP was decided as Swargate. I again decided that I would borrow Aniket's cycle and asked Aniket - He promptly agreed( I wonder how long he is going to tolerate my poaching on his equipment. But as long as he remains a gentleman it was safe) :)

At 0610 I took off and headed for Aniket's house which I found despite my apprehensions of finding it in the maze of roads in Peth area. He got ready while he served me Maggi which was quite welcome due to the cold . We then headed for Swargate, reached and waited till the others arrived - Aniket, Bhavin, Ethape 'n Son, ------- and Bhavin's friend who is the owner of Peter England outlet on Tilak road.
We took off at around 0700hrs.

All of us lined up at the SP- Swargate bus Depot exit.









We headed East to Camp and then took the Solapur road. It was easy going in the cool conditions in the early dawn. Pink sky with the sun yet to make an appearance and a cool breeze, it was ideal cycling conditions.

We took a break enroute for a cuppa tea as ----------- was desperate for one!

 We had company of a Biker on a Harley and soon every one was crowding him and posing with the Harley and the biker(unavoidable :) )

He did look funny with his biker goggles - a flying

helmet would have perfectly complimented his attire.

We continued to Theur after taking a left turn a few kilometers ahead. Two three km later we were in Theur. It was a small place.

The Darshan does not take long. It is a small temple but clean. This is good to see for a change. We must be the  only devotees seeking the Lords blessing in cycling shorts.

We took the return journey and clicked some snaps on the flyover adjoining the horse paddock of Poonawala.

Enroute back Bhavin's friend had a fall when the pedal of his cycle sheared off. His Hero Hawk was too old and possibly rusted. And also quite slow as he was lagging behind in our group. A statement for getting better foreign bikes!

Visit to Tulapur

A week after ride to Aniket's farm, Ethape suggested a ride to  Tulapur. The place was famous for two things: one was Sambhaji Maharaj's Samadhi and the second was sangam of three rivers - Indrayani, Bhama and Bhima. We rendezvoused at Cafe Good Luck as usual at 0630hrs. The route was Wakdewadi- Nagar road to just short of Koregaon Bhima - turned left for a few kilometers to our destination.

For this ride I borrowed Aniket's Trek and it was great feeling riding at a fast pace.










The place was beautiful, specially the triveni sangam. Meanwhile Ethape  got busy with making the bhel , while Raj and Aniket got busy with photography! Some evidence of the camera skills shown below

My focus was Bhel!

All these snaps is  how you define Narcissism!


After borrowing his bike now I have tried his Sunglasses!




You can see Indrayani in the background above and Bhama in the snap below.

 

The ride back was again very enjoyable with the Trek and we averaged almost over 25kmph. Meanwhile my Dahon went for servicing with Aniket!