pin parvati

19 05 09

delhi to pulga

pulga is half an hour walk across the river from barseni, the road end. we stayed at the forest rest house above the village (get permission from the forest office in Bhuntar). An old world wood and stone bungalow set above the village, really nice place, spent the day exploring the swagini maidan and trying to get as much altitude gain as possible. the fresh bread and pizza at pulga took us by surprise.

21 05 09

pulga to khirganga

12 km - 6hrs

a well defined path embarks from barsheni up the parvati, there is also a smaller path on the opposite side, but we were warned of avalanches. up till nakthan the climb amongst boulders and the odd patch of forest is on the easy side. after crossing the river there is a steep ascent to the top of the ridge where the khirganga hot spring emerges. we got a room in the only untented building masquerading as a dharamshala which had apparently been lost to an avalnche a few years previously. we spent the next day at khirganga again climbing up past some meadows above the hot spring and its assortment of shacks.

23 05 09

khirganga to tunda bhuj and on to laile

18km - 7 hrs

picturesque forest climb interespersed with a few meadows and several streams where we met the gaddi just getting ready to go further up. we reached the meadow of tunda bhuj at around 12:30 and decided to move on. the next two hours we walked out of the tree line and across the river onto this large meadow with several campsites. it then proceeded to rain on us and the weather worthiness of our tent was seriously tested, it did make it through despite us having to line it with our plastic sheets in several different spots depending on the occasion!

24 05 09

lalie to pandu pul

6km - 4 hours

amid our attempts to find a suitable glacier poking stick, obviously after crossing the tree line, and vain attempts to dry our tent, we managed to leave the grassland. going down to cross the river to thakur kuan on a cable span where we met the last of the gaddi's. a couple of hours walking along the valley with kullu eiger looming ahead and we reached the massive boulder bridge on the parvati famed as pandu pul. here we were engulfed in a sudden snowstorm which forced us to take shelter in a cave shelter with copious snow and ice for company. the storm was intermittent, but came down reenvigorated ever half an hour or so forcing us to camp outside the cave. when it cleared we managed to get enough fire wood for dinner, though we had to use the muddy parvati water as the nearest clear stream was across the river and down the valley, 20 minutes away.

25 05 09

pandu pul to bara dwari thatch

10km - 6hrs

the walk past the eiger and the onto the final stretch of the parvati river has a spectacular view of the two parallell ridges of the mantalai damn bisecting the valley with the parvati glacier beyond. after the initial climb from the pandu pul, much of the way is level meadow, but large snowfields forced us to ascend on morraine and scree. by early afternoon, we reached the large boulder patch just before the mantalai dam, decided not to proceede further as the afternoon is not conducive for beginning a walk on the glacier! camped near the river at bara dwari thatch cooked up dinner in gale force winds, pondered over which valley we would have to turn into and turned in.

26 05 09

bara dwari thatch to mantalai

5km - 5hrs

Walking along the parvati, we ascended the parallell ridges to view the spectacular frozen mantalai and the undulating snow fields of the receeding parvati glacier all covered in fresh snow. slowly poking our way forward through rapidly softening snow, we found an open temple poking through the snow. true to schedule at 13:30 the snow engulfed us, seemingly coming from all directions! desperate searches for shelter bore no fruit, and we had to clutch our plastic sheets and plod on till we found a campsite. A small rocky meadow with a semi frozen lake as water supply, overlooking the nallah we had to cross to get any further. Here I undertook the adventure of making rotis for dinner!

27 05 09

mantalai to glacial camp 1

An early start down to the stream which was forded with due numbness of feet following. reached the base of the off shoot valley to the east that we had identified from the survey of india map, opposite the hanging glacier. Slowly traversing up the steepening snow slope, we saw what appeared to be the lowest point in the snow ridge ahead. We mistakenly tried to approach it instead of skirting around on the rocky ridge, and hard snow did us in, a 30 foot fall arrested by a gap in the snow field where a naullah was gushing down. Some drying out and then some rock slimbing got us to the top of the ridge predictably to see a whole lot more climbing ahead! Done in for the day we decide to camp to some apectacular views of the parvati running down from mantalai.

28 05 09

camp1 to camp 2

melted lots of water and amidst cups of hot tea and biscuits made off by 8:30. 3 hours of solid climbing up on steadily softening snow and we ascended into what felt like a glacial meadow with a gateway in the ridge leading onto the to the main glacier at the far end. Prespiring from a tiring climb and running out of water, we were suddenly in a white out. Painfully we made it through the strong winds to a seemingly secure spot behind a snow mound on the far side near the gap in the ridge.

30 05 09

camp 2 to camp 3

It snowed down on us that night, and the next morning it continued till 10:00. we were getting worried as we were getting on to emergency stocks and retreat was looming, but it cleared and we were quickly off. Through the gap in the ridge and onto the most spectacular glacier cradled amidst high mountains, but no sooner had we taken in the view it dissapeared in a white out. We were forced to sit out the day in our tent and it finally cleared only once the sun had moved into setting mode.

30 05 09

across the pass to chochden

18km - 8hrs

Camped at 5000 m we slept fitfully to wake up to a spectacular panoramic view the chortens of the pass visible on the near ridge. Shoes frozen solid, we didn't put them in the sleeping bags, we waited for the sun to thaw them up a bit. Down and up to the pass, across the vast glacier, skirting round a huge depression just under the pass. Spell bound by the view at the pass, we glissaded down to the pin in no time. The survey map indicdated staying on the right bank of the pin but it appeared too snow bound for us and we crossed over. This proved fortituous as there was a discernable path and we made good headway on the scree interspersed with snow nullahs. As we approached the bend in the valley where the trail to bhaba valley disappears into an enticing valley we met a pair of yaks. There are several camp grounds, but the streams appear and dissapear mysteriously behind massive piles of scree. We camped above the bridge.

30 05 09

chochden to mud

12km - 4hrs

all along the road lined with green and purple mountains the walk was an easy downhill barring a few snow cornices which cost lengthy detours and adventures on scree. Crossing into mud we found that we were the first people to cross this season . . . too early.