Triund – India – August 2009

Bryan — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:07:11 +0000

Triund is seasonal pasture land located about 1000m above Mcleod Ganj and is where I spent six days just wandering around the surrounding hills, meadows and valleys, eating Maggie and drinking too much instant coffee. Initially, I was planning to trek Indrahar Pass but decided that I would rather spend my last few days in India in laid-back leisure rather than in hard-core trek. One can see Indrahar Pass in the photo below…it sits between the two peaks in the background…the steepness of this route takes the term “pass” to the next level. The weather was also being unpredictable and I wasn’t keen on being stranded on some mountain slope with a flight leaving Delhi in 7 days. I did climb halfway up the pass to a ‘cave’ that one would set up camp in should they wish to attempt the pass.

Looking down into the Indian plains. The urban area directly below is Dharamsala and the reservoir on the hazy horizon is NOT the Sardar Sarovar Project, but I’m sure it has all of the same problems (inside joke for my SURP 811 peeps).

Not a Swiss girl in sight.

Triund pasture has a few tea houses selling typical trekking staples, renting out tents and selling beer (which is apparently illegal as they are not licensed). Most people will hike up for the day, with some venturing a bit further into the hills and then returning to Triund for the night before heading down to Mcleod Ganj. I liked it so much, I just stayed in my tent and ate at the Tea Houses…I don’t think I’ve ever lived that cheaply before. New groups of people would come up each night which made for a variety of interesting campfire conversations.

I broke my camera just before Triund and because being up there without some sort of camera was not an option, I dropped my stuff and blasted back down to Mcleod Ganj and picked up my old point-and-shoot Olympus (which these photos are a product of) and went back up to Triund the next morning. Unfortunately, the SD card on the Olympus became corrupted and 75% of the photos I took are unreadable…these were the only ones that I managed to salvage.
Triund Teahouse. From Triund there are great day hikes further into the hills. The most common is up to the ‘snow-line’ which is about an hour above Triund. From there one may continue further toward Indrahar Pass or explore one of the other surrounding valleys or hills. Snowline pasture below. he remnants of an old guesthouse. Apparently 10 years ago this area was at the snout of a now deceased glacier.
Trail marker for Indrahar Pass.
Moving up toward the Indrahar Pass cave. It’s not really a cave, but rather a massive sloping rock one can take shelter under.

Last day at Triund. Amazing sunsets, nightscapes, full moons and the occasional full rainbow at 3000m. This wasn’t the last photo of India that I took (I have some crappy mobile phone shots from Chandigarh) but I like to think it is.

Northern India – 2009 :-)

Technorati Tags: camping, climbing, dharmasala, india, indrahar pass, mcleod ganj, photography, photos, tents, trekking, triund

Stok Kangri I – August 2009

Bryan — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:19:04 +0000

6121m above and behind the picturesque village of Stok is Stok Kangri and the main reason I ventured into this part of the world. I like culture, but I prefer views. On a good day the summit offers vies of Mt. Kailash in the TAR and K2 in Pakistan.

Initially, I was going to attempt this solo (and in retrospect, I am completely confident that I would have had no problem) but given the lack of information regarding the ascent and uncertainties regarding routes/food I opted to go with a 4-day supported expedition through one of the agencies. I like carrying my stuff myself, but given the height of this bad boy, I felt that having donkeys pack the stuff wouldn’t be that bad of an idea…real expeditions never carry their own stuff anyways :-p

For about $225 myself and a British fellow received two guides, donkeys, food and cooking services for 4 days. I received a discount given I had my own equipment.

Two days to base camp, followed by an epic 10 hour summit attempt beginning at 1am, and then one day down to Stok. The following photos are from the first day.

Stok Village and the Indus Valley can be seen in the extreme distance.

Another group returning to Stok. Could be either from Stok Kangri or one of several other treks that conclude in at Stok.

Some kind of shelter.

The Stok Kangri approach is extremely dry and rocky with little vegetation.

First camp at about 4200m asl.

Technorati Tags: climbing, india, kashmir, ladakh, mountaineering, photography, stok kangri, trekking

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Triund – India – August 2009

Stok Kangri I – August 2009