The night passed off without any problem but it dawned overcast with chilly
wind blowing. We now realised that this camping ground was very near to
the snout of the glacier and we were at the starting point of the Pare chu river. The
valley was quite narrow and the mountains rose on both sides. As far as we
could see the slope on opposite side of the camp was rocky and steep. We
did not have any idea of the further trail and into which direction the pass
was located. Both the horsemen were working on the horses and were putting
horseshoes as otherwise the horses would have slipped on ice over which we
were to walk. The job completed, we wound up our camp as the sunlight
reached the camp. The other horseman moved out towards Karzok alone and we
five moved on our trail towards the pass. How hardy are these people who
brave the cold wind and snow on a regular basis and move around these
valleys all alone for which we look for guides and porters and claim big
success when we reach our homes.
The trail immediately crossed over to the right bank of the river and
moved towards the snout which was quite near. However, before we reached
the snout we started climbing up the mountain side. The weather again packed
up and sleet started to fall. The visibility was also reducing and
the horses were moving ahead with some speed as horseman wanted to cross
the pass at the earliest. The trail we were moving was still free of snow
but was climbing up the mountain in zigzag fashion. The team members
were moving at a bit distance from each other. I was walking last
just behind Dewan who was a bit slow on the climbing trail, while Dorjee
and Thapliyalji were moving with speed. Finally we reached the near top of
the mountain when the trail straightened up and then climbed down a bit
before moving towards the big glacier in front of us. Though the glacier's snout
was quite small it was quite vast up here. The sleet was falling with
speed and it was all hell up here. Difficult to look ahead into the wind.
The temp. was quite down and the wind was adding to the difficulties. The
trail finally climbed upto the edge of the glacier and immediately we
encountered small crevasses. Whether they were really small or had got
covered with the freshly falling snow was a point to be remembered and
each crevasse was given its due and with care we started to move on the
glacier. The horses had moved ahead quite a bit and Dorjee and Thapliyalji
were walking some 50 metres behind them. I waited for Dewan to join me so
that we covered the initial crevassed section together. Once Dewan was on
the firm section I increased my speed so as to close the gap between the
first group. Due to heavy snow fall the foot prints were vanishing from
the trail very fast and we could have landed on some hidden crevasse. Soon
I caught up with Dorjee and then with Thapliyalji. It was a big walk on
the glacier and as we neared the ridge in front we turned right to climb up
towards the pass. Still there was no sigh of the pass and we only hopped
to reach it soon as we were not aware of the conditions on the other side
of the pass. It was sure that we were quite near to the pass. I finally
caught up with the horses which now turned directly into the snow slope.
The horseman tied a rope around one of the horses and moved up to the top
of a small step as we stopped a bit behind them. Behind us a carcass of a
horse lay over the ice slope, an indication to the tragedy which had taken
place at the very spot not in too distant past. The first horse climbed up
with some help from the horseman and so did the next horse as the slope
was still covered with some snow. However, all this moving about removed
the snow from the slope and so we had hard ice in front of us. As the
third horse tried to climb up this ice he slipped despite the horseman
pulling it from front. Few more attempts and he could not climb the
slope which became more slippery. Finally Thapliyalji climbed in
front and the horseman came down to push the horse from behind. With all
the pulling and pushing the horse finally climbed up the slope and we
heaved a sigh of relief. However where was the pass and how far. The wind
was now blowing at very high speed and it was cold. While all this was
happening Dewan was reaching the turning point from where the diagonal climb up
was beginning. Anyway since there was no problem between him and us we also
climbed up the ice slope and lo we were only few meters from the pass and
the prayer flags were fluttering in the gale force wind. We were at the
Prang la and were relieved to have been able to reach the top. Immediate
worry was the other side of the pass, but again to our relief there was no
glacier on the other side and it was all barren and the trail moved down
over black gravel as far as eyes could see. Immediately we took photos and
waited on the leeward side viewing the vast glacier in front of us. In
whiteout conditions and without a guide it can always creates problems. Dewan also joined us and we sat there for ten more minutes. As all were
getting cold and we still had long walk in front of us, we moved down into
Himachal leaving behind the great land of passes.
As we moved down from the pass over a small zigzagging trail, we got some
relief from the wind and the cold. The trail was over loose and wet
stones with not much problem walking over it. We lost site of the pass as we
moved down the steep trail which moved on the left side of the valley.
Finally we reached a flat section where we crossed over to the right of
the valley and moved down into an open area. The flat sections
here can be used for camping, however there was no water to be seen. May
be it has some water point. The trail kept
moving down and finally we reached a big camping ground, which we came to
know was Borogen camping ground. Here also we did not see any water. We continued down
through the ground and entered a narrow nala which was devoid of any water
and this finally led to the trail on the right of the valley clinging to
the mountain side. The descent was steep and as I was wondering about the
teams climbing up to the pass from this side, a French man came in front
followed by his son. This was his second try for the pass as he had to
turn back the previous year as the donkeys were not able to cross the
heavy snow on the pass. Wishing them all the best I moved further down the
trail to encounter the three donkeys, one guide and two porters of the
French man. A quick word and we were on our way, they slowly climbing up
and I moving down. They were quite near to the camp site and we still had
long time to reach the camp. At that time actually I did not know how
much, but it turned out to be pretty long. I sat down to have water and
also to eat something as we had been moving since morning and it was
already past two in the afternoon. The trail climbed a bit and then again
moved down The slope of the mountain was directly going down to the
Parilungbi
river, but the trail took the easy slopes which finally became zigzag as
it moved down to the river. We reached the river bed which was
coming from the glaciers on the right of the pass as we had climbed up.
The trail was now moving on the left bank of the river and we were in the
gorge. On both sides the mountains rose high up into the sky. The trail was
moving a bit higher than the river and then it moved down to the river
level. A newly built bridge came into site, however the trail was still
moving straight along the left bank. Dewan crossed over to the other side
and I continued on the left bank. After five minutes walk Dewan was on a
good trail and I had reached the end of the trail. So I jumped over the
boulders to reach the right bank and both of us continued walking in the
gorge. The gorge was barren and not a single tree grew there. The trail
suddenly took right turn and entered a side valley where two small trees
stood as if to attract the trekkers on to the right path. The trail
started to climb up. Slowly we were rising higher and higher out of the
gorge and the various features were getting lower to us. However, the end
of the trail was not in site and this climb was sapping our last remaining energies. As
we climbed out of the gorge we expected to see our camp but alas it was
not to be so. Though the top where the trail had moved out of the gorge
was quite open there was no water. Slowly we followed the trail and then
high up we saw our tent, which had been setup by Dorjee and Thapliyalji,
who had moved fast after the pass. The tent seemed quite near but as we
approached it we found there was no direct route to the tent and there was
a narrow deep depression between us and the camp. So we slowly continued
up the trail which went round the depression and finally we reached the
tent and slumped in the horseman's tent. At this place there was
hardly any sign of water and it was told that the water tickling out of
the broken plastic bottle was the only water available. A cup of tea and
the knowledge of knowing that we were quite near to our destination was
enough to bring back the energy. The horseman left his horses for grazing
as had been the practice on reaching a camp. Evening he went to look for
the horses and could not see them anywhere and so he got very worried. He
again went looking but could not find them and by dinner he came back
to the camp, a worried man. There have been instances when the horses have
gone back the way they had come. However, as we had climbed last out of
the gorge we were very certain that they were somewhere up but
horseman was not convinced. We had our food and retired for night. When we
got up the next day there was no sigh of the horseman and Dorjee told us
that he had left around four in the morning for the gorge to look for the
horses. The thought of going down to the gorge and then climb up was
enough to shake us up. Any way we prepared the breakfast and waited for
him to come back.
Suddenly horses came in site above the camp and behind them was our
horseman. Well on getting up he first went down all the way to the river
and then walked upto the bridge and when he did not see the horses he
climbed back to the camp and then went along the trail we were supposed to
flow to Kibber. There in a small valley he found the three horses grazing
and he brought them back to the camp all in similes. No complains, no
aching muscles and after breakfast he was ready to move out. We had packed
up our stuff and were ready to leave. The horseman did not fold
his tent and only emptied it out leaving only the kerosene bottle we had
given to him. Leaving his tent there we moved out onto the trail, as he was supposed to come back
the same evening after dropping us at Kibber. The trail
immediately climbed up but that was the only climb other than the final
climb to the village. The Shilla peak loomed high into sky behind us as we
left the camp and then the trail dropped down on the other side looking into
a
large valley far down. A truck went on the road halfway up the mountain on
the other side of the valley, but we still had a lot of walking in front
of us. Far away structure of a temple was shinning in sun light, but
we had no idea then that it was our destination, the village of Kibber. The
trail first moved parallel to the mountain side before it moved down all
the way to the fields of the Dumla village. The trail did not enter the
village but moved towards the direction of Kibber. The trail now
moved along the left bank of a small stream and continued to go down. The
stream finally met the river moving from our left side in the formidable
looking gorge. We went across the river on a newly made bridge and
immediately thereafter the climb out of the gorge started. Our sudden
appearance disturbed a group of bharals and they rushed on to the cliff
side seeking protection. We continued on our way and finally were out of
the gorge and a small walk brought us to barren fields of the Kibber
village. Few old houses at the end of the road leading to the village gave
it a mystic look.
As we moved into the village the houses looked quite
old but the presence of vehicles and a tractor gave different feeling to
the place. The moment we moved over the ridge we realised that what we had
been seeing were only few houses of the village and the majority of the
village was on the other side of the ridge. The village was located in a
horseshoe shape on the slopes of the mountain and on the other side there
was a rise again, which provided it a secure look. We also realised that
the fine road we had seen was not the main road and the main road was
across the village on the other side. We moved there and unloaded the
horses. The financial transactions with the horseman were completed and
giving him all the leftover ration we said our farewell to him. He loaded
the horses with his belongings turned back for the camp we had left in the
morning, however this time he would be alone there, which did not bother
him as much as it bothered us.
Now we waited there at the village looking for vehicle to take us to
Kaza from where we were to take bus to Manali. However, there was no
vehicle and the girl running one of the hotels told us that the chances of
getting one were quite slim at that time of the day. However, there was
nothing else to do other then waiting. So we ordered tea and noodles and
sat there looking at the village and the dark clouds in the sky. Seating
there for four hours before we got a vehicle for Kaza, I suddenly realised
that I had not encountered a single dog. Well it came out that really
there were no dogs in Kibber and also there are lots and lots of donkeys. Infact the place has more donkeys then the humans.
It was dark by the time we left Kibber and so could not see the
mountain scene on the way to Kaza. The entry to Kaza was during load
shedding and so we just moved into the nearest hotel for the few hours we
had in that place. By three in the morning we were at the bus stand and by
four thirty on the road moving towards Manali via the famous Spiti valley
and crossing the Kunzum la and Rohtang la. So ended another visit to the
mountains.
