Lambri Pass - Part 2

The next day’s destination was “Australian thach”. The name “Australian” because a bunch of trekkers from Australia were the first ones to camp here. It was a steep climb from the “Budhi Nagin Temple” through a mix of oak and rhododendron forest. We climbed up to  “Nochi Top” and then there was a very steep descent to be negotiated. Ved was contemplating whether we should fix rope here to get down. But there was enough soft snow along the slope and the chances of slipping were less. So we decided to descend without any rope.  The descent was around 200 to 300 mts  and we took quite sometime to go down. The snow was ankle deep mostly, however at some places it was knee deep. We were very watchful and with the help of our great support staff we didn’t have much trouble negotiating the descent.

We had a nice lunch at a beautiful meadow just after the descent and then started for the camp. There was lot of distance to be covered today. It was a walk mostly along a ridge on one small mountain to another one. This being the winter, most of the ridge line was covered with snow and we had to do a lot of the snow plodding. The weather had started to turn sour and we could see that it had started to snow on the surrounding mountains. 

Most of the walk was on ridge before we encountered a large snow field with knee deep snow. As always on a long day, the last mile is always a challenge as we ambled along in the snow. It was a long day before we reached “Australian Thatch”. This was basically a “gaddi” camp which was deserted in the winter. As we settled down in the camp, it started to snow a little and all of us decided to huddle in the tents whiling away the late afternoon playing cards. Some hot maggi and tea was enough to give us some required warmth and lift up our spirits.

Since the weather had really turned bad in the late evening, Ved told us that we will need  to take a call in the morning if we were to climb up to the Lambri pass or we would directly go to a nearby village.  Luckily for us, the weather cleared up in the morning and we decided to go attempt the pass. As we climbed up from our camp, we could see the small pass. The trail to the top of the pass was through brown meadows and over a well-marked trail. To our right was the Tirthan valley and we got a panoramic view of mountains around the Great Himalayan National Park. 

The sky was overcast but the weather was holding up. As we reached the top, we realized that it was extremely windy and cold. But we were finally there after about couple of hours of climbing. 

We spent some time at the pass clicking pictures. Few of us broke out into an impromptu dance which seemed to be a cross between “Garba” and “Bhangra”. But this made the time spent on the pass memorable. 

Getting down the pass is almost always as challenging as climbing up and descent from Lambri pass did not disappoint us in this challenge. It was very tricky and sometimes a tad difficult descending down. The whole of the descent, which would have been a boulder field in summer, was covered in deep snow. Mostly the snow was waist deep, however some places it was chest deep. All of us were getting down being very watchful. To add to it, all of us slipped and fell in the snow multiple times and this was causing the hands to go numb. None of us were wearing gaiters and all the snow had gotten into the shoes and even the feet were numb from the cold. However at some places, where it looked possible,  we did have fun glissading down. It took good amount of time to reach to the tree line and then it was an easy walk down in oak forest. After a final walk in the woods, we reached another beautiful Himalayan village called “Jamala”. The road head was a little ahead where a vehicle was waiting for us. 

As I started to leave the village behind, suddenly it struck me that my Himalayan vacation was over and it was now time to head back to civilization. And so the visit for Sandeep and me to another beautiful Himalayan region ended with the company of our wonderful friends Brijesh, Avinesh, Dilip and Deepti. Winter treks are always so much fun if one is ready to bear the cold and the company of the amazing people make the trip even more memorable. There were a few stretches where it was tricky to negotiate the terrain but the company of friends and an awesome team of people keeps the spirits high and the in-hand tasks easy.  I would specially like to mention and congratulate my friend Deepti. This was probably one of the first trek for her and the grit and determination that she showed during the trek, makes me so much proud of her.

For me a Himalayan vacation is all about majestic mountain views, clear night skies awash with stars, walks in the woods listening to the birds and insects, the warmth of my tent and my sleeping bag, small pleasures eating simple food and the feeling of humility and realization that I occupy but a tiny space in all of His creations. Till next time, I will live with the memories of this wonderful trek.

More photos of the trek here - Lambri Pass Trek Photos

Lambri Pass - Part 1

The greatest gift of life on the mountain is time. Time to think or not think, read or not read, scribble or not scribble -- to sleep and cook and walk in the woods, to sit and stare at the shapes of the hills. I produce nothing but words; I consume nothing but food, a little propane, a little firewood. By being utterly useless in the calculations of the culture at large I become useful, at last, to myself.”

I read the lines above sometime back. And after every Himalayan sojourn, I feel how true that feeling is.

The planning of many of our adventure trips has always been incidental and slightly random. The plans for this winter trek were getting formed during a relaxed and rainy September weekend,   when Sandeep and I were at Dilip and Deepti’s place. There were sundry discussions mostly around running the Delhi marathon, when suddenly I had a thought: What if we go for a winter trek after the run. Little did we know then that we would actually do it and would turn out to be so much of a fun trip.

Sandeep and I have visited Ved’s place quite a few times during the past year and we really like the quaint Himalayan village. During one such visits, he mentioned the Tirthan valley and a relatively unknown hike (at least in the trekking community) called the “Lama Lambri pass trek” which can also be done in winter. 

Himalayan treks which are touted as easy in summers, turn into moderate to challenging hikes during the winters. The barren surroundings, unpredictable weather in form of snow and wind, the discomfort due to cold,  all add to the challenges . That’s why winter treks have their own charm for me.

Lama Lambri pass is unquestionably and truly a beautiful trek. One moment you are trudging through thick pine forest and the next you are amidst oak forest where the trees are laden with luxurious moss.  Sometimes you amble your way across meadows ( which I am sure would be lush green in the summers ) where surprisingly you find a small semi-frozen lake and then again you are doing some hard climbs where you try hard to catch your breath and as you reach the top, you are greeted with beautiful views of  snow clad peaks across the valley.

After the Delhi run, we reached Ved’s place near Shoja in the morning. Since everyone had raced hard the previous day, we decided to rest and recover and start the trek next day. We spent time strolling around on the road towards Jalori pass, eating delicious food and enjoying the fresh air. The next day all the members and support staff got ready by 9:30 in the morning.  The plan was to drive for a couple of hours till a small settlement of “Deemachari” and then start the hike from there. The drive into the valley of  “Gada Ghusheni” was eventless but quite scenic. We gained some altitude as we passed by some quaint settlements as we reached the settlement of “Deemachari”.

The initial walk was through thick pine forest on a well-marked trail. The locals had been saying that the amount of snowfall had been relatively very low during the season, so we were not expecting to walk on snow on the first day. However, we did see a lot of patches of snow all around. At some places the canopy was quite dense and there was very little sun even in the afternoon. There was a lot of hard ice on the trail at all such places. The trail, which was along a small stream, started to gradually climb up. This being the first day, we were all in high spirits, enjoying the surroundings, chatting and in all this we never realized how easily we did the five to six kilometers of walking and reached the camp.

We pitched our tents and soaked in the nature around us. We had camped a little away from the trail, amidst tall pine trees, at foot of a slope where a lot of snow had accumulated. As the evening progressed, the sky became clearer and we could see the stars. It was also a day before the full moon and the whole area was awash with soft moonlight. This is what I like most on the treks. There is so much time in the evening for doing nothing.  

This is not a fixed campsite and hence there is no name for this site. After coming back to Bangalore when I asked Ved about the name of the campsite for my blog,  he said, “You are the reason for me to plan this route and because of you we camped here. So I have named it “Shilpa Thatch”.  What a compliment I got and it made my day. 

The next day was another beautiful day of the trek. As we started climbing on a gentle slope, we started to encounter a lot more snow on the trail. We started walking up a nallah which was running dry and the sun was not fully up, so the snow was hard too. We were following Ved’s footprint on the snow. The initial walk amongst pine slowly gave way to a thick oak forest.

 We spent some time at a small meadow after climbing up the slope, when Ved said that we have to climb up a little more. The plan was to have lunch at “Raghupur Fort”. On the way to Raghupur fort, we found one small lake which was partially frozen. The climb to Raghupur fort was gradual as we left the oak forest behind. Raghupur Fort is a historic place which is believed to be built by Kullu or Mandi rulers. However, today there is nothing much left of the fort except the outer portion of the walls and a small moat.

We spent some time at the Fort where we had our lunch and descended again through oak and rhododendron  forest to reach “Jalori Pass”. Jalori pass is a motorable pass connecting the Kullu and Shimla regions. Since Deepti had some issues with her shoes, Ved arranged for another pair of shoes for her which we collected at Jalori pass. Our home for tonight was the Serolsar lake. It is an easy and nice walk to Serolsar lake from Jalori pass on a well-marked trail. 

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As we reached the campsite, we noticed that there was lot of snow around. We set up camp at a small clearing near the lake. The place also has a small dhaba which serves some basic food. There is a temple next to the lake called the “Budhi Nagin Temple”. 

The mountains look very different in the Himalayas on a full moon night. Today was the auspicious festival of “Holi Poornima”  and we , we were lucky to witness the pristine surroundings in the light of the full moon.

Lambri Pass Part 2 is here