The 2400mt. snow trek day 

(30th December, 2020)

"Snowboarding is similar to life, you'll fall again and again and yet again. But you'll get up each and every time" - Baba Ajayananda

Ronnie, along with Mr. Loki visited our room for pending payment. As I was occupied with office work, my roomie left for breakfast alone, although with a frowned look. I deserved it. 

Mr. Loki looking outside thoughtfully

Bored with office, I asked Ronnie if we could do a day trek. As I saw his nonchalant look change into concern/excitement, he hurriedly took me to Deepak. Deepak operates from a small office you'll be able to see toward your right when going toward Manu temple.

"3000 per person for snowboarding and trekking up to snowboarding point, bhaiji", said Deepak. I called roomie to ask if he was fine with the price and as always he said yes. That's the thing I appreciate about Chaitanya. He rarely says no to travel and has unquestionable faith me. That's best friend material :)

Issue was that Mr. roomie had spent a gala time having breakfast whereas my stomach was rumbling with just a tea-omelette concoction since morning.

"Bhaiji, snowboard is coming, you can have breakfast till then but do it quickly", Deepak said.
I made 50% payment and ran to a nearby shop to have Maggi.

If you're wearing walking shoes, make sure you try the snowboard before starting the uphill climb. If your shoes don't fit, you can get boots from the company at rent. Shoes becoming wet due to molten snow is the worst thing one can have in a snow trek.
I made a good decision of buying waterproof, hiking shoes from Decathlon, Pune. Got them for Sandhan Valley trek, that happened in Feb'2020.

We were teamed up with a group of girls and boys from Gujarat and became friends with them, as it happens in all treks. We hadn't paid for any porter for the two snowboards, so one was carried by Anil, our guide, and for the other one, we all took turns to carry.

The snow trek underway!


We were already late, starting at around 1300hrs. The only pit stop was a tea point while going uphill, from where another person, a Nepali called Dilloodaai, also showed willingness to guide us.
There was some difference of opinion with regard to the trek route between Anil and Dilloodaai, but we finally went ahead with Anil, as the trek route was actually the route to his home, so he had to know it well.
Once, the snowboard even slipped away downhill from the hands of one of us, but Anil retrieved it in no time. That's what we paid for - expertise in traversing snowy hills!


En route capture


Moving uphill with a snowboard is no mean feat. There were times I had to use all 4 limbs & take support of thorny bushes to move ahead. 
We hiked 2400mt. to a plateau type area that was literally a playground covered with snow for us.
The place gives a mesmerizing view of the seven sister hills on one side, and the Chandrakhani peak on the other.

I shot a video here. A picture couldn't just fathom what I felt there.



After all the fun and frolic, our limbs were numb. Also, there was limited water for 8 of us. We lit a small fire and a few dried their socks in fire.

Yours truly with the snowboard

It was 1900hrs. and it was starting to get dark. I had genuine concerns regarding the way back, given the treacherous route we had covered in day. But our dear Dilloodaai knew a shorter, no-snow route back to the main road. It was steeper, but we managed with torchlights.

From a certain place during descent, we witnessed a traffic jam far away. This was the rush to go toward Rohtang. However frustrating it may seem for the people stuck therein, the jam looked like a string of pearls from such distance. 

After coming back, Deepak treated us to sweet tea as we discussed folklores. This was by far the most strenuous day for us, and we even slept while having dinner !

Monique and Ronnie happened to pass by the Chill Lounge - where we were sitting for our usual dinner. He asked our plans for the 31st. As usual, we had no clue !