KRAG

The Kuari Khal expedition was done in October-November 1997. I led a team of 6 people on this 9 day route across the Kuari Khal (Kuari Pass) which is at a height of 4269 Meters. It is located in the Chamoli district of Uttranchal state and is a few kilometers from the Indo-Tibetan border. This route is also called the 'Curzon Road' since Lord Curzon went upto the Kuari Pass in 1905.

"Standing at the Kuari Pass facing north, the vision sweeps from the gorges of Trishul in the east to the peaks of Kedarnath in the west - the Kedarnath, Chaukhamba, Nilkantha, Kamet, Gauri Parbat, Hathi Parbat, Nandadevi, Bethartoli, Dunagiri - all arranged in a stupendous arc Southwards the foothills stretch wave upon wave on to the dim haze of the distant plains"

This expedition was conducted under the aegis of the BMS College of Engineering Mountaineering Club. the BMSCE MC holds the privilege of leading the first all student expedition from South India to Gadhwal Himalayas in November 1983. This is now an annual event undertaken by the 2nd year students.

Phase 2:

DAY 3: 30/10/97: Ramni - Jhenji (1524mts): 17Kms

    All of us were awake and ready to go by 7:30AM. We had prepared breakfast the previous day itself. The day's trek would involve climbing up to Chechni (2237mts) and then going downhill all the way to Jhenji. Just as we were leaving Ramni ,we noticed something that looked quite out of place. When we asked the porters about it, they confirmed that it was a solar powered apple farm ! All the equipment had been brought here by porters and mules.

    The acclimatization had done us a lot of good and we did not tire quickly even though we were climbing a sixty (60) degree incline and rough terrain ,which would not change till Chechni. At 1:00 p.m., we met a team of Australian Trekkers who were going in the opposite direction towards Roop-Kund. We exchanged pleasantries and continued , reaching Chechni at 1: 30. We stopped to prepare lunch and the porters informed us that a cloudburst looked likely, and sure enough, a few minutes later the skies darkened and it started raining cats and dogs. The porters found another of the abandoned mud huts for us to take shelter in. We covered the openings in the roof and walls with our plastic raincoats and cooked our food inside .Sometime later,we decided to have a look outside and imagine our surprise when we discovered it was snowing !!

    The winter had arrived early this year. The porters were talking about the difficulties this may present later on, but It was the first time many of us had experienced snow and everyone was clicking photographs and enjoying themselves, oblivious to Everything else. Even though it was snowing, there was nothing on the ground since it was the first snow of the season and the temperature wasn't cold enough.Once the snow and rain stopped, we decided to get a move on to make up for lost time. All around us,the peaks were covered by fresh snow ; We could see a hillock ahead of us , which the porters informed us marked the beginning of the downhill trek. As we topped the rise ,a spectacular sight greeted us. The hillock was the highest point for miles around and we could see huge ranges of snow capped mountains and peaks in all their majesty. We could experience some of their mysticism and magnetism which drove men and women to risk everything to conquer these peaks. The porters pointed out our destination - Kuari Pass, among the peaks.

    The trek downhill was harder and more time consuming than we had imagined. The recent sleet had rendered the ground slushy and the weight of our backpacks made staying upright on the steep incline difficult. We reached Jhenji at 7:30 p.m. after trekking for almost an hour in the dark with our torches proving inadequate in that terrain. Luckily for us ,the head master of the primary school there kindly permitted us to pitch our tents in the courtyard. We decided to forgo supper and fell asleep flush with memories of the day's experiences and with high expectations of what tomorrow might bring.

Day 4 :     31 / 10 / 97 - Jhenji to Pana (2043mts) - 15 Kms

    We awoke at 6: 00 a.m to find dawn just breaking and a clear sky which held promises of a bright and sunny day ahead. After thanking the headmaster for his kindness we started the day's trek at 7: 30 a.m ,going downhill for half an hour till we reached the base of the mountain we had to cross over. There was a bridge over the river Birahi Ganga, which we had to cross. Though the terrain was quite steep, we made good time having got used to it by now. The porters had informed us that this would be the most scenic of all the routes on this trek ,which we found to be true. Snow capped peaks towered above, rivers fed by

the melting ice from these very peaks could be seen flowing serenely through the lush, forested valleys below us. Mountain ranges from either sides merged into valleys ,stretching as far as the eye could see. Eagles, riding the cross currents in the valleys were rising up, gliding effortlessly.

    At 11:00 a.m , we crossed the halfway mark - one hour ahead of schedule! A decision was made not to stop for lunch and we continued our trek. At 2:00 p.m we met a group of shepherds who informed us that we were only half an hour from Pana. Ramni and Jhenji had been small villages with populations of about 300 to 500. Pana was smaller than both these places. We set up our camp just outside Pana at 2:45 p.m .It stared raining at around 3:30 p.m . That put paid to all our plans of exploration.Thankful that the rains had kept off until we finished lunch, we resigned ourselves to spending the rest of the day in our tents. The rains did not stop till late in the evening ,by which time we had decided to call it a day.

DAY 5 :     1 / 11 / 97 : Pana to Sartoli (2386mts) - 17 Kms

    We left for Sartoli at 7: 00 a.m. Though we were mentally prepared for a tough climb , the going was tough.It was a 70 degree incline and the altitude ,being more than 8000 feet also affected us. We still managed to proceed according to schedule until lunch time, which was at 1:00 p.m. None of us was in any hurry since the next day was to be a rest day, before we crossed above 10,000 feet. The decision whether to rest for some more time or make a move was made for us by the sudden darkening of clouds which meant rain or maybe even snow. All of us had makeshift raincoats made from plastic sheets for just such an eventuality, but they proved inadequate against the fury of a Himalayan rainstorm. The raincoats hampered our movements and slowed us down. Since we were climbing up, the rain washing down the slopes of the mountain was hindering our progress considerably. Still, we managed to reach Sartoli by 4:00 p.m .It was still raining.

    We stayed in yet another abandoned hut that day.We could see Kuari Pass high above us. There was snow falling at that very moment on the surrounding peaks. We were all drenched to the skin. With the help of kerosene and lots of blowing, we finally got a fire going. All the wood was wet but we managed to dry them. The tents were used to cover up the gaps in the hut, along with our 'raincoats'. By the time we had our supper it was already 7:30 p.m. None of us was feeling sleepy even though it had been a very tiring day. We sat up till late in the night exchanging anecdotes and jokes, and talking about the next and final phase of our trek that was to start tomorrow,finally drifting off to sleep, overcome by fatigue.

Phase 3 : Sartoli - Dakhwani - Kuari Pass - Reagdi - Tapoban

E-mail: ravi.giri@gmail.com

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