Glam and 'No Shit' - The Descent

We rushed down soon after finishing the breakfast as we had to reach all the way to Tsokha before the nightfall. The summit having conquered, there was no stress, no qualms and no negativity. We stopped once in a while to rest and listen to music from Prashant/Nandini’s Sony Ericsson, while I being the judge of whose phone had better speakers.

Pines started reappearing and pneumonia seemed to be disappearing. Each of us was feeling better with the decrease in altitude. We reached our destination before nightfall and broke all stories to Zen and Sachin. Photographs were seen and reseen. Anecdotes were re-narrated. The feeling was that of three musketeers returning home after a long journey. We retreated to our tents after a lively dinner. Tsokha to Yuksom was never going to be easy; our knees and calves had already cracked up.

As expected the next 16 kms didn’t happen to be the easiest. Even after reaching Yuksom, the distance from the start of the town to Hotel Tashigang seemed terribly long. Once we reached the hotel, I instinctively lay down flat, flat on the road and the two fellow musketeers followed. The last few clicks were now being clicked. Sachin arrived a little later and Zen arrived a little into darkness with Sujoy.

We soon had our relaxed dinner with a few drinks before we raced to the comforts of pillows and mattresses of Tashigang. The journey was over and we were now waiting to break the news of the trip to friends around.

Glam and 'No Shit' - The Stick and the Carrot

I woke up on the D-Day to the noises made by a Bengali group of trekkers who were getting ready to hit the top. I woke the rest of us up and put on as many layers of clothing as possible, to prevent the imminent leash of harsh cold and wind chill. The three of us were concerned about being late already and feared that we would miss the daybreak and the first light on the peaks. Sujoy was the last one to appear from his tent and we were raring to go. Each one of us had borne enough hardships to let anything go wrong now. We embarked upon the trail with Nandini, for a change, without her contacts, walking safely between Prashant and myself. The climb was definitely tough and the three of us had similar thoughts – descending such a steep decline would be an even tougher ask. Only Nandini was voicing the concerns and we were irritated to hear OUR thoughts aloud. What kept us going was the fact that there was no way we could call it quits after days of efforts. Meanwhile, the climb did not seem to be leading anywhere yet. We were walking along a ridge and had to overcome two ascents even before Dzongri top could be visible.

An hour into the hike, Nandini was clearly sagging and had started complaining of exhaustion and headache. Over the past two days, altitude was taking its toll on Nandini. Her appetite had drastically reduced and so was her liquid intake, which is crucial for fighting against altitude sickness. My jovial self had by now stopped egging her up but was literally pushing her to the top, my walking stick acting as the cane that hits the cattle to force them keep moving. Given that she wasn’t as easy as a cow, this approach did not work for too long. That’s when Prashant unleashed the carrot of the ‘carrot and the stick’ methodology. As she sat on the side of the trail, Prashant tactfully drew out a potent finger of KitKat out of his daypack and offered it to Nandini. She was more than happy to accept it and the chocolate bar gave her mental satisfaction and physical energy to continue to the top. Sujoy allayed our fears of being late by suggesting that there was enough time before the day breaks. Soon we were at the top and we were well in time. The summit had been achieved. The mission was accomplished. We jumped in joy, rejoiced, clicked hyperactively, huddled and made videos of the view with our voices in the background, before the first light of the sun hit the range. Right infront of us were Black Peak, Kanchenjunga, Kabru North, South and Dome, Pandim and a host of unnamed peaks, all above 7000 mts, some above 8000 mts. On the left were ranges of mountains partly snow-capped, partly covered with mist and clouds and on our right was a deep valley with streaks of clouds, all below us. It was a weird view to behold. Weird enough to let Almighty’s name slip out of my lips.

Kanchenjunga fanned off the mist from infront of her to stare at us and soon all the peaks were glistening with the first rays of the sun. By now, we had stopped clicking as we had realized that some things could be captured only by the non-digital wide angles of the eye.

The wind was biting my toes below the two layers of socks and shoes. The cold was freezing the blood in my veins but we refused to leave until there was not much of the peaks left to be seen (they were slowly getting mist-clad again). Meanwhile OUR tea-boy reappeared like an angel from down below, holding the same kettle and glasses. We rejoiced and drank two glasses of the best hot drink I have ever had. Eventually, the mist started to reappear and Kanchenjunga was behind the cloud cover. It was now attacking the Kabru family and Pandim simultaneously. Heaving a sigh of total satisfaction, we started retreating back to Dzongri and soon discovered the beautiful trail we had taken to hike up; the trail and the surroundings that were not visible at 3 AM. At one instance, we found ourselves walking on a very narrow ridge, connecting two hills while one end of the ridge went down very steeply, with ofcourse, beautiful snow capped mountains in the background. At another descent, we saw a flat stretch of land covered with dwarfed rhododendrons. A recent snowfall had painted the plain with white, as if the trees had literally grown out of white snow.

We reached Dzongri and did our victorious breakfast. Nandini rushed into the tents to put her contacts on while Prashant sped with sheer determination towards a small piece of land covered on all four sides. I simply sat, totally convinced that I was now suffering from pneumonia, figuring how long could a person suffering from pneumonia survive without medical aid.

Glam and 'No Shit' - The Sleeping Trinity

Next day morning was the best view till then. On one side were the snow-capped peaks led by beautiful Mt. Pandim, while on the opposite were valleys and ranges of lesser height, barren and brown in general, white occasionally, hinting of a recent snowfall. I and Nandini finished our morning chores as Prashant struggled for it. Nevertheless, we were all ready for the breakfast that was set under the sky amidst beautiful landscape and a lot of puddle from last night’s rain, about a meter away.

Before setting off for our last camping point, Dzongri (4050 mts), we stretched ourselves, did a small hike on a side trail for a better view of the looming peaks and then embarked upon the tedious main trail. The vegetation was clearly getting stunted. Deodars were giving way to pines which too, were eventually disappearing, as the snow and ice started to appear on the sides of the muddy trail. The air was getting thinner and the three of us were stopping every ten minutes to catch our breath. The sight of snow and ice near the trail lifted our spirits and we stopped often to click away to glory. By late afternoon, we reached the camping grounds and trekkers’ huts at Dzongri. We had our lunch and set out on a trail into the Dzongri valley and pastures for want of beautiful views. Tired of waiting for clouds and mist to clear off, we simply lay flat on the slopes and slept under the sky. It was clearly evident that the body was in a confused state of shock, whether it was because of lack of sleep, exhaustion from walking or just high altitude, was not known. After an hour of eagerly lapped up sleep, Nandini woke up with a start, mortally scared of being sunburnt. We were therefore summarily ordered to get back to the camp. The next day was going to be the day we reach the summit but the climb was known to be considerably steep. We were supposed to wake up at 3 in the morning and climb up to the top so as to enjoy clear breathtaking views (depending upon the availability of air) of the Kanchenjunga range. We prepared ourselves for the morning, discussed at lengths the layering we were going to employ to beat the coldest time of the day at the Dzongri Top, and then slept for a few hours hoping for a clear day ahead.

Glam and 'No Shit' - The Tea Boy

The famous and the beautiful rhododendrons were beginning to appear. Unlike Yumthang valley, which is famous for rhododendron shrubs, this place had dwarfed rhododendron trees growing under the aegis of taller pines and deodars. The trail was relentless still and a short section of plain land or a descent was enough to lift our spirits. It would inadvertently make Prashant pull out his camera while Nandini would catch the hint smoothly as she would get her disheveled locks in place, put on her Gucci sunglasses, clear the non-existent dust from her ever-shining, red and white Tommy Hilfiger pullover and be ready for a pose, even before Prashant could decide a sweet spot for a picture. I would simply hop in the picture and later, return favors by taking Prashant’s picture, the integrating factor of all pictures being The Tilted Head with me or Prashant, somewhere in the background.

Three hours into the day and it looked like me, Prashant and Nandini were losing all steam to the altitude. Exhausted completely, we asked every passerby as to how far Pethang, our next camping ground was. And then to our delight, we saw a familiar figure. The tea-boy of our group appeared from the woods ahead of us with a kettle of hot drinks, climbing down towards us at brisk pace. Our delight multiplied when we realized that he had biscuits too and that the camping ground was not more than an hour away. We lapped up the hot drink and thought we were ready for another hour-long battle. The tea-boy, meanwhile, went further down to meet Zen, Sachin and Shujoy. Unfortunately, Zen’s health couldn’t hold it any longer. She decided to retreat back to Tsokha and wait for us to return victorious. Sachin decided to give her company like a true old friend.

Reaching Pethang after another hour, we rested happily and waited for the lunch to be served. But the irony is, the more you rest, the easier it is to catch cold. Meanwhile, after a long time, the exquisite singer in me had woken up too. Although the cold was in the bones, I and Prashant still had the spirits to sing our hearts loud while Nandini did what she knew the best.

Evening mist approached and we braced ourselves with layers of clothing to keep the monster away. With the nightfall, we receded to our tent into our sleeping bags while Prashant started his daily ritual of applying Volini at every possible joint on the body. I resorted to a hot water bag which was of great help to my lower back.

It rained for a while at night, or was it a hailstorm, we didn’t bother to venture out of our tents to discover. The bells in the necks of the yaks and horses clang continuously as they ate their fodder and I slipped into oblivion.

Glam and 'No Shit' - The Long Walk

Day 1 was literally a shot in the face for all of us. We geared ourselves up with moderate amount of stuff in our daypack, put on the famous 60 spf sunscreen and sunglasses and embarked upon the trail. The initial part of the terrain was a friendly mix of ascents and descents. The foliage was thick and many species of birds could be seen and heard. We crossed two temporary rope bridges, stopping occasionally for water or pleasant views of the stream below, before we reached our lunch halt. We applauded ourselves when Sujoy – the Guide told us that our pace was all right and we had completed 8-9 kilometers already.

After a relaxed lunch consisting of poori, sabzi, soup, with some fruits and lemonade, we proceeded towards the third bridge. Sujoy pointed towards Tsokha on a far-away hill. I laughed it off saying, he was trying to freak us out. Tsokha cannot be that far. It had to be Dzongri. Sujoy, looked back at me with a queer smile. Now, I totally know what the smile had meant.

Once we crossed the bridge, we entered into the Kanchenjunga National Sanctuary and for the rest of the day, we never descended. By now, all of us had started walking at our own paces, stopping once in a while to wipe off the sweat, grab a sip of water or a bite of a chocolate. Soon, I stopped enjoying the vegetation and the birds. I was nearing exhaustion and the walk never seemed to be getting over. My over enthusiasm was soon doused with tiredness. I just wanted the day to get over; so did Sachin, I think. Both of us were walking faster than we should have, causing exhaustion. Nandini and Prashant, on the other hand paced themselves well. As the day passed by, the weather started to deteriorate. Thick mist and clouds had descended into the valley and it got considerably chilly.

After a long walk, that seemed eternal, the first view of a few huts was available. I got too elated. I sped up to reach the huts only to realize that Tsokha was still a good 4 kms away. I had just reached Bakhim. My huge grin disappeared with the mist. I removed the day pack from my back and sat down near the hut. Sachin was visible at a distance. He had a similar smile, I liked to believe, and I made no efforts to warn him of the place not being Tsokha. Sachin knew this was not Tsokha and we started laughing at ourselves the moment he reached. All the investment in the brand new trekking shoes, backpacks, sunscreens and raincoats; what for? For having ourselves screwed maybe. Meanwhile, the porters arrived as well and we had a much needed cup of tea at the hut before moving on for another relentless 4 kms. Slow and unsteady, I finally did reach Tsokha. I was terribly cold. It was almost dark when I reached and it was windy, chilly and cruel. I went straight into the kitchen and sat as close to the stove as possible, half dead. Humor in crisis has often been my savior. I asked the calm looking cook, “Is it just me???” He looked at me, laughed and said, “Nah, everyone goes through the same shit. You will be allright in a while” as he served a cup of hot tea. Meanwhile Sachin arrived too and we had another hot drink before proceeding to the tent, evaluating strategies to brave the cold. Prashant and Nandini soon followed and found us in the tents. Zen came in an hour later with Sujoy. She was terribly exhausted too and had serious doubts about her health. We had a silent dinner, contemplating the action plan for the next day. After a brief discussion, we decided to ease our ascent to the top. So, the next day was a shorter, 4-5 km walk alone. I walked a little after dinner, avoiding the pegs of the tent in the dark, before getting back into the tent. The old back pain that I had, had resurfaced and I was not happy about it.

Glam and 'No Shit' - The Plot and the Star Cast

The Classic Dzongri trek (appeared as one of the top 20 treks in India in Outlook Traveler) begins from a small village called Yuksom. The same has been very lucidly and aptly described by Zenobia Driver. The trek is of moderate grade and comfortable in terms of facilities available. One important fact about Yuksom worth repeating (Zen already mentioned it in her blog) is that it doesn’t sell anything less than ‘L’ sized T-shirt, for a simple fact that majority of the trekkers are westerners and they happen to have L-sized bodyframes in the least.

From Yuksom, you trek upto Tsokha for about 14-15 kms. Tsokha is the last place of human habitation at about 3050 mts. From Tsokha you can either go upto Dzongri in one day or break the journey at Pethang and continue till Dzongri (approx. 4050 mts). Next day, early in the morning, you climb till Dzongri Top (4269 mts.) to catch stunning 270 degree views of the mountain ranges. This is the high point of the trek and you more or less retrace your steps on your way back.

Our group consisted of 5 of us.

Sachin : A very thoroughly finance guy. Very calculative and very cautious in nature. He was the best-equipped guy in the group – the only guy with a 60 spf sunscreen. The best laugh I had on this trip was with Sachin alone.

Zen: The creator. The mastermind behind this whole trip. A huge nature enthusiast and the only one with a big umbrella.

Prashant : Mr. Reticent and politically correct guy. Our treasurer and a very helpful person. The official shutterbug of the group as well.

Nandini : The official glam element of the group. 3 days down into the torturous cold and thin air and she finally admitted that she did practice the tilty heady poses infront of her mirrors. So while Prashant was busy running on the seaface, on Marine Drive, preparing for the trek, Nandini was deciding whether to tilt her head towards the left or the right. I am glad she did that with all sincerity as the results were really tremendous. She couldn’t breathe but she could pose, she couldn’t eat but never let the glam element be dented in the least. Hats off!

My own meager self : Don’t really require a lot of introduction. Do I?

Glam and 'No Shit' - The Start of it All

Should I start with January! My life took a turn into green meadows on Jan 16th 2008, when I got admitted to HBS. All worries at work about transfers, promotions and eventual future took an immediate backseat. Work didn’t stop then and there; I was actually starting to perform even better (or maybe the team just got better) and was happier than ever before.

Anyways, as a result of constant poking by Meenakshi, and spending a few restive days at Karaikal, I decided to take a month off at work from the huge kitty of vacations that I had accumulated – I had 90 surplus vacations pending. In other words, ideally, I could sit at home for three months, and eat, doing nothing. It’s a nice feeling. Meanwhile, Meenakshi visited her Bombay office for work and the visit paid rich dividends. An idea for a week long vacation was mooted and I simply piggybacked. Eventually, Meenakshi had to drop out of the trip because of the usual reasons but I was deep into it to call it quits. I knew noone in the group of people going on this trip but I thought, how bad could it be (It turned out to be quite allright actually). After long discussions, research and email exchanges, a trek in Sikkim was decided upon.

Sikkim is an extremely tourist-centric, environment-friendly state. Usage of plastic/polythene is strictly prohibited and people seem to be surprisingly law-abiding and well off in general. The state shares its border with Tibet in the north and is home to a lot of Tibetan population, as also, few of the oldest Buddhist monasteries.

The entry point for all treks into the hills and forests is manned by Forest and Tourism Department. Entry and exit into the forest is to be logged and the number of polythenes being carried declared. A registered guide is mandatory for the treks.

Take my word on it; inspite of having worked out in the sun for long hours, having done literal physical labor at work and being generally fit, I found this to be one of the more physically grueling experiences. Cold and altitude can be merciless killers and so can cigarettes be. 14,000 ft cannot be as easily trekked as can be thought of or written, definitely not by a first timer like me.