Ladakh

28 August - 4 September 2009

The day before we would leave for the 8-day Stok Kangri trek we had to make some preparations. After our bad experience with dirty and smelly sleeping bags in Nepal we wanted to buy some 'real fake' new ones. However the sellers were not in a good mood and not prepared to give us some good bargains. So instead we decided to rent two sleeping bags again! This time Sharda personally checked the sleeping bags by opening and sniffing them. We were told these sleeping bags used to belong to the Indian Army. At first the thought of a dirty Indian soldier wearing this sleeping bag was not so pleasant but the selling point that the army used them on glaciers convinced us and in the end they turned out to be quite comfortable and warm.

At 6pm we had a last briefing with our guide in which Sharda mentioned that she had an eye infection and that we would like to consult a doctor before heading into the mountains. No problem said the guide and within half an hour we went to a place to see one (during the day we had unsuccessfully tried to contact a doctor or pharmacist ourselves). The place turned out to be a hotel and first we received a nice cup of tea. 10 minutes later the doctor arrived (he actually owned the hotel) and he took us into one of the hotel rooms where he checked Sharda's eye and prescribed her a medicine. On my question 'what do we owe you' the doctor replied ' This is a hotel, or does this look like a clinic? So you don't have to pay'. After thanking him we went back to our guesthouse in the hills to dream of our adventure that was about to start.

I told you already that we had hired the best agency in town to hopefully prevent a 'disaster' like in Nepal. This meant we had almost a full expedition team to assist us:

• Sherpa Pemba from Darjeeling, our guide
• Karma from Nepal, our 'chef the cuisine' aka 'lady killer' (every time we stopped at a teahouse you could see him flirting with the lady of the house)
• Tsjetup Lama from Nepal, our assistant cook and lunch Sherpa, aka 'the monk' as every second of free time he spent reading Buddhist prayers
• Champa from Nepal, our kitchen boy
• Rigzin, the only local, our pony man
• Six horses to carry the loads (don't know why Rigzin was called PONYman!)
• A dining tent, cooking tent, sleeping tent and toilet tent (YES indeed a toilet tent)
• Bags and boxes full of food, cooking utensils, gas bottles etc.

The first real obstacle after a two hour drive from Leh through the stunning Indus and Zanskar valleys was the crossing of the mighty Zanskar river by means of a small trolley. First the guys and luggage were transported across the river to follow by the two clients, Jordi & Sharda. Unfortunately when we were crossing the river something went wrong, the ropes got entangled and we were hanging 15 meters above a rumbling white river. Only after 20 minutes we managed to get out of our uncomfortable (that's an understatement) situation, when Sharda was able to disentangle and pull the ropes and get us safely across (what a man am I he?).

Two hours later we arrived at a teahouse to have lunch. A house however is a bit too much honor for this in a tent converted parachute. Our guide told us that in winter many villages are supplied by army helicopters dropping food by parachutes as these villages cannot be reached on foot due to heavy snowfall and avalanches.

The first two days we walked up from 3400m to some 4300m through bloody warm (35C) and very sandy and dry canyons. Each morning we got a wake-up call from Tsjetup saying 'Allo Allo' and serving us a hot cup of tea, while we were still comfortably in our warm sleeping bags. Afterwards we would get some hot water to wash and freshen up and then it was time for breakfast: ranging from muesli, omelet, bread rolls, croissant to rice pudding! Then we left with Pemba, while the others went packing and loading the horses. Somewhere on the way Tsjetup did catch up with us and a bit later we would have lunch, which he had been carrying with him. At our destination for the night we again received tea or hot lemon with cookies and at 7pm it was dinner time. We were surprised by Karma, our head chef, who was able to prepare the most delicious meals (or were we just really hungry after a day of walking?) while seated and cooking on the floor: pizza, momos, pasta with fresh salad, spaghetti Bolognese, pies, pancakes cinnamon rolls.....he cooked it all with a smile (and a cigarette when Pemba was not around)! One night he even gave cooking lessons and showed Sharda how to cook momos (a Tibetan delicacy). I am desperately waiting for her to cook them for me back in Amsterdam!

Day 3 the weather changed and instead of the clear blue skies of the previous days we woke up on a cloudy, windy and cold morning to climb the Ganda La (La means pass) at almost 5000m. We were a bit surprised by the weather change as Ladakh is well known for its 360 days of sunshine throughout the year. While I struggled a bit that day and felt pretty weak and feverish, Sharda, after a slow start, was getting stronger by the day. As we were not able to see many mountains due to the clouds, several mountain marmots decided to entertain us with their funny whistling.

On day 4 it was still cold and it started to rain, which turned out to be an omen of bad news. After dinner our pony man who went to collect his horses for the night, returned with the sad news that one of his horses, the old white, had died. The happy and energetic spirit of the team in the prior days immediately disappeared and we all felt sorry for our sympathetic pony man. Just before dinner that night he had told us that it would possibly be the last trek for the old horse as it had already difficulties to keep up with the rest of the group.

The next morning we saw the dead horse on the mountain while we were ascending the Stok La (just over 4900m). Although steep, a bit slippery and cold and you could feel the altitude, it was nice to climb without the dust of the prior days. We both felt very strong this day.

Day 6, another cloudy day. After a relatively easy ascent and our first close-ups of Stok Kangri (6120m and our ultimate aim of this trip) we arrived at base camp at almost 5000m. During our afternoon acclimatization climb to 5300m we were caught by surprise in a snow storm, although we managed to return to our tents safely. Just before dinner two rafting guides of our trekking agency (who were to join our group to the summit) arrived together with the climbing Sherpa (a one- time Everest climber), who was especially flown in (not literally) to guide us high up the mountain the next morning.

Day 7....SUMMIT DAY. At 1am we wake up after a short night in which we cannot sleep very well due to the altitude and the excitement. After breakfast at 2am we (climbing Sherpa, Pemba, the 2 rafting guys and us) leave with our Petzls (head lights) on into the dark and snowy night. Sharda feels a bit sick (probably the food) the first hours but manages to continue and recover later onwards. Tara, one of the rafting guys, however, is coughing very badly and after he has vomited blood, a serious sign of AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) Pemba decides to descent with him. A few other climbing groups have then already decided to return to base camp.

Still in the dark, we continue climbing slowly...step by step...while heavy snowfall and an increasing wind are trying to prevent us from doing so. After crossing a glacier without too many crevasses (or maybe we didn't see them because of the darkness and fresh snow) we arrive at the foot of a steep and rocky gully that goes all the way up to the summit ridge. After having climbed ¾ of the gully at an altitude of 5808m we decide to stop for a while and decide what to do. Sharda feels a bit insecure after our guide left and she does not have full confidence in our climbing Sherpa (he did not speak any English). Also climbing the very slippery snow and ice covered rocks is getting more and more difficult and the climbing guide tells us that the wind on the very narrow summit ridge will probably be very dangerous. When we see that the two other remaining groups on the mountain, that have just reached the ridge leading to the summit, some 100 meters above us, also decide to return we are completely convinced. Although it was a tough decision to return also because we were physically still in good shape, we know we made the right one! Better fail and return safely than go on and maybe end up in a life threatening situation higher up on the mountain in very bad weather. On the way back we decide to rope up to prevent us from falling off the icy rocks. At 9am (7 hours after our departure) we, looking more like a couple of snow men, return happily into a white base camp and we are welcomed with a cup of hot tea by Pemba and Tara, who has recovered from his AMS at this 'lower' altitude. The next day we walk from base camp to the warm and even a bit sunny village of Stok down in the valley.

In retrospect I think we were just a bit unlucky with the weather during our attempt to climb Stok Kangri. In good conditions we could have made it. But that doesn't count. Winter had started unusually early this year we were told. In the end we had a wonderful trip with a pleasant and fun team. The mountain will wait for us as we are keen to return one day as beautiful Ladakh and its people have stolen our hearts!

Jordi & Sharda