Pic Courtesy : www.summiters.net |
In the footsteps
of Zanskaris
The
land is so barren and the passes so high that only the dearest
friends or fiercest enemies would want to visit us.
Ladakhi
proverb.
The dense fog and the sudden
snowfall had delayed my flight. I was on my way to Leh for
a enchanting experience over the frozen river popularly known as Chadar
trek.Flight is about to
land in Leh at an altitude 11,500 ft ( Worlds Highest Air strip ) and the
captain announces it is -8°C outside.As I hear a cold current runs through me. At 10 am on a bright and
sunny morning, it is -8°C in Leh, I imagine what it would be like in the dark
canyons of the Zanskar river.I somehow manage to dash to a guest house with
heater and spend the night.
The
Chadar, which literally means sheet of ice or blanket , is essentially a walk
on the Zanskar river. Every winter, the river freezes to form a gateway to Leh
for the people living in remote villages of Zangla , Padum, Pishu and Kharsha , the largest town in Zanskar. In
winter, when snow closes all roads and Zanskar is impenetrable, the frozen
river serves as the only gateway to the outside world for Zanskaris.
My intention was to start out trek from a place called Chilling, the closest road head and a
tiny village and army outpost 40 kms from Leh. The drive to Chilling was
spectacular. The road snakes through the wide, white frozen flats of Leh valley
surrounded by snow clad mountains and
climbs to a point just above the confluence of the Zanskar and Indus rivers at a place
called Nimmu. Frozen sculptures
crafted by the sudden freezing of the tumultuous waves of water create poetry
on the Chadar. The melting waters carry demurely the ice and snow, gurgling
softly, as if murmuring a soulful song. Ice blocks float
on aquamarine water seem to be in a rush
to meet the Indus originating from Mount kailash. The jeep drops me a few kilometres ahead of
Chilling. I have a rewarding view of valley down the river and I walk down the
rocky canyon to set my first tentative foot on the Chadar.Our first camp,
Tilatdo, is 2 km away. I didn’t think it would take me more than half an hour
to get there. But my guess is wrong. Within a few minutes, I am sliding on an
icy sheet only to land on my bottom. I learn some quick
lessons about walking on the Chadar from my guide Rinchen — you need to slide your feet on the sheet of
ice or use soft crampons instead. We reach the camp in an hour. The evening
sets in quickly and so does the cold — the temperature is -18°C as sun sets down.The cool breeze blowing from
the canyons adds to cold. Our guide lights the stove to keep us warm in the
kitchen tent. We settle into our tents after dinner and it seems like we are
sleeping in a refregierator.Down clothing,sleeping bags and a hot-water helps me spend night
peacefully.
Next day, I set out for Nerak,
excited about seeing the frozen waterfalls
on the way. The day is cold and dark. Drafts of icy wind bite into our
skin, our breath is frozen in a thick fog and water drips continuously from our
noses.
It is
dead cold and I walk faster to warm our bodies without
stopping. Suddenly, out of a bend, the frozen waterfall leaps into view. It is
gigantic and towers over us, rising almost to the height 50 -60 ft.It is
difficult to use the camera with bare hands and fingers go numb.A look at the
icicles in the form of stalagmites and water dripping from it more
adds to beauty,frozen waterfalls one feels as if time is stand still.
It’s difficult to imagine how falling water could freeze. For the first time on
the trek, I leave the Chadar to climb to a small rest house on the trail to
Nerak.The mud structures resembling head of camels and horses on the river bed
draws attention of the campers. The village is hidden in the folds of the
mountain much higher than us.With increasing cold, fading light the recorded
temperature in the night says -25 deg.
It is the coldest night. From Nyerak, the Chadar trail gets
very tough as we had to go over thin layers of ice; sometimes dig our feet into the powdery
snow or walk in ankle deep cold water.At a place called Woma we crossed
precariously over narrow path with the help of ropes.Here there is a diversion
to a place called Lingshed ( Known as half Chadar ). I walked over slippery
stones near the river and then finally we had to climb a steep slope before we
did some bouldering to reach Tsarak Do. This is the place where the newly
constructed road ends. Our guide arranged a vehicle and took us to Zangla and
then Padum, the capital of Zanskar. A quiet town with an idyllic landscape,
this place has a population of about 900
people. During winter, most of them move to Kargil or Srinagar. The
night temperature dips here as low as -32 degrees Celsius making life style
miserable.Next day I visited the Monastery at Kharsha on the hillock. I retrace the route over chadar for yet another
experience and after 14 days covering more
than 100 kms .The whole journey an experience of a lifetime comes to an end!
The Zanskaris are waiting restlessly for the day when the Chadar road that is now being constructed from Chilling
to Padum will be operational. Though trekkers and adventurers would miss the
Chadar, for the people of Zanskar, it would be a finally a blessing !
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