out of 12 trekkers , only 4 of us Malaysians had chosen
to trek to the Pangarchulla Peak.
others can't make it , so some stayed at the camp , and some
went to the easier mini-Pangarchulla
our camp is located on the other side of the ridge (1).
(2) passing through a very narrow ridge
(3) and (4) descend and crossing a stream of melting snow
(11) crossing bare snow. at this point the trek is starting
to get steeper .
(15) and (16) is the beginning of the difficult part of the trek.
this was the deciding point ,
a thin line between fear and self-confidence VS catching dream.
from this point onwards the trek becomes very steep , about 70-80' angle.
one side of the fragile snow ridge is sharp boulders , while
another side right side of 17) is steep cliff all the way down.
despite all the risks and fear, I've chosen to catch my dream instead.
Lut with injured knee.
but that also means i can conserve energy with a slower pace
and take plenty of photos.
the downfall is as time passes , the snow also starts to melt ,
making the trek more dangerous.
we met Shamim and Hami after this point (16).
Hami reached the peak at 8.30am already descending now.
only Hami made it to the peak , while Shamim had vertigo
and can't continue further up the steep trek (17).
our head guide Mr Mohan Singh upon seeing us , immediately
forbids us to climb further , especially Lut with injured knee.
It's nearly afternoon and the snow is starting to melt.
But i was very eager to climb to the peak , and it's only about
500m remaining to the peak.
so i walked up the snow ( using toes ) & down ( using heels )
just to proof to him that I understood the technique they taught ,
and can trek up to the peak on my own.
He finally allowed me to go to the peak with my guide
Mr Durga.
Bid farewell to Shamim , Hami and Lut , i continued the trek alone
with my guide.
it's very hot near the peak due to direct sunlight with minimal clouds
between the sky and us.
and for that reason we need to wear sunglasses during trekking on snow ,
because sunlight to the eyes will be multiplied by reflections from the snow.
trekking on steep fragile snow , alone with my guide with no more
Malaysian friends to give moral support.
but my fear is not the height , but i'm scared if i drained my energy
at the top and can't go back down.
Descending on snow is more difficult than ascending.
Mr Durga every few steps will ask me " Go up? "
i immediately replied " Jom! " and just go along ,
without even thinking on what i was doing.
We don't have much time at the peak , because the snow is melting
and the clouds are coming , retstricting our vision.
on the way down , due to thin melting ice ,
my leg got into a hole near a rock and stuck inside it.
luckily I have my trekking pole with we , and used it to crush the ice
around the rocks and free my leg.
we continued further down , and reached the next camp ,
Khulara Camp ( camp 3 ) at 4pm , after 11 hours of trekking.
finally , a dream to go trekking in the Himalayas before
finishing medical school and returning back to Malaysia for good
came true.
Kuari Pass Trek & Pangarchulla Peak 4550m
Indian Himalaya Trek
31st May - 5th June 2014
Uttarakhand , India
instagram : #KuariPassTrek2014
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