Goecha peak (6127 mtrs) at Night

Goecha peak (6127 mtrs) at Night, originally uploaded by The Wandering Hermit.

Goecha Peak (6127 metres) below the towering East Ridge of Kangchenjunga is about a 1000 m higher than the Goecha La Pass.. As of 2001 under the Places of Worship Act the Sikkim Government classified it as a Buddhist Sacred Peak along with
Kanchenjunga (main, south and west summits), Fork Peak, Gabur Gangtsen (Kabur Dome and north and south summits) Mt. Pandim, Paunhari,&; Simvu, Sinochlu, Narsingh and no expeditions are allowed to climb it now.

Last Light on the West Ridge of Mt. Pandim.(6191 mtrs)

Last Light on the West Ridge of Mt. Pandim.(6191 mtrs), originally uploaded by The Wandering Hermit.

The West Ridge is lit up with Alpenglow as another day sets over Mt. Pandim, viewed from the huts at Zemathang and the terminal moraine of the Onglakhing Glacier. This is the base for climbing attempts on Pandim. It also marks the beginning of the climb up the moraine to Samiti Lake (4200m) the sacred source of the Prek River..



Early Explorers:

John Claude White: White traveled extensively in Sikkim and Bhutan. He was mainly responsible for opening up roads and bridges which made access easier for later explorers. In 1890 he crossed the Goecha La to the Talung Glacier south-east of Kanchenjunga and followed the Talung valley to the Tista, being probably the first European to investigate the gorges between Pandim and the Simvu group.”

The first Europeans to come to this area to climb were Von Dechy the Hungarian Mountaineer in 1879, who fell ill and so little climbing or exploration was done.

He was followed by the Englishman W.W. Graham. *(his accounts of his climbing exploits were so full of discrepancies that they have been a source of argument to this day. He reportedly claimed climbing Kabru, an 18000 ft peak, though he was forced to return to Darjeeling after only a week, of having set oout from Darjeeling not enough time to get to the mountain let alone climb it.)

Douglas Freshfield set out with his party in 1899. He was to be the first mountaineer to trek in a circle around Khangchendzonga, from the North. He was also the first mountaineer to examine the great western face of Khangchendzonga, rising from the Khangchendzonga Glacier.

He also traveled to Green Lakes along with the famous Italian photographer Vittorio Sella’ who had photographed Siniolchu from Zemu Valley. Freshfield has described Siniolchu as “The Most Superb Triumph of Mountain Architecture and The Most Beautiful Snow Mountain in the World”

His travels resulted in one of the classic books in mountaineering literature
Round Kangchenjunga: A Narrative of Mountain Travel and Exploration,

He always traveled with two Swiss Alpine Guides and the whole trip which was made along with a party of 60 including 7 Europeans & the rest local Coolie's cost him a then lordly sum of 200 Pounds

When he finally arrived safely in 1899,at Dzongri after 8 weeks , he lit a big bonfire, which was visible as far as Darjeeling. The Governor of Bengal ordered 10 Gun Salute to be fired in his honour.



The modern trek routes followed by thousands today are the same routes pioneered by Freshfield and though many things have changed the mountains still have the same allure and like sirens call out to your soul.

Searching for Shangri La

, originally uploaded by The Wandering Hermit.

Searching for Shangri La

I grew up on stories of ancient yogis and fearsome sadhu's and mystics who meditated for thousands of years rooted to a particular spot somewhere in the Himalaya.



They were supposed to have performed legendary feats and there are thousands of natural formations one can find all over India which are still attributed to these ancient supermen standing on one leg and not moving lost in their penance to please the gods much like the giants of Ancient Greece.. Some turned into stone (some became ant-hills or trees as different legends say) and others who became gods themselves.


Of course at some level you never truly believed such stories and such was the case with me too.. it till I saw this "lepcha" which I half expected to get up and start walking alongside me..
.
After this chance meeting I could easily believe that stones could come back to life and show me the way to that hidden Shangri La or Middle Earth of Tolkien

Walking through the fairy meadows:
Nestled as it is in such a surreal setting with Autumn in full bloom and colors galore of different ferns, lichens and wild flowers.which flourish at this altitude of around 13,000 ft.during the descent from Lamuney viewpoint on the Yuksom - Dzongri La Trek in Sikkim..This was one of the best treks that I have done.in the last few years .

Sikkim still retains a lot of character and isn't as commercialized as other hill stations in northern India like Manali have become.

Some of it could be attributed to the hard mountainous terrain where we started off at 9000 ft with almost tropical rainforest's and interspersed with copses of Golden Bamboo forests and finally giving way to alpine rhododendron forests fed by the wet climate and the abundant glaciers of the singilla ridge

The landscape, flora and fauna add that crowing touch which makes the legend of Shangri La come alive for me. It is a lost world in itself a unique ecosystem and one which is constantly under threat.. There is something deeply mystical yet very elemental which you can almost feel surrounding you by spending time walking around such locales.

The Land of the eternal mist inhabited by a smiling people is always a joy to visit..

{This is one of my shortlisted photos for the Banff Mountain Photography 2008 Photo Contest}