Neelkanth (6596 mtrs)

Neelkanth (6596 mtrs), originally uploaded by The Wandering Hermit.

Elevation 6,596 metres (21,640 ft)
Location Uttarakhand, India
Range Garhwal Himalaya
Prominence 1,200 m (3,940 ft)
Coordinates 30°43′12″N, 79°24′00″E
First ascent June 3, 1974

The Satopanth Glacier lies on the northwest side of Nilkantha, below a 2,500 m (8,200 ft) face of the peak. The Panpatia Glacier lies to the southwest, and feeds the Khir Ganga, a stream running under the south side of the peak. Further away, to the west of the peak, lies the well-known Gangotri Glacier and its associated peaks. Across the Alaknanda valley lie the Kamet and Nanda Devi groups.

A shining pyramid of white crystals, overlooking the famous Badrinath temple in Uttarakhand. It is often called the GARHWAL QUEEN due to its fragile beauty.

That legendary mountaineer Frank Smythe (who made the first attempt to climb this mountain in 1937), called it the most mountain he had ever seen.
Its undeniable beauty often belies its difficulties and make it one of the harder climbs in the Garhwal Himalayas.

With its steep ridges and faces, Nilkantha resisted at least nine climbing attempts, beginning with Frank Smythe in 1937, Hillary & Lowe in 1961.Till last year only 4 successful ascents had been recorded though not for the want of trying. .

The peak was first climbed on by a team of the ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police) led by S.P Chamoli on June 3, 1974 by Sonam Pulzor, Kanhiya Lal, Dilip Singh, and Nima Dorje. After unsuccessfully attempting the west ridge, they reached the summit via the north face, making three camps above base camp.

Last year the first Indian civilian expedition sponsored by the Himalayan Club (Calcutta), made what only the 5th successful ascent was following the route of the Scottish 2000 expedition in an epic 57 hour climb without camps they managed to return after a successful climb.

Panchchuli II (6904 mtrs)

Panchchuli II (6904 mtrs), originally uploaded by The Wandering Hermit.

Elevation 6,904 m (22,651 ft)
LocationPithoragarh, Uttarakhand, India
Range Kumaon Himalaya
Prominence 1,614 m (5,295 ft)
Coordinates 30°12′51″N, 80°25′39″E

The most visible symbol in the Munsyari valley are the peaks of Panch Chuli, as with other peaks in the region these peaks too are revered and are named after the five Pandava brothers from the Indian epic Mahabharata.

The peaks represent their cooking hearths (chulis) where they cooked their last meal before ascending to heaven

Spectacular sunsets & sunrises turn these peaks into Virtual Baskets of Alpenglow and the peak tops almost seem ablaze and its not hard to imagine why they were named thus..

Road Work in Ladakh HIMANK Project.

Road Work in Ladakh HIMANK Project., originally uploaded by The Wandering Hermit.

Every visitor to Ladakh comes away with an awe of the roads in Ladakh.. I for one was blown away the first time I visited there.. marveling at the kind of men required  to build roads in such inhospitable terrain..Most of the road gangs were workers from Bihar who are more used to the heat of the terai plains then to the icy locales of Jammu & Kashmir..
Till 1960, Leh was connected with Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh by mule tracks only. The first jeepable road to Leh from Srinagar was thrown open to traffic on August 1, 1960. In order to construct and develop the road network in Ladakh, BRO (Border Road Organization) was inducted.
Project Himank was raised exclusively for development of road communication and other works of BRO in Ladakh region, in December 1985. The need for creating a separate Border Roads project exclusively for Ladakh arose owing to increased work-load in the region. The quantum of work and long distances from road-head and inhospitable terrain was just another roadblock to be overcome
Project Himank, with its HQ at Leh, was given the task of creating and maintaining roads and airfields in the most inhospitable terrain in the world, where most of its roads are above 10000 to 18000 feet in height. In such altitudes, the efficiency of men and machine is adversely affected due to lack of oxygen in the rarefied air and extreme cold conditions created as a result of high altitude and icy high velocity winds. The long harsh winter of seven to eight months permits a working season of only five months from June to October. The summer temperature rarely exceeds 32 degree centigrade and winter temperatures plummets to minus 30 degree centigrade with the temperature at Drass falling to minus 50 degree centigrade; thus earning for it the distinction of being “the second coldest inhabited place in the world”.
In such adverse working conditions and hardly a working season to write home about,
Project Himank is unique by itself as all the roads of the Project are located in high altitude areas. The Project boasts of the highest motorable road in the world at Khardungla at a height of 18380 feet.
One of the most challenging and demanding tasks of the Project is snow clearance. There are nine major passes in the jurisdiction of the Project.
These are 

the notorious Zoji La (11578 feet) (Where in 1948 in what is now known as "Project Bison" saw Indian Army Tanks managing to cross the pass on a trail built by the Indian Sappers in nearly impossible conditions and this action saved the Ladakh Region from the encroaching Pakistani Army Units .) ,
Namika La (12200 feet),
Fotu La (13497 feet),
Hamboting La (13620 feet),
Khardung La (18380 feet),
Chang La (17356 feet),
Kajukongta La (16626 feet),
Taglang La (17582 feet),
Lachalung La (16616 feet) and

Trisul I, II , III & Mrigthuni

Trishul I, II , III & Mrigthuni, originally uploaded by The Wandering Hermit.

Location | Bageshwar, Uttarakhand,
Range | Garhwal - Kumaun Himalaya
Prominence | 1,616 m(5,302 ft)
First ascent | June 12, 1907 by Tom Longstaff, A. Brocherel, H.Brocherel, Karbir
Easiest route | North east flank/north ridge: snow/glacier climb
Trisul I 7120 mtrs (30°18′36″N 79°46′12″E /30.31, 79.77)
Trisul II 6690mtrs (30°17′24″N 79°46′12″E / 30.29, 79.77)
Trisul III 6008mtrs (30°15′00″N 79°46′12″E / 30.25, 79.77)
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Early Climbing History & First Ascent:
In the Annals of Himalayan Climbing History Trishul plays an important part as it was one of the earliest peaks in the Himalayas to be submitted in 1907

The legendary Dr. T. G. Longstaff made the first climbing reconnaissance of Trisul, in September 1905, focusing on the western and southern sides.

In 1907 The Alpine Club as part of their Golden Jubilee Celebrations were refused permission to climb Everest so attention shifted to Trishul.
A.L. Mumm (a wealthy publisher) guaranteed to meet all expenses. The party was
· Mumm, with his usual guide Moritz Inderbinnen

· Charles Bruce with 9 Gorkhas from the Gorkha Rifles.
( General Bruce would be the expedition leader of the 1922 Everest expedition)

· Dr. Tom Langstaff with his guides, The Two Bocherel Brothers Alex and Henri. (The Canadian climber who was the chief medical officer of the 1922 Everest Expedition)
{It was standard practice to climb with Swiss Alpine Guides in those days, except for Dr A.M Kellas who climbed with Sherpas (or coolies as they were then known), mostly all early explorers brought their own guides from Europe}

Bottled Oxygen was used for the first time in Himalayan Conditions manufactured by Seib & Gormann who would later supply the early Everest Expeditions of 1922 and 1924.

It remained the highest peak to be climbed until the next 25 years till the first ascent of KAMET in 1931 by Frank Symthe's team.

Mrigthuni was first climbed in 1958 by an Indian Team which included Aamir Ali (brother of noted Indian Orinthologist Saleem Ali)

Across The Changthang {On The Rupshu Trek}

Across The Changthang, originally uploaded by The Wandering Hermit.

A group of Changpa Yak herders cajole their herd across the Changthang Desert in search of greener pastures.

Changthang is a high altitude plateau in eastern Ladakh and western and northern Tibet, with vast highlands and giant lakes. From Eastern Ladakh Changthang stretches approximately 1600 km into Tibet. It is the home of the Changpa nomads

The Changthang is a smaller version of the Takla Makan and the Askai Chin, which lie at the other end of the Tibetan Plateau, these two deserts were one of the main reasons why Tibet (and to a lesser extent) Ladakh remained in relative isolation from the rest of the world.

Very few survived a journey through them as it can be an unforgiving place and these nomadic herders and their flocks lead a hard life in such a harsh terrain.

Often their life is a hand to mouth struggle in which the desert dictates the rules but its a way of life now coming to an end due to the march of roads as deserts once uncrossable are bridged by the long black ribbon which marks the new highways crisscrossing them.

During the day the harshness of the terrain is evident as the sun beats down relentlessly sapping strength and resolve but in the evening light this country can be beautiful, desert and all: the harshness becomes subdued; shadows soften the hillsides; there is a blending of lines and folds until the last light, so that one comes to bless the' absolute bareness, feeling that here is a pure beauty of form, a kind of ultimate harmony rarely seen elsewhere.

A Pinkish Dawn on Sudarshan Parvat 6,057 m,

A Pinkish Dawn on Sudarshan Parvat 6,057 m, , originally uploaded by The Wandering Hermit.

Towering over an altitude of 6,057 m, Sudarshan Parvat commands a scintillating view of the Gangotri Peaks and valley, a little of Tibet and all the neighboring peaks. It is named after the chief weapon of Lord Vishnu - Sudarshana Chakra (- which is to be released only in the moment of ultimate crisis.)

Situated above the Gangotri Temple, it has been a challenge to mountaineers. It was attempted by as many as five expeditions, the last being in 1979 before an Indo -French team jointly led by Harish Kapadia & Bernard Odier made the first ascent in 1981along with 5 other peaks in the region

In The Valley of Flowers Uttarkhand, India.

In The Valley of Flowers Uttarkhand, India., originally uploaded by The Wandering Hermit.

In 1982, the smallest national park in the Himalayas was created to protect the catchment area of the Pushpavati River and Bhayandar Valley.. This stream follows the contours of the steep valley which leads to Hemkunt Sahib, and is the constant companion of the pilgrims who trudge upward on the footpath.

The first westerner to enter the head of the valley was Edmund Smythe a noted "Shikari" & one of the earliest members of the Alpine Club. Among his other contribution for prosterity was the recruitment of the "Pandits"- Indian Explorers from the valley of Johar & Niti who would fill in nearly 100,000 sq kms of previously unmapped terrain in Nepal, Tibet & China.

He was appointed the first Inspector of the Kumaon Circle Public Instruction Department in 1861, he opened up a long disused pass between Niti & Badrinath, at the head of the Bhayundur Valley.

British mountaineers were to rediscover this same valley in 1931 . Frank S. Smythe passed through in 1931 after a successful first ascent of Kamet looking for a place to recuperate he and his team literally stumbled across this little piece of heaven & named it The Valley of Flowers

He was awed by the variety of wildflowers growing there, and returned in 1937 to collect more than two hundred botanical species. His 1938 book entitled The Valley of Flowers brought this remote Himalayan meadow to the attention of the world. In 1998 along with the nearby Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve it was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO

The locals, of course, always knew of the existence of the valley, and believed that it was inhabited by fairies.

The Valley floor is a glacial corridor, eight kilometres in length and two kilometres in width during which it slopes from almost 3,500 metres above sea level up to 4,000 metres. True to its name, the Valley is carpeted with wildflowers during the monsoon season.

FLORA : Of the many species which coexist in this unique ecosystem, are

•Brahmakamal: (Bhrama – The creator God in the Hindu Trinity, kamal= lotus)
•The Cobra Lily(also found in Sikkim)
•The extremely rare Himalayan Blue Poppy native to the region,
•The uncommon varieties of primula and orchid which bloom during June, and
•The impatiens, potentillas, and campanulas which paint the valley pink, red, and purple during July and August.

A stone path meanders among the flowers and across streams. The flowers grow so tall that leaving the path is difficult.

Few visitors continue beyond the first one or two kilometres inside the Valley but a hardy few go in search of a grave rumoured to be there among the flowers.

(In 1939, Joan Margaret Legge, a botanist from the Kew Botanical garden in London, was collecting floral specimens in the Valley when she fell to her death. A memorial was erected in her honour. Etched in English and Hindi into the white marble of the gravestone is a line from Psalm 121 which reads "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence commeth my help."

Folklore:
Traditionally the Valley of Flowers was used by local shepherds for grazing their flocks. But in the minds of many it has a greater significance. The myths told about the valley by locals and visitors paint a picture as evocative as the flowering that is the Valley's namesake.

There are stories about faeries who carry off anyone who wanders into their domain. There are other stories about flowers in the Valley with a fragrance potent enough to make anyone who inhales it faint away.

In Hindu mythology the Valley was created when the gods showered flowers down from heaven. Since then, so the local people say, the Valley has been host to great sages who attained enlightenment while meditating there.

In the last decade I've made 2 trips to the valley and each visit was like descending into a mythical world (could have been Tolkien's Middle Earth or Alice's Wonderland)

The valley is always covered in mist which hangs low barely skimming the riotous colours of the wild flowers which carpet the landscape. I’ve never seen so many flowers grow in one place even in nurseries..

Granite Walls of Bhrigu Patthar

Granite Walls of Bhrigu Patthar, originally uploaded by The Wandering Hermit.

Sunrise on the subsidiary peaks of Bhrigu Parvat as viewed from Chirabasa, in the Garhwal Himal, Uttarakhand India.. Chirbasa peak on extreme left . Bhrigu Parvat is named after Bhrigu the ascetic from Indian Mythology (one of the seven maharishis).

Bhrigu Parvat 6041
The peak is situated near Manda group and was approached from Kedar Kharak. An Indian Team from Calcutta made the last known attempt on the main peak in 2002

Quite close to the main climbing playground of the Gangotri region this gigantic rock obelisk repulsed J.B Auden on his surveying reconnaissance in 1935.

In 1991 the British Bhrigupanth Expedition led by Martin Moran tackled this bald thrust of purest granite cooled by the eternal snows and then carved by the glacier ice to stark angularity and after a grueling wall climb named it BHRIGU PATTHAR. (Bhrigu's Stone). This climb remains the only one though 2 more British Expeditions have failed on this route.. The North Face which is a blank 800 m granite wall without holds remains unclimbed.

THE OLD AULI FOREST

THE OLD AULI FOREST, originally uploaded by The Wandering Hermit.

Enroute Auli from Joshimath you cross this old ..old forest which is unlike anything I have seen there are some old willows but mainly you find a jumble of entangled roots and branches which seem to bar your way

Its very different from the type of fauna nearby and just limited to one particular hillside.. (though some similar patches can be found on the Curzon Trail and I have come across some in Nepal too, but nothing like this)..

It instantly reminded me of The Old Forest from The Lord of The Rings It had that same brooding presence straight out of Tolkien's Middle Earth.

(For the uninitiated in J. R. R. Tolkien’s fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Old Forest was a small forested area which lies east of the Shire in Buckland It was one of the few survivors of the primordial forests which covered most of Eriador before the Second Age, and it once was but the northern edge of one immense forest which reached all the way to Fangorn forest.

The trees of the old forest were said to be more alive—or aware—than normal trees. They watched intruders, sometimes dropping branches on them or even grabbing them with roots, and didn't like people much. They swayed when there was no wind, whispered at night, and misled travelers by shifting paths which invariably led deeper into the forest instead of out.)

Even Cowbells Get The Blues...

Even Cowbells Get The Blues..., originally uploaded by The Wandering Hermit.

A fashion accessory that no self respecting Yak or Dzo will be seen without..