tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63983454467435559792024-03-05T19:51:18.856+05:30TraveloguesSajjeev Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07305350932435278394noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6398345446743555979.post-57562508548040905542014-04-08T21:09:00.002+05:302014-04-11T16:08:02.953+05:30Cyclocrossing Zoji-La – 25 years ago<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKIh0OjmQcHvn8PkL2ylyTTtwFKxlZIsCtUkh0pcWhAVx4TABfQXfgU62DhmMITDyDkXrQTeDswf2UDxTzPO0FJqtc5BxJcOY-g_MyigI6qAUUSlVigPdNXvWWZ6zCdOCJewB_iUeituY/s1600/Sonmarg+saj+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKIh0OjmQcHvn8PkL2ylyTTtwFKxlZIsCtUkh0pcWhAVx4TABfQXfgU62DhmMITDyDkXrQTeDswf2UDxTzPO0FJqtc5BxJcOY-g_MyigI6qAUUSlVigPdNXvWWZ6zCdOCJewB_iUeituY/s1600/Sonmarg+saj+copy.jpg" height="281" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Exhilarating morning ride near Sonamarg, Kashmir. <br />Zoji-la is still two days away. (Late Sept, 1988)</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <span style="font-size: large;">“TURN BACK. It’s no place for cyclists,” bellows the truck driver inching his
vehicle down the freshly bulldozed road leading from Zoji-La to Kashmir valley.
The grim faces of other drivers in that convoy convey a similar warning. </span><br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“It is a frozen hell,” insists a lone
motorist sandwiched between two trucks. <br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the trucks have thick frost on
their roofs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> The exhausted drivers</span> look as if they have
just </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">been </span>thawed. They were all stranded in Ladakh (also known as the
<i>Little Tibet</i>) for the past one week. For four days blizzard raged, trapping them without food and assistance. Only on the fourth day rescue efforts could start. It took three days’
non-stop effort for <i>Beacon</i>, the highly efficient border roads wing of Indian army,
to clear the 180 kilometer stretch from Zoji La till Fotu-La in the heart of
Ladakh’s Buddhist country. Naturally those coming out are appalled at </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">the sight of cyclists going in.(<i>But they don't know the power and flexibility of the bicycle!</i>)<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKL3WeneAN06rpxAWzjAk9m2MNKLLjkPG8C-xeSU7fGmCU9z7FOINQIP_0Hs1IrSnjeyTK7a3HqDlKn_xvyJkSOHb2ikuGJiZlbI_cLkvJqgr-Smf6UovSfh9wl1VGKCsP0boyHR9yy2U/s1600/beacon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKL3WeneAN06rpxAWzjAk9m2MNKLLjkPG8C-xeSU7fGmCU9z7FOINQIP_0Hs1IrSnjeyTK7a3HqDlKn_xvyJkSOHb2ikuGJiZlbI_cLkvJqgr-Smf6UovSfh9wl1VGKCsP0boyHR9yy2U/s1600/beacon.jpg" height="184" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The reassuring <i>Beacon</i> sign. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> We </span>glance at each other before pushing ahead. </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Four civil servants from Department of Food, New Delhi, my team mates KL Sharma, Suresh, Jagdish and I have been cycling along mostly tribal areas of Indian Himalayas on our way to Leh. By now we </span></span>are indeed hardened enough for tough cycling; but
"avalanche prone frozen hells" are something new. None of has ever encountered ice except in refrigerators.<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The road ahead of us now is an uneven track gouged out by bulldozers just
yesterday. A week ago massive landslides ripped off long stretches of the road which
had slid into the valley several hundred feet below. In these stretches new
gradients had been cut with army efficiency, but these are again in the danger
of being smothered by fresh falls from the slopes and cliffs above. Impossible
to pedal. We get down and push. <br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Far below us Sind River gushes and
tumbles on its way to meet the Jhelum (which iself is a tributary of the mighty
Indus) near Sringar, where we had spent a boring, rained-out week. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">[This is 1988. Kashmir is still superficially
peaceful. First kidnapping will be in 1989.] </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The dirt road to the Hindu pilgrimage center
Amarnath follows the river upstream. As we proceed, the surrounding coniferous forest
of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">kail</i> and pine starts thinning,
reminding us that we are leaving Kashmir valley. </span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUsZjG5YyzKf1Ev8w5g56IVYiH4XwuRohCYenWUpCqB9LC2Rl30Ye7V384bv4KddJMc4jpR3tW7MgG5GyhvdEnbfsjag7YFhvMZ7k-6WeHW5EwUTzq1-vsqPataAULAdrzYuBvSUai9h8/s1600/An+army+convoy+moving+towards+Zoji+la.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUsZjG5YyzKf1Ev8w5g56IVYiH4XwuRohCYenWUpCqB9LC2Rl30Ye7V384bv4KddJMc4jpR3tW7MgG5GyhvdEnbfsjag7YFhvMZ7k-6WeHW5EwUTzq1-vsqPataAULAdrzYuBvSUai9h8/s1600/An+army+convoy+moving+towards+Zoji+la.jpg" height="262" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Army convoy moving towards Zoji La. These impressive-looking cliffs consist <br />of such soft rocks that they can be broken off with hands and crumbled in palm</i>s. </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />(photo source: Ministry of Defence, Govt. of India)</span><b><br /></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxWPRl4CqhPNtsLHrMFvj_Va_GzseSpmZEII6WgtRvgGIYc6RspVZ6zTUcTbydSdsM_fIGiKGBWT3FibwJ5MxhTSzBMFc3WSJiDcFKl3yxSPdZf233kNGZUC-IBzi0Msiam6361K-vakY/s1600/NIBE+1988+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Four steep hairpin bends, each a
kilometer apart, take us to the notorious <i>Captain Bend</i>, where there is a stone
memorial to a British army captain who died here. The Captain’s ghost haunts the place. Those who slow down and bow towards his memorial are spared. On skeptics like us, the captain wreaks his vengeance by appearing
in uniform at the next bend and directing the driver to the deep gorge to the
right. The possessed driver presses the accelerator and plunge to his doom. Quite original as far as ghost stories go.<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the Captain Bend comes another
hairpin, flanked on the left by a lofty wall of seemingly solid black rock. I
yank at a piece. To my astonishment, it snaps off like rotten wood. It also feels as light as softwood. When pressed
hard, it crumbles into dark grey powder in my palms. So this is the “mighty” Himalayas,
a big heap of dirt! My friends and I stare up at this vast pseudo-rock face,
towering a hundred feet above us. Dark grey stalactites hang down from its
craggy top, as if about to crash down on us. We are unable to move as a clattering convoy of army trucks and bulldozers keep us stuck to the cliff bottom. <br />
</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> A</span>head is <i>India Gate</i>, the
witness of a tragedy in November 1986 when the pass was about to close
for winter. That day (as we heard from Captain Narang of Beacon) the last convoy of military and civilian
vehicles were moving out. The leading truck developed mechanical problems and
stopped, holding up the convoy. It started snowing heavily
and soon an avalanche thundered down. Dozens of vehicles,
their drivers and passengers were swept down into a frozen grave. We can still
see from above remnants of the ill fated vehicles scattered in the valley,
which, incidentally, doesn’t look deep. The snow would have smothered them to death.<br />
</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two more kilometers of mild climb
along a slushy track, and we are at Zoji-la. (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">La</i> in Tibetan means mountain pass.) The pass proper is a straight
and flat stretch over a kilometer long, flanked on both sides by slopes clothed
in snow. The southern (our right) slope rises rather abruptly from the cobbled
causeway along which we are moving. A shallow valley of snow separates the
causeway from the northern slope. It looks quite innocent and quiet. But we
have been warned not to stay because the pass can be quickly smothered by
avalanche in a few minutes in case of heavy snowfall on the southern slope. </span><br />
<h3>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">
</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxWPRl4CqhPNtsLHrMFvj_Va_GzseSpmZEII6WgtRvgGIYc6RspVZ6zTUcTbydSdsM_fIGiKGBWT3FibwJ5MxhTSzBMFc3WSJiDcFKl3yxSPdZf233kNGZUC-IBzi0Msiam6361K-vakY/s1600/NIBE+1988+003.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxWPRl4CqhPNtsLHrMFvj_Va_GzseSpmZEII6WgtRvgGIYc6RspVZ6zTUcTbydSdsM_fIGiKGBWT3FibwJ5MxhTSzBMFc3WSJiDcFKl3yxSPdZf233kNGZUC-IBzi0Msiam6361K-vakY/s1600/NIBE+1988+003.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">At 11,650 feet, Zoji-la is the
lowest point in the part of the Himalayas separating Ladakh and Kashmir. It lies roughly straight in a southeast</span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">–northwest direction,
permitting the south-western monsoons winds to blow right through. Funneling through the narrow
confines of the pass, the wind velocity intensifies – the reason
why Zoji-la is so menacing in a storm. </span></span></h3>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Beacon's Colonel who reluctantly permitted us to move ahead, had extracted a promise from us to keep going till
Gumri, the first safe point after the pass. <i>“Your department wrote to us and I am responsible for you. But if you do get stuck in Zoji-La in a blizzard only God can save you,”</i> the Colonel had told us. But when we see snow all around us for the first time in our lives we forget all that and have a full hour of fun in the snow, right in the middle of
the pass. <br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then a wind starts. With diabolic
suddenness dark cumulus clouds appear from nowhere; within minutes it is snowing.
Our first experience of live snowfall. We look around. No living or mechanical
thing is in sight. The down convoy had gone hours ago and the up convoy has not
yet started coming. <br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Maybe they won’t send it today now
that the weather has packed up,” says Sharma, the only married person in our
group and so understanda<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg15OMLAlKs82kVDmdmxcARxMl20a4Y4rp-ZXrCa1syrgO2dgjado5vk4zZpGoGJ9AMBxn5JB_cTRgB6fbl6aKmIBx5KMw0YFc4ojvvscGf2l-2Mc20JfyDgx9PSTuFXGb9W9yaDp9-5DA/s1600/dangerous.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg15OMLAlKs82kVDmdmxcARxMl20a4Y4rp-ZXrCa1syrgO2dgjado5vk4zZpGoGJ9AMBxn5JB_cTRgB6fbl6aKmIBx5KMw0YFc4ojvvscGf2l-2Mc20JfyDgx9PSTuFXGb9W9yaDp9-5DA/s1600/dangerous.jpg" height="320" width="264" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dangerous pastime at Zoji la.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
bly cautious. We all panic. There is only one thing to do – jump on
our saddles and pedal for our lives. In order to cross the pass early we had
started at dawn without proper breakfast – a mistake. The hunger and the effort
of cycling on a bouncy cobbled surface in a rarified atmosphere, exhaust us
quickly. But the wind helps us on by pushing us from behind and luckily it doesn't get too strong. But the snowfall continues. <br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a while the situation
improves. The road road has taken a down turn. The surfacing also becomes
better. While freewheeling down the slope we notice with relief that the
mountains on either side of the pass are gradually receding to a distance. No
danger from avalanches now. <br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The terrain widens into a plain.
Through the falling snow we see the outline the Beacon Camp, Gumri. We prop our cycles against a wall of snow, barge into one
of the barracks, show our IDs, and say without formalities, “Hello, we’re starving. Do you
have some food?”<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The soldiers grin at the four
cycle loonies and hurry to alert the camp officer. We are escorted to the office of
Major Bharadwaj, a relaxed looking individual. The lunch is sumptuous, served
by liveried orderlies. Man! Army life is good! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By 3 pm an early tea is announced in our honor and we are joined
also by the camp doctor, a young man from Tamil Nadu. We are evidently honored guests
as indicated by the gold bordered bone China tea service. We keep drinking cups
after cups of tea under the benign gaze of Major Bharadwaj. The Major tells us about the day the blizzard started –
September 23.<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>“It was so sudden. We were safe
here, but outside it was terrible. The first time in my experience the blizzard
was so strong and unexpected. Luckily we were able to rescue all trapped
people. Not like 1986."</i> Even the Major cannot help but grimacing as he recalls
that ghastly accident two years ago when dozens of vehicles were swept away by
an avalanche near India Gate. <br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Major Bharadwaj’s men have rescued two
American cyclists last week. A man and a woman. The Beacon rescue team found
them near India Gate huddled inside their tent in shock. We would be meeting
them soon.<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>“They were lucky they didn’t get
frostbite,”</i> adds the camp doctor who gives us strips of tablets for for
possible high altitude problems. We will be going higher and higher in the next
few days. Our next pass will be Namik-la at 12,000 feet and then Fotu-la at
13,200 feet. They are days away.</span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: white;">*</span> </span></div>
<h3>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Into Ladakh, the
Little Tibet</span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2WiCbTisGrAYgayZoCQ4TaRyF6hmp4D_fQ4GQv-VFIARNqHaVyjB1ui2rknH0itYhtwC-Wuq7N1oe2rTCBAiFCV6CPxe2T0CRcyjchHAj8DaeB5-TpGuFAp5KhzazlPbKO2dych-82xo/s1600/NIBE+1988+269+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> We are invited to stay at Gumri but we had always dreamed of spending a night
at Dras (reputed to be the second coldest inhabited place in the world. We get
back to the bikes. They have disappeared under a blanket of fresh powdery snow.
Unfamiliar with snow, we are surprised to see that it is not wet and easily
brushes off. We resume pedaling. The road is well surfaced now. There are only
a few smooth hairpin bends, down which we zoom. Down to our left is Gumri <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nallah</i>, a stream completely covered with
ice. The sky is overcast and dark. Even though it is only four in the
afternoon, <br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is hardly any vegetation
anywhere to be seen. Only some moss-like growth clinging to the bare surface of
the black rocks projecting here and there out of the snow. Within a few kilometers
we cross the Gumri Nallah via a small iron bridge. Beneath the snow there are
some specks of green. Cultivated fields, the harvest lost.<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure enough there is a village
nearby – <i>Matayen.</i> It is a cluster of small mud houses. Flat roofs are not meant
to take heavy snow. But we find very little snow on these roof tops. Evidently
the villagers have been busy clearing the snow as fast as it accumulated. <br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is hardly anyone about in the
streets. Then we meet a youngster – Muhammad, who confirms that the village is
indeed inhabited. The totally unexpected blizzard and snow have just destroyed
their crops and damaged their houses. It is going to be a bad winter and
Muhammad is hoping that some help be provided by the army. But then army itself
is going to be hard pressed for supplies this winter as all supplies will have
to be<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>brought in from outside Ladakh in
about one month. The pass will close in November in any case. <br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2WiCbTisGrAYgayZoCQ4TaRyF6hmp4D_fQ4GQv-VFIARNqHaVyjB1ui2rknH0itYhtwC-Wuq7N1oe2rTCBAiFCV6CPxe2T0CRcyjchHAj8DaeB5-TpGuFAp5KhzazlPbKO2dych-82xo/s1600/NIBE+1988+269+copy.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2WiCbTisGrAYgayZoCQ4TaRyF6hmp4D_fQ4GQv-VFIARNqHaVyjB1ui2rknH0itYhtwC-Wuq7N1oe2rTCBAiFCV6CPxe2T0CRcyjchHAj8DaeB5-TpGuFAp5KhzazlPbKO2dych-82xo/s1600/NIBE+1988+269+copy.jpg" height="222" width="400" /></a></span>As we stand talking more boys
arrive. They stand around quietly as we try to cheer them up. What is crucial
for them right now is survival through the winter, not making conversation. <br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We continue to follow Gumri Nallah
along a practically straight road gently sloping down. We are at about 10,500
feet now, 1,000 feet below Zoji-la. It is dazzling white everywhere, though
there is no sun. There are high rocky outcrops on either side of the road,
their sheer dark brown faces partly free from snow giving them eerie majesty.<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The telegraph poles<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>along the road have been completely laid flat
by the blizzard, all in the same direction – east. Their wires are scattered
everywhere, some on the road. They can be dangerous, as we find within a few
minutes. A military truck which had passed us just half an hour ago has skidded
on a bunch of cables and has slid into the shallow Gumri Nallah. <br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXro926p2r5KCXMjFKUDWp2NCy6vhn84hk88O188KJPRQ45IsTfF4VolNHUtDIQaa3RXKmc33bSeUX5UypCDEUBvJw_cjJrb75sbVG41cDPOc90Q9EBJ83CEHIYrUOEB38iQstBzsift8/s1600/truck+slip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXro926p2r5KCXMjFKUDWp2NCy6vhn84hk88O188KJPRQ45IsTfF4VolNHUtDIQaa3RXKmc33bSeUX5UypCDEUBvJw_cjJrb75sbVG41cDPOc90Q9EBJ83CEHIYrUOEB38iQstBzsift8/s1600/truck+slip.jpg" height="320" width="299" /></a></div>
Gumri Nallah has been gathering
tributaries and by now it has become a respectable river. Sure enough, from
here our map labels it “Dras River”. It will join River Suru and eventually
into the Indus, like all rivers in Ladakh. <br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By 6 pm we reach Dras. We don’t feel
it is any colder than Gumri, though. Maybe we are getting used to cold and ice.
Dras is of strategic importance because it is the first real plain ground after
Zoji la. All the Indian military and paramilitary forces have their permanent
camps here. <br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We go into Beacon’s camp and they
are awaiting our arrival. The camp is much smaller than the one in Gumri and
the camp in charge JCO Gopali is waiting for us. Strong and stout, he hails
from Lucknow, but has been working in Zoji-la area for the past several years.
He claims to know every inch of the pass. He does have the gift of gab in
abundance. His account of the 1986 tragedy is much more blood curdling than the
matter-of-fact narration of Captain Narang and Major Bharadwaj.<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is October 1<sup>st</sup> today. Tomorrow is
Gandhi Jayanti. According to our original plan we were supposed to reach Leh tomorrow. At this rate we'll make it only by 6<sup>th</sup><sup></sup>. That is fine though -- havent made this far? Gopali tells us that the rest of Ladakh won't be a problem except for the risk of altitude sickness at the highest pass, Fotu-la. <br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The diesel bukhari (stove) in our
room burns throughout the night, making us forget that we are in the second
coldest inhabited place in the world.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></span></h4>
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="color: white;">*</span> </i></span></span></span></i></span></span></span><br />
<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" rel="license"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/88x31.png" style="border-width: 0;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">This <span href="http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text" rel="dct:type" xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/">work</span> by <span property="cc:attributionName" xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#">Sajjeev Antony</span> is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" rel="license">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.<br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">All photogr<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">aph<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">s (e<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">xcept the one credited to Ministry of Defence) <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">ab<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">ove </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span>are the joint property of Sajjeev Antony, K. L<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">.Sharma, Suresh Kumar and Jagdish<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sajjeev Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07305350932435278394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6398345446743555979.post-39760121017947946372014-03-30T22:59:00.001+05:302014-06-18T12:13:47.255+05:30Cyclocrossing Jalori Pass -- 25 years ago<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwXjjyhk7Ks_ypxus30BjTJsNEhfc65ETV-VccoYrm5YnkKeXI9Pr1JEUruNFErQa0EImFd3dvj98Xo7e-yKhEXfZLMr6MDc9wUKAg4CfytYJcsMkGoktUuzFEcsOG-d5L7y4fL2MV1jU/s1600/HP----crossing-broken-bridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwXjjyhk7Ks_ypxus30BjTJsNEhfc65ETV-VccoYrm5YnkKeXI9Pr1JEUruNFErQa0EImFd3dvj98Xo7e-yKhEXfZLMr6MDc9wUKAg4CfytYJcsMkGoktUuzFEcsOG-d5L7y4fL2MV1jU/s1600/HP----crossing-broken-bridge.jpg" height="277" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><b>“IDHAR
ROKO!” </b>SAID THE HIMACHAL POLICEMAN</i>, thumping his<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> lathi</i> on the ground, as if he wanted us to stop our bicycles
precisely there. Annoyed, we continued pedaling up the steep slope leading to
Jalori Pass. There was a commotion behind and I glanced back. The cop had
pounced upon the cyclist at the rear end. The four of us were duly herded to
the nearby police post. <br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The in-charge of the police post
of that little Himachal Pradesh town Ani, eyed us critically. Glancing at my
team mates I wondered what he must be thinking of us – after three weeks’
cycling in remote Himalayan terrain, we looked like unkempt bandits. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hurriedly introduced my team – <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jagdish, Sharma and Suresh</b> – and feebly
joked that we were not terrorists planning to blow up Jalori pass but employees
of the Department of Food, Government of India, on a bicycle expedition from
Delhi to Leh. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="color: white;">*</span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
MY JOKE ELICITED no smile from the
in-charge. He drily retorted that Mother Nature had blown up the pass better
than any terrorist could. Torrential rains had just washed away the approach
road to the pass that it was dangerous to attempt crossing even on foot, let
alone with laden bikes. “So be sensible,” he said, “And take the national
highway.” <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXI5wgRdQPwzB4Pomj-Vwm1FKDj7NLXnrvmmO-D4jU2fg1cT1BoX5eXdU_7UehuWF8lY07xT1w-HNt2XqUHP2mIgpzOyclaEE43LHrOFpAU7wUtsi83os_hCBTx7216POe7t6fFt3gK3Y/s1600/Jadish-speaking-to-kids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXI5wgRdQPwzB4Pomj-Vwm1FKDj7NLXnrvmmO-D4jU2fg1cT1BoX5eXdU_7UehuWF8lY07xT1w-HNt2XqUHP2mIgpzOyclaEE43LHrOFpAU7wUtsi83os_hCBTx7216POe7t6fFt3gK3Y/s1600/Jadish-speaking-to-kids.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was asking us to re-cross the
River Sutlej, return to the ski resort of
Narkanda <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">and from there</span>
to Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh. From there we would have to go to
Bilaspur and then Mandi, along a highway. Unthinkable. Also
there was the time pressure. It was mid-September. Unless we reached Kashmir valley
by the end of the month we might be too late for Ladakh. We made up our minds –
it’s Jalori or bust. <br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took some patient explaining, flashing of IDs and official letters before the in-charge finally gave in, washing our potential <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">blood off his hands. </span>We waved cheerfully the curious crowd that
had gathered outside the police post and pedaled away fast. We had to get out
of Ani before the police changed their minds. In this hurry we forgot to buy
emergency rations – which we would regret shortly.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
blood off his hands.<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The 15-speed gears were proving
their worth, enabling us to pedal up the rough slope at a steady 7 kmph. We saw
several snakes crossing our path, possibly disturbed by the landslides, but we were
wearing tough, ankle high snow-boots and no snake would reach through those.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4bwLYUz8qwHLsxYWNjSeVutrk721WFIV2fs-QCmsl6mUovCEmklpkHTeQJv0vMxNjRbEVgJeUkXxlLD8qMPsqsln_o8PbEXDY4NMf0UymnLwziwoHd0WsHnwDm2v0Bus6zzZkGURhiWM/s1600/NIBE+88+JALORI+ROAD+EDT+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4bwLYUz8qwHLsxYWNjSeVutrk721WFIV2fs-QCmsl6mUovCEmklpkHTeQJv0vMxNjRbEVgJeUkXxlLD8qMPsqsln_o8PbEXDY4NMf0UymnLwziwoHd0WsHnwDm2v0Bus6zzZkGURhiWM/s1600/NIBE+88+JALORI+ROAD+EDT+copy.jpg" height="307" width="320" /></a></div>
At each hairpin bend the road
started getting worse and steeper. Even though the intermittent kilometer
stones announced that we were cruising along what was left of <i>“State Highway 11”,</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>even in Ani the road was covered in loose soil. As we climbed the soil gave way to loose gravel and then to little boulders, forcing us to get down and push. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">[Now, from Google maps it seems that SH 11
has been surfaced all through and has become a real road, and I would love to
pedal it up again.] <br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>Families trooped out of their
little slate roofed wooden houses to watch the four lunatics from Delhi.
Children stared at us hypnotized, evidently seeing bicycles for the first time.
We stopped at a school and gave them a talk about India. But the kids were more interested in our bikes so Jagdish got them in a circle and explained the gear system to them. Laughing teenagers pitched in to push our bikes up, so energetically that we
had to break into dignified trots to keep up. Though slender and famished,
these boys are amazingly tough. <br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Often people of one village would
accompany us to the next giving us plenty of chance to exchange news. Naturally
much of our conversation centered on the life in the mountains. <br />
<span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">*</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>LIKE THE OTHER PARTS of the Himalayas we had
already passed through, the heavy monsoon of 1988 had taken its toll. [Monsoons
returned to the Himalayas with<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> similar
ferocity <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in 2013 with great losses to
life and property. There was another similarity between the two years --- both
1987 and 2012 were drought years.]<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>The Himalayas are extremely
vulnerable to weather, being the youngest mountain ranges in the world. The
force that created them in the first place – the tectonic movement – is still
at work. In spite of the millions of tons of rock and earth crumbling down from
their unstable slopes, the Himalayas are growing taller each year, levered up
by none other than the Indian peninsula, which keeps wedging deeper underneath
the Tibetan plateau. This natural instability is worsened by human
interference. Deforestation was an ongoing process wherever we went. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-9A-OkO2ds4BUzALBuotv4eEfSqRgaAUtb34Bl-pn23cUrtYrvVWCqLHRzZWTEdU1rUoOpGDBEgC35hj1J_YBrz7tv17BsaxR4fWFYiVWgj9JcX9aQJkSIjSipT04NH-_XmHSzVZrHj4/s1600/En-route-Jalori-Pass-HP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-9A-OkO2ds4BUzALBuotv4eEfSqRgaAUtb34Bl-pn23cUrtYrvVWCqLHRzZWTEdU1rUoOpGDBEgC35hj1J_YBrz7tv17BsaxR4fWFYiVWgj9JcX9aQJkSIjSipT04NH-_XmHSzVZrHj4/s1600/En-route-Jalori-Pass-HP.jpg" height="191" width="320" /></a></div>
We were getting tired and hungry and
irritable so we consumed our supplies and made tea and had a song and dance session before proceeding further. Then we came to our first serious landslide
spot. Leaving the bikes we went to inspect it. Some fifty feet of the road had
slid right off, leaving a neat 60 degree slope. Mercifully it had not rained
for the past few days so we were able to gauge crude footholds, shore them up
with stones, and carried the bikes and luggage across. It was hazardous – one
slip and the next halt would be in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">nallah</i>
two hundred feet below. <br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then came a broken bridge spanning a
rough-and-tumble stream. More obstacles followed, making us increasingly
skilled in landslide management. Crossing of the bridge got us completely
exhausted. The next village, the locals sitting there said, was Khanag, and
that would be the only place where we could expect food and accommodation. The
landslides had depressed the morale of the local people. The higher we went the
sadder they looked. Apparently for a week no food supplies could be transported
and there was food shortage in the area. <br />
<br />
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWmqbFeV-EYUZCr77DEWQBSvqqYchKfPto92xBAb-IO4zuCV-vRf4gqMTHteufTNpWhFxkDijVEuwtR2BYlMwR87IHF4OfHqCHCOSg5GLYOmc1qfQopKjgR6BZs2X5RjSQVta3AR2w1w4/s1600/SAJ-CROSSING-STREAM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWmqbFeV-EYUZCr77DEWQBSvqqYchKfPto92xBAb-IO4zuCV-vRf4gqMTHteufTNpWhFxkDijVEuwtR2BYlMwR87IHF4OfHqCHCOSg5GLYOmc1qfQopKjgR6BZs2X5RjSQVta3AR2w1w4/s1600/SAJ-CROSSING-STREAM.jpg" height="320" width="291" /></a></span></div>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally Khanag Village came into
view, perched about which was the PWD guesthouse. But there was no food
available in the rest house or in the village. Oops. We felt so foolish not to
have even the basic foodstuff with us. We were carrying food everywhere we
cycled but hadn’t needed them. But now we needed food and nothing was there,
not even a packet of biscuits!<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To top matters the chowkidar of the
rest house was not there. Only the gardener was present. We showed him our IDs
and explained we were central government servants. Could we spend the night in
his resthouse? The gardener, who had never heard about the government in New
Delhi, wanted to know if our central government came under the state of
Himachal Pradesh. We had to admit it didn’t. It took the local schoolmaster to
explain things to him and he reluctantly let us in. <br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once we were inside, the gardener
became very friendly. Realizing we were hungry, eh fetched us his subsistence food
stock – a dozen or so small potatoes. <br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then came the good news. In view of the
rare nature of our visit, the local tea shop man had agreed to make dinner for
us. The dal-roti we had in that little<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>teashop with plenty of stimulating conversation with the assembled
Khanagites was one of the gastronomic milestones of our expedition. The dinner
was on the village despite our protests.<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Back in the rest house, as I drifted
off to sleep that night, an authoritative voice same from the verandah – Sharma
was educating the gardener on center-state relations in India. <br />
<span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">*</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvfNBwIriyGTiQyT1kPLdihyphenhyphenBRzUFl4bp2mgUMia7nIlZdfGtTcMzhHHLOAsVTqLJmUtA77ctlqlP2yXeuEJSlWZkyB4TME_nwKiq0WR8w4N5WggU2Kp20v4k5Hu4RaQMnSccluXXpK1E/s1600/SHARMA+NORTHERN+SLOPE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvfNBwIriyGTiQyT1kPLdihyphenhyphenBRzUFl4bp2mgUMia7nIlZdfGtTcMzhHHLOAsVTqLJmUtA77ctlqlP2yXeuEJSlWZkyB4TME_nwKiq0WR8w4N5WggU2Kp20v4k5Hu4RaQMnSccluXXpK1E/s1600/SHARMA+NORTHERN+SLOPE.jpg" height="320" width="254" /></a></div>
NEXT MORNING WE bade goodbye to the
newly enlightened gardener and got ready for the final push. From Khanag is it
only 1,500 feet climb to Jalori top. The scenery became increasingly lovely. A
dense growth of pine and deodar gave shade throughout, chilling us whenever we
stopped for a breather. By noon we ambled up the last hairpin bend and reached the
top of Jalori pass.<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The place was bit of an anticlimax.
Most passes are. We were at 10,500 feet but there was no indication of that.
What could be seen was a gentle grassy mound, sloping to the north and the south.
Two green hillocks flanked the east and the west. But for the conifers and the
nip in the air, the place could have been in central Kerala. <br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jalori top was surprisingly
inhabited. There was a temple and nearby two <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dhabas</i> served frugal fare to travelers walking their way between
the valleys of the great rivers Beas and Sutlej. The people told us that from April
to July the pass was sort of motorable, but not from the Sutlej side which had
been completely broken down for years. Once the rains start the road falls of
in chunks. And by the time the repairs are complete it would be winter, and
everything gets buried under <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>snow.<br />
<span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">*</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV0skuPNgcHnX7EDXyGg9U2nfCVT4p80jsZKd7vBjz1x08Z2_xvDwKzGITfv4YmFDSm-QU18u9HnPe3jBhLMJI5iIj_ArR8k5Qz7X69qUStYwfLCGIKVPZcfsimRKSgHTiZzVfWa2HQfg/s1600/NIBE88+JALORI+TOP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV0skuPNgcHnX7EDXyGg9U2nfCVT4p80jsZKd7vBjz1x08Z2_xvDwKzGITfv4YmFDSm-QU18u9HnPe3jBhLMJI5iIj_ArR8k5Qz7X69qUStYwfLCGIKVPZcfsimRKSgHTiZzVfWa2HQfg/s1600/NIBE88+JALORI+TOP.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>THE NATIVES recalled with nostalgia when only
a few years back (in the late 1970s) Jalori pass had risen to prominence as the
most adventurous stretch in Himalayan Car Rally. By the mid-1980s the road had
become so bad that the rally had been diverted to a different route.<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The northern slope of the pass was
reasonably intact. The view was spectacular, the distant snowcaps of
Lahaul-Spiti partly framing the northern horizon. As we freewheeled down, a
heavy downpour caught us unexpectedly, before we got a chance to don our raincoats.
<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In spite of the chill we felt great,
knowing we had made it.<br />
<br />
<h4>
<a href="http://goo.gl/adLJXe" target="_blank">Ani to Jalori Pass from Google Earth:</a><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">The distance which took us almost two days was merely 30 km! Now it seems motorable and can be reached in less than an hour.</span></span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></span></h4>
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="color: white;">*</span> </i></span></span></span></i></span></span></span><br />
<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" rel="license"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/88x31.png" style="border-width: 0;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">This <span href="http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text" rel="dct:type" xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/">work</span> by <span property="cc:attributionName" xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#">Sajjeev Antony</span> is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" rel="license">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.<br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">All photogr<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">aph<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">s appear<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> here </span>are the joint property of Sajjeev Antony, K. L<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">.Sharma, Suresh Kumar and Jagdish<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></span></h4>
</div>
Sajjeev Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07305350932435278394noreply@blogger.com0