Kuari Pass Winter Trek : Culmination

Continued from here. . .

As usual we got up by morning 7:30 am and Aravind ji greeted us with his smile and offered fresh tea. He provided warm water as well. Cook and helper decided to return with mules via Gulling and Dhak village. As our guide Sanjay ji expected more snow on the path towards Auli, it will be difficult for mules to commute. So we gave all our bags as well with cook and helper. Had breakfast and packed poori for the lunch. Left Tali top by 8:30 am, proceeded towards Gorson bugyal via Tali lake. It was a journey of 13 kms to Auli from Tali top which included steep accent and gradual descent in Gorson bugyal filled with snow. It took half an hour to reach the Tali lake from our camping area. Water in the lake was frozen and we could see the ice melting due to sunny weather in the morning. 

Towards Tali Lake

Tali Lake

Captured couple of pics near the pond. And now it's steep accent towards Gorson bugyal(meadow). As we gained high altitude, spotted Pangarchulla peak and Kuari Pass. It was a clear day and the blue sky with white snowy mountains looked like canvas papered for drawing.

Before Gorson Bugyal

Path from Tali to Gorson

When we got into other side of the mountain , Gorson bugyal looked amazing with open vista. Snow on the bugyal(meadow) made it look beautiful. Blazing sun on the snow appeared like white crystals shining. Altogether it was breath taking journey from Gorson to Auli. We spotted Dronagiri, Haathi Ghoda hills, Nandadevi en-route. Took 5-10 min of photo break before we start from Gorson to Auli.

Haathi Parvath

Gorson meadow, partially filled with snow 

Mighty Himalayan range in the backdrop

It was 12 pm when we got the view of awesome Auli. Auli is famous for skiing activities. We saw some of the army men practicing skiing near Auli. Many people were going towards Gorson bugyal to enjoy the snow. We had our lunch near one of the steams in Auli upper part. We reached Auli cable car facility by 1:30 pm. Our plan was to travel by cable car till Joshimath. But getting only single side journey was very difficult. Our guide Sanjay ji spoke to cable car operator and booked one side journey for us, but only after 4 pm. We had chai, coffee and snacks from nearby shop at Auli. Spent time at Auli till the arrival of our empty cable car. 

Temple at upper Auli

Auli, Uttarakhand

Auli cable car facility

Cable car ride

It was 4:30 pm when we reached Joshimath Eskimos office. And thus we concluded our Himalayan journey with great memories which we would cherish for the rest of our life. Four days, the view of colossal snowscape of Himalayan range made our journey more delightful. By the time we reach the office, our baggage arrived with helper Aravind ji. We bid adieu for our guide Sanjay ji and Aravind ji. Cook had already left for his village.

Next day our plan was to visit Hrishikesh and enjoy the white river rafting in Ganga. Fortunately Eskimos Manish Bhujwan spoke about his friend who operates a river side camp at Kodiyala, Hrishikesh and also offers rafting as well. So Manish booked rafting for us. We were very much thankful to him for providing such a nice facility for past 4 days and booking rafting for us. It was 5:30 pm in the evening and he suggested us to book the bus tickets for Hrishikesh as soon as bus arrives from Haridwar. We went to bus stand near Joshimath market and reserved our seats for next day journey to Kodiyala, Hrishikesh. Checked in to the same room which we had accommodated 4 days back. Had dinner at decent hotel and went to bed early, as our bus would leave Joshimath early morning 5:30 am.

Stay tuned for river side camping and rafting in Ganga....

Kuari Pass Winter Trek : Summit day

Continued from here . . .

We got up in the morning by 8 am and helper Aravind ji was standing outside the tent with hot cup of tea. He greeted us with his usual smile and told that the summit day is usually a tough task and even impossible if we start late. Previous night we experienced as low as -13° temperature. We enquired about the distance and temperature at the Kuari Pass. Got an answer from guide that, we need to cover 15 km for the day and be ready for the sudden weather changes. We had covered 20+ km in a day back in western ghats. But the situation at the Himalayas was entirely different. You need to battle with the ugliest cold, high altitude and frozen path which will be completely slippery. Guide gave us the time window for summiting the peak from 1 to 2 pm. If we fail to do so, we would be returning back to campsite from the place right away. Without proper clothing , weather at 4000 meters is not negotiable at all. One has to properly cover their bodies with warm clothes and keep themselves in good condition.

Had a healthy breakfast, Porridge and packed our lunch for the day. Started from our campsite by 10 am. We were running late by almost an hour. As the initial path was not steep and weather was pleasant, we walked briskly so that we reach the summit within time. Took couple of breaks and reached Khullara top by 11:30 am. We could able to spot the tiny tents at Khullara and a pile of enthusiast trekkers from Khullara to Khullara top. They were none other than TTH participants. From there the real challenge started. During day time itself temperature was nearly 0° at 12 pm. And the same continued till Kuari Pass.

Initial Path


Pangarchulla and Kuari Pass as seen from distance


Panoramic shot of Himalayan Range


Just before Khullara Top




Campsite of TTH(Trek the Himalayas) at Khullara


Path Towards Broken Bridge






Steep task ahead

Soon we encountered broken bridge and the frozen stream. This was the toughest part of the trek. You need to be very careful while crossing the frozen stream. As it was completely slippery and a slight mistake could take you to the down. As the path was crowded with TTH participants, we walked quickly towards frozen stream and crossed it with the help of our guide. Usually you need crampons to cross the frozen areas. But thanks to our wild-craft amphibian shoes for providing perfect grip and not giving a chance to slip.

Just before broken bridge and frozen stream




Broken Bridge and Frozen Stream

After that it was almost a cake walk for any trekker to reach Kuari Pass. We reached our destination , Kuari Pass by 1 pm exactly within the time window given by our guide. It was a delightful moment for all of us for making it to the 4k meters in Himalayan range. We could able to spot all the prominent mountains of Himalyas : Mt Nandadevi, Mt Trishul, Mt Dronagiri , Mt Pangarchulla, Haathi Parvath etc.

Successful Summit : Kuari Pass - 4000 meters 😃😍


Trailblazers @ Kuari Pass 😃😍

Few from our group were not satisfied with the altitude and the zeal in them to reach higher and higher altitude made them to summit Kuari Top (4200 m) by 1:30 pm and they came back by 2pm. Had a photo shoot of our group with Trailblazers banners.

Kuari Pass Top : 4200 meters

We wanted to linger around the place, but we had to return from Kuari Pass as the weather was not looking great. Started back from the summit by 2:30pm. Reached our campsite at Tali top by 4:30 pm and as usual hot soup was served with pakoda by the cook. Campfire was set by 6pm and guide started telling his previous experiences. He told us, sometimes dense rhododendron forest makes trekkers to deviate from the path and reach deep inside the valley. He told that one can summit the Pangarchulla peak(5000 m) on a clear day. But not in winter season, as there will be 5 to 6 ft of snow which makes it difficult and dangerous for the trekkers.

Mt. Dronagiri 





Hathi Ghoda Parvath

We had our dinner by 9 pm and packed our self in the tent to battle against the cold. The weather was not different than previous day. It would definitely dip below -10°. By that time we were adjusted to the weather and felt little comfortable on 3rd day. Our next day travel would be very scenic as we pass through Gorson bugyal and Auli.

Click here for final shodown. . .