Stok Kangri Trek: A Mystical Romance

At the stroke of midnight as Leh lulled to sleep, the four of us were readying ourselves for our tryst with destiny. All geared up with gaiters, snow boots, harness and crampons ready for the climb, we were awaiting the final call for summit from our Trek leader, Nitesh.

It was windy since couple of days and the rain god was smiling blissfully at the Stok mountains. During the day the azure sky was filled with fluffy clouds which occasionally were nudged by the playful wind to give a glimpse of the snow-clad mountains. It seemed as if a game of hide-n-seek was in play.  The bright red, yellow and blue tents spread across the base camp looked like a necklace embedded with precious jewels was adoring the neck of the alpines.

All these looks celestial but its not a good weather for the summit. If it continues raining, the summit would be aborted. Here in my tent, listening to the pitter patter of the rain and the hustling sound of the cool breeze, I am wondering what was in store for us climbers. We had reached base camp of Stok Kangri, 16000 ft above sea level, ready to summit the mighty Stok. Stok Kangri standing tall at 20,100 ft in the Ladakh region of North India, is one of the toughest climbs and the highest summitable peak of India.

We were a small group of 4 people including me. Three amongst which have been to Stok last year but couldn’t summit. They were here to complete what they had left a year ago and I was here to find my zen amidst the mountains to allow it to etch yet another experience in the journey of my life.

The Beginning

Like all my treks, Stok Kangri was planned at the very last minute. I took a 4 am flight on 6^th August from Mumbai to Leh. We had two days of rest and acclimatization in Leh before we could proceed for our trek. On the first day, I felt a slight headache. It could have been because of lack of sleep, or the stiffness of the neck and shoulder nerve that I had developed recently or was it AMS, Acute Mountain sickness that you develop at higher altitudes.  

I spent the next day at Leh Palace. Leh Palace is now an old remains of what at one point of time would have been a majestic glory. I sat on a bench on the terrace of the palace. The view of the leh city from here was amazing. This place is called ‘ Khatok Chenmo’; Khatok meaning terrace and Chenmo meaning ‘big’. This is the spot where performances were held during the royal days and the king watched it from his balcony. The royal family has now shifted to Stok Palace.

After spending couple of days in Leh, we left in the morning for Stok Village, the base village for our trek. We covered 5 km from Stok village to reach our first camp, Chang ma. It was a nice hike with a small brooke merrily hopping over the rocks alongside. We had sandwich and eggs on the way for lunch, filled our water bottles from the river and continued our hike.

As soon as we reached the camp, we put up our tents. We did some stretching exercises as instructed by our trek leader before enjoying cup of hot tea, something that we would follow for rest of our trek.

The following day, we went to our next camp, Mankarmo, a 3 km trek through steep climbs initially and then walking on the rocks for the rest of the hike. Mankarmo is at 14000 ft.

I met few trekkers who were on their way back. They could not summit as it was raining.

Next day it was the hike to the base camp.

The Mind Game

My mind was oscillating between the thoughts of the summit and home. I was imagining myself at the Leh Hotel, taking a nice bath, then leaving for the airport, having a nice subway and coffee at the airport. I was visualizing myself having completed the trek and back to the hotel where I would have my old monk with coke, a sort of ritual after every trek.

I was thinking whether I would be able to summit. While leaving for the trek, my son, Nivaan had given me a small lion figurine so that whenever I missed him, I can have a look at it. I had made a promise to myself that when I summit, I would place it along with a note that would read, “For my son, Nivaan, my Simba.” May be some day he would summit Stok Kangri and he would see this. He may also bring another lion figurine and keep it there with a note saying ‘For my Mufasa’. Mixed thoughts were crossing my mind.

I sometimes wonder why I do these treks. I want to distract myself, get away from the chaos of the maddening world but is this really needed in the quest of finding my zen. Couldn’t it be found at some hill station, sipping a hot cup of tea, basking in the sun looking at the Himalayas from the window of the hotel room or at a seashore, with a can of beer. Why this adventure, a life threatening one that too.

But when I see the view of snow clad mountains, a rustling brooke flowing next to the tent, a landscape full of brown mountains it makes all the efforts worth.

My back was hurting because of the heavy backpack. In the mountains, they say, smallest of a problem or discomfort creates a mental block. I needed to get my mind off the heaviness of the bag.

While I was climbing a lot of thoughts crossed my mind. I was thinking of all the stress and anxiety we take in our lives. I feel stress comes in when we have to make a choice, between this and that; here and there; now and later. This confusion and indecisiveness build anxiety creating stress. When you have clarity, you become aware of yourself. The feeling of oneness is what it gives you, the same feeling that comes from meditation.

My focus was on the heavy bag and how I could have off loaded a few stuff. In doing so I was not enjoying the climb. Similarly, there is a lot of baggage we carry all throughout the climb of our life and we feel only if we could have ‘let go’ a few stuff on the way.

After a 3 hour climb we reached our base camp. The last 1 hour of the climb was really taxing. We were to rest here before we attempt the final climb on the night of the following day.

The same evening we had our acclimatization climb, to a near by peak. The view from the top was mesmerizing. We sat there engulfed by the grandeur of the mystic mountains, soaking in solace and tranquility of the place.

The Finale

The last section of the summit is through the glacier. It takes almost 8 hours for ascend and 4-5 hours for the descend to the base camp. It needs to be done at night as when the sun rises the glacier starts cracking and melts. It may lead to an avalanche and so its not safe. Ideally we should have started by 10 pm. It was  already past midnight and we were waiting anxiously for the rain to stop pouring.

Finally at around 1 am, when we had given up on the summit, we got a go ahead from Nitesh. It had stopped pouring heavily but there were drizzles. We headed to our first target, a cliff point with a steep gradient. We had climbed this a day before during our acclimatization exercise. I managed the 45 mins climb well within time and was not that exhausted.

The next step after the cliff was ABC, Advance Base Camp. It was to be timed in next 45 mins. I was sure I would manage. Ten minutes into the climb, some of my co-trekkers were exhausted. They decided to return. Now it was just me and a fellow trekker, Rishi along with Nitesh, our trek leader.

I was managing it well when halfway through the climb, I experienced headache. My speed decreased and energy was depleting at a faster rate. I wanted to rest for a while but since we had already exceeded time, we were not taking any break. It exhausted me further. Somehow we managed to reach Advance Base Camp by 5 am. By the time I reached there, I started experiencing cramps in my stomach. Taking even a single step was becoming difficult. We rested there for a while. I started feeling better after a while. Rishi also looked fine. We told our trek leader that we can proceed further. However, he advised to return as we would not be able to summit as we had already lost a lot of time. We sat there until sunrise. It was as if somebody poured molten gold on the white and brown mountains. The amber hues of the sunlight accentuated the landscape even further. We sat there in awe for some time and started our descend.

We returned to base camp in an hour’s time. I felt that we would have managed to reach atleast the glacier patch, I felt I should have insisted. After we returned, when I discussed this with our trek leader, he mentioned that most accidents in the mountains happen during descend. The pain might have increased and anyway the summit was not possible. It felt like a dream shattered. I had planned so many things in my head that I will do once I reach the summit.

After couple of hours of sleep we decided to descend towards the stok village. We reached that same evening to our Hotel in Leh. I had one more day at Leh, before taking the return flight to Mumbai.. Abolishment of Article 370, UT status to Ladakh and it being 15^th August the next day had sensitized the valley. There was no network, wifi or TV in Leh. I was hoping that my flight won’t get cancelled. We spent the day in the Leh market where I experienced my first earthquake. Ladakh experienced the tremors of the earthquake that originated in the Kashmir valley.

Life Lessons

Not making it to the summit was disappointing. But when I look back it was a worthy experience. Mountain climbing is not about conquering the mountain. It is not a race or a contest. It’s a journey of self discovery, of exploring the possibilities, of conquering ones fear.

As said by Greg Child, an Australian mountaineer, “Somewhere between the bottom of the climb and the summit is the answer to the mystery why we climb.” It is where you discover yourself.

It’s the pursuit that is important. It’s the journey and not the destination. Not getting disheartened but learning from your failures, life teaches you through such experiences.

I take this as a comma and not a full stop. There are more peaks to be seen, more summits to be done.

Such experiences humble you, ground you and prepare you for the journey ahead. It makes you realise how miniscule you are in the scheme of life.

More importantly so, I discovered my own mental and physical strength. As you push yourself beyond 16,000 ft, your everyday life becomes a blip in your mind. In those moments, it is only about trusting your body and mind to endure and carry you through to the top.

Life is simple. We complicate it. It just requires you to breathe. So, keep breathing. Let Life happen. Anyway, you are not in control. The least you can do is put your best foot forward.

Embrace nature and let nothing stop you.

I am reminiscent of what Sir Edmund Hillary said, “It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.”

Thanks Stok Kangri for this enriching experience! This mystical romance with the mountains will surely gear me up for the next experience.