The walk on the frozen river - chadar

The word Chadar means blanket and is used to refer to the trek along the frozen Zanskar River.  It is a trek in inhospitable and hostile weather conditions. The temperature during the day is minus 10 to minus 30. In the night, temperatures fall to minus 20 to 35. Ice forms, breaks and changes colour on the river every day. trekkers need to climb the mountains at these places.

Day 1: Left Bangalore and reached Delhi Airport and wanted to board Leh flight, the security person asks for the passport. We see each other’s face; don’t know if there is a new rule that says passport is required for going to Leh.

Security person said that to go abroad one needs passport, we all laughed and said Leh is in India.

Day 2: Reached Leh, in the flight they announced the outside temperature is minus 10 degrees Celsius. We did not have jacket, gloves etc handy, everything is in check-in baggage. We struggled in the cold for almost 15mins till we got our gears.

Went into rest room, and there is no water in the taps, scolded our government for poor state of the airport.

Checked into the hotel and there is no water in the taps. The care taker says there is sufficient water; only thing is it is frozen in pipes. Ok! now I get the airport problem.

Day 3:  We went out of the hotel for shopping woolen items. There are no one on the streets, it looks like curfew is imposed in Leh. Whole city is deserted.

We only see stray dogs and some army vehicles once in a while that’s it. We stupid’s have come for trekking, when the natives themselves don’t come out.

Day 4: we start our trek, its more like an acclimatization.  We have to walk for 45 mins on the ice and camp.

Walking on the solid ice is not simple it slips, my friend  fell few times. We camped at Tilak-do. There is cold wind, not able to bear the cold, was unable to sleep whole night due to cold.

I would have preferred to sleep inside a refrigerator than this place.

Day 5: we started trek to Markala, on the way it is completely solid ice and we have to walk slowly to avoid falling. We have to concentrate a lot while walking. If we loose our concentration we will fall.

Everday during daytime we are seeing minus 10 to minus 15 degrees.

Day 6: we started trek to Tib-do. I was following my friend and he stepped on to thin part of the ice. I was warning him that it might break.

Un-fortunately the ice beneath me breaks and one of my leg goes inside the ice and touches the river, suddenly I called for my friends, they pulled me out. Immediately I changed my socks, it took hardly a min and within this time the water on my shoes gets frozen.

We walked in between the bare brown mountains and camped at Tib-do.

Day 7: I got up in the morning and was taken by surprise to see White Mountains; the place looked completely different from the one we slept in the night. I took a moment to realize that it had snowed whole night.

Snowfall is happening and we have to trek in the snowfall. During the snow fall trekking is not easy, as there is no place to stand or sit if we have to rest.

Initially we were happy that with the snow it will be easy to walk, as it will not be slippery, but the flip side of it is, it takes a lot of effort to walk as it is like walking in loose sand.

Day 8: From Narek we treked to khelima and we take vehicle to zangla to stay in a home stay and took a one day break from trekking.

Day 9: Rested at zangla, here too we did not get great food. 

Leh will be cut-off from the rest of India by road during winter. The only way to reach Leh is through floght. so around this time one will get to eat only 2 to 3 vegetables - carrot, potatoe and cabbage. Each of those vegetables are costly as they need to be transported by flight. Winter is not the good time for vegetarians to visit Leh.

Day 10: we will have to go back to Leh in the same way we came. we came out of the home stay to start towards khelima. We are not able to bear the cold and I see my friends eye lashes are getting frozen and the snow is forming around the monkey cap. I am not able to understand, I see my cap, same is happening with me. My eye lashes too are getting frozen

We checked the thermometer, it is minus 30 degrees. My friends watch stopped working.

we came to khelima, our guide is not be seen. We are facing extreme cold. My nostrils and fingers are burning, unable to face the cold. We did not wait for the guide, we started walking fast, rather we started running. The only way to survive is to walk, so that heat will be generated in the body and will be able to tolerate the heat. We did not talk to anyone, we just put our face down to save from cold and walked like mad dogs.

We were able to survive because cold wind was blowing behind us, if it would have blown against us then it would have been impossible.

It was one hell of a day. In the night we camped at Nayrek.

Day 11: we got up in the morning and were about to brush, we see toothpaste is frozen. Today the temperature is around minus 25, it is tolerable. We started to trek, we see that the chadar(ice cover for the river) is broken at few places. We have to climb the mountains at few places to cross the river.

I was climbing at around 25 feet and my friend is behind me at around 10 feet. While climbing I tried to take the support of a big rock, un-fortunately the rock falls off. My friends head is exactly in the way of rolling rock. I shouted immediately, he lifted his head to check why I am shouting. He hardly has a second to realize and act. Luckily he ducks, and the rock just passes above his bent head.

huh! He and I are lucky today.

Most of us had serious incidents but with god grace nothing happens to anyone. Everyone is emotionally down and they walk silently and we camped at Tib-do.

Day 12: we start to Markala, today luckily there are no incidents.

On the way, during lunch break, like every day we get hot soup, Maggie and a cup of black tea. I see lot of foreigners who hqve come for trekking, not many Indians trek here due to hostile weather.

Day 13: we start towards Leh, we are eager to go back to Leh and take rest and have nice food.

At one of the places where chadar is broken, we had to cross the river in the water. I see a foreigner girl who just started the trek today wanting the porter to carry her across the water. This is a small crossing, what will happen to the porter if he has to carry her at places where the water is deep.

We finished the trek and rested in Leh.

pics can be viewed here