Day8 : Trek from Tila Lotni (12500 ft) to Biskeri Thatch (11000ft) via SAR Pass (13800ft)- 9km, 6hr

We got a wake up call at 0345 hours and bed tea inside our tents. The kitchen staff was working hard to make our trek successful. We went out with our torches for morning rituals and came back to find our breakfast ready. Packed lunch was a mango drink in tetrapack, a glucose biscuit packet and four mathris. The group got late and we could start at 0520 hours.

The initial part of trek was a steep climb along the ridge line. As the Sun rose, we were greeted with mesmerizing view of golden peaks around us.

We managed to climb up to a point on the ridge where a flag had been put. We rested for a while here, allowing the rest of the batch to cath up. Lot of pictures were taken before we decided to move on.

From here, we were to go on a relatively flatter path, on snow, across a long stretch which had snow. This stretch was tricky as we had to make steps on the slope with our shoes, sidestepping and stomping. Several of us slipped and fell, some of us several times. Good water resistant trekking shoes having large lugs on soles came in handy here, while those wearing sneakers got wet feet and slipped a lot.

 Progress was slow and we stopped repeatedly to allow others to catch up. However, one of the trekkers again had serious problems in walking and as a result, we had to stay at the lunch point for about 2 hours. 

 Here again, a small kitchen had been set up by a villager who serves us with tea, omelettes and maggi. A few young enthusiastic members started sliding and skiing on the slopes around us, standing upright in their shoes! The enthusiasm caught up and soon the number of sliders increased, some standing up and others lying prone on their backsides. A few ponchos came out, to protect the clothes from getting wet. Soon the slopes were full of whoops and laughter. Other members joined up as they reached the lunch point and it was fun all around. However, we were getting late and so we started for the remaining leg of the trek across the snow. We were to cross over a ridge line at a saddle point and then to take a long slide down another snow slope towards our next camp.

 As we slipped and walked our way further, the guide fell back to take care of others who were having problems, leaving a group of 12 members at the head. We decided to pull on and I side kicked and stomped my way across the snow slopes, towards the saddle point. Soon we could hear the guides waiting for us on the saddle who were supposed to escort us beyond that point. The guides who helped us from Tila Lotni till the saddle were to return back.

We struggled up the steep climb up the saddle and waited for an hour, for the remaining batch to catch up. After this wait, we were led to the snow and here, we were asked to abandon our sticks. I had a collapsible trekking pole and I collapsed it and put it inside my backpack. I was the first to slide down and the waist strap on the ruck sack was unclasped before I went down the slope, wearing my waterproof trousers. The journey down was great fun and the entire batch hooted as I caught up speed, The route down had a slight bend in the middle and merely tilting to a side made me change direction. There were a few bumps on the way and finally I came to a rest after almost 700-800 m, losing a good 300-400 feet in altitude. While the remaining batch mates slid down a few more slopes, I had had enough and in any case, I was careful enough, having hurt my knee once on a similar slide on the final days of a Basic Course in Mountaineering, at NIM, Uttarkashi, few years back.

The slide down

 So I walked my way down to below the snow line, where a canteen had been set up by a villager. After spending an hour here and eating some maggi and having tea, we made out way towards Biskeri Thatch. 

This was a long steep slope which was again difficult for us to go down on. Our knees took a hammering and it was tough going. We learned that one more member has hurt his knee ligament and was limping down, supported on both sides by his mates. Finally the entire batch reached Biskeri by 5 pm.

The camp in-charge was very enthusiastic and made us have tea and pakoras. Having reached earlier, I managed to wash up and also managed to wash some clothes. These finally dried up by the time we left Biskeri the next morning.

Two members wanted to leave the next day, going directly to base camp, bypassing Bhandak Thatch. They had an interview for a job. They were permitted to do so, but were told that they will not get a completion certificate unless they touched Bhakdak Thatch on the way down. This would have meant a detour of 5-6 km, to which they declined.

The mood in the camp was upbeat, although all of us were tired. After dinner, we went to sleep, looking forward to Bhandak Thatch the next day, which is called the most beautiful of all the camps.