Tag Archives: High Altitude

ABC Trekking -# 1 Excitement Ahead!

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Come 16th November, I will be out for for my next expedition. This time it will be a a trek to Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) in Himalayas in Nepal which will last till 26 Nov 2018. The Annapurna region is regarded as one of the best trekking destinations on the planet.

Three years back, in end April 2015, I planned for this expedition. But just a week before I was to leave, there was a severe earthquake in Nepal, killing almost 10,000 people. All tourist activities were closed. Next 3 years kept me busy in other expeditions like Drive from Road to London, solo drives to Iceland, Yellowstones in USA and Candian Rockies. I am now attempting to trek ABC again. Like the trek to Mt Everest BC, again I will be trekking all alone, of course with a Sherpa as a guide.

I wish the various authorities consider the energy level as a criteria to assess the abilities of a person rather than the age. Some of the initial challenges I am facing are due to my age factor of 73+. I expect to resolve these issues in the next 2-3 days and be ready to commence my journey on time.

I hope to share my excitements and anxious moments with you as I keep moving.

In the meanwhile I certainly need your good wishes and blessings for smooth completion of my dream.

Our Chinese Drivers Made the Night Exciting

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A memory of crossed by and I thought of sharing it with you.

“Mission Accomplished!” No, I am not referring to ‘Road to London’. This is a flashback after completing the tough Parikrama of precious snow mountain Kailash in 2004. It meant trekking at an altitude of over 20,000ft above sea level. It was a 3-day steep climb which my wife, 4 other devotees and I took up to Mt Kailash in Tibet.

3 Land Cruisers waited for us. 9 of us, including 3 trek staff with their stove, gas cylinder, utensils and food supplies. After a short drive, the vehicle, which was carrying our cooking material and tents, ran into some technical problem. We decided to adjust in the two other vehicles. We had to leave the camping and tent material behind because we were not expecting to need them till we reached Kathmandu.  We moved all other materials for cooking to our vehicles.

Along the way, there were no teashops or restaurants, so dinner had to be cooked by the staff.  At that stage, we realised that we had forgotten to move the gas cylinder! We had to satisfy our appetite with biscuits and dry snacks. We found a Tibetan teashop only the next afternoon. In its display, it had cooked rice with meat. Being vegetarians, we requested him to serve us the rice with curd. He obliged by removing the meat from the rice. We couldn’t bear the thought of touching the rice, let alone swallow it. We requested him to make just plain rice for us. He had already cooked all the rice he had with meat.

We made a meal out of snacks yet again. The stock of dry food was near exhaustion too. By evening, we were still looking for a place that would serve us anything vegetarian. It was getting colder; we were already at 10ºC. Heavy winds made it even colder. Thank God, we were inside a vehicle.

It started raining, taking the temperature further down. The route we were on, was completely isolated and was monitored by armed Chinese soldiers. We reached near a check post where a nominal toll had to be paid. Trying to save on that, our Chinese drivers took a ‘short cut’ – an unpaved, dirt road. We were completely unaware of the drivers’ decision because we didn’t understand their language.

When our vehicle made sounds but wasn’t moving, we figured something was wrong. What a wonderful scene to be stuck in – absolutely dark, deep mud, rains, heavy wind and very low temperature made extra special by a grumbling, hungry stomachs in tired bodies. Using sign language, the drivers assured us that we needn’t worry because the other vehicle would pull the stuck one out. Instead of bringing the second vehicle behind the first one to pull it out, drivers organised the other vehicle to drive to the left of the first one so that they could pull out the stuck vehicle from the front. Before we realised what was happening the second vehicle found itself stuck in mud – much deeper mud. Both vehicles were stuck with super-intelligent drivers and stupid passengers!

We all had to get down in the muck to push the vehicle behind. No more protection from the covered vehicle. This hardship was unnecessarily when they could have been driven on good roads for a nominal toll.

Now the car had to be pulled backwards by another vehicle. It would be a few hours or may be the entire night before another car passed by around that isolated area. We were told that we couldn’t sit inside the vehicle. The good thing is that be it good times or bad, they are never permanent. Our Sherpa set out on foot and came back within half an hour having found a structure, half a kilometer away. One of the drivers went there to check it out. He came back in 15 minutes with permission from the owner of the structure to stay there till we got help for our vehicles. Ha! At least we had some protection from the freezing night.

Since we had three women amongst us, I went ahead to check if the place was safe. As soon as I entered, there was a strong, sweet smell of alcohol. Hundreds of beer cans were scattered around. A large stock of liquor bottles and hundreds of used empty bottles were stacked on the side. I knew Pushpa would not be able to tolerate the smell. But then, we didn’t really have an option, did we? To make things a little comfortable for her, I kicked the empty cans aside. There were 3 benches with thin mattresses over them – good enough to lie down for a while. I could sit and share Pushpa’s bed.

There were 3 more chairs. My co-passengers could use two empty ones. The caretaker of the place already occupied one. He was an elderly face, full of wrinkles, large wide red eyes, long beard, a conical cap. It would be fine with us as long as he didn’t use the long gun in his hand. Pushpa tried to relax by lying on the bed. His chair was very close to Pushpa’s bed. He probably had weak eyes and time and again bowed down inches away from Pushpa’s face. That scared her. She asked me to tell him to look the other side. I told her, “I dare not say that as it was not a very bad situation as yet! After all he had gun in his hand!”

After an hour and half, we had our vehicles back and continued our journey by the proper road. At the check post, the army guy checked the vehicle, asked a few questions and allowed the vehicles to pass. There was no toll to be paid!

That was the occasion when we practically had to starve for cooked food for 3 days.

Experienced and Written By: Badri Baldawa

Edited By : Meeta Kabra

Road to London # 10 – Setting New Records Adds Thrill

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In continuation of earlier blog RTL # 9 – My Brave Bachchus

Once I decided to go for this journey, I was reading through the experiences of people who had been through similar journeys, in the past.

There are a few who have driven from London to Delhi.  There is also the story of three friends who started from London and got stuck in Afghanistan – they were sent back after a week’s experience in an Afghan prison. There are some who had to return halfway due to health or political problems.

Tushar Agarwal has a series of Guinness and Limca records for his driving achievements.  Amongst several others, he drove from London to Delhi with his wife.  He and his friend Sanjay Madan also have to their credit,  a 70,000 kms self-driving trip through 51 countries in 6 continents!  Whoa!

I wanted to make a record too!  But it is absolutely difficult to beat their records.  But I am heads up on one factor.  Being senior in age has its advantages.  I beat them hollow in age. While interacting with Tushar, he realised and hinted that I would be the senior most person to take up such a long self-driving trip.  That aside, Pushpa and I could be the senior most couple to achieve this.  That we could attempt to establish these new records added to our excitement.  Yes, if I am fit and confident enough to do it and face the problem in the process of achieving it!

That would be another record for us!

When Nishi agreed to join the expedition, I realised that it would be an another record.  She would be the youngest to take such a journey. We should be celebrating her 10th birthday on the way, if all goes well, in China.

Possibilities of setting these three new records – (a) senior-most individual  (b) senior-most couple and (c) youngest individual boosted our spirits even further.

Written : Badri Baldawa

Edited : Meeta Kabra

To be continued…………………..

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Road to London # 13 – The Route

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                            Continued from Road to London # 12 – “Soham”, the Companion….

Right from the beginning, we knew that driving to London through the Western borders would mean going through Pakistan and Afghanistan, which might not be the safest route. The Himalayan mountain range on the North and oceans on the South rule out those routes. That left only the Eastern route through China.  There are roads linking from Nepal and North-Eastern parts of the Indian border, but entry is restricted only for the Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage.   Thus we had to cross China, some parts of the old USSR, now countries like Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, certain European countries before we reach United Kingdom. This is a drive of about 45 days from the time we cross the Indian border.  This itinerary was considered as almost final for the tour.

Pushpa & Badri Baldawa with Soham

Pushpa & Badri Baldawa with Soham

Myanmar is a country I have been wanting to visit for long.  I heard of it as Burmah where Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose founded the Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army) to fight for independence. The ruling military junta changed its name from Burma to Myanmar in 1989.

However there was an update that though the entry point in Myanmar is safe, the exit point, Muse was not very peaceful.  Therefore the route to China had to be changed.  The best practical alternative was to drive to Thailand, cut across Laos and then enter China. This added two countries to the itinerary and increased the overseas travel from 45 to 47 days and the number of countries from 14 to 16.

We need to drive for a fortnight to cross the Chinese territory and reach Kyrgyzstan.  I was very happy when I realised our next destination country was Uzbekistan. It would give us an opportunity to visit Tashkent where our former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri breathed his last. From there on to Kazhakstan before we touch the border of Russia.

As per the original plans we planned to enter Belarus through the Kurgan border from Moscow. It

From Mumbai - Road to London

From Mumbai – Road to London

was not possible to get vehicle permits for Belarus from Russia.  In October 2016, the Belarus–Russia border was closed to foreigners.  Therefore, the itinerary had to be re-routed again.   Instead of entering through Belarus, we would now drive further north and enter European Union through Latvia and Lithuania.  The onward drive thereafter is easy through Czechoslovakia, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France and finally to The United Kingdom.  Once we enter UK at its South East, we would drive to London.  This revision added two more days to the itinerary.

However this created another technical problem.  If we left the Indian border as per original schedule on 16 April 2017, we reach the China border on a Sunday.  The border is closed on Sundays. Hence the departure from India was postponed to 17 April 2017.

All these changes made the total countries visited from the original 15 to 18 (excluding Bhutan).   The total number of overseas driving days increased from 45 to 49.   Add to that the 23 days drive to reach the Indian border. The total duration of the tour now is at a total of 72 days!

The action begins in less than 10 days on 24th March 2017. We would love to see you all cheer us when we leave at a small flag-off event. Please do come!

Written : Badri Baldawa

Edited  : Meeta Kabra

To Be Continued ………….

Road to London #4 – An Impromptu Decision

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“Pushpa, there is this road-trip, self-drive to London from India.  It is about two and a half months long.  Should we?”  I called Pushpa within moments of getting an email to the effect on 20th May 2016.   She was on a train from Rishikesh.

“Yes! Let’s do it!” she said without waiting even for a second. A green signal from my better half and I was confident of convincing other members of my family.  Within a few minutes I gave our provisional confirmation to join the expedition – “Road to London”.

As I confirmed, I wondered if this was a hasty decision. My memories reeled me back.

Over fifty five years ago, near my native town Bellary, the Tungabhadra dam was inaugurated.  Anyone who visited the site came back only with praises. I too wanted to visit the place.  I was school-going child back then.  My mother gave me Rs. 5 for the trip.  Bus or train was unaffordable.  I convinced some friends to pedal the total distance of 130 kilometers on rented bicycles.  To make the trip affordable, we decided to ride “double seat”.

Since the load of two people would be difficult to take through, the person at the back had to help peddle along with the main rider – two legs pedalling on each side!  If anyone was tired of pedalling or plays smart and say he was tired, he would have the comfort of sitting on the front pipe and get exemption from pedalling – a smart punishment we thought to have the bottom hurt by the pipe.  It was two days full of fun!  It was a thrilling to try to do the unexpected!  It was a challenge!  And I was crazy to accept and face the challenge!

Later in life, my wife and I wanted to watch the midnight Sun and fulfil my childhood dream.  I figured that it could be best watched from Nordkapp (North Cape) in Norway.  In 1983, I decided to reach Nordkapp on the midnight of 25 July.  I reached Narvik from Oslo by a luxurious train.  There was no regular public transport facility from Narvik to Nordkapp. But hey, I could enjoy driving that distance on an European road.  By the standards of European roads, I could drive those 800km in say 8 or at the most 10 hours.  I planned accordingly.

Those were the days when there were no internet or Google or GPS.

As I started driving from Narvik, I was surprised with the shocking road condition.  It was all  broken,  narrow single,  rugged, kutchha roads.  It was inevitable, since most of the year those roads were covered with snow. I was determined to be punctual for my date with the midnight Sun.   Not just that.   I had my flight booking for my next flight from Oslo.  I had to reach Nordkapp and return by the same road in time.  I’d have to drive continuously for 46 hours without sleep or break.  It was a thrill to reach on time to enjoy the best.  It was a challenge!  And I was crazy to accept and face the challenge!

A few years later, missing a train turned out for the best.  We planned a Badrinath Char Dham Yatra.  We were to travel by train upto Delhi and then engage a cab to complete the rest of the journey.   Our shipment (business) was delayed by a day due to some objections raised by the Customs department.  Despite having buffer time for contingencies, by the time the shipment was completed, we missed the train.  It was difficult to get new reservations as this was peak travel season  We decided to leave by car within the hour.  Just five of us, Pushpa, our children and me. No driver.  We drove right upto Badrinath temple via Rajasthan, a round trip of about 6,000 kilometers.   We faced problems and we learnt how to resolve them.

On that journey, there was an incident that inspired me to start trekking.  I will leave that incident for another time. After that trip, we started trekking to various places including Amarnath, Hemkund Saheb and Mt Kailash Parikrama.   Meeting Peter Hillary, the son of Edmund Hillary inspired me to trek to Mt Everest.

Except Mt Everest, Pushpa and I trekked together.  After 55, Pushpa developed a knee joint problem.   It became difficult for her to undertake long and steep treks.  Without her I did not feel like going for treks either.  We switched over to driving expeditions instead of trekking.  I had heard that driving in Iceland was extremely difficult and risky.  We went for driving adventure with our granddaughter Nishi, Seema’s daughter in Iceland.

You see the pattern? Whenever I hear of a particularly difficult trip, I like to take up the challenge.

It is no surprise then, that the very idea of driving for over two months in unknown and diversified territories was something I’d want to do. Maybe that is why the impulse decision.  I couldn’t control my excitement joined the “Drive to London” group, as if it would have slipped away if I had delayed confirmation for a few minutes!

Written : Badri Baldawa

Edited  : Meeta Kabra

Road to London #2 – A Unique Attempt

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I am writing to request your thoughts, comments, blessings, cooperation and support in an extraordinary adventure that I plan to undertake…

…that of self-driving a distance of 20,000 kms from Mumbai to London, over 68 days through 16 countries and 100+ cities!

…that of chaperoning my 9-year old grand daughter along with my 63-year old wife through a long, once-in-a-lifetime journey covering off-beaten tracks, rugged mountains, deserts and sand dunes, dense forests and snow, high altitudes, heritage sites, highways and cities!

Before you say more about risk and raise concerns (and thank you for that!), please rest assured that this is not my first endeavour into adventure (my close family will attest to that!). I have been an adventure-thrill seeker through my life, especially after the age of 45

  • At the age of 70, in 2015, I self-drove 8+ days through Iceland’s rough and risky terrains, with my wife and then 7-year old granddaughter. This included some glacier walking as well as snow mobil-ing.
  • At 65, I organised a group of 90 pilgrims to Kailash-Mansarovar for a charitable purpose. It is a journey many dream to accomplish at least once in their lifetime. It is also considered extremely difficult and life threatening.
  • In 2009, my wife and I were the first Indians to land at 90° North and float on a sheet of ice. There is nothing to it’s north and that spot on earth has no longitude, no time-zone.  It was all to experience the place where the Sun and the Moon rise and set, only once a year!  We were on the only nuclear powered vessel capable of navigating to this place.
  • We also challenged ourselves to participate in the ritualistic “polar plunge”. Not stating the obvious, but this act is considered (silly and) fatal if one stays in for more than a few seconds.
  • In 2008, at 63, Mr. Peter Hillary, Edmund Hillary’s son personally inspired me to take the Mt. Everest Base Camp trek, considered demanding and deathly. I trekked with only one sherpa for company (i.e. it was not an organized group tour).
  • In 2005-06, my wife and I also travelled and trekked through all of South America (including staying in the dense Amazon forests) and set foot on Antarctica, where the most common inhabitants are penguins and the temperature of -30°
  • In 2004, my wife and I climbed to an altitude of over 19,000 feet to perform the Mt. Kailash parikrama (at ages 60 and 51). This was without any guided help!
  • 25+ years ago, in 1988, I drove my family from Mumbai to the top of Badrinath temple (now in Uttarakhand) in a Honda Civic. This was 5,500+ kms of heart-throbbingly bad roads – especially for a stick shift, sedan! (If you are aware of the Indian road conditions today, just imagine what they were almost all those years ago!)
  • A little before that, in 1987, my wife and I drove from Oslo through the broken roads of Nordkap to experience Norway’s Midnight Sun.

This is a glimpse of the many thrilling, exciting and hair-raising adventures I have been lucky to be a part of, but I would refrain myself from getting nostalgic here! After all, over the years I have travelled to 55+ countries whilst my wife has visited 43.

Academically, I am a qualified Chartered Accountant as well as a Cost Accountant.  However, I have been a first generation entrepreneur for most of my life. In 1986, I quit my (then) 18-year old professional career in the Middle East to come back to India and start on my own.

My learnings in life – personal and professional as well as my travel experiences and expeditions are (slowly, but steadily) being documented on my blog (please write to me if you want to get updates on e-mail).

In fact, I plan to capture my upcoming “driving expedition” on a day-to-day basis, perhaps even on a real time basis (using a GoPro camera).  Our expedition will cut across India, West to East, crossing about 10 states including Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Nagaland and Manipur.  Once we cross India, we will pass through Bhutan, Myanmar, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, France, and finally the UK.    It will be the rarest of rare travels – not to mention the various challenges we will face driving through such varied landscape.  This event is expected to create a record in Limca Book of Records and possibly be a Guinness World Record too (I am in conversation with them on this front.)

However, more importantly, this road adventure is personally very dear to me because I intend to spread a personal message that “age is no bar if your mind is determined and your body taken care of”; That, if one keeps themselves fit, age cannot hold you from extra-ordinary feats – be it a child of 9 years, a grandmother at 63 or a grandfather at 72.

Over the past few years, I have seen and read about kids and adults living their life more as an obligation, coupled with neglect of their health. People have almost forgotten to “live” their life…not realising that in the end, it is not the years in your life that matter, but the life in the years!

It goes without saying that such an adventure involves a lot of planning and budgeting, and as such, we are looking for “like-minded” individuals or organisations who believe in our belief and are keen to participate and partner with us; or if you know someone who would be interested. If you are, please do write to me at the below details and I would be happy to sit down and share additional details. Your assistance and cooperation will help create awareness as well as generate interest, curiosity and perhaps inspire others!

I am hoping that with your support we will be able to spread the message to an even wider audience! The flag off is currently scheduled from Mumbai at 1000 hours on 24 March 2017, when we embark on this journey, hopefully able to create an extra-ordinary story and memory! You are most welcome to come and join the celebration and wish me luck!!

 

Badri Baldawa

Cell: +91 987 000 1177

Email: badribaldawa@gmail.com

When Nargis and Indira Gandhi Rescued Me!

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Way back in 1984, I had to visit Cyprus to negotiate some business deals. Cyprus was very competitive for import of products like detergent, edible oils, paper reams etc in bulk, repack them in consumer packs and export them to European and Middle Eastern countries. Most of the manufacturing units were located around Larnaca and Limassol, on its South Coast.

I had to stay there over a weekend.   I was alone.  All commercial offices were closed.  I had nothing to do.  On the Saturday, I hired a car from Hertz.   I went for a beautiful drive to the popular historical places over the south coastal stretch of about 150 km from Limassol to Pephos and back.

After my Saturday drive, I was relaxing in the Hotel lounge and was wondering what I’d do the next day.  Just then, I found a pamphlet in the hotel rack with details of a drive to Mountain Troodas.  The mountain base was at a distance of 45 km and thereafter a steep climb of 6,500 ft.  From the base, it was about a 10 km road to the top of the ice-capped mountain.  It was winter season and was snowing almost every day on the mountain.

Unfortunately the mountain was closed except to those who took it up by foot and had a skiing permit.

Immediately, I wanted to rent a car to drive to the top of mountain Troodas as far as I could.    The car tyres had to have snow chains.  The chains provide grip while driving on snow and keeps the car from skidding.   The car rental company informed me that driving on the mountain was not permitted during winter beyond 2-3km.  Only skiers with permits could climb during that season.  Hertz refused to rent a car to me.  I tried Avis and they refused too.

I wasn’t going to give up, of course.   I decided to drive as far as permitted even if I had to return from the first security gate.  For that distance, I presumed I didn’t need the tyre snow-chains.  I did not go to Hertz or Avis.  I went to a local car rental company and hired a car.  I did not ask for the snow-chains.

I kept the car at the hotel over the night and made an early start on Sunday.  It took me about 45 minutes to reach the base.  I started driving up.  After about 3km, I reached the security post and the gate was open!  There was no guard either.  Maybe, the security did not expect any vehicle to come at that hour in winter!

I had the option to wait there or return.  I had underestimated how cold it would be.  I was not appropriately equipped to face 0-5 deg temperature.  I had just one a formal coat, a jacket, thick socks, woolen gloves and formal leather shoes.  For me, a change from warm weather to snow was an excitement.

There appeared to be no restrictions to go up.  I decided to go further up.  The mountain was covered completely with snow .  There was a thin layer of fresh snow on the road.  It was just thin flakes initially to about a couple of inches or so as I went up.

Slowly and steadily I drove further about 3-4 kms when I heard a car sounding a horn behind me.  I could see it was a security jeep.  I could see in my rear view mirror that they were signaling me to take my vehicle slightly to the left so that they could overtake.  But the road was narrow and covered with snow.  I could not take the risk of giving them enough space to overtake me. Moreover, it was not safe to stop the vehicle on that skidding slope.  After about half a km, there was a spot created for overtaking, where the road was slightly wider and flat.  The security asked me to stop.  I took my car to the side and halted.

They interrogated me severely with several security-related questions.  There were three gentlemen in the jeep, one of them was wearing a military uniform.  They asked me to show the permit to drive up the mountain.  I told them that I was not aware of the need for a permit.

To the question if I hadn’t read the sign at the security gate, I said it was snowing and hence could not notice it.  They said I was silly to have come to that height in a small vehicle without any snow chain and on and on.

Troodas, Cyprus

The car heater was not effective. I told them that I would answer all their questions, but I was shivering and needed a warm place and a hot drink, before I collapse.    The chief security officer ordered me to leave my vehicle there and join him in his vehicle.  I was sure they would investigate further as we were moving further up.

He: Passport?

Me: In Hotel

He: Which country?

Me: India

His colleague busted loudly: “Aaah!  You, from Mother India Nargis and Indira Gandhi!  Joker Raj Kapoor!”  There was a broad smile on his face.  He grasped my hand and continued, “We are friends! We like India.  We love Indians”.

I let out a big sigh of relief, bigger than his smile!  What happened thereafter was very exciting.

After a drive of another half a kilometer, he took me to a small hall.   It was isolated.  There was no one there except a lady sweeping the floor.  It was a coffee shop for the skiers.  They would normally come after 11 am and it was not even 9 am.  My fingers were swollen to the size of my greater toe due to the cold.  There was a fireplace at the center of the restaurant which kept the room warm. Gradually, I stopped shivering.  The coffee house was not yet ready to serve hot beverages.

The Cypriot took me out to his jeep, poured a cup of hot coffee from his flask and said ‘warm up’.  He probably could see a broad smile on my face. As both of us finished our coffee, he asked, “Now what do you want to do?  Stay here for a while or go down right away”.

I said “Neither.  I want to go up. Up further”.  He said something in their local language to his colleague, probably telling him, “This is a mad guy”.  He said, “Even the vehicles with chains cannot go up.  Roads are covered with 3 to 4 feet of snow and in fact it is difficult to trace the road under the snow.   My colleague will take you back to your car” and he left me with him to attend to something else.

I thanked him and asked the person with me, “Are you from security too?”

He: “No, I am the engineer in charge. I maintain the cable line and the satellite tower at the top of the Troodas mountain”.

I asked him, “If there is a problem with the cables at a higher level right now, how would you go?”

He: I have a special 4-wheel drive vehicle.  A dumper truck with snowplows clears the road and my vehicle follows it.   It is a slow process and takes hours to clear even one kilometer.”

Me: “Then I will sit in your vehicle and go with you.  If you can please take me up!”

He gave a friendly stare at me. I reminded him, “Nargeesh, Indeeraa Gyandhi”.  He started laughing and said. “Ok. The mountain peak is about 3 kilometers from here.  I think in this weather, I would be able to take you up about 1.5km.”  “Thank you” I said.

He made a couple of calls, called for the dumper to clear the snow.  It was like a bulldozer.  Within 30 minutes, the bulldozer started clearing the road and our vehicle followed.  After a couple of hours and climb of about one and a half km,

He: “Now we should go back”.

Me: “No, we should go further up”.

He: “How far?”

Me: “Right till the satellite tower”

He stared at me and said, “Nargeesh, Indeeraa Gyandhi.  Ok my friend we will go up, risky though”.  It was snowing and we continued.  After about two more hours I reached the top of Troodas mountain, the top of Cyprus.   There was a small one-room structure with some sophisticated machines and a tall tower at the peak. I walked, jumped and slided for about half an hour.

Cyprus Mountain

Dumper Clearing snow ahead of our car

When we started returning, the cleared road now had a thick layer of fresh snow.   The dumper ahead cleared the way and we returned to the spot where I left my little car.  It did not take long to return.  By then, it was already around 4pm.   We had a coffee at the coffee house and then he escorted me to the car.  I reversed the direction of the car to return.  “A lazy day converted to a complete thrill!”

When I was about to leave in my car bidding him good bye, my Cypriot friend said, “remember 3 things.

  • One, engage your car in 2nd gear and do not change the gear till you reach the base.

  • Two, do not apply brake when your car is on snow.

  • Three and most important, you will not go up again now.

Nargeesh, Indeeraa Gyandhi”

It is over 30 years, I still follow these lessons while driving down on slopes.  I am sure this will help when I drive in Iceland next fortnight!

Experienced and Written By: Badri Baldawa

Edited By : Meeta Kabra

A Fateful Night at High Altitude 

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Freezing cold made worse by biting wind.  Continuous rains.  15000+ feet above sea level. Resultant low oxygen levels and difficulty in.  Pitch dark at midnight. A full moon night with the moon no where in sight because of the clouds.

After a tiring drive through the mountains and making sleeping and food arrangements for 90 people who were traveling with me, I had just stretched out in a tent I shared with a few others, readying myself for a few hours of sleep.

I was half asleep. Suddenly there were loud noises of someone crying from the tent in the neighbourhood and murmurs in my own tent.

“Mundraji is no more” informed someone as they woke me up.   I rushed to his tent to assess what actually had happened.  Within the next 10 minutes I was told, “Naru is breathless and appears to be in a serious condition”.  Naru is Nirmala Gilda, my niece.  Her husband, was obviously in a state of panic. “Someone save her!”.

Leaving Mr. Mundra’s tent, I rushed to Naru’s tent.   I was told that someone had rushed to get an oxygen cylinder for her.  Within 5 minutes, another news came in, “Shobhaji fell and has fractured her hand.”   She had rushed to fetch the oxygen cylinder and got herself tangled with the rope that keeps a tent erect.

All three events happened in a span of 20 minutes. I was shaken up. I was confused at what was happening and scared of what was in store for the rest of that fateful night.  I prayed to Lord Shiva  for a few moments.  We were right next to Him, after all. We were camping at the bank of Mansarovar Lake, at the foot of Mt. Kailash, his mythical abode.

Lake Mansarovar – a place where no facilities were available, no shops, no habitants let alone medical facilities.   This was a trip I had initiated. I had taken a group of 90 people to Kailash Mansarovar Yatra along with Guruji, for a charitable cause.

We had nine qualified, helpful doctors in our group including Dr. Meena from Nashik who had spent more or less all of past ten days serving the members of the group.

Naru’s breathlessness was due to high altitude.  We were at a height of 15,060 ft, which does not suit everyone.  Immediately, a landcruiser was arranged to take her to a lower altitude.  Mrs. Shobha also was sent in landcruiser to a lower level for treatment at a place where provisional medical facilities were available.  Actions were prompt and brisk.

Right at the beginning, in the briefing sessions, all members were told that they ought to report even if they have minute symptoms of sickness.   Those few who reported slightest sickness were promptly treated.  One person who had acute altitude sickness had to be sent back to the base.  Another person who had mild symptoms of sickness was held back at the same place for another day for further acclimation and was then escorted to join the group the next day.  Arrangements for such emergencies were well taken care of.

Mundraji had been unwell for 3-4 days.  But neither he nor any body else reported the problem, probably presuming it was of no major consequence.   On that fatal day, he suddenly collapsed.  It is assumed that it was a massive heart stroke.

Mansarovar is in Tibet.  As it is a sacred place, his family, who was accompanying him on the trip,  agreed to have the funeral there itself instead of getting him back to India.  It took a full day to complete all the formalities.  Guruji was present all the time.  We could see the smoke from his pyre blowing towards the sacred Mount Kailash.

We found consolation in the fact that Mundraji was lucky to have survived till he reached Mansarovar and his last rites could be performed at such an auspicious place.

Though Mundhraji’s demise was something none of us could have helped, I still feel guilty and often wonder if there was anything I could have done for his survival.  The burden of that event I still bear on my heart and soul .

I guess this event is an eye opener to anyone travelling to high altitudes, “do not ignore, even mild symptoms, of any illness and report to the organisers immediately”.

 

Written & Experienced : Badri Baldawa

Editor  : Meeta Kabra