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Himalayan adventure
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Coimbatore students relive their memorable trek in the mountains
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What made our experience special was the togetherness of the team
PHOTO: K. ANANTHAN
BONDING IN THE HEIGHTS L. Fredrick and his group
A circle of snow-peaked mountains with patches of green, crystal streams and glaciers sprinkled with pink flowers and pristine air.
At Mt. Deo Tibba base camp, 16,000 ft high in the Himalayan range, the trekkers stood in bliss, sending up a silent prayer to Mother Nature.
"It was just Nature and you," says K. Pramosh, one of the 12-member team that participated in the high altitude eight-day trekking organised by Coimbatore-based Mountaineering Adventure Sports Society (MASS) led by mountaineer L. Fredrick.
Rich experience
Says P. Abichitra, a biotechnology student from PSGR Krishnammal College for Women, a first-time trekker: "Every day of the eight-day trek was a new experience. It was amazing to watch the transformation of Nature from close quarters. If the mornings were bright and sunny, the afternoons were rainy. On the second day of the trek at 3,150 ft near Chikha (a meadow), I developed breathing problems but the team's spirit boosted my confidence."
Other regular trekkers in the team, K. Manju, a computer science student, B. Nathiya, doing her history and tourism, and D. Ramasundari, BCA student, all from Krishnammal College, recall their experience as extraordinary — staying in tents near the rive base, the extreme temperatures, walking on the glaciers and, of course, river-crossing. "The moment I put my feet into water, tears rolled down my eyes. It was biting cold (at minus two degrees) and we had to cross a river (a 100 mts stretch) barefoot with the water at knee level," Nathiya recollects.
This was followed by 30 minutes of jumping up and down to bring the circulation back to their numb legs.
K. S. Saranya from PSG College of Technology and K. Swathi from Amrita Engineering College were the other students in the team.
Nature continued to stump them with her unpredictability right through the trek.
"In the night, the river is frozen and after dawn the water melts and touches our tents. Every morning, we would wait for the sun's rays to warm up the place," they add.
For Dayasagar Jain, a student from Krishna College, two sets of socks, four T-shirts, two shirts, one pullover, a monkey cap and a pair of gloves did the job.
"What made our experience special was the togetherness of the team. Activities like crossing the glaciers become easy only when you work as a team holding hands," he adds.
Fredrick explains how once they reached an altitude of 4,000 ft, the oxygen layer became thin.
"Once the oxygen intake is low, the trekkers suffer from acute mountain sickness. They fall silent and tend to be irritable. Such symptoms should be psychologically handled. They should descend another 300 mts or so to rest and then restart."
The adventurers add that the `acclimatisation exercise' helped them in a big way.
"By noon, after pitching our tents, we left our luggage and trekked 300 mts to get used to the terrain at higher altitudes. This way our trek was easy the next day. Sky reading is another important factor in high altitude trekking, " reveals Pramosh.
Porters, who accompanied the team, took care of tent management and food.
Food matters
"We had soup thrice a day. And, chapattis, rotis, aloo parathas and one meal of rice (for carbohydrates), a lot of liquids and black tea," Jain explains.
Their return trek was also full of surprises, beginning with a hailstorm. Because of the rains, the path they were taking had turned into a stream.
"The water level increased by more than one feet. We had to split the team into two and manoeuvre carefully on huge boulders on either sides of the stream to reach our tent base," remembers Fredrick.
In such treks, apart from inter-personal skills and leadership qualities, even a small gesture like helping a team member fold a sleeping bag is important. "We went as strangers and returned as a family. Saying goodbye was difficult," they conclude.
K.JESHI
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