One Mile At A Time: #mountaineering #trekking #travelogue

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THE BLACK PEAK EXPEDITION

The Black Peak Expedition

Kalanag or Black Peak (6387m) is the highest peak in the Saraswati (Bandarpunch) mountain range. Kalanag literally means Black Cobra due to its top part resembling a black snake. The peak provides a very descent and gradual southern approach but towards the Northern slope it features a very steep, almost vertical slope.

Grade: Challenging

Location: Garhwal Himalayas, Uttarakhand, India

Ideal Season: May, June, September, October

Rope Required : 2000 metres

Rough plan:

Day 1: Dehradun->Sankri(1906m)

Day 2: Sankri->Osla (2560m)

Day 3: Osla->Ruinsara Tal (3350m)

Day 4: Ruinsara Tal->Kyarkoti (Base Camp) 3500m

Day 5: Base Camp->Camp 1 (4600m) Load Ferry

Day 6: Base Camp->Camp 1 (Establish Camp 1)

Day 7: Camp 1->Camp 2 (5100m) Load Ferry

Day 8: Camp 1->Camp 2 (establish camp 2)

Day 9: Camp 2->Camp 3 (5500m)

Day 10: Camp 3->Summit attempt (6387m)

Day 11: Extra day reserved for Summit attempt

Day 12: Move to Base camp

Day 13: Base camp->Osla

Day 14: Osla->Taluka->Sankri

Day 1: Dehradun to Sankri (1920m) 6/7 hours

Sankri serves as the base for many treks in Uttarakhand. Dehradun to Sankri is around 180kms and the route passes through Mussoorie, Naugaon, Purola, Mori, Netwar and then Sankri in Govind Pashu National park. It takes around 7 hours to reach Sankri from Dehradun by road. Sankri is situated at a height of 1920m above sea level. The places to stay for the night before the trek are the GMVN guest house or the Hotel Swargrohini Palace. The view from the village is splendid, you can see snow capped mountains in the distance.

Day 2: Sankri to Osla (2560m) 6/7 hours

The day starts with the gentle trail towards Osla. It is a long trek through beautiful forests of Chestnut, Walnut and Willows and takes around 6-7 hours to reach Osla. A gradual ascent brings us to the Osla village along the swift rivulet. On arrival set the camp for overnight stay and enjoy being in the lap of nature.

Day 3: Osla to Ruinsara Tal (3350m) 5/6 hours

The trek to the Holy Ruinsara Tal or Lake is through a brilliant alpine trail. The views of the Swargrohini Range are particularly impressive from here. The lake is located at the side of the Ton Glacier. Osla to Ruinsara Tal is a long 14km trek with little to no gradient therefore, at the most, it will take you around 5-6 hours to reach here.

Day 4: Ruinsara Tal to Kyarkoti (Base Camp) 3500m (3/4 hours)

Kyarkoti is situated at the base of Saraswati mountain Range and is mainly a grassy patch of land with boulders surrounding the place. It is surrounded by snow clad mountains on the three sides. The nearby spring makes it an ideal site for camp bases. Porters are the only means of transporting goods here. Black Peak can be seen clearly from the base camp. The trail to kyarkoti is quite steep and therefore takes around 4 hours of difficult climbing.

Day 5: Base Camp to Camp 1 (4600m) 4 hours

Load your ferry to establish camp 1. It takes around 4 hours of trekking from the base camp to camp 1. This would help you to acclimatize easily. After crossing a high land just next to our base camp, trek on grassy land with gentle slope till you reach a spring dotted with boulders. After steep climbing, reach the path which cosses through a landslide prone region. Then descend one more grassy path which is followed by two patches of moraines. In the last part of the trek, you’ll have to do some easy bouldering to reach camp 1. Camp 1 will be on uneven grassy land gently sloping towards west. On the north, it is flanked by a mountain. A glacier flowing east to west flanks it on the other side.

Day 6: Base Camp to Camp 1 (4600m) 4 hours

Finally establish your Camp 1 by two consecutive days of load ferry. This exercise would be very helpful for acclimatization and I would suggest, never skip this step.

Day 7: Camp 1 to Camp 2 (5100m) 3 hours

Establish Camp 2 on a snow field after a trek of 3 hours from camp 1. Black peak will be clearly visible from the Camp towards the soth-east. However, on this day, you’ll ferry load from camp 1 to camp 2 and then return back to camp 1. This is again a very important step for acllimatization and easy summit climb.

Day 8: Camp 1 to Camp 2 (5100m) 3 hours

Establish camp 2 and stay there and prepare for next day load ferry.

Day 9: Camp 2 to Camp 3 (5500m) 6 hours

Establish camp 3 on a large hump of snow with Black peak visible in the southeast direction. Camp will be at a height of approximately 18000ft. and had to be reached circumventing a number of crevasses. Towards the north you’ll be able to see Swargarohini and towards the south stood the beautiful peaks of Bandarpunch. Stay in Camp 3 and prepare for summit attempt next day.

Day 10: Camp 3 - Summit attempt (6387m)

On the summit attempt day, start as early as 2:00am in the morning. Fix up a rope to negotiate a number of crevasses. The climb of 100 ft before the summit is difficult and dangerous. The snow will be hard and slope is very steep. The summit is on a ridgeline, but it is flat on top. A maximum of 8-10 people can climb the summit at one go.

Published @ https://trekmonk.in/

PAPSURA PEAK

Mt. Papsura (6451m) - ‘The Peak of Evil’

Papsura Peak (6451m), which is called ‘The Peak of Evil’ . Dharamsura and Papsura are neighbouring peaks in famous Manikaran region of Parvati Valley in Himachal Pradesh. These two striking twin peaks are also known as the ‘Peaks of Good and Evil’. Papsura is only a few metres higher than Dharamsura. A ridge of about 1.9 km separates the two peaks. Ideally a total of about 2200 metres of rope is required to climb the summits. People usually attempt both the peaks at one go. The peaks are generally climbed by the S-E ridge and S-W ridge. The approach to base camp consists a tiring walk on the lateral moraines of the Tosh glacier. The ridge connecting Papsura and Dharamsura also extends to the west to the famous Sara Umga Pass, which connects the Kullu and Lahaul valleys. 3 to 4 transit camps need to be set up before reaching the basecamp. The trek starts from the beautiful village of Tosh, near Manikaran in Kullu district. Three more high camps are needed for a possible summit attempt. This area is sanctuary of peaks like Devachan, Indrasan, etc.

Rough Plan:

Day 1: Manali->Tosh Village (2400m)

Day 2: Tosh->Bhudaban Trek (3020m)

Day 3: Bhudaban->Saran Thach trek (3505m)

Day 4: Saram->Samshi (3800m)

Day 5: Samshi->Kutla (4100m)

Day 6: Kuta->Base camp

Day 7: Base Camp->Camp 1 (acclimatization and load ferry)->Base camp

Day 8: Base Camp->Camp1 (acclimatization and load ferry)->Base camp

Day 9: Rest Day

Day 10: Base Camp->Camp 1 (via Sara Umga Pass)

Day 11: Camp 1->Camp 2

Day 12: Camp 2->Summit attempt (6446m)->Camp 2

Day 13: Reserve Day for Summit

Day 14: Reserve Day for Summit

Day 15: Summit->Camp 1

Day 16: Camp 1->Base camp

Day 17: Rest Day

Day 18: Base camp->Shamshi

Day 19: Shamshi->Budhaban

Day 20: Budhaban->Tosh village->Manali

Tosh (2400m)

Tosh, a village turned hippie colony, in Himachal Pradesh located at about 2400m in elevation on a hill near Kasol in the Pravati valley, surrounded by mountains. Alongside the village is the Tosh river, which begins at the Tosh Glacier within Tosh valley. The peaks surrounding the it include, Dharamsura, Papsura, Angduri, Pinnacle and Devachan. Manali to Kosh is a 3 hour 22 minutes ride (95.2km) via NH3 and Manikaran Road.

Tosh->Bhudaban Trek (3020m) 3/4 hours

Tosh to Bhudaban is a 3 hours easy hike of 4 kms. This phase of the trek is extremely scenic with full of Pine trees.

Bhudaban->Saran Thach (3505m) 5/6 hours

The trek from Bhudaban passes along the Pulga Nullah and this glacier is the source of this Nullah. One can have the close view of the Ali Ratna Tibba, located on the Pir Panjal Range from Losha Thatch. A long day’s walk as the path climbs from Budhaban to cross the treeline. It then continues over meadows and rhododendron clusters to the high altitude meadow at Sharan Thatch.

Sharan Thatch->Shamshi Thatch (3800m) 4/5 hours

An initial steep climb moves towards narrow path over patches of snow. The Tosh river continues its noisy course throughout. After a short descent, you arrive at Shamshi Thatch, beautifully set in a little bowl at the base of the valley. To the north is the Tosh glacier, to the east the massive face of Kullu Makalu Peak.

Shamshi->Kutla (4100m) 3/4 hours

Climb to the snout of the Tosh Glacier and continue up on the path near the glacier to the small meadow at Kuta Thatch

Kutla->Base camp (4480m) 4/5 hours

Kutla to the base camp is a 4 hours long steep walk at around 55 degree inclination. A lot of technicality and climbing is involved specially because of the huge crevasses.

Base camp-> camp 1 (4830m) 6/7 hours

You need to acclimatize your body at such an extreme altitude and prepare it for further heights. Ferry your loads to camp 1 and return back to base camp. This will help you get acclimatized and also prepare you for trying summit

Sara Umga Pass: (4900m)

The Sara Umga Pass or Sara Umga La, lies on the historic Indo-Tibetan trade route. The pass lying at an height of about 4900m, is a challenging trek, meant only for experienced trekkers. Though a tough trek, the views of the central Lahaul and many impressive six-thousanders of the Chandra Bhaga range, makes the effort worthwhile.

Summit Attempt:

It involves more than 360m of steep climbing on the rock face. You have to fix ropes on difficult patches which will consume a lot of your time. Therefore, start for the summit as early as possible because the weather becomes rough and windy by midday. Snow avalanches are common in this region and thus, this is considered a difficult expedition and not everyone’s cup of tea!

Published @ https://trekmonk.in/

DHARAMSURA PEAK

Mt. Dharamsura - ‘The White Sail Climbing ‘

Dharamsura Peak (6446m), which is called ‘White Sail’ because of its shape. Dharamsura and Papsura are neighbouring peaks in famous Manikaran region of Parvati Valley in Himachal Pradesh. Two striking twin peaks are also known as the ‘Peaks of Good and Evil’. Papsura is only a few metres higher than Dharamsura with an altitude of 6451m. A ridge of about 1.9 km separates the two peaks. Ideally a total of about 2200 metres of rope is required to climb the summits. People usually attempt both the peaks at one go as they are twin peaks. The peaks are generally climbed by the S-E ridge and S-W ridge. The approach to base camp consists of a tiring walk on the lateral moraines of the Tosh glacier. The ridge connecting Papsura and Dharamsura also extends to the west to the famous Sara Umga Pass, which connects the Kullu and Lahaul valleys. 3 to 4 transit camps need to be set up before reaching the basecamp. The trek starts from the beautiful village of Tosh, near Manikaran in Kullu district. Three more high camps are needed for a possible summit attempt. This area is sanctuary of different peaks like Devachan, Indrasan, etc.