Skip to main content

Kangyatse - Learning the Ropes - 2

I had other commitments- packing my rucksack, collecting the technical equipment from IMF, coordinating logistics, wrapping things at home for 15 days off, getting the approval for leave, and preparing mentally for the expedition.

I was able to complete most of the tasks but it took a toll physically and mentally which bothered me later in my expedition.

Somehow I had the feeling beforehand that the climb was not going to be easy. However, I was excited to have the company of experienced mountaineer Anshu Jamsenpa (5 times Everest climber), Instructors from HMI, and other experienced mountaineers from Assam and Bengal who had good climbing experience. It was a fairly strong team and the task now was to form a bond to take on the challenge.

From Left to Right: Aroop, Ninja, Priya, Disha, Manmeet and myself at Leh market

The team reached Leh in parts. Some flew to the Leh airport and others took the route via road. The journey via road is a long winding one starting from Delhi to Manali and then onwards the barren mountainous terrain till Leh. The plus side of taking this route is that it gives you a good time for acclimatization. Also, one gets to enjoy the amazing landscapes that change every 50-odd km. You also traverse high passes such as Baralacha La and Tanglang La which prepare you for the upcoming high-altitude exposure.

The majority of the team stayed in a homestay cum lodge at Leh. The lodge provided breakfast and meals prepared from the vegetables grown organically in the backyard. The team assembled here and the logistics team did the shopping for the expedition. Their rooms had no place to step into and the other rooms too were busy preparing their rucksacks and central equipment.

The load was to be carried in a camper van to Chokh Doh from where the porters were to carry the load to the Kang Yatse Base Camp.

Team member at the homestay in Leh before the start of the expedition.

The team camp at Leh had a discomforting vibe as there was an element of unease among different groups. People were aloof from each other and по concrete discussions or planning about the approach to the mountain happened. Each group was busy on its own and seldom interacted with others. This created uncertainty and unease in us as this was our first expedition after BMC and we had a lot of expectations from the team.

On left: Anshu Jamsempa, 5 times Everester and Padma Shri awardee

The team did not act like a singular unit. Rather, it seemed like a combination of multiple sub-teams based on regions. Only a select few were open and welcoming. On the contrary, the expedition organizers i.e. the Instructors from HMI were mired by their own problems. Both the instructors had an ensuing tacit tussle and tried to cover up much as possible but it was becoming evident with each passing hour.

 

 


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Index funds: How they can be a better instrument over Mutual Funds

  Over the years I have got exposed to the idea of Index Funds through reading some books and following the advice of celebrity investors on social media.  An index fund is a type of mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF) that aims to replicate the performance of a specific market index, such as the S&P 500 in the U.S., the FTSE 100 in London, or the Sensex 30 or Nifty 50 in India.  Unlike the actively managed funds, which rely on the expertise of fund managers to select individual stocks, index funds passively track the composition and performance of an underlying index. Now the question arises what is an Index? An Index is a benchmark for evaluating the performance of an investment portfolio. In India, we have 2 major Indices- Sensex 30 and Nifty 50. In Sensex 30, we have the top 30 companies by market cap (Share price X No. of shares) listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, and for Nifty 50 it is the top 50 companies by market cap listed on the National Stock Exc...
Post a Comment
Read more

One who agrees against his will, Is of the same opinion still !

Compliance refers to the act of following instructions or conforming to the expectations or demands of others. It is an important concept in psychology and child development as it relates to how individuals, particularly children, respond to authority figures and social norms. Compliance can occur due to various reasons, including a desire to avoid punishment, gain rewards, or seek approval from others. To understand the practical outcomes of compliance tactics, Jonathan Freedman, a social psychologist conducted an experiment involving school boys to assess their compliance to directions to not do a certain activity. The direction in this regard was to not play with a particularly attractive toy and different samples of school boys were given directions in different ways. In the first leg of the experiment, Freedman invited the boys one at a time into the experiment room and presented them with 5 toys to play with. However, he gave a command to the child to not play with an attract...
Post a Comment
Read more

Think before you say something, it may be hard to retract- the fallacy of Consistency Bias

  The Korean War was a conflict that took place on the Korean Peninsula from 1950 to 1953. It began on June 25, 1950, when North Korea, supported by the Soviet Union and China, invaded South Korea. The war stemmed from the division of Korea after World War II, with the Soviet Union occupying the north and the United States occupying the south. In the conflict, many American soldiers were taken Prisoner of War (POW) in the Chinese camps. The Chinese treated these soldiers differently than their North Korean allies who were brutal in their tactics to solicit compliance from the POWs. The Chinese followed a compliance tactic through commitment garnered from American soldiers by making them write marginally anti-American things about America and marginally good things about Communism. But how did they achieve this? They set on a path of staggered compliance by committing soldiers to their own confessions. What were these confessions about? The Chinese used to force American soldier...
Post a Comment
Read more