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

How the Toy manufacturers trick you

  Yesterday, I read about one of the most brazen tactics deployed by businesses to push their sales in periods when there are few takers. It is the case of Toy manufacturers in the U.S. who face a slump in sales post the Christmas sale. Usually, in the West, people buy gifts for their kids and loved ones on Christmas and post that it is just for presents on specific occasions. The companies wanted to tap into the market post the festival season too. They tried different tactics such as increased marketing, and offering discounts but it only led to losses owing to the increased costs. They needed a way to bring the customer back to the stores and needed a creative solution for it. The manufacturers tapped the psychological spectrum associated with gifting. Usually, parents gift toys to their kids on their demands. Kids see the advertisements on TV channels they watch or the places the children visit. Usually, the ad fervor is high in the pre-Christmas season. The ads are aggress...
Post a Comment
Read more

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

Daily Journal of Life 04.05.2023

Thought of the Day Indian Customs is facing a challenge due to the erratic functioning of a newly introduced Electronic Cash Ledger Wallet in the ICEGATE portal. This portal facilitates the trade to make Customs Duty payments for their Imported goods and on Exported goods where ever applicable. The wallet was introduced to improvise on the existing system of reporting the Duty collection figure at the end of the day to RBI. The intent was to help the trade by giving a facility to use their wallets for ease of duty payment and for real-time duty reconciliation for the RBI. The wallet was launched after due deliberations, discussions, and User Acceptance Testing by the vendor team maintaining the portal. However, post its launch the ECL got marred by multiple issues. The payments got almost paralyzed and there became a huge pile of transactions stuck in the system due to either Bank Payment failures or issues of integration of the pay...
Post a Comment
Read more