Bhrugu and Beyond

The day begins : Mitraji overlooking the group

We wake up at 5.00 am as Mitraji calls out for us. Moon is not willing to go off duty and Sun is already sprinkling golden rays on the mountains. It is a marvelous site indeed. We quickly get ready and eat our delicious breakfast of Upama and Daliya.  It is extremely cold at the moment. It takes some more time to prepare packed lunch for us hence we busy ourselves in taking picture. It is already seven in the morning. All sixteen trekkers are eager to make an appointment with Bhrugu Lake.

Snowy Campsite

After basic instruction for the day, we step our feet on the snow. It is hard at the moment and hence we are more careful while stepping on it. As we proceed on our route, we realize that, the day is going to be as hard as the snow is, at the moment. We cross one hill and another snow covered hill is in front of us. There is one campsite on the hill. As we go closer,  we notice that the tents have been erected on the snow covered land. We are told that some of the tents flew away from this campsite last night.

Some Rest in the snow

There are no trees now. There is only white snow spread everywhere. Karan is heading the team with snow axe in his hands. He cuts the steps for us so that we can climb faster. We are heading towards Roli Kholi  which is mid way through. Sun is now peeping out from clouds. The rays bring some warmth and also lot of hope that we will do the summit. We now need to traverse a patch very carefully. This almost half a kilometer patch looks dreadful. There is valley on one side and mountain on the other. We need to watch our steps and have to fall in line. Everything looks white ahead of us. 

Thrilling Climb

Dineshji walks parallel to us on the slop to protect us and also to give us confidence.

It is already 10 am and we have not reached Roli Kholi yet. There is a rockpatch waiting for us eagerly. We rest for a few minutes to drink some Water, since Dineshji persistently tells  us to drink lot of water.

We now proceed further fervently. There is another traverse we need to cross. The snow is almost 10 to 15 feet deep. Dineshji walks on the slope with ease and encourages us to keep climbing. His enthusiasm is infectious. We gear up to cross another mountain.

Everybody is enjoying every bit of this climb. Sachin is making short videos on his mobile with his patented ‘love you’, ‘miss you’ etc. I try to crack jokes which no one wants to listen to. Suhani and Sushant, father and daughter duo is busy taking selfies. Narendra and Anirudh feel they are on the top of the world.

Roli Kholi : Water amidst snow

We now reach Roli Kholi. This is an amazing place. In the midst of the snow covered mountains there is a very small water reservoir. Everything around this very small pond is cover with snow. Nature is magical. It has a  touch of mysterious and mind-blowing setting. The water is really cold but it is so fresh and Devin. This place is truly mesmerizing. I have already decided to come back to this place another time. In my entire lifespan if I want to live in tranquility this is the only place where I wish I would live forever. There is some kind of stillness about it. Nothing seems to move here not even your thoughts.

However with great difficulty I move ahead with the group. The ascend is getting more and more difficult now. Months of our practice is coming to our rescue. Mitraji and Sachin walk ahead of us.

Shardul a young lad is climbing with determination. His fragile frame keeps taking tiny steps on the snow. I walk side by side with Chandan. It is amazing how nature has given up all the colours except white. White earth is inviting blue skies to meet.  

United we stand with Tricolour

We finally decide to wait for others since there is a lot of gap between us and the rest of the group. It is already mid day and we need to take a call as to how far we can go. Chandan spreads his poncho and sits on it. I decide to lie down on the poncho. Cold snow feels good for my back. After taking rest for a few minutes I come back to senses. Mitraji briefs us that Bhrugu is almost one hour away. Even if we go up to Bhrugu Lake it is going to be frozen. As we are discussing, others arrive one by one. Most of us are tired yet eager to go to bhrugu lake. Clouds have started accumulating and weather is changing swiftly. Dineshji is fearing sudden change in the weather. The decision is left on us as to whether we would like to proceed further or would like to return. It is tricky and we are in a dilemma.

As we deliberate without reaching consensus, nature comes to our rescue with flakes of snow. Snow fall starts suddenly and without any doubt we take a collective decision that we will come another time to meet up with bhrugu Lake. Whatever we accomplished is good enough and it is better to return. Himalayan mountains can mislead you if there is low visibility. It is extremely dangerous not to listen to the signals sent by the nature.

Shardul and Sharvari

As we decide to return, everybody gets busy in taking pictures of point of return. Sushant takes out a tricolor which he had packed carefully in his back pack. All of us are thrilled with the presence of mind that he has exhibited. We get together for a group photo with the tricolor.

Suhani and Sushant

Tanaya and Sharvari are busy taking pictures. Chandan is hurrying everyone to return,

Ashok is busy observing the surroundings, Sachin is trying to look as far as he can to check if he can get a glimpse of Bhrugu Lake. I run on the soft snow as if it is a sea shore. Each one of us try to absorb the intimacy of Himalay. We feel the warmth of these cold snow covered mountain. The warmth within.

As we start our journey towards our camp, Dineshji promises that it is going to be easy and enjoyable. We need to traverse the same patch again. There is a group of people returning from Roli Kholi itself.

We are now on gigantic slopes. Dineshji guides us on how to slide down. Each one of is wears the raincoat pant and slides on the snow. It is amazingly thrilling. All of us enjoy this part of the trek the most.

Descending Delightfully

The descend gets more and more delightful due to the sliding expedition. I doubt if any amusement park will be able to provide such experience. We slide down at least 50 feet at one time and are astonished at how we climbed these slopes in the morning.

After sliding down atleast 6  to 7 times we are able to see our campsite. We are drenched in snow and rainfall. The shoes are heavy and wet. We quickly change and go back to the dining tent. Steaming hot Maggie tastes heavenly. We chat and try to recollect our experiences.

Sun has set and the sparkling moon has returned. Slivery mountains shine in front of us. We try to look at Bhrugu and beyond. Beyond Bhrugu there is perseverance, there is teamwork and above all there is unity.