Welcome to Ladakh!

Ladakh is a beautiful country, with the main selling points as the scenic landscape as well the humbling atmosphere portrayed by the ladakh people. We had initially planned to do two climbs; Kang Yatse II as well as Stok Kangri. Stok was supposed to be a warm up for me and Cloud and then when Haizzatd arrived, we would be ready for the next climb. But we were shocked.

Streets of Kolcutta

Cloud and I atop our hostel.

The many taxis that line the outside of the Kolcutta train station

The city of Kolcutta

Kolcutta train station.

Train from Kolcutta to Dehli. 21hrs in the sleeper class. Not very fun.

Took GoAir for the flight.

Taking the flight from Dehli to Leh and accidentally took a self portrait.

Perfect weather in the town of Leh

Gloomy weathers in the town of Leh

Me with the view of Leh town

Cloud and I self-Potrait

View of Leh Palace and Monastery from below.

Tibeten “Thentuk” – Noodle Soup

“Momos” aka tibeten dumplings

On the way to Shanti Stupa

Lonely donkeys litter the town of Leh.

View from the Leh Monastery

Shanti Stupa

View from Shanti stupa

Cloud and I with the Indian Mountaineering Federation office head.

Start point at Stok Village (taxi point)

At the start of the 2-day trek into base camp.

On route to camp 1

There’s a sign saying you can skip the high pass if you can cross the raging river.

The view from a high pass from stok village to camp 1

The view from one of the high passes on the way from camp 1 to base camp

On the way to base camp, the sign reminds one to put in dedication and effort.

Stok base camp view

The view of Stok from afar.

One of the many tents at the crowded Stok Kangri Base Camp

Base Camp at 5000m

Cloud with the backdrop of Stok Kangri high Glacier in the background.

Cloud and I climbing Stok Kangri to 5900metres.

The Rajasthan shoemaker family and friends making a living at Leh.

Haizzatd, Cloud and myself on route to Srinagar on the bumpiest 20 hr bus ride.

Kashmirin boys having fun in the Lake

Houseboat stays at Srinagar, Kashmir

Kashmir Boat Rides

Pangong Lake

Pangong Lake

All the shops were closed for 3 full days when there was a bomb blast in Mahabodhi, the holiest biddhist temple in India.

Leh Palace in the distance

Sun Set View in Leh, Ladakh

Leaving for New Dehli via manali by bus

Common eating place along manali

On route to manali on 12 hr bus ride

Manali

In the end, we climbed Stok Kangri and made a change of plans for Kang Yatse II. As a whole though, the trip was well planned and executed and we pushed for the summit, only to turn back 250m from the summit.

For the climb of Stok Kangri, we went independently, without any guides whatsoever and for a moment of time during the summit push, we were actually a bit lost. But nonetheless, we started out for the summit first amongst all of the groups and only about 3 others went all the way for the summit that day, while the rest turned back even before reaching the glacier.

We started off the trip by flying to Calcutta/ Kolkata from Kuala Lumpur via Airasia. Our one-way tickets cost us about S$150. From Kolkata, we made our way to New Dehli via sleeper class train seats for 23 hours. Then from Dehli, we paid S$190 for a one-way GoAir ticket to Leh, Ladakh.

At ladakh, we rented equipment for climbing boots, crampons and ice axes and made arrangements with the Indian Mountaineering Federation to get our permit for climbing.

After doing so, we were ready for the 4-day challenge ahead of us.

The climb would involve trekking to a mid camp, just 5 hours from Stok village. The following day, it would involve a short 2 hours trek to base camp where we would replenish for the summit push the same night. The summit push on the second day midnight would start at 5000m in altitude and push up to the glacier where we would change over to crampons around 5500m. When we reached 5900m, the summit was very close but we felt that if we had went for the summit that day, we might not be able to come back down safely due to exhaustion. At that point of time, weather was fantastic even though weather forecast stated otherwise. Acclimatization was great also but just the lack of training was the problem.

In the end, we decided to head down to the base camp and proceed with our descent down the mountain.

Together with the Ladakh trip, we also went to Kashmir where we stayed in house boats. Additionally, we also went to Pangong Lake where we stayed one night.

As a whole, the trip was very successful since we managed to do one climb and it was a clear indication that I was really into climbing and with the right acclimatization, I would be ready for the summit.

I have learnt that I need to train harder and my breathing technique needs to improve a bit more, in terms of the pressure breathing and continuous movement. This would be beneficial for the next climb up Pisang Peak in Nepal together with the Everest Base Camp Trek, that I have planned in December.

Till then, adios and allez!