The Ascent of Baljuri

Baljuri what?

Baljuri is a peak of height 5923 m in Bageshwar district of Uttarakhand, in the vicinity of Panwali Dwar, Nanda Khat, Nanda Kot and Changuch.

Baljuri why?

After years of trekking, and post a basic mountaineering course, we had wished to climb a peak on our own. In low budget, without taking the help of professionals. A sort of recce into the sport of expedition climbing.

Out of the available options which could be done without expert help, Araib shortlisted Baljuri. It was high, not technical but not a trekking peak either, would be recognized by imf, and was in his hometown district of Bageshwar.

In fact, it is the ridge of the mountain that hosts Nanda Khat and Panwali Dwar that separates Bageshwar district from Chamoli, and Baljuri is the highest part at the end of that ridge.

In the months preceding the expedition, Araib did all the hardwork of  getting the permissions and planning the logistics. I accumulated fat reserves for use during the assault.

We were three initially. Then Girda joined us. Two of us had done a basic course in mountaineering so we knew the 'basics', like putting on crampons, tying the figure of eight knot and shouting I'm there once on top. 

We needed someone with experience of climbing in snow to ensure a safe and successful Expedition. Araib roped in Sunil for this task. Sunil, son of a veteran mountaineering guide, works for a mountaineering company, has done several high altitude peaks and is an expert in the field. He too had not done Baljuri before.

Unfortunately, Sunil contacted dengue shortly before the Expedition and had to cancel.

We then hired Dinesh for the expedition and although he was tied up with prior bookings, he agreed to squeeze in the days for our climb. He would arrange the porters as well.

Three days before our trip, the weather across north India turned bad and it rained non stop for 50-80 hours in different locations. In the mountains, it snowed, thwarting many expeditions that were scheduled then. Allah be praised that it did not hamper ours. 

On the night of 25th September, we left Delhi for Bageshwar. On 27th we left Bageshwar for Kharkia.  Plan was to reach Kharkia and hike 5 kms to Khati where we would rendezvous with our crew the next day. 

There were only two problems though. One, the shorter route to Kharkia was closed due to the rains and through the longer alternate route, we managed to reach Kharkia only by sunset. Just as we were preparing to trek in the dark for Khati, it started to rain.

The other problem was that our expert, Dinesh,  was not reachable. Since he was from another village, no one knew him locally at Kharkia, so that we had no alternate line of contact with him. 

Araib was confident that we would find him at Khati or we would get an other guide there. So we slept the night at Kharkia in a room which we rented for 200/-. We took the room instead of camping in our tents partly because of the convenience and partly because the guy really pushed us for the room. It would have been courtesy to the villagers also.

However,  as the price had suggested, there was a catch. The room turned out to be a room cum store for the stable.  It was directly above the stable and had to be reached by walking a plank. Unknown to us then, in a few days, we would be crossing a river on a pair of similar planks on the way to our Basecamp, and it was practice.

While we were having dinner that night, a trekker returning from Pindari came into the village and informed us of the horrible condition of the trail. The rains had further damaged the trail and walking on it shall make one "hate trekking", he said.

We didn't take him too seriously and the next morning, Araib left with Nitin to contact Dinesh while Girda and I stayed back to arrange porters or mules for load transport. 

We had much difficulty in finding a mule. Our hotel's landlady was the owner of the mules and kept teasing us for getting up late. When it was almost an hour and there was no sign of any mule, we started looking for porters and hired three porters for our load at a price slightly higher than what a mule would have cost.

Meanwhile at Khati, Araib was not able to communicate with Dinesh. There were no locals familiar with the him. Moreover, there was no one currently at Khati who had done Baljuri. When we caught up with them, they were sitting outside the PWD rest house eating Kurkure and drinking tea. Not knowing any better, we too sat down for Kurkure and tea.

Girda was getting apprehensive of our preparations and we ought to have been nervous about our expedition.

Finally towards the late afternoon,  Araib returned to us to inform us that he had found our man.  One of the porters who had come with us from Kharkia had seen the way and had agreed to take us there as our guide. It was a thin veil of a disguise calling him a guide, but we needed to fool ourselves. He would bring 3 other men tomorrow who would be our porters, two of them being the same guys who had carried our load till Khati that day.

Next day ,we left Khati for Phurkia via Dwali. Few tourists doing the Pindari glacier trek had left before us. There are two trails to Dwali.  One goes straight and one requires crossing the Pinder River twice. The  straight trail was badly damaged and it was this trail that the guy at Kharkia had come through which had made him "hate trekking". Luckily for us, the bridge across the Pinder River had been made usable the same day we had got there and we were able to use it to cross over to the better trail.

Amazingly, the floor of the bridge had not been laid and we had to walk on beams on some of which wire meshes meant for the sides had been laid out and some beams were bare. We could clearly see the Pinder river gushing at a distance below us while crossing and that made it so exciting.

Although the new trail is well paved, the disadvantage of this better trail is that it is longer by three kms and it has been made too high above the river for safety from floods and landslides and requires continuous ascent and descent which is very hard on the knees. More so because it was our first day of trekking.

In this trail, thrice we encountered herds of sheep and goats returning from the hills for winter. The sheep at the front were always apprehensive of us but the rear pushed into them and soon we were surrounded by sheep on all sides. It took them around ten minutes or more to pass us, each time, so many were they.

Some shepherds were carrying babies in their arms, one a four day old, another ten days old. One even had the umblical cord handing on its body, not fully dry yet. They allowed us to hold and caress the babies and take photographs with them.

By the time we reached Dwali that day, all except Araib were done for. Girda had given us an apricot chocolate en route, and it was the sole reason we made it otherwise Nitin and I would have fainted on the way. We rested for an hour at Dwali, had lunch and then started for Phurkia by late afternoon.

The trail was easier now and similar to the trails of the Parvati river trek from Kheer Ganga, with waterfalls on the opposite side of the valley. In the setting sun, the peace and beauty of the place was unmatched. Subhanallah. We reached Phurkia shortly after sunset, utterly exhausted.

The next day we were to start early as we had to cross a river which would swell as the day progressed. There were also several small streams which did not have a bridge across them which had to be crossed. Trekkers to Pindari glacier would have their final day today at Baba's ashram. We were supposed to leave the Pindari trail shortly before Baba's ashram and cross the river to get on the range on the other side.

We started quite late due to the fatigue from the day before and by the time we were finished with breakfast, most of the trekkers had left. As can be guessed, when we reached the river, the swell had risen quite high. There was a chance that we could've wet our load and rucksacks if we tried to cross it.

The porter team knew of a place where a make shift bridge had been built by the local shepherds to take their livestock to the other side. Two of our porters crossed over to the other side getting wet up to their hips. They then went up the hill to bring back two tree trunks which had been used by the shepherds and which had been removed so they wouldn't get washed away by the swell.

The troops then started to build a bridge across the narrowest but most dangerous portion of the river. Once built, we crossed over one by one and applauded the effort of the team. It was fascinating to see the team build a bridge just for us to cross. We laid camp on a grassland just opposite the Baba's ashram shortly thereafter.

The next day was tough. We had to climb to camp one, and the height gain was tremendous. We would reach from 3630m, at our base-camp, to 4600m at camp one.

The climb was very steep along a mostly undefined trail. We encountered a group coming down. They had come for Traills pass a week back or so and had got stuck due to the bad weather. They had encountered 80 hours of continuous rain and snowfall. Running out of ration, they had decided to do Baljuri col instead before returning back.

The "hate trekking" guy at Kharkia was from this group. Now that we knew what they had encountered, we could better understand the poor guy's lament.

We asked about Baljuri col and one then said that he had counted 18 avalanches last night. Ofcourse, they were on the adjoining Panwali Dwar and not on the ridge we were supposed to go on and it was within three days of fresh snowfall. On the ridge we were to take, there were Crevasses instead. Uncountable, he said.

They had left a fixed rope at Baljuri col which we could use. We had to turn left before Baljuri col, we were told.

The Camp site at camp one was just sharp  rocks and it was hard to find a suitable place to pitch tents. Laxman, however, remembered of a place which had a kitchen shelter also and after a lot of climbing and scouting, he found it.

The tents were put up, our porters quickly made a kitchen using tarpaulin and rocks and camp for the next 3 days was set.

Our porters would stay back at this place. Hereafter, we would carry our tents, food and equipment to camp two. From Camp two, we would summit and return.

The view of Panwali Dwar from camp one was very imposing. There was a huge wall of ice just across the hill. We saw a few avalanches on that wall during the day. On the opposite valley, we could see Nanda Kot, Changuch and the Pindari glacier below. In the distance on our own range, we could see Baljuri.

There were several avalanches on the adjoining Nanda Kot during the night. The growl from some lasted quite a while.

The next day, our porters came to see us off till the snout of the glacier. They were quite excited about our climb and we felt good for them. They were very nice folk.

This day our distance and height gain would be lesser than the day before but walking was tougher. Due to fresh snowfall, the show was very soft and we were sinking up to our knees at some places. There could be hidden Crevasses also, lying in wait for us. There were several open Crevasses and we had to skirt around them. Fatefully, we found the foottrail of the guys who had gone to Baljuri col and we just followed that.

By the time we set up camp two at 5200m, the sun has gone over the hill. It must have been around four p.m. there was a huge crevasses behind us that separated us from the slope of the Baljuri col. There was another deep crevass to the front left. The imposing and fear inducing walls of Panwali Dwar beside us. Panoramic view of Nanda Kot and Changuch on the range opposite us. With the sky turning red in the setting sun, it was quite a place to camp.

For cooking we had taken butane-propane mix cylinders and ready to eat food. Melting water for drinking was a chore and half an hour's effort would melt about one litre of water.

It was sub zero in the evening and in this weather, I got a call from nature. Shitting in the snow at an altitude of 5200m is an experience beyond words and needs to be done in order to be understood. Frozen butts is a unique feeling.

Laxman did not have dinner that evening and went straight to sleep. Nitin too was not feeling very well and did not eat much. The rest of us are whatever we could and went to sleep at around 8.

Next morning, we woke up at 3.30. The boots were frozen. At that time, in the cold, even just the act of putting on crampons was tiring and took immense time. We melted drinking water for carrying and did not have time for tea. We then roped up by keeping 10 m between each climber, forming a 50 m long train. By the time we started, it was 5.30 and dawn was breaking.

The climb till Baljuri col was quick. The snow was hard and it was easy to climb with the crampons. Although it was there, we did not need to use the rope the previous group had left behind.

From the col, we could see the other side of Panwali Dwar and the Sunderdhunga valley. We realized why the walls of Panwali Dwar are considered impregnable and still remain unclimbed except for one lady. To our left there was a relatively plain area riddled with Crevasses after which there was the slope for the Baljuri peak. the snow was soft even at the coldest time of the night. Both the Crevasses and the soft snow made progress hard.

Not having the help of footprints anymore, we moved extremely slowly. Our leading members were very cautious of Crevasses, even though we were all tied up and he had a train of 5 to arrest any fall. In these times, one has to trust the rope and his team members. Maybe Laxman didn't, so that we moved at a snails pace, so slowly that it became tiring and frustrating. Moreover, only Araib had gaiters. Rest of us had not bothered, which was very foolish of us. Snow kept going into our boots and our ankles were soon wet.

By 9 , when we stopped for our first break to melt water for drinking and have a little snack, we had hardly come a third of the distance.

We had not had breakfast that morning and Laxman had not had dinner last night. This showed in his energy level which was quite low. 

Nitin was not feeling well too. We gave him a drink of water and he vomited. But like always, he pushed on.

Girda was carrying dried fruits and that was the greatest gift one could have asked for then.

We could see two peaks in the distance. The one closer to us seemed higher and so we started walking towards it. Reaching close to it, Laxman declared victory by telling us that we had reached Baljuri. However, now that we were closer, we realised that the peak behind it was much higher and that was Baljuri. We had another 250m to climb.

It was mid day now and climbing was very difficult. The snow has softened and every step was a drag. Snow has got into our boots and the inners were wet. The air was exceedingly dry and parched our throats. However much we drank water, we didn't  pee once. It had taken us 7 hours to climb that far and the steepest ascent still awaited us. We could see clouds ascending from the valley below. Dense clouds which we had to avoid at any cost. But the destination still looked far.

The slope now onwards was straight up to the peak and rope was no longer necessary. We unharnessed ourselves, not a very wise thing to have done, and started climbing individually. Our Fatigue showed itself clearly now. Every few steps we had to stop and catch our breath. The ice axes were going in hilt deep into the snow and cutting steps was an arduous task. It took us an hour to climb some 100m.

Laxman and I were ahead and we sat down to melt water for drinking while waiting for the others to catch up. The peak was closer than ever now but we were more tired than ever too. Dense clouds were rising quickly from the valley and were at camp one level by then. Going back was going to be a hell of a task. We prayed for the sun to stay up just a little longer to get a good view from the peak.

It was at this point that Laxman gave up. He had done tremendous work to get us till that point but his will to climb to the top could no longer push his body. Girda had also seen enough and he decided to stay back with Laxman. So Araib, Nitin and I left for the remaining part of the peak at around 1 p.m.

The pinnacle was not visible to us on the slope. Climbing, I could see up the slope for some distance and i had expected the peak to be at the top of that. However, when I reached the top, I saw that the peak was further ahead and required more climbing. It had taken immense will to climb that last portion, and realising now that there was more to climb, I almost gave up myself.

Araib and Nitin were coming up and I sat down to wait for them. Rest was helpful and feeling better, I started the climb again, trudging through the snow, leaving footprints shin deep. I stood a white to rest and almost fell asleep standing. That was a new level of tiredness, I confess. 

And that is when I started daydreaming. I imagined a scene as a spectator, where a bear came out from the snow and raced towards me with intention to kill. I, unaware of his presence, was snowboarding down the slope from the summit, the bear chasing me from behind. I kept climbing imagining the bear chase and when I finally came out of the stupor, I saw that there was just about 10 m more left to climb. I was delighted. I had climbed a pretty distance while dreaming, I guess.

At 1.30 p.m., all of us were finally on top of Baljuri, our first peak.

We took a few photos as proof of ascent, a few selfies, a few videos, and started back.

The snow was so soft that trying to glissade down the slope caused a mini avalanche. So there were no short cuts to take. Our poor toes would have to rise up to the occasion and lead us down all the way.

Girda handed us chocolates as celebration of our ascent. No sooner had Nitin eaten it than he vomited. We had to descend even faster now given that our friend had vomited on a small piece of chocolate.

We roped up again and started back. The clouds caught up with us soon.

Now that the sun was hidden behind clouds, we felt the cold. And the ice that had creeped into our boots began to freeze our toes.

At one point, as we were skirting our way through the Crevasses, fog completely enclosed us. Slowly first, the visibility got reduced like when one's spectacles get clouded. Then suddenly there was a white out. Of all the moments, this was the scariest part. For a few minutes, there was fog all around us and everything was white. We couldn't make out anything and I atleast had no sense of direction anymore. Disoriented, scared and blind, it would've been impossible to move in that fog and all thanks to Allah that it only lasted a few minutes and then lifted. It was a trailer of sorts into what can happen at a mountain and why people die.

Laxman suggested that we try a different route that would take us directly to camp without going to the Baljuri col. However, having seen the fog, we thought it wiser to retrace our steps as we had our trail there which we could follow even if there was fog.

We came back to camp two at 5 p.m., 11.5 hours after we had left it. No one had imagined it would take so much time. Truth be told, I had expected to be back at camp at about 11-12 p.m. and had even hoped to return to camp one the same day. As it turned out, the sun had almost set when we reached camp two.

At the camp, Nitin was vomiting again. I had pantoprazole capsules for acidity which was the only suitable medicine I could find. It helped him a bit but not much as he vomited again during the night.

All throughout we had joked about injecting the weakest member with dexamethasone. Araib even told us how to find the deltoid muscles to inject it into. But what we had before us required medical expertise and we were at a loss. Alhamdulillah we were going back down.

Next morning, we awoke at 7 and quickly cleared the camp and descended to camp one to meet our team waiting for us there. The snow was hard in the morning and it was easy to descend.

We had lunch at camp one, and then around 12 we wrapped up camp one and descended to base camp.

Then we crossed the river on the same bridge we had built on the way up and after crossing the river our team removed the logs and took them to the hillside for safe storage away from rain and landslide.

We stayed the night at Phurkia and the next day we returned to Khati. Celebration was due so we slaughtered a cock from the village and had chicken curry for dinner.

Some people were surprised that we had summitted as we were back in a short time. 

However, the photos convinced everyone that we had been there. The weather had been faithful, we had got clear skies on almost all days, the group that had returned from Baljuri col had left for us their trail around the Crevasses which made us aware of the pattern of snow while being sufficiently safe, our tents had held, our gas cylinders had done their job well, our ice axes had come quite handy and except for the pair of gaiters, all our equipment had been sufficient for the climb. 

Most importantly, we had acclimatized well. All of us, except Nitin, had taken a course of Diamox right from Bageshwar and no one except Nitin suffered due to the height. With each descent, Nitin had become better, so it was most certainly altitude sickness that had got to him.

There was a lot to work upon also. We have to ensure dry feet at high altitudes and our shoes did not do well in that regard. They slowly let moisture in. Not having gaiters was a much bigger mistake. They come cheap and are easily available but all except Araib paid them their due regard. We would've had had a more comfortable time had our feet been warm and dry.

We also missed not having Sunil with us, from whom we could've learnt a lot more.

While going back, from the Bolero, we saw the range from a distance and saw the peak we had climbed. Not bad, we thought.

But next time, we have to climb a peak that is sexier!

View from the summit - notice that Nanda Devi is also visible now behind Panwali Dwar

Crossing the suspension bridge after Khati - notice the floor is missing

Sheep herd on the way to Dwali

Dwali in the distance - a very green and beautiful valley used to be here before being washed away in the 2013 cloudburst

Girda crossing a stream

Girda crossing a collapsed trail

First view of Baljuri - It is the leftmost peak. In the middle is Panwali Dwar and to its left is Nanda Khat

Baljuri in fulller view

The moment when we decided not to wade across the river - a bridge will be made between the rocks on the middle-right

Crossing the river on the bridge

Basecamp across Baba's ashram

Changuch and Pindari Valley as seen from Basecamp

View of the valley from Basecamp towards Phurkia

View of the valley towards Phurkia seen now from an elevation en route to Camp 1

Camp 1 - Baljuri can be seen on the left

Another view of Camp 1 with Panwali Dwar in the background

Climbing on to the glacier through the snout

Our porters who came to see us off

Crevasses on way to Camp 2

Melting snow for making water

Towards Camp 2

Nanda Kot and Changuch from Camp 2 route

Sunset view from tent at Camp 2

Climb to Baljuri col at 5.30a.m.

Crevasses on the way

 

Train (of consequences...)

Panwali Dwar, Nankhat, Changuch and Traills' Pass from the way to Baljuri peak

Choti Baljuri - from a distance, this smaller pinnacle on the left looked to be the peak - actually it is the one behind

Final push to the summit

View from the summit - the clouds are just about to catch up with us

Summit photo - Nitin & I

Summit photo - Araib & Nitin

Summit selfie

View of the range from the Bolero - Panwali Dwar is the pointed peak - to its right is Baljuri with the flattish top

Building the Bridge, part 1

Building the Bridge, part 2

 

 Crossing the Built Bridge