A Himalayan Adventure

We have had the longest stay of the trip so far in Manali - and what a few days its been. As the launching pad for adventure sports in the Himalayas, a popular Indian holidaying spot and as a hot spot for Indian charas (cannabis) this place really does attract an incredibly diverse bunch of people. As many of you know - we're here for the trekking - so we were a bit disappointed when we first arived and chatted to the incredibly helpful owner of our Hotel (Drifters' Inn) who informed us that whilst usually by this time of year, the weather is coming good for climbing up into montains - this year the snow is still falling... Undeterred we decided to book a one day trek (instead of the planned four day adventure) and in the meantime did a day hike to a beautiful waterfall nearby with new Glaswegian friend David.

Jogni Falls

More importantly.. the trek! Well we got up at 4.45am yesterday morning to be met by our guide (Eenam - Indian mountaineer extraordinaire!) and wheels to get us to the trailhead. Having loaded up the bag with packed lunches, ponchos and gaiters we were dropped off at Solang Valley (a popular Indian ski resort in season) and got hiking at about 6am! The trailhead started us at about 2000m - with the aim to get to the top of Patalsu (4125m) and back down again in the same day. A little ambitious it turned out. The first 1000m of climbing were fairly straightforward, through forests and a lovely little village. Then we hit the snow - and oh boy was there snow!

View looking down as we starting trekking through snow

By this point we were at c.3000m and Matt is starting to suffer - the altitude affects us all differently, so while I'm bounching off the mountain with excitement at the views Matt is feeling a little bit woozy. We continue regardless but at a slow pace due to the increasingly deep snow we are tramping through. Meanwhile the weather goes from scorching sun (we both have pink faces!), to blizzard like conditions, to almost whiteout, to Christmassy fairydust type snow, back to sun. The temperature gets colder the higher we get - are these minus temperatures really in Northern India, when only a few hundred kilometres away in Delhi its 36 and rising??

With our guide as we go up (thanks for the photos Eenam!)

Getting deeper!

At about 12.30 Eenam decides its best we stop for lunch before heading back down - we've made it to 3800m, and he reckons the final 300 could take 3 hours to do, given that the snow is now up to our waists! The altitude is beginning to hit me as well so after a VERY quick lunch due to the plunging temperatures, we make our way back down.

Heading down

I love my borrowed ice pick

Every step seems to perk Matt up to the point that he is literally skipping and sliding down the mountain! I decide I don't want to break my leg in India so go a bit slower.

Matt feeling hyper

We eventually reach the trailhead at 4.30pm. Pooped.

What a day - a stand out of the trip so far! A huge thank you to Nick and Kate for our wedding gift, which has meant we have been able to do something way beyond my comfort zone for sure (but the guide called me 'tough'!!! - so proud!) - but a day that's given us both a sense of achievement, and plenty of memories.

Next stop McLeod Ganj (home of the Dalai Lama and his government in exile, and hopefully more trekking for us newly inducted mountaineers!) - can't wait!