We woke up pretty early - around 3.30 /4.00 am to try and leave earlier and to gain some ground. We packed our bags and got ready. The rain had eased up in the night and while there were clouds in the sky, it was not raining.
All around us the mountain peaks were coated with fresh snow, making it a sight to behold. If I could, I would have spent the entire morning capturing pictures of those peaks as the Sun rose in the sky. Unfortunately we had ground to cover, so we bid adieu to SG and ML, got sat in the car and started off on our journey.
Thanks to the earlier day’s stream crossing disaster our shoes were still wet, so we had worn fresh dry socks, covered them in polythene garbage bags and then worn our shoes!! Now, you know the discomfort that we were dreading!!
While leaving from the campsite, I ended up taking the back seat of the innova and in a matter of minutes regretted that decision. Each turn gave us majestic views of the snow covered peaks and I could do nothing but to capture them all in my eyes. (The back seat of the Innova does not have openable windows, which meant I could not capture the views in my camera). The road was too narrow and treacherous and stopping the vehicle for every pic was not an option . So with a heavy heart and convincing myself that some sights are just to be experienced and not captured in the camera - we moved towards Batal, our first stop for the day. This is the starting point for the climb to Kunzum pass from the Lahaul side.
We stopped at Chacha Chachi Dhaba for breakfast of Parathas, omelettes and fern (lingdi as known in local language) pickle. The dhaba is very famous and even in those early morning hours there was quite a crowd there. The walls of the dhaba are covered with clippings of news paper articles that praise/recognise / award the owners for helping travellers stuck in the snow. There have been multiple instances where travellers/ trekkers around the Kunzum pass have been stuck in a snow storm and have been rescued and provided food and shelter by the dhaba owners. We read through all the articles while polishing off the parathas and almost more than half a jar of the fern pickle. We thanked chacha chachi and soon proceeded on our way towards Gramphu.
The road towards Gramphu - if it could be called a road that is - consisted mostly of boulders and gushing mountain streams. There was no way that we would have been able to cycle through that terrain and at the same time cover the distance that we were aiming to. Even driving through the terrain was a tenacious job and it was only thanks to Bachhitar’s driving skills that we managed to cover those patches. (The innova is not a 4X4 and has a low ground clearance - so navigating it in such terrain, while ensuring that none of the rocks damage the car from below - is a skill!!! Coz if your car does get damaged - you are stuck coz there is nothing for miles on either side and all you can rely on is the kindness of drivers passing by - hoping that they have the necessary skill and tools to fix it or that they can get a mechanic from the next village to help you out. That is if the car can be fixed on the road - if it requires towing to the garage - Good luck with that) Giri had a comparatively (I say comparatively - trust me it was not at all easy) easier time navigating his 4X4 with higher ground clearance through the same route.
The non existent road towards Rohtang
For those of us in the Innova - we also were privy to some wisdom that was hurled at other cab drivers and tourists by Bachhittar. “Photo le rahe ho…. khud photo ban jaoge” (You have stopped for taking a photo, beware, you yourself may become one if you don’t move quickly). “ paani ayega to roti bhi na milegi” (if there is a landslide- you won’t even get a piece of bread) . There was absolute truth in what he was saying though. The terrain is treacherous to say the least. We made slow progress - thanks to the terrain as well as some oncoming vehicles. At times you had to wait till one vehicle crossed over before the other could move.
After a while the road conditions eased up a bit - boulders gave way to pebbles - and we picked up a little speed. Rain had no intention of letting up though. We had a quick tea break, more as a respite for our drivers than for us before proceeding towards Gramphu. Even if the road conditions had eased a bit, the rains and some bad patches ahead meant that we had to wait to unpack our cycles.
Stuck in clouds and a long way to go.
Finally we reached Gramphu, the base of Rohtang pass from the otherside and unpacked our cycles. Now all that was left to do was to cycle up Rohtang and then roll downhill to our final destination - Solang valley. Since it was raining pretty heavily - I decided to ditch the camera - and ride with a light backpack. The ride up Rohtang was all through slush and mud but great fun. It felt good to get the legs working again after the long ride in the back of the car. I realised that in these conditions it was a bit easier to climb through the small channels of water flowing on the road than through the mud. We kept climbing at a steady pace getting drenched in the rains. As we got closer and closer to the Pass, it started getting cold. I started realising that my forearms were getting cold and fingers getting frosty. I made a mental note of changing over to a set of full fingered gloves for the downhill to beat the chill.
Our plan was to halt for a quick cup of hot tea / maggi at the top of the pass (most of us recollected lots of stalls serving tea/coffee maggi from our previous visits 4-5 years back) and then roll down towards Solang. Seemed pretty easy on paper. But we were in for a surprise.
As I reached near the top of the pass, Bacchittar and AM were there at the last hairpin waiting for us. I told them that I will go ahead and wait for the rest at the first Dhaba I find. I cycled up to the plaque to take a photo at the top of Rohtang pass. I looked around to check for a dhaba / tea stall to wait and shield myself from the cold, but there were none. Apparently the govt. had removed all the teastalls from the top of the pass in order to curb traffic and pollution -(welcome decision definitely but not from my point of view at that moment . My next action was to change to the full fingered gloves in order to protect from the cold, but I realised I was not able to remove my gloves from my hands. I had to request a cab driver to pull the gloves off my hand and then wear the full fingered ones. Since there was no place to stop at the top, I cycled back to where AM and Bachittar were waiting. I told them that I would start going downhill and would stop at the first dhaba /tea stall that I would come across. ( This was supposed to be somewhere around Marhi - a mere 8 km of downhill) Also mentioned that others should follow suit, as it was too cold at the top and it would not make sense to wait there. By this time both the Sid’s, SP and HS had reached. While SP was changing her gloves, me and both Sid’s decided to roll down together towards Marhi.
Ready to brave the cold.. little did we know what was coming ahead
As we started going down, fog rolled in, making it extremely difficult to see beyond a few meters. Rain had intensified and the rain drops were stinging the face. It was difficult to even speak with each other. For the first few turns I could see both the Sid’s were right behind me. We were warning each other about the turns / potholes, lane changes ahead. A couple of turns later, realised that one of the Sid’s was not there. It was impossible to stop and check out - given the weather, road and visibility , so we just hoped that he had slowed down and banked on the fact that the backup vehicle should be along soon to help in case if he required anything. A few more turns later, lost sight of the other Sid too. I was shit scared and worried, but there was no place to stop / turn around and go back. I was shivering, face was cold and turning frosty due to the constant rain and cold winds. It was an effort even to keep the eyes open. Fingers refused to obey the signals of the brain, making it difficult to apply brakes or change gears and to make matters worse the downhill just kept adding to the speed on those turns.
Earlier when I had started on the downhill, I had thought to myself that I will push through to Palchem (the point where the ride was earlier supposed to end), come what may, but soon enough I realised that it was not going to happen and I would have to stop much earlier. I just kept my eyes focussed on making to Marhi.
Soon, I saw it, I swerved my cycle to the side, got off the bike towards it. A person working at the dhaba saw me come, figured my plight (must have seen many like these before), told me to go directly in the Kitchen. He also asked me how many more were coming from behind ( he sensed we were part of the group - I told him 7 more) and rushed into the kitchen.
I removed my gloves, almost literally put my hand in the fire there on one of the stoves - but could feel almost nothing. I was shivering head to toe, and the stoves and fires all around in the kitchen were doing little to help. Soon after SidO joined me, and both of us were in the same plight. One of the cooks gave us both a cup of tea - and we could see the glasses shaking due to our shivers, the hot tea spilling on our fingers - but feeling nothing and neither being able to control the shivers. It took almost 10 good minutes before we could feel normal again. One by one other members of the group started trudging in - pretty much in the same plight as us. SidP however was till missing - but someone told that they saw him walking downhill, waiting for the backup. Apparently the brakes on his cycle had failed. Luckily he had figured it out in time, got off the bike and had started walking downhill- while keeping an eye on the backup. Unfortunately that meant he had to suffer the bad weather for a longer period of time.
The only people who came relatively unscathed through all of this were AC and JD - and that’s thanks to their experience of handling harsh weathers. When they reached Rohtang top, they could sense the weather was too cold, they put on a fleece jacket under their rain jacket and had then cycled down - which ensured that they were much better off than us. After a lot of teas and another helpings of hot parathas we finally got the cold under a bit of control, enough to get out of the rain soaked clothes and put on some dry ones. We packed our cycles in - there was no way anyone was going to cycle more 30 kms in that rain and weather - and got in the cars. Come to think of it we hardly rode 1/4th of the distance that we had oringally planned to do but no one was complaining about it.
Enjoying a hot cup of tea and some warmth in the Dhaba at Marhi - after everyone regrouped
The rest of the journey to our hotel was pretty uneventful, save for getting stuck in the traffic - and as usual people cutting lanes to create an even bigger mess. Eventually we reached the hotel. Giri and Bachittar had decided to push off to Shimla in the evening itself. So we thanked them profusely for taking care of us and bringing us back in one shape throughout the trip and bade them goodbye.
Saying goodbye to Bachhittar and Giri
After unpacking and a much needed hot water bath - we met together to celebrate and relive the last few days over dinner.
Desserts are always a must
As I drifted off to sleep that night - I couldn’t help remembering the articles that I had read earlier in the morning at Chacha Chachi Dhaba - of travellers getting stuck in adverse conditions. We had ended up in a similar situation and it was none other than a Dhaba kitchen that had saved us!
In my mind I thanked all the wonderful souls that stay and operate these dhabas in harsh conditions all across the Himalayan range, mostly all round the year, taking care of us travellers and providing us with food, warmth and a shelter!!
The next day was just spent resting and whiling away time in Manali, till it was time to board our bus to Delhi and catch the flight back home to Pune! Return to civilisation apparently but… somewhere the heart feels more happy and at home in the mountains and on the cycle than in the city!
Cycles locked and loaded - till next time!