Outside the artificial climbing wall

This spot lies in between Gyaan Hall and Thalay Sagar(Admin block) 

Lining up at Bhuki Roadhead

Everyone has lined up and is full of anticipation as to what lies beyond those mountains !! 

A smaller log bridge

Lots of our resting areas were near a stream( for obvious reasons- I meant for drinking water !) so a log bridge was also not too far ! 

Human Chain

Can you see the end of this human chain? This is right before the stream crossing while on our way to Gujjar huts. 

Wilderness

I was sitting on top of a log while clicking this picture of the stream coming out of the wilderness. The white flowers gave a nice contrast to the green background. 

Rest Area

All of us are enjoying the rest after trekking for more than an hour from Tela Camp. Rest Areas allowed us to ea our high energy chocolates, dry fruits and sip on the orange squash:) 

In the woods around Tela Camp

Things were quite perky so far !! Things started going downhill from here untill we reached Gujjar huts :) 

Getting ready for the crossing

What can 30 kgs + on your back and 2 days of adventurous climbing do to a city slicker :) 

Long shot of the crossing in progress

This is a long shot of the "Dingadh crossing" taking place at "Gujjar Huts" 

Crossing Dinghad

We crossed the Dingadh at a couple of places but this log bridge was the most scenic one considering the open meadows all around "Gujjar huts". The 2nd closest person to the camera is "Girish Ranakoti" who was one of our favorite instructors. Some of us still rememeber how he used to call some of us "Khatam Singh" roughly translated into "dead meat"...:) when we started slouching 

Welcome Back

Upon returning from the height gain expedition we were greeted with Chocolates and a warm handshake. The sleet was right around the corner at this point !! 

Resting at Gujjar Huts

After descending about 2000 feet in an hour and covering thrice the distance we would have, if we were on our way up, all our knees got their first break at Gujjar huts. The rucksacks and trainees have lined up as per their "ropes" and the order in which we were supposed to move. With some effort you could view the Vice Principal and instructors in the background. 

Angry Varunavrat

The sleepy town of Uttarkashi on the banks of River Bhagirathi had to face the wrath of deforestation in a quake prone zone right around the time we were training at Advanced base camp. A huge chunk of Varunavrat broke off after a long spell of rain and thunderstorm. Luckily there were no casualties and minimal damage to property. Some of the people had taken precautionary measures as this area was declared "dangerous" by seismologists and other natural scientists esp. after the devastating earthquake of 1992 which took lives of thousands of innocent people. The earthquake has reportedly left many cracks in the hills around this area making them vulnerable to landslides. 

My High Point

I wanted the photographer to make me look like I have summitted Mt. Everest. I guess he did pretty well. Don't you ? :)

P.S : I would look smarter without that helmet( we weren't allowed to take off the helmet) and the sunburn (can't call that tan anymore) :) 

Snow Craft training in progress

We had to trudge up the smallish slope and then slide all way down(while practising walking on snow and arrest techniques). Couldn't enjoy this for too long as we had start the descent before 12:30 PM..and luckily we reached adv.base camp just in time. Our advanced party got caught up in the season's first sleet/rain and we waited for them to welcome them while hiding under rain sheets. :) Lots of fun as we were singing and hiding from the sleet at the same time. 

Learning slide arrest technique on snow

Thats the tanned me posing for the camera while sliding down the slope. That grip of the ice axe is a technical grip to be used while one is preparing to arrest the slide before ending up in a crevasse. 

Rope 8 : My Rope

This is a picture of my group. I had a great time with this gang of mountain enthusiasts ( including a liberal arts grad flashing the V sign)! 

Ball of fire

A setting sun behind the clouds gave a "ball of fire" kind of a snap (clicked from Base Camp-11000 feet) 

Rock bridge over Ice

Rock bridge over a crevasse. Can be a life saver at times while walking on the glacier. 

Crevasses

Open crevasses like these can be deadly for mountain climbers. The ones show here are right outside the campsite of the advanced party which has gone to summit Draupadi ka Danda. 

Ice Table

Ice Table forms by the slow melting process of ice under the rock. It is used by mountain climbers as an anchor at times, while walking on the glacier. 

Ice fall - Source of Dokriani Bamak(Glacier)

Ice fall area which is also the source of the glacier. Khumbu ice fall at the base of everest is one of the most famous ice fall(s) in the world. 

Post sunset same mountain

The same mountain as the one in the picture below but after sunset. 

Mountain peak in the evening

Light and shade in the mountains can make the same object look like a different one within few minutes. Compare this picture with the one on top of this and reserve your comments. 

Camp site covered in the season's first snow

This is one of my favorite pictures from the BMC(Sep-Oct'03). I took a break from the ongoing cricket match (in the background) to click a few pictures and got this gem at the Adv. base camp, right after the first snowfall/sleetfall of the season. We had just returned from our height gain trip and I was hoping to capture the moment on my Canon EOS 6.