Churdhar_Amateur_Snow Trek ☃Outer Himalayas🌄

 Place                          Churdhar
 Location                    Sirmour, Himachal Pradesh
 Mountain Range        Shivaliks
 Altitude                      3647 mtrs, 11965 feet
 Difficulty                   Moderate
 Dates                          26th - 28th Jan 2018
 Distance                     18 km uphill(one side)
 Motive                       To trek in the snow ☃

Churdhar is the highest peak in the Outer Himalayas. It is also known as Churi chandni Dhar(Bangles of snow ridge). It is a holy place related with Shri Shirgul Maharaj also know as Chureshwar Maharaj. It is a wild life sanctuary. The jungle in between the trek is prone to Himalayan Black Beers & leopards. This place is not known to many people but, famous among the localites. It is a believed, Hanuman found the sanjeevani, that brought laxman back to life in this place. Its is also the highest peak Sir George Everest climbed.

I first came to know about this place from a friend of mine who went there. As Shimla & places around received heavy snowfall around 23rd of Jan, we chose to go to Churdhar expecting less crowds & to experience a trek in the snow.

How to reach:

• ISBT Kashmere Gate bus terminal (frequency of 00:30 min from 9:00 pm to Solan)
• Solan (1st bus to Nohradhar is at 5:00 am)
• Nohradhar

As we had to meet a friend, we routed through YamunaNagar. Me with 2 other friends reached ISBT Kashmere gate bus terminal by 9:00 pm on 25th Jan. Had our dinner & headed towards the terminal. There was a huge line out extending till the Kashmere gate metro, the bus terminal was over crowded & there are many tourists who went back regretting their missed buses. Imagine how crowded it was? We were in within an hour. Checked the bus to YamunaNagar, though it was over loaded, we luckily got seats. The bus started at 11:30 pm. We reached YamunaNagar by 3:30 in the morning on 26th Jan.

5 of our friends are waiting for us here. Booked a cab to Nohradhar & started at 4:00 am. The weather was very foggy, the driver was even afraid to drive. He only drove behind a lorry or a car taking their cover. Dawn broke when we entered the hilly terrain. Everything was fine except for the fact that 5 out of 8 vomited due to nausea from rapid ascent in altitude. Just when we were about to reach Nohradhar, we found snow on the road, many amongst us are seeing snow for the first time. Enjoyed for sometime & Reached Nohradhar at 12:00 pm & had lunch.

AN APPROACHING BUS

5 friends went to trek the same day & wanted to go home the next day & they had some poly-tent for camping. On the other other hand we(Gowtham, Pankaj & Vinay) had none, so decided to trek the other day. We found a good & economical hotel near by & rested till evening, got ready at 6:00 to stroll around the village after a hot snack.

Nohradhar is a small hamlet, beautiful & serene with a very less population, surrounded by mountains. All the shops were closed by 7:30 in the night except for 2 hotels. From my experiences till date i can tell you that the people of Himachal are some of the most goodhearted & humble i have met. We bought good quality winter wear from a shop at a very reasonable price. We had our dinner & talked to the locals about the trek. They told us about some guys who went with a local guide a couple of days back & did not return yet. I guess its a rumor. So we thought to access the next day on what to do & how far to trek. We had a good nights sleep probably due to exhaustion. The temperature dropped to -6º (as recorded in a smart phone) that night.

SUNRISE FROM THE BALCONY

We woke up at 6:00 in the morning as planned to a beautiful sunrise. We could see snow all around on the hills that has condensed. We got ready & packed the essentials (Layers, Neck Warmer, T-Shirts, Gloves, Sun Glasses ) to shield us from cold & ice blindness. Had our breakfast & bought some fruits, chocolates & 2 bottles of water  for each of us. We brought dry fruits from home as they would come handy during the trek. There were a group of others who had come from the peak. They looked like professional trekkers, they had proper Trekking & camping gear. I went to inquire about the conditions of the trail & their expedition. "Were able to see the peak from a distance of 350 meters but couldn't go because of chest level snow" they said. It took them 2 days to reach the distance they went. So we decided to go as far as we can till 2:00 pm & trek back.

The start point of trek is in front of our hotel. We started by 8:30 in the morning. The initial trail was very exhausting. 

PANKAJ GETS GOING

VINAY ALONG THE INITIAL TRAIL

After about half an hour you will be at a comfortable height, watching the splendor around. You can see grazing cattle on the high grounds, snow patches here & there on the way & the village left behind looks like its in a valley. The ladies hanging their babies on their back & old people carrying huge loads of luggage will put our stamina & endurance to shame🙈. They move at relatively good speeds than we do. 

NOHRADHAR SOMEWHERE DOWN THERE

Some random pics from the top....








It is an amazing feeling every time you inflate your lungs with fresh clean air. We filled our half empty bottles in front of a hut. A dog followed us from here (I guess every trek has one).



2 km into the trek, we rested for 10 min & got ourselves hydrated with water & fruit.
The trail is marked all along on the trees, stone walls or stones by some kind people.
When we moved further into the trail we were trekking through snow that was about ankle lengths deep. The place we are heading to is Doosri a checkpoint, Pehli being Nohradhar. On the way we can find small water streams, ice formations on stagnant water, frozen reservoirs & trees covered with snow. We stopped by a stream to rest & fill our bottles again.

LOST SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN

AN ICE FORMATION OUT OF CONDENSATION

YOU CAN FILL WATER AT LOCATIONS LIKE THESE

A FROZEN RESERVOIR

When ever we were tired we had breaks of 2-3 minutes. You will be amazed to find how your body accepts the challenges & adapts. We used to gulp some water or had a few bites of chocolate.

For your information in case you go High Altitude Trekking:
As we are not used to high altitude & due to thin oxygen in the air, the heart struggles to keep its supply to the other parts of the body. The defense mechanism in our body kicks in involuntarily inflating your lungs to their full capacity. This is the reason you breath heavily when you get tired & sometimes gasp for breath. No need to panic. If the brain doesn't get enough oxygen, you will feel a vomiting sensation (nausea). Its an indication that you need to fill your lungs to their capacity. If it still persists better go to the near by base camp for oxygen or you will become unconscious.

On the way to Doosri...






We finally reached Doosri at 12:00 in the noon covering 6 km by now & have 2 more hours at our disposal, to go as far as we can. We had snow of about 2-3 feet deep from here. During winters the people who have small stalls of water, Maggie ,etc..to help the passers by, go back to the village due to snow. This place is ideal for camping. You can pitch your tent if you have one. After some running & jumping in the snow , we started towards Teesri, and the dog stayed back.

DOOSRI

TRAIL LEADING INTO THE FOREST

SNOW EVERYWHERE

THOUGHT THESE WERE FOOTPRINTS OF SOME WILD ANIMAL, FOUND OUT LATER IT WAS A DOG 👳 

ABANDONED HUTS & THEIR FOUNDATIONS

The first part was passing by huge rocks covered with snow, & a steep ascent. We had to be extra careful as they were slippery. When we passed that terrain it was flat again. There are many places of scenic beauty to stop by. 

On the way to Teesri ....

Having covered 3 more kilometers, we walked on till 1:45 pm, until we found a dry patch of land to sit. 

VINAY INSPECTING THE LANDSCAPE

We rested there & started back at 2:00 pm. During the down hill we had to be careful again as the snow melted & created muddy paths in between. We slipped a few times at the initial return, but learned quick on how to walk on a declining slope & mud.

On the way back...

NINJA MODE

Came back to Doosri.....

RESTED HERE

Again had some Running & Jumping in the snow.

PANKAJ GONE MAD

IN AN ABANDONED HUT

SHARING A MOMENT WITH VINAY.... JABARDAST...👲

Reached Nohradhar by 6:30 pm & had hot tea & snack at the hotel. As on the journey we didn't see any people either during ascent or descent we confirmed ourselves that we are the only people trekking on that day.(Self satisfaction)😎
We have covered a total distance of 18 km.

On the way back home we started at 10:00 in the morning of 28th Jan, took a bus to Solan. As all the buses are full we routed via Kalka & Chandigarh to Delhi.

I understand that the trek is not complete with out conquering its peak.
Hopefully, will come back this year to make it happen.

"Travel is not about money, it's about courage"

Note: Some of the facts are taken from the internet & other blogs.