Memories of my first peak climb with linger forever, not only because it was my first climb, but also because of some good friends I made who made this climb special.

Yes, I climbed Stok Kangri peak in the Ladakh Himalayan range, along with great friends like Matin, Shareef and Norbu.

On 14th August 2006, at 11:07 am I was on top of Stok Kangri 6155mtrs along with Matin, my Ladakhi friend.

“Why do we need to climb”? Is it to satisfy our ego to be at great heights?? Or is it to prove it to the world, that you are a hero. I leave this to answer this question to yourself. But yes do answer it before you climb?.

To climb, it requires more than acclimitising.
Maybe, for climbers to come, my small experience can be of some help and serve as climbing white papers.

Since it was my first time above the magic figure of 20,000 ft, I wanted to make it sure that I am familiar with the area and the mountain range.

Ingenious Manali – Leh route
I reached Leh by the ingenious Manali-Leh road route ( 475kms), which crosses four high mountain passes, with the last one Tanglangla as high as 17500 ft ,the worlds second highest motor able road after Khardungla.
This sure helps in acclimitising before we reach the high altitude desert land Leh. This land of monks, their Gompas, Chortens, mud houses look lost in time and are surrounded by some really beautiful mountain ranges.

Acclimatizing into the thin air
It was early August, and the sun shone bright, perfect weather to climb in Leh.
I reached as early as 30th July and did a trek over Stok La (16.0075ft) along with some friends. It was fun. I was getting familiar with these mountains and the thin air.

Taste of Ladakh
Having local food tunes up the body for that region.
My daily diet included Ladakhi bread with butter, salty tea plus butter. My Ladakhi friend Qayoom invited me occasionally for lunches and dinners at his place and showed me the local restaurants around Ladakh, giving me the right taste of Leh.
I was mentally and physically preparing for my climb.

Skampari is a small quiet village located 5kms from the main town of Leh.
Qayoom was born in Skampari. His parents and grand parents all stayed here.
Houses made up of stone and mud, with Chortens and Gompas at occasional corners made the village look lost in time.
Since I had some time before the main climb, I spent evenings walking to the local market. Trying to understand what it takes to live life at 12,000 ft with adverse climatic conditions. It took me some time to digest this fact.

Nature decides
I had planned to climb Stok Kangri on 7th August 2006. But Mother Nature had some different plans. On 7th of August hell broke loose in the quiet town of Leh. Heavy rainfall, and strong winds disrupted the little town and all adventure activities there. The 2 main road routes joining Leh was cut off due to land slides. None of the flights were functioning. Electricity was cut off. The water level in the Indus River was rising dangerously; sweeping away the small bridges which were used to cross into different valleys. It was disaster. The army came into action immediately.
Leh was cut off from the world.

Decisions
Qayoom, my friend, who runs an adventure company, was busy into search and rescue operations for the stranded foreign tourists in the Markha valley. Situation demanded me to help Qayoom in rescuing people. Technically, I had no chance whatsoever to go for the climb. I prayed to god for everyone’s safety and that sanity returns to this beautiful town. I postponed my climbing plans and left it upon nature to decide the future.
I wasn’t thinking about dates at that moment. I had decided if not this time, then next time, because the mountain will be still there.

One last chance
Around 10th August, the clouds moved. The cirrus nimbus were moving, giving me a ray of hope, my last chance to make an attempt for my long waiting dream to climb a peak. After a lot of thinking within myself, I decided to give it a shot. I will try climbing Stok Kangri on 12th august, if the weather gods permit.

The planning
12th august we planned to start from Stok Village, 5 kms from Leh for our expedition to Stok Kangri peak.
Matin, Shareef and Norbu will accompany me along with 2 horses. Matin and Shareef arranged for the rations and equipment. I double checked all climbing gear. It was snowing up there, as we could see the snow capped Stok Kangri. We had to keep snow boots and crampons too. Crampons are alloy spikes attached to your snow boots, and should be double checked for proper and firm fitting. A very important piece of equipment on snow and ice.

Matin and Shareef’s morale were high and so was mine. Matin would be my climbing partner, since he had already climbed this peak twice. Shareef volunteered to cook during the expedition and would also give a try to summit. Norbu fixed some 2 strong horses that would carry our camping stuff.
We decided to carry my guitar, music will keep our moods together.
We were all set.

11thAugust 2006.
I couldn’t sleep this night through .It seemed so long. The thought, of my very first peak climb was so near, I was excited, tensed and curious to know how it feels when you’re into thin air. I wanted to be successful, remain calm, be alert and relaxed at the same time.

I wanted to dedicate this climb to my very dear friends, Ruchira & Priya who unfortunately died of cancer at an early age. Both very beautiful human beings.

I diverted my mind, by double checking my gear again and reading Calvin and Hobbes.

12th August 2006 – Leh Stok village, Stok village – Chorten.
The 12th August dawn finally broke, with rain showers.
But now I was determined to give it a try, we commenced our journey towards Stok village at around 1300 hrs. Norbu would join us there directly with his horses. I was quiet most of the jeep journey.
By 2:00 we were ready to move. The weather was more or less fine with some rain clouds. But that didn’t bother us much.
The climb up to the first halt at Chorten , was more or less gradual, with few streams to cross. A lot of climbing parties were there, all going to make an attempt to climb the beautiful Stok Kangri.
French, British, Germans and the Swiss, they were all there with their branded flashy tents, hi-tech equipment and an army of horses , porters and kitchen tents, all adding to the chaos they were creating.
We were the smallest team in size. We didn’t even look like climbers, just few young boys having fun and playing music amidst mountains.
The funny part of these foreigners was they never talked to each other within their own team.
We sang songs while Shareef made us some Ladakhi tea and made a 3 course meal for the night. We got sleep while talking in our tents.

Leh to Stok village by Jeep – 30 mins – 12,000 ft
Stok Village to Chorten (14,000 ft )– 2 pm to 6pm ( 4 hrs) .

13th August 2006 – Chorten - Mankarmo – Stok Kangri Base Camp

After an early breakfast we proceeded climbing higher towards Stok Kangri base camp. Due to the heavy rains most of the normal route was washed away, we had to do a bit of tough climbing over mountains to get to BC.
After reaching BC via Mankarmo , a horrible sight of human filth could be seen. The whole base camp was very crowded and very dirty,thanks to our foreign friends; most of them were climbing without paying the peak handling fees.
There was a sudden rush to grab the camping site and all mountain manners were too washed away within seconds of our reaching there.
It was a saddening site; we camped a bit far from the rest. The mood of the whole camp was dull. No one talked to each other, everyone hurried to grab their camping sites.
It started to snow in the evening changing the brown landscape to white. I immediately knew things are going to be difficult since there is fresh snow everywhere.
I n the evening Matin took me for a height gain exercise in a nearby hill .We climbed for an hour to get acclimitised to the new height of the base camp 19,000 ft approx.
We had an early dinner, since we needed to start early next day for the summit climb.
I got acclimitsed very well and was feeling in perfect condition for the summit climb. Once again we checked our crampons, wind proof, feather jacket, torch lights, and water etc, before jumping in our sleeping bags.
That night I told everyone that I was dedicating this climb to my 2 dear friends and how important it is for me. Everyone assured me a safe and successful climb. With a little help from my friends I could come this far and ready for what lies ahead.

Chorten to Base camp (19,000 ft approx) via Mankarmo : 9 am to 11 am –( 2 hrs)

14th August 2006 – BC to Summit - 6155mtrs.

We started at 3.30 am in the dark. The weather was cloudy, so luckily for us there was no wind to walk against and the snow remained still.
The route from BC steadily climbs up to a glacier where one can set up an Advance Base Camp (ABC).From ABC we had to cross the glacier to reach the base of a ridge which seems a daunting task. Few teams had set up high camps at this place.
But since the weather was turning bad; everyone preferred a direct climb to summit and back to BC. We also chose the same plan.
The ridge is at about 20,000 ft approx. Slowly steadily I reached the ridge. Matin was climbing strong and ahead of me, helping me climb.
From the ridge it’s about an hour climb to the summit, walking thru some really narrow path. What made it worse was the soft snow.

Matin had decided that we will not wear crampons, cause if we had to reach the summit and in good weather , we would need to speed up and if we had our crampons and ice boots on , which we didn’t ,would take a lot of time and that would risk in losing our opportunity to summit. The weather was turning really bad. Nothing could be seen on both sides of the ridge. Shareef had returned back half way and I was dehydrated.

I gathered all my Advance course experience and started to walk towards the summit.
My heart kept pounding loud; I could hear it very clear in my ears.

Will I reach? This thought never came to my mind, even for a second.
I knew I will reach; I will not give up, only that the weather should allow me to climb. Matin was still very strong and ahead of me. He assured me that we are nearing and that was quite a needed assurance.

Yes, with a little help from my friend, there I stood on top of Stok Kangri – 6155mtrs, finally at 11:07 am.

I hugged Matin, and started crying.

Tears of joy obviously. I waited for 20 long years, and after a lot of hard practice, hurdles, mountaineering courses, my dream to be on top of a peak was fulfilled. And with it installed a firm belief that if one desires, and remains persistent, it’s possible to fulfill dreams.
I offered prayer flags for Ruchira and Priya , for their souls to rest in peace. I remembered my parents, for they climbed the high mountains of life so that I could reach to the top today. I remembered my country for its Independence the next day.
I proudly say today that it was Matin, Shareef and Norbu who all made me reach to the top. Without their selfless dedication and love, I wouldn’t have managed to reach to the top. Undoubtedly they are good human beings and we had some good time together.

“Climbing is optional but getting down is mandatory”
There was just one couple along with us when we were on the top. I offered them some chocolates and congratulated them. Now the worry was to get down as soon as possible since the weather was getting worse and visibility poor. It was snowing hard now, meaning loose snow, and tough for crampons to get hold to the ground.

I got on to my snow boots and crampons but Matin didn’t. He was as cool as ever.
After half an hour on top, we started descending, bidding goodbye to the couple. Slowly and carefully I placed each and every step, making it sure that I get some hard snow to fix my crampons in.

I slipped occasionally, but reached base camp safely in 3hrs, dehydrated and tired.
Shareef was really sweet to keep some Ladakhi tea and soup ready for me.
We celebrated our summit climb with a 4 course meal for that night along with a sweet dish too.

BC to Summit (6155mtrs) – 3:30 am to 11:07 am ( 8 hours)
Summit stay ( 6155mtrs) – ½ an hour
Summit to BC – 11:30 am to 1430hrs ( 3 hrs)

15th august 2006 – BC – Mankarmo – Chorten – Stok Village
W sang songs all the way back to Stok Village, where Qayoom awaited our return.
He hugged me and said “Sab theek thak, chalo ho gaya tera summit”

BC to Stok Village – 9 am to 1300hrs (4 hrs)

Coda
I thanked god for our safe journey and everyone’s good health.

Somehow on top you feel the need to thank that supernatural force which makes you keep walking.
Somehow you feel nice that someone is there behind to take care of.
Somehow you want to feel that there is god.

Climbing for me, is sure not just acclimitising, its more than that.
With a little help from wonderful friends, you can do wonders.

- Prateek Deo - 31st August 2006

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