TheFreeBird
Stok Kangri Trek Blog
Trek Day 3 | Mankorma to Base camp | 4kms | 4328m to 4900m
Woke up early. As usual people are in deep sleep. Had my dry fruits and went for a morning stroll. Found a secluded spot( everything is already secluded on the trek , this spot is even more so). Did yoga and stretching exercises. Came back to camp and did few exercise with Sanjay. ( Sanjay has done a mountaineering course. I plan to do it too. But one month of leaves is too much to ask for. Wish i had a secondary source of income. Update 2017- Did my Basic Mountaineering course next year from NIMAS. Click HERE to read about it)
Had breakfast, packed our packs, rolled our tents, cleaned the area and were off to the base camp. The elevation difference would be from 4328m to 4900m achieved by walking 4 kms. I hoped that acclimatization wont hit me in the face.
The route appeared fairly straight forward. But that was very misleading. The height increased so gradually that the hills appeared nearer than they actually were. We started from the camp with a far off pitched white coloured tent as a reference. I felt we would reach it in about 20 minutes, but it was a illusion. It was almost an hour and we were still walking towards it. Mighty deceiving ( i have always watched movies and ridiculed desert scenes where people could see water and go bat shit crazy going near it and finding nothing. This might as well have some truth to it. Games nature plays ).
My headache continued to rise at a scary level. The camera was the first casualty. It was packed as I had to conserve my energy. With the intensifying headache, i was soon back at the pack- the place where i am never to be found. Altitude is a great leveller.
The walk was getting tougher for me. To add to it the Rain God started to play havoc. Dont get me wrong i am out and out a rain person. Just not today.
The route seemed to keep on gaining height gradually. I was at the back of the pack with another guy. Combined we were the toppers of the pack 😛 from the back. It was a race between us two to not be the last person to reach the base camp. It was a tough competition.
The beautiful route was bordered by mountains and clouds everywhere. Rain had bought a new life to the somewhat barren hills. The beauty was to be framed too bad my camera was packed.
Only thing on my mind was the excruciating headache.
The headache continued and so did the race with the other ‘topper’. We continued till the point where we took the last pit stop before the final patch to the base camp. I was the second last person to reach the break point leading the other ‘topper’.
The rain had vanished and out came the bright sun out of no where.
We started of the last sprint towards the base camp.This patch seems to be taking a toll on everyone. My speed as further reduced. At this point even a tortoise would have beat me.
The innocuous looking path made me question my strength and confidence numerous times. But at the end the big fat Panda came to my rescue,” There is no secret ingredient. It’s You” – it definitely boosted my confidence.
I was stopping after every 10 steps so were the other guys. Made me wonder whether we were actually conditioned to summit this giant. The final walk was tiring as hell and all of us were some how trying to scramble our way to the base camp .
Finally managed to reach the base camp with a bludgeoning headache.
Bro Tip:
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Having covered the back pack with the raincoat, the bottle was not accessible. Have a bottle connected to your backpack shoulder strap.
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If you fancy my CAMERA
Waterproof cam
My DSLR
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Immediately after reaching the base camp we set out the tents. My headache was not allowing me to think straight. I decided to entrust my headache to yoga again. I did feel better. I really thanked our ancestors for this wonderful exercise.
Few hours later, we had lunch and i could feel the headache gaining strengths. Probably food digestion was taking up my energy. With headache not allowing me do anything worthwhile wholeheartedly, i decided to do the yoga once more. After half an hour it did feel a bit better, but not as much i would have wanted too.
Acclimatisation Walk
Its 1700 hrs, time for acclimatisation walk. The base camp was at 4900m and had to gain 200m as part of acclimatisation. The climb was steep and i hoped i would complete it .
Just at the start of the climb I could feel my headache is set up for world war III.
50m in my headache had become a monster and my speed dropped drastically.
100m in I could feel like my brain is shaking inside my head. 150m in I couldn’t take it any more. I stopped, took out my dslr as a distraction and shot my first vlog ever 😀 . Distraction helped.
I couldn’t think right. Hence my immediate second vlog for the things i forgot in the first.
For the last 10 m of the climb, the excruciating headache had intensified to never before levels. And it was all a mind game till the top. Reaching the top, i just sat down trying to calm down the pain.I couldn’t garner courage to take pics. After a while the headache became bearable. The view was mind boggling. From the top of the acclimatisation hill campsite looked brilliant.
Within 5 minutes we started the descend to the base camp. As the altitude decreased the head ache returned to bearable levels. At the base camp the last proxy test of oxymeter:
Oxy level: 82
Pulse : 107
Theoritically I had cleared the cutoff, however i knew if the headache was still there i couldn’t summit. People with low values were asked to have lots of water and hope for the best.
For the next few hrs i had lots of water (3 litre / 3 hrs) and had pee stop almost once every half an hour 😀 . I had few cloves of garlic as well. Whatever it takes.
Bro Tip
Garlic acts as a natural replacement of Diamox.
Felt a lot better by dinner time. Couldn’t eat much though since I had lost appetite.
People were immediately inside there tents. Hardik enjoying the warm tent
I couldn’t imagine of sleeping so early. So i decided to watch a batch of people from another group leaving for the summit tonight. I hoped i would be acclimatised enough by tomorrow night to take the summit challenge.
The people with headlamps, climbing across the acclimatisation hill enroute the summit looked beautiful.It looked like a diamond necklace across the mountain. Lack of tripod prevented any photos.
The sleep continued to evade me that night as i had brief on and off dreamy moments.
Click here for the summit night
Good one man…
Thnx man
Awesome Niraj! Sounds like a great experience. And knowing how tough you are, this sounds way too tough for folks like me.
Hey Swati, it’s a brilliant trek.
Its a difficult trek owing to the lack of oxygen.
Real test of your mettle.
YOu can definitely try with the a fit body and motivated mind. 🙂
Loved it! Hope to be able to add my own spin to your story soon! 🙂
Sup Susan,
Good to see your interest.
I hope to put up your Roopkund trek soon 😛 😀
you’re really a good blogger. you’ve done a wonderful job about this tough trek!
Thnx a lot Shelly.
Hope this provides you good insight
Hello Free Bird!
I would like to know how is it like for a smoker to attempt this trek?
Thanks
Hey Aakarsh,
First i would like to say that NEVER EVER has smoking done anyone any good.
Breathing is always a problem at high altitude for a healthy person. Smoking can only make it worse.
I would recommend that if any smoker wants to sucessfully summit this 20000ft monster, its better to stop smoking all together atleast two months before the trek
The sun shines, the wind speaks and the bird is off to another adventure..
Hope u enjoyed the blog NiTiN 🙂
Awesome bro … Keep it up 🙂
thnx man
Great account. Planning to do this summer 2017.
Who was your outfitter and would you recommend them or key things to ask while negotiating a guide/outfitter? and how much did it cost?
Hello Vikas,
The things you would like to check before confirming any organiser is
1) whether they would be organising it themselves or sub-contracting.
2) what would be the batch size of the trek . Smaller the group , merrier the trek.
3) I had selected an organiser who had sub contracted to the local guys.
4) Also need to check on the expenditures incurred if one decides to return back from the trek in between.These costs are mostly not mentioend anywhere on any organisers site
You can go ahead with any trusted organisation. However i believe that the real fun in doing such a trek is with the local agencies.
Once u book the seat, just get your stamina to the mark & carry lots of dry fruits with you. Drink plenty of water
Hope this is useful.
Cheers
Outstanding description of the trek..!!! Congratulations..!!! Brought back memories of my stok kangri trek..
Can you share the name of treking agency that you in this case.
So glad you could relive your glory moments. The batch size of only 3 people turned up for our organiser , hence our group was merged with a bigger group from local organiser. To mention there name would be unfair given the small size of our group. what happens on the trek stays within the trek 😛
This is very interesting, You’re a very skilled blogger.
I’ve joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your
magnificent post. Also, I’ve shared your website in my social
networks!
thats one hell of a description of the stok kangri trek. It was like a virtual tour for me..pretty insightful and informative…I am planning for stok kangri summit in august 2017. wish me luck TheFreeBird. 🙂
Any more Bro (not literally :P) Tips would be highly appreciated. TIA…
Sorry for the delayed response, i was out of network reach (in Goa and loving it).
I really appreciate your comments. The sleepless nights does help you jot down the nuances of the trek.
I have tried to put in all tips i could personally think of.
Just stay mentally strong, carry enough quick energy food & lots of water. Try to get as much sleep as possible on summit rest day.
May the force be with you. Godspeed. \m/
Heyy Freebird,I am planning Stok Kangri trek this year. Your blog is most helpful so far!!
Had few questions
1)Was walking stick was really helpful throughout the trek?
2)If I am not wrong 8 of 23 people summitted. So what were the preparations done by other members who completed trek with much ease?
Thanks for your kind words.Sorry for the late reply, was on the move.
1)The height does take a toll on your body/stamina. You can breeze past the first two camps without the need of a walking stick. However after that at the last part of reaching the base camp and then onwards to the summit the walking stick does come in very handy. Not necessarily as an aid for walking , but as an extra support for your tired body. During the glacial climb , it is of utmost importance.
2)No one completed the trek with ease. Every one had to put in lot of efforts. A fit body and a strong mind is very much a necessity.
With thanks, Plenty of advice.
I really like your blog.. very nice pics. Did you create this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you ? kudos
Thanks for your kind words. i did create it my self
Superb blog, the incessant headache, heavy backpack and early morning ascend reminds of my trek to roopkund.!! Stok-Kangri has been on my mind for quite some time now….your blog just gave it a push!!
Thnx Devyani. Go summit. Best of Luck \m/
I loved n inspired by ur blog…awesme.
Wish to be a mountaineer nd nature lvr.
Lyk as u😊😊
Thanks Dinesh for the kind words 🙂
Many thanks for an awesome blog…. definitely motivated me. I’ve booked to do the trek in August this year, so looking forward to it. My highest altitude climb was Everest Base. Regards from South africa
Thanks a lot Sushie for your kind words. Having done EBC trek, I am confident that you will summit Stok Kangri pretty easily.
Best Of Luck \m/
Awesome blog buddy. Felt as if I was along with you all the way in the trek. Kudos to your NIMAS vlog as well, which is what brought me here. Looking forward to more such blogs and vlogs. Cheers.
Thanks Dhairya for such motivating words \m/
Hopefully the adventures will continue.
Hi!
Lovely blog with tons of info.
Pls can you advise if we will need crampons for our Stok Kangri trek in July end?
Thanks!
Hey Anand,
Thanks a lots for your kind words. You will require crampons from the glacier.
Cheers
Hey,
Nice pictures and details.
I also did it and it was amazing!
Hello Gan,
Thanks for your kind words. It was good to read about your experience too.
Keep Climbing,
Cheers
I HAVE DONE 3 TREKS IN PAST 10 YEARS BACK IN HIMALAYA RANGES (PABBAR VALLEY, PANCHACHULI &PUNWALI BUGYAL). I M GOING FOR STOK KANGARI TREK THIS JULY AND ONLY WORRY FOR MY SINUS PROBLEM . I M TRYING TO DO ALL REMEDIES FOR IT. I HAVE CHECK MY FITNESS LEVEL NOT THAT BAD CAN RUN ON TREDMILL FOR 20 MIN COVERING 3 KM. CAN DO CRUNCHES 3SET OF 15 REP . WEIGHT SQAUTS TOTAL WEIGHT UPTO 25 2 SET 8-9 REP AND WITH LESSER WAIT AROUNF 10 -15 4-5 SETS OF 10-12 REP . FOLLOW OTHER GROUP EXERCISE REGULARLY. NEED YOUR SUGGESTION I M WORREID AS I M GETTING ON TREK AFTER 10YEARS AND THIS COLD COUGH SINUS ISSUE.
Hello Ashish,
Sorry for the late reply, I was out on a trek.i think you are on the right path towards fitness.
For the breathing part I suggest you immediately start with yoga – anulom vinulom and omkara. You might want to add other breathing exercises as well.
To combat breathing issues, you can add climbing floors to your training regime. Start with a 10 kilo backpack for 5 floors and gradually increase resistance.
Hope that helps.
Cheers
thank you bro
Awesome dude… Reminds me of my time in first week of August 2017. Julay!!!
Thanks man. Glad it bought back memories. Keep exploring. Cheers 🙂
बहुत ही सुंदर वर्णन । आपकी हिम्मत और मनोबल को सलाम 👏
Thanks Pragna 🙂
In response to Stok Kangri’s rapid degradation, the Stok Village Committee and ALTOA (All Ladakh Tour Operators’ Association) have announced a three-year ban on trekking and climbing on Stok Kangri peak. Stok Kangri will remain closed from 2020 to 2022