Somenath clicking a quick selfie with Rohit while opening up route in the gully.
“We returned to the camp at around 1 in the afternoon that day. Post a quick lunch, we slipped into our sleeping bags to catch up on some sleep.” –Somenath
05:00 pm that evening:
The team gathered together for a meeting. Our participants were updated about the terrain, the challenges they might encounter and the things they should carry with them for the climb.
A little nervous and a little excited about the summit, each member packed their bags before sneaking in a quick nap in the late evening hours that day.
Day 11: Summit day
12.00 am: Rohit steps out of his tent to a stunning Milky Way spread across the sky!
“In my five years of trekking in the Himalayas, I had never seen a Milky Way so bright! It was burning reddish orange and had left a fiery trail across the dark skies. This was a promising sign of clear weather” –Rohit
12.30 am: Our team has dinner/breakfast, whichever you would like to call it.
“One of our participants looked fatigued. It did not seem prudent to push him through the gruelling summit that awaited us that day. So, Rohit and I suggested he stay back at the campsite. Co-operative and understanding, he agreed to rest at Dhuangaon Col. I double checked his oxygen level before leaving. It read 87, which was safe. We requested one of our medically trained support staff to take care of him nevertheless and then got our team together for the summit” –Somenath
01:00 am: Our zealous team begins the trek.
02.00 am: The team reaches the base of the gully. They start the climb up the treacherous slopes using the rope Somenath, Rohit and Umesh had fixed the previous day.
With every step our members took, the gully sloped steeper unsparingly. The climb was fatiguing and the progress seemed slow but our relentless trekkers kept at it nevertheless. The clear weather and the possibility of a summit left them in high spirits.
05.30 am: Three and a half gruelling hours later, four of our team members make it to the top of the gully one by one. Somenath and Umesh reached first followed by Pradeep (participant) and Sameer (participant).
“The sun had risen by now. The weather, much to our relief, was perfect. On my left hand side, the sturdy peak of Deo Tibba shone contentedly in the early morning sunlight. With just 300 metres of ascent left, it already felt like we had reached the summit. On my right hand side, Mt. Indrasen stood a little taller. And all around us, the skies were clear and the terrain was friendly. Elated, I pulled the Walkie Talkie out and told Rohit that the summit was happening”-Somenath
Meanwhile, 100 metres below, Rohit and one of our participants had just received Somenath’s message.
“The excitement in his voice was palpable. We resumed our ascent up the gully with a fresh burst of energy. It seems funny now but at that point in time, we had even begun planning our after summit party because we were so sure of reaching the summit” –Rohit
05.50 am: Rohit’s walkie talkie crackles once more. It is Somenath on the other end. Eager to find out what he has to say, Rohit listened closer. Four words ring out loud and clear this time: “Turn back RIGHT NOW”.
“The seriousness in his voice was evident. But I couldn’t fathom what could have possibly happened in a matter of few minutes that it required us to abort our climb and turn back immediately. The weather and the terrain, the two main impediments to any expedition, still seemed fine.” –Rohit
Meanwhile, higher up at the top of the gully, Somenath had just noticed unusually dark clouds closing in on them at an alarming speed from the left hand side of Deo Tibba. The right hand side continued to remain clear.
These clouds were BAD news and he couldn’t quite believe this was happening. The look on Umesh’s face when he pointed it out to him confirmed his suspicions.
What looked like black clouds was actually a FULL BLOWN BLIZZARD and it was headed their way at a rapid pace!
