Summit Day “When the mountain called us” :
The alarm woke Nitya and Nitya woke me up at 3:15 in the morning. The temperature inside the tent is -4.5. It was good that we slept wearing three layers below and four layers above, otherwise the cold night would not have deterred us from turning us into Egyptian mummies. Sleep was good and warm. The second most difficult task was getting out of the sleeping bag and the first was putting on the snow shoes. It took half an hour to get ready and become a mountaineer, it did not take even a moment for the ovaries to shrink in the outside temperature.
27 October 2018, time: 04:34 am, temperature -8.2 degrees
Friendship peak expedition - 5140 meter
A rucksack is carried on the shoulders which accommodates food items as well as crampons and gaiters. It is still a little dark outside but as soon as we peek from the tent, we see the golden views of Hanuman Tibba, the first rays of the sun crowned the mountain with gold with their hands. We are moving towards friendship. The weather is calm and cool, the king's girlfriend has covered herself with a white sheet as if she does not want to get up so early. The road is rocky, sometimes Karens are visible in the darkness and sometimes not. We lose our way and then come back to the right path, thus we spend 2 hours wandering in the Maureen Garden.
Snowfall has begun, the king's girlfriend whispers in her sleep “Walk on the right side and be careful, the path on the left side is not good”. I look to the left of the mountain, there is a secret of big crevices, the crevices which are adorning the beloved by enhancing the beauty of her neck. I move ahead thinking, “Did the king give this white necklace to his beloved?” ,
Good morning from mountains
Let's start today's track that will take us to the very top
As the depth of snow increases, we have covered the snow shoes with gaiters and crampons are also ready to do their duty. I am walking ahead and Nitya is a little behind. Breathing is high, has to be controlled after every 4 steps. The toes in the shoes have become so cold that they feel as if they will be cut off. Premature ejaculation of nose continues continuously, ears are numb, they can hear either the sound of strong wind coming from outside or the sound of heart beating inside.
Just 2 days ago, a team of three people had summited whose marks can be clearly seen on the snow, Roshan had told that “just follow those marks and you will reach the top”. Both of them stop and eat banana, due to the cold air Nitya's face looks like the statue of Tutma Khan and mine looks like a rotten mango. After three and a half hours we reach the velvety shoulder of the girlfriend from where Deo Tibba, Indrasan, Indra Fort, Ratan Thadi and many unknown peaks are visible.
Shining behind my companion was Hanuman Tibba Peak, 5982 meters high.
And we are ready to climb this steep wall
From here the snow was more than knee deep
Nitya walks on a path built on ice, consider the gradient as 45%.
The opposite range is the Pir Panjal range with more than 100 mountain peaks above 6000 meters high.
Manali valley visible from the shoulder of the peak
After the shoulders the snow is deep and spread far and wide in powder form. This is powder snow, one step up, 2 steps down. The snow has reached my waist, my legs have disappeared, and when I look down, I feel as if I am walking only on my waist.
We look at the king's girlfriend as if asking, "How long until the sun comes here, madam?" , In response, after some time, sunlight is found. Now the trail is visible more clearly. There was not much difference in the temperature, earlier it was -6.2, now it has become -9.2. Now we are walking almost over the crevasse, whatever slips will be received by ‘Tarun Goel’ in ‘Pandoh Dam’. I enter the snow again remembering the line written on the back of Haryana Roadways “Caution removed, accident occurred”.
Amazing view of Pir Panjal and Dhauladhar Mountain Range visible from the shoulder of Friendship Peak.
The path ahead visible from the shoulder of Friendship Peak, which appears to be a wall.
After about 200 meters the snow suddenly becomes hard, I increase the speed, the fixed rope becomes visible before the summit. I want to tell Nitya to come quickly, we have reached there but I don't say so and with heavy breaths I reach the yellow rope. The top is visible but there is no flag or Karen. I complete the last 50 meters in one go.
“I am at the summit”, I think, getting a little wet. I bow before the king and offer my energy by kissing the forehead of my beloved. The gentle face of 'Ghepan Mountain' is visible from a distance, the king's queens look at us, King Indrasan of Pir Panjal has sent blessings.
These are such crevasses where if someone falls, they will disappear forever.
Nitya crossing the friendship peak shoulder
This amazing shot clicked by Nitya in which I am going towards the summit
I don't know why I like difficult paths
The steep climb
climbing a 45 degree slope
After making space at the top to stand, I called out to Nitya, “Come, only a little is left”. After every step, she controls herself and moves forward, tired and stuck in the snow. As soon as she reached the summit, her first words were “I will never come to the mountains again”. We laugh and finally both are standing on the summit. Amidst the mountains, seeking blessings. 'Ayush Kumar' has told that "Many years ago, this unnamed peak was summited by the Indian-French joint team and then due to this friendly step, this peak was named 'Friendship'".
Height of Friendship Peak IMF Those say 5289 meters. G.P.S. The device showed a height of 5194 meters and the Casio Cly watch showed a height of 5140 meters. Starting at 04:34 am, we reached the top at 10:30 am (5 hours 56 minutes). The name of this peak is known as 'Trekking Peak' all over India. The coordinates here are 32°23'45.43 N, 77°06'34.56 E. After the wind increases we begin our descent a full 41 minutes later (11:11am).
Friendship Peak Summit – 5140 m
Friendship Peak Summit – 5140 m
Due to the fixed rope, descending the steep slope was quite comfortable. While coming down suddenly I hear Roshan's voice “Baba ji yahan network bhi aata hai go live”. Immediately after the mutual agreement, Nitya made it live on Facebook from her phone. (Nitya also posted on Facebook about this campaign which went so viral that the Prime Minister of the country himself praised it). Then whenever we slip, due to the force of friction, we rub straight up to the shoulder of the mountain, well, once in a while I even visit a small hidden crevasse. Sometimes the tricks learned in mountaineering courses prove to be effective in saving your life.
In the photo you can see the yellow fixed rope and also the condition of Nitya walking on the ice.
At the solder, we eat one roti each brought yesterday along with cabbage curry and drink some water and slip away again. Nitya is scared on the ice, I explain to her that if you fall here, you will not get hurt. I run and then slip and cross the white skirt of the king's lover. Now we have taken off the crampons and gaiters and quickly reach our tent (01:21pm).
It takes us 02:45 to pack everything and leave from here. As soon as Solang comes to mind, we pick up speed and reach Lady Leg camp site at 03:10. NRI The girl's team is still sitting here, the guide says, “Tonight we will attempt the summit from here”, to which Nitya says, “Don't go there, there is a lot of snow”. After the Maggi break, we run towards Dhundhi. The time is 03:40, evening is setting, the air is getting colder and...while leaving, we look at the king's girlfriend who is hiding among the clouds as if she is preparing herself to meet the king.
Nitya emerging from 100 meter deep crevasse zone
No matter what the world says about the height of this peak, I will say only what my watch says.
This is me, willing to do whatever, a little crazy and a little weird
Nitya and I are standing on the summit of Friendship Peak, we are fortunate and obedient to the mountain.
As soon as we leave Lady Leg, we change our rucksacks, Nupur's rucksack is heavy, yet we manage to reach Nuali Stream in 35 minutes. After 5 minutes rest, the race starts again towards Dhundhi where I keep the target of reaching at 6 o'clock. Running from 04:05, reach Dhundhi at 05:32. Nitya's poor rucksack from Lady Leg to Dhundhi has given me visions of death many times.
I'm very proud of my legs because they've allowed me to go to places I used to see in photos.
After 33 hours of hard work, we finally reached the summit and returned to Solang Valley
At 6 o'clock we get a lift from Dhundhi bridge and at 6:30 in the evening we reach Solang where Johnny, Raja and the rest of the staff congratulate us on the summit while Roshan says "Will you drink rum?" ,
And finally the last photo whose entire credit goes to Ayush Kumar of Kullu. The evidence that the boy has given of his obsession for the last one week is clearly visible in the photo below. To find the exact names of the peaks the brothers reached the underworld. Ayush Bhai, you bow before the mountains, I bow before you. For your ultra-uff performance you should be declared the researcher of Kullu valley.
Disclaimer: I have also posted the content (text and photos) posted in this blog in Hindi language on my Hindi blog www.himalayanwomb.blogspot.com. The English version of the same Hindi blog on Hive has been posted here with the help of Google Translate.
[//]:# (!pinmapple 32.39631 lat 77.10675 long A Journey to the Summit: Friendship Peak Summit (5140 meters) d3scr)