Stok Kangri Expedition (20,080 feet) #1- Gearing Up For The Expedition

To be a mountaineer, the best training you can do is to be in the mountains. No matter how much you run on the flat grounds or how many long staircases you climb, the person training in the mountains will always be a step ahead of you. It had been a while since I had climbed some big mountain. I didn’t have much money at this stage so the most convenient mountain would be Stok kangri peak 6153m (20,080 feet) in Ladakh region of India.

Stok Kangri has been a very special mountain in my life. I have climbed it twice before and attempted it more than 5 times. It was the first peak I ever climbed, it was the first peak I climbed solo, it was the first peak where I had a near death experience, it was the first peak I did a high altitude rescue and saved a life, it was also where I did my first winter expedition on. Every time I step into that valley, I came out a much wiser man. I am familiar with each and every stone and with each and every nook and corner of the Stok Valley. I have learned so much from Stok Kangri, about life and mountaineering both. Stok Kangri has almost been like a university of life for me. Plus because I have been there so many times, I can compare my fitness level and performance each time I go there. And so the planning began!

There was a dear friend of mine, Naomi from the eastern part of India, Shillong. She always wanted to do Stok Kangri so I invited her to join and in no time she agreed! This would be her first 6000m mountain. I decided to get a guide because she was coming. The only name which came in my mind was Ali, a Ladakhi guy running Tiptoe Adventures. He was with us for our winter expedition earlier this year. During the course of our winter expedition, I was very impressed by the kind of mountaineer he was and I had deep respect for some tough decisions he took on the expedition. There is something about that man and his personality which you can clearly see in his eyes; calmness, composed thoughts, trust and hard earned wisdom. He agreed to come along with us. We were to leave fly out on the 3rd of July from Delhi.

Naomi arrived in Delhi 2 days prior to leaving. We had an early morning flight to the mountainous city of Leh in Ladakh which is situated at 11,500 feet. The flight to Leh city is one of the most scenic flight routes in the world. From plains to green mountains and to dry erred high altitude deserts of Ladakh, all of it is visible from the flight. Before the flight lands, it literally flies next to the huge Himalayan mountains, turning around them for landing. As we have flown directly from sea level to 11,500 feet, getting altitude sickness is very common so the pilots caution us before we step out of the plane.

The first two days were planned to be spent in Leh city, moving around just to acclimatize to the lower oxygen levels and changed environmental conditions. Good acclimatization would be the key to our expedition’s success. From the airport we went straight to the guest house I always stay in called Leh Palace view. This place is like another home to me and the people who run this place are like family.

It was so good to be back up here. Ladakh is one place I feel absolutely at home. As soon as we get out of the flight ion Leh, I always get this sudden pump of energy and positive vibe around me which I never get in the city. I am always happy, very peaceful and calm up in the mountains.

After freshening up in our guest house, we went out to the market to have some lunch. There is this one really beautiful café where I always go to eat. They serve some really nice Chinese food.

The weather in Leh was unusually cloudy today. It is known for the hot scorching sun as it is a high altitude desert. We really wanted to see Stok Kangri peak which is towering over Leh but I guess we had to wait a little longer for her to reveal herself.

In the evening we went for a small stroll up to my favorite place in Leh, the Shanti Stupa. Last year when I used to stay in Leh, I used to do my daily training on the long 1000 stairs which takes you to Shanti Stupa which is situated on a small hill and you can see the spectacular view of the Leh city stretched down in front of you. We stayed here for the entire evening. Indeed a very beautiful place

The day ended with a nice dinner on the happening Changspa road. None of us were having any high altitude problem and it was time to catch up with some sleep as tomorrow we were going on a small acclimatization hike.

I woke up pretty late next day and was feeling very lazy. We were to meet Ali, our guide at 11am for some last minute shopping for the expedition later followed by a small hike. Ali showed up to our hotel right on time and we went to the main market for some shopping. I love Leh market. So much is happening with so many people, yet it is not at all noisy or chaotic and does not loose its charm.

After a light lunch, we were off to the hike. Ali bhai had discovered a very nice hill to hike on off the Khardung La road. We hiked up to Leh Palace and Tsemo Monastery first and from here we caught on with the Khardung La road. We walked on the road for half an hour and took a trail which was winding up a beautiful dry mountain.

As we gained height, the views down the valley only got better. I was walking ahead with Ali, catching up with him and reminiscing about our extreme winter adventure while Naomi was walking behind, clicking pictures and enjoying the views.

Two little twin looking puppies caught up with us along the way. We named them ‘the dynamic duo’ and they hiked with us all the way up and down.

We reached at the top after an hour’s slow paced hike. The altimeter showed an altitude of 4200 meters which was a very good height gain for acclimatization. The thumb rule for acclimatization is ‘Climb High, Sleep Low’. Follow this throughout the expedition and you’ll be fine. For today, we had hiked up just enough.

The top was decorated with a few prayer flags and the view of Leh city from this high perspective was so beautiful. We spent some time up here enjoying the beautiful views of the Leh city on one side and Khardung La range on the other side.

We descended back to Leh and while coming back Ali informed us that one local friend of his, Ishey would also be joining us. We decided to meet up with him for tea in the evening. Ishey was a young Ladakhi man, running a designing studio in Leh. He was full of energy and excitement and I was sure he would be a really good addition to the team.

We went back to our hotel rooms to do some final last minute packing before the expedition as we were leaving early morning the next day. We were very excited about the next week. We would come out to be a much evolved versions of ourselves on the other side.

Stay tuned as I take you guys with me to 20,000 feet and back in the upcoming blogs. Cheers!