A Sojourner's Tale

“My mind is in a state of constant rebellion. I believe that will always be so.” 

– George Leigh Mallory

The first question that any armed forced personnel asks a civilian at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) training camp is, ‘Why have you opted for this course?’ (It seems like the Basic/Advance Mountaineering course is more like a mini-vacation (with full respect) for them, after what they go through in the high altitude mountain ranges where they patrol for hours, day and night) And of course, us trying to show off, go saying, ‘Passion, love for the mountains, adventure, and all the good stuff!’ They don’t understand why one would go through so much of physical and mental stress for the sake of fun. And it’s true; mountaineering is not meant for everyone. It is demanding physically as well as mentally and a not to forget, requires a lot of luck!

HMI Entrance

HMI Campus Atrium

I had opted for the Basic Mountaineering Course (BMC 298 Batch) at The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) in Darjeeling after a friend recommended the course. This was fueled by a lot of books and literature on mountaineering and expedition tales. The course was scheduled from 17th October 2013 to 16th November 2013. You require a lot of physical body conditioning prior to the training. Training would involve running at least 5 kms a day, walking flight of stairs for hours, trekking with at least 10-15 kgs in your rucksack. Coming from Mumbai, this still doesn’t prepare you for the actual stuff in the mountains. 

The first day of the course there were around 50+ students from all over India with various backgrounds (students, professionals, entrepreneurs, armed force personnel, etc). Students still kept pouring in till the 4th day at the institute and the final tally at the HMI base in Darjeeling was 64. Day 1, we were all divided in multiple groups or in mountain terminology ‘Ropes’, with one student being the rope leader and an instructor in charge. The instructors had varied backgrounds, some being from the armed forces and some local to Darjeeling. They were very well experienced, and some had even conquered the mighty Mt. Everest. The Course Director was Mr Lakpa Sherpa who’s reputation preceded him (An Everester as well as an accomplished climber for years). The first week consisted of early morning physical training and classroom sessions throughout the day. For a week we were not allowed to leave the institute for any reason. During the week we were allocated our mountain gear, consisting of cold weather gear and technical equipment. Fully loaded the rucksack weighed around 15+ kgs. Around day 6, they took us for an 11km (one way) hike to a place called ‘Tiger Hill’ (8600ft). You get a panoramic view of the Sikkim Himalayas including Everest and Makalu, but the weather didn’t work in our favor. The trek is supposed to be a prequel to what we would endure on our journey to the HMI basecamp in Sikkim. The trek also acts as a filter to exclude those who can’t make it this time from the main trip to the basecamp. And that’s what exactly happened, few students dropped out due to injury and/or personal reasons.

Personally, I started facing ligament issues in my knees (a past running injury) right at the beginning of the course. The downhill runs in Darjeeling simply aggravated the injury. In my head I thought my journey would end right before it started. But, after I mentioned this to one of the instructors, he asked me to take it easy for the next few days especially during the physical training. That did work for me, and I was able to complete the Tiger Hill trek successfully. But, the injury wasn’t the only setback to happen on the entire trip. There were more to follow. One of the days at the institute we had our medical tests done. Turned out that my blood pressure and my pulse rate were higher than usual. I was on a watch henceforth. I would go to medical office everyday and test my blood pressure and pulse rate. There were some other students with me who also face high blood pressure issues. Luckily my blood pressure had dropped to normal, but my pulse was still flying high. But, the doctor said it might be a one off case and let me continue the course. The others were not as lucky and were given the pink slip.

View from Tiger Hill (ref: Das Studio - Darjeeling)

On 26th October we left for our conquest. After a long drive and 3 days of hiking through the Kanchenjunga National Park we finally reached the HMI Basecamp alternatively known as Chowrikhang situated at an altitude of 4380m. I must admit the final stretch to the basecamp was never ending. It’s as if you can see your final goal, but it keeps evading you. In the mountains it’s really tough to estimate distance from one point to another. We reached the basecamp at around 3pm with the advance batch students waiting to receive us. Many advance students were kind enough to help students from our batch with their rucksacks. For the next 2 weeks other than your batch mates and your instructors these are the only faces you will see in the mountains (And ofcourse the guys working in the mess and helping with logistics).

One of the 4 majestic bridges in Kanchenjunga National Park

Enroute to Bakhim

Enroute to Dzongri

Mighty Mountains

The next 10 days at the basecamp consisted of various activities, which included technical training in snow/ice, rock climbing techniques, rescue techniques, etc. We were taken onto the Rathong glacier to implement the techniques we learnt during the open classroom sessions. I think personally, my favorite part of the glacier training was ice climbing. It was a dream come true after whatever I read about it in various mountaineering books. We got a chance to climb walls of sheer blue ice. During the training week at basecamp many students left voluntarily, while some left due to injuries. The final tally was now 48.

Tarn (Mountain Lake)

Headed towards Rathong glacier

Glacier training

Jumaaring

Doodh Pokhri Lake (HMI Advance Basecamp)

Selfie at 16000 ft

Gazing into oblivion

Infinite Knot (Buddhist Symbol)

In the mountains you start missing a lot of small things you take for granted in your day to day life. But eventually nothing matters. It's the final goal you need to work towards. There were days when I would question myself, as to 'Why am I doing this?' But deep down, you know you have the will to go through it. In the end it's just a mental battle. On the 10th day at the basecamp our Course Director decided that BMC 298 would attempt the B.C.Roy peak, which is around 17800ft. It was great news for us since this would the first attempt after 4 years. The weather conditions had turned out in favor of the climb. On 11th we head out towards the summit. It was a tiring journey but fruitful. Out of the remaining 48 students, 31 summited the peak that day. 

Summit of B.C.Roy peak - appx. 18000 ft

One the 13th we departed from the basecamp at Chowrikhang and were on our way back to Darjeeling. Two days of hiking included a trip through Dzongri and then Bakhim and finally to Yuksom. There onwards it was a bus ride to the institute. (The return journey was the most challenging for me, since my knees started bothering me and I had to complete the journey in the stipulated time. In times like these painkillers are a blessing.) The final few days at the institute in Darjeeling consisted of outings, competitions and the graduation ceremony.

'By learning to discover and value our ordinariness, we nurture a friendliness toward ourselves and the world that is the essence of a healthy soul.' 

 - Thomas Moore

This journey that started out as an adventure for me, a mere adrenalin rush, soon turned into a wake up call about the reality of life, as I was enveloped by the endless mountains. The opportunity to venture into nature and be separated from social structures (as we know it) was exceptional for me. To be able to gaze into the vast nothingness, introspect and ponder about life in general was truly medicine for my soul. Living in the mountains helps one realize how ordinary and insignificant man is, against mighty nature. You realize the worth of every single breath of air, every small drop of water, of human relationships and respect to all life beings. Life suddenly is in perspective and gradually with time it strikes you realize that whatever our actions may be, whatever our choices may be the truth is that Nature may very well remain without man but Man simply cannot exist without Nature. This understanding is the first step to embracing change, of the mind, body and soul.