This is the story of a trekker who fell in love with the mountains! Two years ago, Vignesh Upendran was introduced to the world of trekking. He liked it, and never missed a chance to trek whenever he got the opportunity. This year he went to do a Rohtang pass trek, and the experience was overwhelming. He wanted more! He wanted to upgrade himself from trekking to mountaineering. Before joining the mountaineering course, he decided to climb Friendship peak (5289 meters) which is located in the Manali region. Thus, Friendship peak came into his bucket list.
It was a bit difficult for Vignesh to find time for practice
in between his hectic job timing. Yet, he managed to find time during the night
for running. He used to swim, in order
to increase the lungs capacity. Also, during 2-3 days a week, he went to the
gym and did the workout to increase the overall strength.
The Friendship peak climb was scheduled during the first week of June. So, with all the preparations, he reached the base point in Manali. He met the trekking group, and the leader briefly explained everything to them. The trek was scheduled for 8 days. But, since the weather forecast said that the weather in the following week could become bad, the team leader cut short the number of days to 3! That was the first surprise waiting for Vignesh and team.
There were 3 climbers, 1 expert leader, 2 local people and a
cook in the team. Vignesh was acclimatized till 13000 feet because of his prior
trek. From Manali basecamp, they reached the base camp and stayed there that
day.
Next day, they reached the Advanced Base Camp which was
12000 feet above. Vignesh could see some of the snow-covered peaks and the
summit of Friendship peak which was very far away. After the lunch, they were
taken to a small slope and taught some climbing techniques. By evening, they
went to sleep.
By around 12 am, they got the wakeup call. All of them
prepared themselves for the summit push. They received the instructions from
the team leader. They started the summit push by 1 AM. One of the local guides
was leading the team.
It was too cold when they started the summit push. They took their first break after 2 hours. Once they started again, due to the cold and continuous climb, the energy level of the people started dropping. The climb was also becoming difficult. Vignesh was not feeling any altitude sickness, but the cold was making the situation uncomfortable.
By around 5 am, they took another break. The sun was also
coming out by that time. They started the climb without wasting much time. This
time, they had to cross a wall of ice. The team had to use the mountaineering
techniques this time to cross. That particular wall of ice could be crossed in
less than 2 hours. But, Vignesh’s team were becoming slow due to the lack of acclimatization,
and it took more than 4 hours for them to cross it.
By around 9 am in the morning, the snow started to melt, and
still, the peak was far away. They decided to rope-up (a mountaineering
technique) to increase the pace. All of them were tied together using a rope,
and they moved together. The technique helped them only a bit.
They reached 17000 feet by around 11.30 am, and the ice was
melting in in big intensity. Crevasses started opening up, and the local guides
were becoming anxious. They were stepping deep inside the ice. Since the
situation was becoming worse, they decided to stop the summit.
The peak was visible from there, and Vignesh wanted to summit it. The local guide was ready to take Vignesh to the top, as he was the only person capable of reaching the top. But since the expedition leader didn’t approve that move, they all had to return back. Thus, Vignesh had to turn back before 200 feet from the top of Friendship peak.
The return was really difficult. They were literally standing
‘in’ the ice as it covered till their belly. The weather also changed
drastically in between. It was windy, and the snow was falling. It took more
than 5 hours for them to reach the base camp.
I was not happy initially. But, when I compared myself with who I was one year before, I felt great about myself. I was unstoppable on the summit day. Friendship peak climb made me mentally strong. I learned a lot of things. Climbing that height in just 3 days is indeed an achievement. I easily overcome my initial disappointment, and I came out with more positivity!
Later in August 15th, Vignesh summitted Stok Kangri
successfully.
Climbing Kang Yatse and attending marathon is the other
immediate things on his bucket list. Once he acquires enough experience, he is
planning to climb Mount Everest too.
“You should not take any mountain lightly. Believe, train
hard, be prepared and disciplined. Respect nature, and explore yourself!”
Post by: Vignesh Upendran
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