You think biking in the undulating terrain
of the Himalayas is a tedious task? Well, try adding to it the relentless chill
of the winters, a thick covering of snow and biking miles without a soul in
sight. Crazy? Impossible? Nah, not really. Rishab, Pankaj and Naveed just
completed this monumental task.
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| Rishab, Pankaj and Naveed on their Epic trip (Pic courtesy: http://www.untold.in/insearchofthestorm/) |
To get you a glimpse of their perseverance
and planning, we asked them a series of questions. If you’re daring enough to
take such a trip, these tips might come in quite handy.
What
kind of clothing is required for a trip to the Himalayas during winters?
To keep yourself warm you need atleast four
layers of clothing – thermal, t-shirt, insulated jacket and waterproof pants.
Everything you wear needs to be waterproof as there would be snow all around.
Staying dry is extremely important.
Highly insulated boots along with gaiters
are a must. The boots should have a good grip on ice. Numb toes are a nightmare
on such a trip.
 |
| Insulated boots are a must (Pic courtesy: http://www.untold.in/insearchofthestorm/) |
Face mask is also important to save your
face from the absolutely chilly air. Another thing you need to keep in mind is
to wear sunglasses to avoid snow-blindness, eye damage caused by snow
reflecting the UV light.
Key:
Make sure you’re covered properly. No part of your body should be left exposed.
How
much food did you carry with you?
For
every trip, you need to carry emergency ration with you. You have to be
prepared for the worst scenario. We stopped at villages and other places to
refill our food supply. This required a lot of forethought, since during
winters most of the villages are desolated and very few villagers stay
back. Maggi and tea were available in a
lot of tea stalls. We also packed a lot of dried fruits. When you have nothing
else to rely on, dried fruits are your saviour. They are perfect for such a
trip as they are high in calorie, easy to carry and also keep you warm.
Key: Plan ahead. Stop at
villages to refill. Carry dried fruits.
How did you find shelter and keep yourself warm at nights?
One
of our main intention while taking this trip was to interact with the locals
and learn from them. We picked up a lot of indigenous ways of keeping ourselves
warm. Locals were very welcoming and opened their homes to us. In Kalpa, we
stayed at a villager’s house for two nights.
\What
we observed was that the locals kept a fire burning throughout the day to keep
the house warm. They only put it out at night. Their houses were made of mud
and had really thick walls to provide proper insulation. They also had a diet
which included a lot of butter and ghee.
Key: Interact with locals.
Learn from them. They have a lot to teach.
How would the dynamics of the
trip change if you took the same trip during Summers?
Season
has a big role to play in any trip. Even though the altitude remains the same
during summers, the external conditions vary significantly. In summers, the
villages are more populated. It becomes easier to keep yourself warm. You don’t
even need to pitch a tent as a number of local guest houses and summer camps
are there along the way.
 |
| Most villagers move to warmer areas during winters (Pic courtesy: http://www.untold.in/insearchofthestorm/) |
In
winters, the villages are desolated. Most of the villagers go to warmer areas
and very few villagers stay back. The ones who stay back have a very limited
supply of food and other essential commodities. The journey becomes a lot more
difficult and good planning becomes mandatory.
Key: External factors come
into play. Winters are more challenging.
If you had to take only 5
things with you on such a trip, what would those things be?
1.
Good Insulated Footwear
Footwear is a lot more
important than we think. Since you have to cycle a lot, you cannot risk taking
inappropriate footwear with you. Numbness in the toes can be very uncomfortable.
2.
Camera
Every trip is special in its
own way and you want to capture everything you see and everything you do.
Explaining that experience is words is not possible. In fact, even the camera
cannot do justice to what you experience. However, the photographs and videos
do give you a glimpse of it and you can treasure it for life.
3.
Device Chargers
Luckily, in Himachal the
connectivity is much better than places like Ladakh. It is important to have
your devices charged. You need backup of all the photographs and videos.
4.
Enough Food
It’s strange, but during such
trips you crave for your favourite food and you feel like going back home and
eating it. So, make sure you eat all your favourite things before the trip and
probably take some with you.
5.
Good Company
I feel that it’s all
meaningless if you don’t have anyone to share this experience with. You can’t
go ahead on your own. There were times when we didn’t see a single person for hours.
We also saw bear tracks along the way. Completing such a journey alone becomes
a near-impossible task. It gets lonely and having someone with you helps. You
watch out for each other.
Key: There is no
substitute to having a person to share the experience with.
How did you manage to charge
all your electronic devices and gadgets?
We
used to find government guest houses along the way. They are empty during
winters and allowed you to use their ports. However, electricity is not
available 24*7. So, you have to plan ahead and make sure you take back up of
all your pictures, video recordings and other files.
Some
locals also allow us to charge our devices. Some of them had generators
installed in their homes. In such villages, electricity is available for only
1-2 hours a day. So, you need to know how much your device will charge in that
much time.
Key: Sometimes, less is more.
What advice would you give to
other cyclists who are daring enough to take such a challenging trip?
We
were told that it is not possible in winters. We challenged ourselves and said
maybe nobody has tried it before. Maybe it’s doable. So, we planned it all out.
Prepared for it, mentally and physically. We realised that it is doable. It’s
absolutely doable. A lot of planning and precision is needed.
The
key to such trips is having the right equipment. Faulty equipment will
definitely put you in trouble in one way or the other.
Key: Determination will take
you a long way. Right equipment will get you out of the worst situation.
Is there anything special you
want to share about this journey?
We’ve
cycled from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and we are no strangers to the Himalayas. During
this trip, we realised that the exact same place can offer you multiple
experiences. We’d visited the same places 6 months back, but this time when we
saw them, we couldn’t recognize them at all! The lush green apple orchids were
dry and covered in snow. The rivers we had seen were now in a semi-frozen state.
It was a completely fresh experience.
Key: The same place can offer
you multiple experiences.
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