Riders on a Storm

jaysmokesleaves · 20th October 2009, 23:51

2*c...!!!
The temp gauge on my Safari goes way below -5 on a warm summer morning and 2* is almost everyday!! Every morning my Safari dreams of the cold hills up north and the -ve temp indicates displeasure with my inability to drive up there ever so often!

Mr. Dude..!! Tanveer, you guys up North are seriously lucky & you are even luckier to have the inclination & an elephant to take you on all these wonderful trips into those blissful mountains in your backyard!!!

hvkumar · 20th October 2009, 23:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaysmokesleaves

Tanveer, you guys up North are seriously lucky & you are even luckier to have the inclination & an elephant to take you on all these wonderful trips into those blissful mountains in your backyard!!!

Now I am sure you will appreciate the value of dawn-to-dusk Bombay-Delhi drives that I do! Get to the battlegrounds of the Himalayas faster!!!

smooth · 21st October 2009, 09:30

Hi Tanveer,
Terrific man.

All the pics are great. The pics are giving a impression that a elephant is roaming alone in the city after a hurricane.

waiting to see more.

Sam Kapasi · 21st October 2009, 10:03

And that is how a 4X4 should be used. More power to you TSK. I enjoyed the few photos and look forward to more.

sudev · 21st October 2009, 10:11

F5 F5 F5 - nothing!! nada??

Rudra Sen · 21st October 2009, 10:29

Guys, isn't he taking too much time to process his shots?

tsk1979 · 21st October 2009, 10:34

Saturday the 17th, a very good morning. Bright sunny and cheerful.
Looking northwards, I could see Rohtang had little snow at the Top. Which meant good thing.

Even to the east the mountain looming over Solang Glacier had little snow

So around 8:20am, we started from our Guest house, had nice breakfast, and were on our way to the top.
Thankfully, there was hardly any tourist traffic. According to locals, whenever there is news of snowfall, there is deluge of tourists, but since Rohtang top had little snow, tourist traffic was thin.

Views on the way

That mountain looms over Rohtang top. I guess the tourists in their "snow suits" will be taking a pony up the trails to frolic in that

The road was as bad as usual, maybe a little worse, but less than a km from the pass, I saw a sight which made me pinch myself.
The sight continued all the way till top

Make a guess of what I am talking about! I won't say it
BTW, this is Rohtang top. This was the third time this year we were at the top, but the first time we clicked the Pass

The ride

The thing I was talking about! Smooth black tarmac. 1km before and 1km after the pass. In a rare display of Generosity BRO decided to tarmac 2kms of the pass. Normally at all passes good roads go upto 5kms before the pass, and then restart 5kms after the pass. Here they wanted it to be the other way round.

The views were simply awesome, and some cloud was also building up. The feeble western disturbance maybe?

Tourists going towards the little snow

The smooth black tarmac

Down below was the Chandra river, and its source was our target for the day

Finally around 10:45am, we were at Gramphoo. Time for a tea, and time to take the national highway towards Kunzum

TO BE CONT...........

genesis · 21st October 2009, 10:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

Actually it is possible. Take the first flight out of Bangalore. Drive out straight from the airport. Take an hour and half to cross Delhi border (plus minus depending on that sabji mandi crowd condition). By late afternoon early evening you can see snow covered peaks through your windscreen.

Only if you have the inclination..

You forgot the part about driving the car...Does it go on as luggage?

ps: the sabji mandi comment is absolutely the best way to describe the traffic conditions!

tsk1979 · 21st October 2009, 10:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by sudev

F5 F5 F5 - nothing!! nada??

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

Guys, isn't he taking too much time to process his shots?

Sorry for the delay

Travelogue will proceed smoothly now all day 2 shots have been processed, and day 3 shots(our last day there, and day of the tow rope) are being processed

lohithrao · 21st October 2009, 10:38

tsk, you seem to be in love with the mountains and ofcourse you have all the reason to be hehe

And most importantly you are using the beast(Safari) in the way it has to be

Lovely pics as usual!

OT: I see a Safari(4X4) parked, i see it hardly been used, what a waste!

Rudra Sen · 21st October 2009, 10:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by genesis

You forgot the part about driving the car...Does it go on as luggage?

Forgot nothing. Car is there for your information. Tanveer can take leave whenever he wants.

rkbharat · 21st October 2009, 10:47

beautiful pics, and what amazing roads at R top, last time such roads at top in 2005.

tsk1979 · 21st October 2009, 11:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by lohithrao

OT: I see a Safari(4X4) parked, i see it hardly been used, what a waste!

Umm which 4x4 are you talking about?

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkbharat

beautiful pics, and what amazing roads at R top, last time such roads at top in 2005.

Do not worry, the black tarmac was developing cracks already. I assure you, it won't be there next year. Just wait for one good snowfall. BRO will not curtail your dose of bad roads so easily!

rkbharat · 21st October 2009, 11:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Do not worry, the black tarmac was developing cracks already. I assure you, it won't be there next year. Just wait for one good snowfall. BRO will not curtail your dose of bad roads so easily!

I am surprised why they build such good roads at the time when nobody will even think about visiting there (obviously except wanderers like you

and Army ).

Heavy snow for a week will destroy those roads completely if not build properly.

tsk1979 · 21st October 2009, 11:20

National Highway. Yes, this is a national highway. It goes to Spiti. Infact over Kunzum it connects the Lahaul and Spiti valleys.

The road goes down to the river

On the horizon dark clouds room. Thats Kunzum, probably, and its white

Its cold, very cold. But its not snowing

The roads can give Padum a run for its money, and the scenery is bleaker than Ladakh

Even by the riverside there is no green

Meanwhile the cloud cover is increasing, it does not seem feeble from any angles

The steed

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Soon we reach the bridge at Batal which says Chandertall 15. This means the turnoff is around 2kms away.
Batal Dhaba is closed, and only 3 ferocious dogs sit there barking at us.
Traffic is almost nill, we have crossed one truck and one taxi on the entire stretch.

After the Batal bridge the climb starts, and even after coming 2kms we do not see any Chandertall boards
Couple of kms hence we are sure we missed it. Thankfully a truck is coming down. The truck driver tells us that the fork 1km down is chandertaal board. Probably PWD removed it.
Since kunzum is 8kms away, we decide first to head upto Kunzum, see the pass, and then come to see the lake.

The climb is narrow and tough, and road is broken, thankfully not as bad as Rohtang pass.
But then it starts snowing. Heavily. Very heavily.
Landscape turns white, fully white

And around 2pm we are at the signboard of Kunzum Pass.
Its very very different from Rohtang.
See for yourself

TO Be COnt.........

20th October 2009, 23:51	#31
jaysmokesleaves Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Mostly Mumbai Posts: 1,702 Thanked: 1,452 Times	2c...!!! The temp gauge on my Safari goes way below -5 on a warm summer morning and 2 is almost everyday!! Every morning my Safari dreams of the cold hills up north and the -ve temp indicates displeasure with my inability to drive up there ever so often! Mr. Dude..!! Tanveer, you guys up North are seriously lucky & you are even luckier to have the inclination & an elephant to take you on all these wonderful trips into those blissful mountains in your backyard!!!
	() Thanks

21st October 2009, 09:30	#33
smooth BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: New Delhi Posts: 142 Thanked: 16 Times	Hi Tanveer, Terrific man. All the pics are great. The pics are giving a impression that a elephant is roaming alone in the city after a hurricane. waiting to see more.
	() Thanks

21st October 2009, 10:03	#34
Sam Kapasi Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Mumbai (but wat Posts: 6,997 Thanked: 2,378 Times View My Garage	And that is how a 4X4 should be used. More power to you TSK. I enjoyed the few photos and look forward to more.
	() Thanks

21st October 2009, 10:11	#35
sudev Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 3,838 Thanked: 3,179 Times	F5 F5 F5 - nothing!! nada??
	() Thanks

21st October 2009, 10:29	#36
Rudra Sen Team-BHP Support Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 11,590 Thanked: 6,532 Times View My Garage	Guys, isn't he taking too much time to process his shots?
	() Thanks

21st October 2009, 10:34	#37
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,717 Thanked: 22,825 Times View My Garage	A tale of 2 passes Saturday the 17th, a very good morning. Bright sunny and cheerful. Looking northwards, I could see Rohtang had little snow at the Top. Which meant good thing. Even to the east the mountain looming over Solang Glacier had little snow So around 8:20am, we started from our Guest house, had nice breakfast, and were on our way to the top. Thankfully, there was hardly any tourist traffic. According to locals, whenever there is news of snowfall, there is deluge of tourists, but since Rohtang top had little snow, tourist traffic was thin. Views on the way That mountain looms over Rohtang top. I guess the tourists in their "snow suits" will be taking a pony up the trails to frolic in that The road was as bad as usual, maybe a little worse, but less than a km from the pass, I saw a sight which made me pinch myself. The sight continued all the way till top Make a guess of what I am talking about! I won't say it BTW, this is Rohtang top. This was the third time this year we were at the top, but the first time we clicked the Pass The ride The thing I was talking about! Smooth black tarmac. 1km before and 1km after the pass. In a rare display of Generosity BRO decided to tarmac 2kms of the pass. Normally at all passes good roads go upto 5kms before the pass, and then restart 5kms after the pass. Here they wanted it to be the other way round. The views were simply awesome, and some cloud was also building up. The feeble western disturbance maybe? Tourists going towards the little snow The smooth black tarmac Down below was the Chandra river, and its source was our target for the day Finally around 10:45am, we were at Gramphoo. Time for a tea, and time to take the national highway towards Kunzum TO BE CONT...........
	() Thanks

21st October 2009, 10:38	#40
lohithrao Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Kudla/Mangaluru Posts: 3,204 Thanked: 225 Times View My Garage	tsk, you seem to be in love with the mountains and ofcourse you have all the reason to be hehe And most importantly you are using the beast(Safari) in the way it has to be Lovely pics as usual! OT: I see a Safari(4X4) parked, i see it hardly been used, what a waste!
	() Thanks

21st October 2009, 10:47	#42
rkbharat Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Gurgaon/New Delhi Posts: 1,601 Thanked: 724 Times View My Garage	beautiful pics, and what amazing roads at R top, last time such roads at top in 2005.
	() Thanks

21st October 2009, 11:20	#45
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,717 Thanked: 22,825 Times View My Garage	A tale of 2 passes - II National Highway. Yes, this is a national highway. It goes to Spiti. Infact over Kunzum it connects the Lahaul and Spiti valleys. The road goes down to the river On the horizon dark clouds room. Thats Kunzum, probably, and its white Its cold, very cold. But its not snowing The roads can give Padum a run for its money, and the scenery is bleaker than Ladakh Even by the riverside there is no green Meanwhile the cloud cover is increasing, it does not seem feeble from any angles The steed Soon we reach the bridge at Batal which says Chandertall 15. This means the turnoff is around 2kms away. Batal Dhaba is closed, and only 3 ferocious dogs sit there barking at us. Traffic is almost nill, we have crossed one truck and one taxi on the entire stretch. After the Batal bridge the climb starts, and even after coming 2kms we do not see any Chandertall boards Couple of kms hence we are sure we missed it. Thankfully a truck is coming down. The truck driver tells us that the fork 1km down is chandertaal board. Probably PWD removed it. Since kunzum is 8kms away, we decide first to head upto Kunzum, see the pass, and then come to see the lake. The climb is narrow and tough, and road is broken, thankfully not as bad as Rohtang pass. But then it starts snowing. Heavily. Very heavily. Landscape turns white, fully white And around 2pm we are at the signboard of Kunzum Pass. Its very very different from Rohtang. See for yourself TO Be COnt.........
	() Thanks