[ikoneer]

Quite a gripping narration and a great venture you have had.

OT: Is the PWD open for public accomodation, i thought it was only meant for officials use. Where and how do we book them.

[tsk1979]

When we crossed this pass yesterday, it was literally bone dry,
But today, its all white


Rohtang had got a fair share of now




There was zilch tourist here, apparently due to barrier at Marhi


That meant we had all the Dhabas to ourselves.
We ordered omellettes and tea, and three dogs came and started playing with me
It was good fun playing with them in the snow. I think they were expecting food






A high key Dog Potrait


The snow clearing machinery. There was nobody in sight. Looks like BRO guys were waiting for the disturbance to clear off


Dogs






Me in snow
See the SFO jacket works!


After the omellettes it was bill time, and for tea and eggs it came to 80rs!!!
I asked them not to give us tourist rates, and pat came the reply,. tourist rate is 100rs!

Well beggars cannot be choosers, so it was time to accept the expensive snack

After that we headed down, and unlike the north face, the south face was bone dry!


Even the road had less snow


A bus was going up, doing circus. The drive would back up, rev hard climb half way, slide down.
After 5-6 tries, the wide tires melted the ICE and the bus could go. So this is how 2WD heavy vehicle climb up snowy passes, intersting!




We spent some time here, and then headed down towards the bone Dry Marhi and south face of Rohtang

TO BE CONT........

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by sj_koova

Great stuff Tanveer.
You and your white elephant dare to go to white places than anyone else do.
I am sure it would have been a great experience pulling out the Sudo in those conditions

Originally Posted by Rahulk76

Tanveer,

5 Stars...

Sweet...Your travelogues are getting yummier day by day.. keep it up..

Rahul

thanks guys

Originally Posted by ikoneer

Quite a gripping narration and a great venture you have had.

OT: Is the PWD open for public accomodation, i thought it was only meant for officials use. Where and how do we book them.

You have to book them in advance by sending a letter to PWD office and praying. Normally in off season, they give booking, but if its season time, mostly their own officials and families are staying, and booking is very difficult

[pulsar56]

Loving the snow pictures so much that I am also interested in moving to Mohali and explore the Himalayas!

Have one question: What does one have to do if the diesel in the car freezes at such high altitudes?

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by pulsar56

Loving the snow pictures so much that I am also interested in moving to Mohali and explore the Himalayas!

Have one question: What does one have to do if the diesel in the car freezes at such high altitudes?

Well Pulsar, to be frank I think its best to use anti freeze diesel in such climes(if you get it), otherwise do what the truckers do. Light a fire under the diesel tank
Best case, you go on, worst case "Boooooooooooom"

[rajeevn]

Originally Posted by KSM-Vtec

Ok i have decided...the next time i speak to my boss i am gonna ask him if there is an opening in Delhi or still better in Chandigarh.

tsk i am gonna kill u

I am rolling in laughter on reading this—but sure, I can understand the sentiment...

[Technocrat]

Damn how did I miss this one.

Looks likea great trip & the pics are as always awesome

And yes I am jealous too

[adc]

Fantastic, now snow is all we want now after seeing this - surely will try someplace out in December. You must try out Chansal pass soon before it closes on mid November and make us more wanting for snow and people wanting to shift en masse.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

A bus was going up, doing circus. The drive would back up, rev hard climb half way, slide down.
After 5-6 tries, the wide tires melted the ICE and the bus could go. So this is how 2WD heavy vehicle climb up snowy passes, intersting!
Attachment 213956

This is very, very interesting, but the wide double tyres helps it out. May be following this bus track would be a good idea if there was a 2wd and sliding.



Now dont all laugh at me, i have been practicing this on this Sunday so that on if an actual day comes i do this thing in minimum time. It took me around 25 mts to tie up the nylon rope but the timing will decrease - a very vey poor man's ice chain

[tsk1979]

LOL ADC, why struggle with a rope, buy a "dog chain" and tie it around, simple!

[tsk1979]

As we start out descent, snow decreases, and we will be out of snow line soon

Dry down below


Sun is out now, and snow is melting


Tourist trash feeds these jungle crows


As we head downwards, some vehicles(not locals but tourists) start coming up. Looks like BRO has relented due to shining sun.
I wonder how will they manage where the experienced local bus drivers had so much trouble. Moreover with the sun, snow will become even more slippery.

BTW, every tourist vehicle literally stops on seeing us, and every tourist has their neck out.
And then I understand. They have come from dryness, and its still pretty dry, and our white elephant is loaded with snow. There is snow on the lights, bumper, on the roof, on the wipers, at the rear

Imagine if you on a road like this, and a snow covered vehicle comes towards you descending, no wonder they were so excited.


Sun was fully out, and it looked like South face had been spared the disturbance


Thankfully, it being off season, tourist traffic was not very thick, but some idiots nevertheless stopped wherever they found little snow, parking their vehicles right in the middle of the road. Too bad I did not have the bullbar, it would have been so nice to accidently skid a little

A couple of asses


Marhi down below. Normally its like your regular big city traffic jam, but thank God for small blessings.. the off season is really nice


since it was just 3, we decided to head to Beas.
The spot we went to was littered and smelly, so did not spend much time there, and decided to head back to Kothi, and lounge on the mountains. It would be trekking time

BTW the river


At Kothi, we rested a bit, and then decided to do a trek up the mountain behind it.
I did not take my cam as it was very steep

The view from up there was even more awesome. the one hour climb was well worth it. We could see Solang, Manali, and Palchan clearly.

Spent a few minutes up there, and then came to the room

Our 4 day long weekend had almost come to an end.. Tomorrow we go back to the daily grind!

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

[Rahulk76]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

LOL ADC, why struggle with a rope, buy a "dog chain" and tie it around, simple!

Do they rent out makeshift snow chains up there for our 4x2 mortals to see the view's you have seen ?

[KSM-Vtec]

Well thats not funny, we have business in Delhi and its very much possible that he will agree and i seriously dont mind shifting for a year or 2

Originally Posted by rajeevn

I am rolling in laughter on reading this—but sure, I can understand the sentiment...

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by Rahulk76

Do they rent out makeshift snow chains up there for our 4x2 mortals to see the view's you have seen ?

I don't think so, as none of the local sumos have chains.
But Raid guys sell it for 4500/pair

IF you have contacts abroad, you can order good ones for 20-25$/pair. But they are heavy.
It may be better to get snow cables instead of chains.
they are easier on the tires, though not as effective as chains.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by bantejas

I am going to speak to my wife and shift to North India.

I'm going to tell my wife to stop grumbling about the heat

Originally Posted by pulsar56

Have one question: What does one have to do if the diesel in the car freezes at such high altitudes?

My question: what about the screen wash? In UK we use additive that not only dissolves greasy stuff on the glass, but also acts as anti-freeze in the winter. It will stop the reservoir and pipes freezing, but it can lead to an even worse mess if sprayed on ice already on the glass when the air temperature is <0.

Utterly entrancing travelogue. I winder how many years I'll be in India before I get to see the Himalayas...

[rajeevn]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

smooth, I am a VLSI guy, so for me NCR is the northmost I can get. But as for software guys, you will be surpised that chd offers quite a bit now. I passed through those regions, and construction is already on full swing, much faster than Rohtang tunnel

As for my Haathi, there are problems galore. All I can say is she moves. Up at the pass, I lowered the windows, and they would not go up without pulling. This is after that silly retro they did

Tanveer: I work in the Tata Group. After all the "service" you have done for all of us BHPians and for the TATAs by just taking the "elephant" to all those places, the least I can do is to offer to talk to relevant persons at Tata Motors and have them take a dekko at her and fix whatever needs fixing.

And by offering this, all I am being is selfish—we call want you and the white elephant to keep doing what you do best; and travel to places that most won't even dare to dream of going to. We get to sit in our easy chairs and "travel with you". Thanks, and do let me know how best Tata Motors can help you.

Cheers...