[KartikeyaL]

Update from 25.09.18 by Syd Stelvio

The weather eased this morning so the ERA team swiftly put plan A into action. Under a blue sky with fluffy white clouds, the evacuation of the Manu Allaya hotel began.

Those crews who had been billeted in this, the original rally HQ hotel on the Old Leh Manali Road, were ferried down the mountain in a fleet of open backed pickup trucks to the impasse, a yawning chasm some 10 metres across, where the road used to be. Luckily, a narrow strip of tarmac remained, strewn with rocks and rubble, along one side of the void, and it was just wide enough to carefully walk along. With John Spiller on the lookout for any more falling boulders, and Rikki Proffit acting as a baggage carrier, everyone made it safely across.

On the way over, there was barely any time to take in the magnificent views, but those who did manage to steal a glance upwards saw the most impressive snow-capped peaks on all sides of the valley. This is what we’ve been missing for the last three days and sadly what we’ll probably miss tomorrow now that very same snow has blocked the Rohtang Pass to the north.

Another bumpy ride in another open backed pickup took the crews to the only bridge left standing in Manali and thence across into the town centre where we’d left the cars on that very wet night.

In the, by now, steaming school carpark, the sweeps were hard at it already. They’d found themselves on the right side of the landslide when we first arrived so they had a head start on matters and they were very busy.

Ludovic Bois and Julia Coleman’s Volvo was only firing on three cylinders on the way into Manali and today was the first opportunity they’d had to look under the bonnet. Fuel problems, electrical gremlins and even a blown head gasket all fell under suspicion.

Graham and Marina Goodwin’s Bentley - Horace to its friends - badly needed his electrical equipment drying out. Those wet nights parked in the open had taken their toll and Graham had every wire and plug out of the engine and into the sun.

Similarly Jonathon and Freddie Turner were looking at rectifying some minor electrical issues, as were Philip Lunnon and Michael Draper - again with a Bentley.

Jamie Turner was deep into Roland Singer and Hans Maus’s Saab which had suffered what they thought was a recurring fuel pump problem on the way into Manali but, on closer examination, the trouble was more likely to have been caused by some dirt which had worked its way into the carburettor.

Away from the school yard, Keith and Norah Ashworth had used their rest day wisely and had managed to get their cracked Mercedes manifold welded. They’ll have a much quieter ride from now on.

David and Jo Roberts unfortunately are now back in Delhi. They lost their transmission before they got to Manjeev’s Ridge and have had to truck their Triumph to the capital for either repairs or repatriation. With the hold ups we’ve had and the likelihood of a re-route there’s a chance that they’ll be able to affect a repair and catch up.

We’re pretty much now gruppo compatto, settled in the White Mist Hotel, south of Manali, on the east bank of the Beas River which, thankfully has calmed down a lot. It has however left quite a trail of destruction and, John and Gill Cotton, along with Guy Woodcock and Sarah Ormerod who had been sent out to look at route options had to return to base, because another road had vanished.

The 48 hour crew, comprising Dick Appleton and Chris Mills, fared a little better though. On reaching another failed bridge, they strapped their packs to their backs, clambered across a suspension bridge and hiked to a village to rendezvous with another hire car so as to carry on down to Shimla.

Some Gerard Brown images, which shows the damage done by the rains and how the crews have kept themselves busy.

[KartikeyaL]

Syd Stelvio's report from the Himalayan Challenge. (26.09.2018)



Some Gerard Brown images

[KartikeyaL]

Report from Syd Stelvio, 27.09.2018

Shimla - Rest Day

The old saying goes that ‘there’s no rest for the wicked’, so today the competitors enjoyed a well earned day off. We're in an excellent hotel, in a lovely town with all the cafes, shops and amenities that anyone could wish for.

Shimla's famous Mall and Ridge shopping areas were a popular destination which also offered superb views over the valley and surrounding hills with views of the snowy Himalayan peaks on the horizon. The sun was out, the sky was blue and we were all drying out nicely.

John Spiller and Guy Woodcock on the other hand were hard at work. They were driving through the hill country, scouting out an extra loop to keep us entertained tomorrow. Their report is eagerly anticipated.

Dick Appleton and Chris Mills were also busy and after taking on one last cheese omelette, they resumed their 48 hour advanced car duties and made for Mussoorie. Their report is also eagerly anticipated.

Shimla is a resort town, make no mistake about that, and as today was World Tourism Day there was definitely a holiday feel about town. The historic railway station was doing good business taking tourists on day trips further into the hills and bringing yet more of them up from Chandigarh and “the burning plains below”.

The sweeps were given the day off as well. They’ve had a tough few days, so a bit of high altitude downtime was prescribed by the rally medics. So the rally crews were left to their own devices down in the carpark but, as far as we could see, there was no major work going on.

Lars Rolner had a peculiar problem to deal with however. Whilst attending to his Bentley he took his eye off the tool bag for five minutes and when he returned it had gone. Swiped by one of the hundreds of monkeys which live in and around the hotel grounds. Despite Lars’ most enthusiastic attempts to coax it down, the offending primate sat in a tree overlooking the carpark and went through the contents looking for something to eat. As the bag only contained a battery charger though, the monkey lost interest and threw it to the ground - some 20 metres below.

Gerard Brown images

[KartikeyaL]

Here is the reports from the 8th day



Gerard Brown images from Shimla

[KartikeyaL]

DAY 9
September 29, 2018

Shimla - Rest Day Two
Calm before the storm

From tomorrow, we’ve got seven full days of rallying ahead of us before the next rest day, so the crews today were making the most of the facilities of Wildflower Hall and making their last minute preparations to themselves and their cars.

Whatever the laundry situation was there was also a great deal of car washing going on. The fleet that rolls out tomorrow morning, will bear little resemblance to that which rolled in through the hailstones and mud on Friday night.

As far as repairs and servicing are concerned there were some who got away lightly and some who had to spend the whole day looking at the problem and working out a way round it.

Nigel Lee and Richard Turner were one of the lucky ones and were found under their Ford 62 which merely needed a radiator bolt replacing.

Similarly, Lars Rolner was busy around his Bentley simply making sure that everything was working fully for the days ahead. He thought his clutch had suffered a little on the final short climb to the hotel, but now he doesn’t think it’ll be a problem moving into the next week.

Ludovic Bois and Julia Coleman’s Volvo has been running a lot better since the day to Manali where the plugs and points were all cleaned. Ludovic now thinks maybe the car just doesn’t like the altitude. A quick wash and brush up was all that was needed for this well travelled Amazon

Roland Singer and Hans Malus had a slightly bigger job on their hands though, their Saab has been playing up since the first day to Chandigarh. Initially it was thought to have been by caused by a problem with the carburettor but today the crew figured out that it was the old and rusty fuel tank which was causing the blockages. A quick re rig of the fuel system should mean that they have none of these issues going forward.

David and Jo Roberts are, we hear, racing back to the rally after replacing their differential in Delhi. They hope to arrive later this evening and be fresh enough to take the restart tomorrow morning.

Away from the carpark, Phil Garratt and Kieran Brown enjoyed a day on the train into the hills along with several other crews and Phil described the trip as being “a very Indian experience which initially seemed like chaos but which gradually transformed into a well organised and enjoyable trip”.

The clock starts again at 7.00am tomorrow and we’ve got a long pull to Mussoorie to look forward to.

Syd Stelvio

The cars are now on the way to Mussoorie, here are some Gerard Brown images

[Nikhilb2008]

Oh man, it requires a special kind of insanity to do this kind of a rally in a terrain like the Himalayas!

Hats off to these mavericks!

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Oh man, it requires a special kind of insanity to do this kind of a rally in a terrain like the Himalayas!

Hats off to these mavericks!

Agreed, we thought we were having a tough time in the Kodiaq's during our trip but these guys take the cake - no power steering or brakes in some cases, older cars and components! Would have be great fun just participating!

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by ajmat

Agreed, we thought we were having a tough time in the Kodiaq's during our trip but these guys take the cake

I believe they have skipped Manali- Kaza-Shimla segment and have gone direct to Shimla from Manali due to prevailing conditions.

[KartikeyaL]

Day 10
September 30, 2018

Shimla to Mussoorie report by Syd Stelvio

Playing it by the book

An early start was scheduled for today as, whichever route we took, it was going to be a long day. The Himalayas are big, and they’re very twisty. In the 300km we cover today there was barely one metre of straight road and from our breakfast at 2,400m we fell to lunch at 300m before rolling into bed at about 1,700m.

After the events of the last week, we were all champing at the bit to get back on the road and despite the fact we were starting Day 10 and hoped do it all as per the route book, the torrential rain of Friday evening however had kicked up a whole load of new problems, including a rockfall so large that it would take twelve more days to clear it.

The 48 hour car therefore had been busy once again and as a result, John Spiller and Guy Woodcock had once again missed their rest day planning an alternative to get us into Mussoorie and to keep us all entertained along the way.

During the 6.00am breakfast then, a comprehensive set of amendments was subsequently handed out to all of the crews and at 7.01am Bill Cleyndert and Jacqui Norman’s Bentley led the pack down the hotel drive and turned onto the ridge towards the villages of Chail and Kandaghat, which we first visited on the hastily devised Shimla loop two days earlier.

Our first visit was a wet one though, with little chance to enjoy the views, but this morning, with the sun peeping over the heavily wooded hills, we were properly able to enjoy the scenery along with the ‘three dimensional’ traffic free road.

As we made our way down the valley the temperature climbed to 31°c and, in places, the traffic grew more dense where the debris of dozens of landslides was being cleared and the roads around them were being repaired but overall the morning’s drive was a thoroughly enjoyable one surrounded by some incredible local culture.

The day was run with a series of Passage Controls and at about lunchtime the crews pulled into a rest area and restaurant on the banks of the Yamuna River, at Paonta Sahib. Here, Guy Woodcock and Sarah Ormerod, along with our fantastic fixer, Lokesh Bagga, had laid on an al fresco lunch for the rally comprising a hearty mushroom soup along with plates of vegetable sandwiches.

Following this busy lunch halt, the next section proved to be the most dramatic of the day. The long climb to Mussooorie, made famous by the Air India, Himalayan Rallies of the 1980’s crisis crossed the very same Yamuna River that we’d also seen in Delhi and would see again at the finish in Agra. In places the road was less than a cars width, yet this narrow strip had to be shared simultaneously with cattle, buses and taxis as they made their way up, or down, the side of the mountain.

Despite the altitude and the difficult geography, the villages such as Kandhikal and Kempty through which we passed, appeared as thriving communities only too happy to wave and cheer the rally on their way up to the inevitable next hairpin and the mists beyond.

After such an epic day, the sight of the Jaypee Resort carpark was a welcome one for all of the crews but particularly for the likes of Jonathan and Freddie Turner, who were delighted that they’d enjoyed their first trouble free run of the rally so far, thanks to a distributor donated by Stephen Partridge.

David and Joe Roberts are finally back with us now, along with their Trans America winning Triumph, which was lined up neatly in the car park. Indian Customs formalities delayed them slightly longer than they would have liked but they’ve never not finished a rally and this comeback goes a long way to help them keep a clean sheet.

The evening's dinner at the Jaypee was by common consent one of the best we’ve enjoyed so far on the Himalayan Challenge and it was all vegetarian. Other than some grilled fish of course.

Tomorrow we’re told that there won’t be any route amendments.

Day 11

October 1, 2018

Mussoorie to Rishikesh report by Syd Stelvio

Flowing into the Ganges

Today we enjoyed the first day without significant amendments since we left McLeod Ganj on day three of the rally and the routemeister that is Anthony Preston, back in the maps and planning room at base, enjoyed his first day off in a over a week. We’re all hoping that this state of affairs continues.

After an excellent breakfast we then enjoyed a great route out of town with next to no traffic. Along these deserted byways we quickly climbed to 2,250m under a brilliant blue sky and a burning sun. Colourful villages and impressive views over terraced rice fields made for a picture perfect scene.

The first Time Control was in the busy town of Chamba, in the quirkily modern Friends Club which served cups of steaming chai or coffee. And, as we sat and sipped them, a pair of Indian army trucks lumbered on past hauling a couple of big howitzers behind them. Perhaps these were to signal the start of the next section?

Soon after this refreshment break the first Regularity began, rolling along a 22km section of a stunning mountain road with views over the huge ‘lake’ where the Bhilangna River widens. There were plenty of changes of gradient, some loose surfaces and a couple of speed changes for the crews to contend with. But the fun continued even once Gill Cotton had stopped the clocks because this road, looped around the lake thereby giving us some more excellent views and more superb driving.

A second Passage Control in the grandly titled “Hotel” Shyam Sawera made sure that everyone who’d gone into the loop was accounted for before they were sent on their way to the lunch Time Control in the Evergreen Restaurant in Pursol Gaon high above the water.

Once they’d eaten their fill and taken in some more of the views and extensive local ambiance, the home run began. Unfortunately though, the road from Chamba to the night halt in Rishikesh was under extensive repair for most of its 60km, which did make for slow going at times. There were even places along the route when Eric Claeys who, with Rene Declercq won last year's Baltic Challenge, and also a veteran of the ERA's epic 2012 London to Cape Town event with Ben Deleye, was convinced he was back on North Kenya's notorious Marsabit Road.

By the time the crews reached the night halt in the Aloha Hotel on the banks of the famous River Ganges, they were more than ready for a rest and perhaps a jot of meditation, but for many there was work to be done in the carpark to ensure their cars were ready to face another day.

Roland Singer and Hans Malus had to retire their Saab however. After all their travails with the fuel system, it was the clutch that finally let them down today and their iconic Swedish car, is now on a truck, heading for Delhi and onwards to Austria. The crew are in good spirits though and are looking at their options as far as continuing with the event.

Today’s long and technical Regularity shook up the leaderboard somewhat and shot Manuel Dubs and Robi Huber back up into first place followed by Artur Lukasiewicz and Adam Tuszynski in second, with Mike Velasco and Peter St George tying with Rene Declercq and Eric Claeys in third. See the results page for the details.

Adrian Hodgson and Matt Bryson had a relatively bad day. Their day's penalty of a mere 24 seconds dropped them from first to seventh place overall.

It’s been another epic day in the Himalayas and there were some tired crews this evening but tomorrow’s another day and we’ve even been allowed a late 10am start.

Gerard Brown images for day 11

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

I believe they have skipped Manali- Kaza-Shimla segment and have gone direct to Shimla from Manali due to prevailing conditions.

Yup, looks like it. I was waiting for this leg specifically. Anyhow, good to see them being put through the paces.

[KartikeyaL]

Day 12 Report by Syd Stelvio


Gerard Brown images

[KartikeyaL]

Day 13
October 3, 2018

Rudraprayag to Nainital report by Syd Stelvio

De ja vu

The second Peking to Paris visited Nainital in 1997 so, for Jonathan Turner at least, today’s drive was a trip down memory lane, to a time when his son and navigator Freddie, was but a twinkle in his eye.

Back in 1997 Jonathan's Bentley was with him then, as it is now, which means that he’s managed to achieve one of his three ambitions for this event. The next ambition is to get the car and crew to Kathmandu and the final one is to reach the rally finish in Agra.

The Indian road building industry redeemed itself today and we enjoyed pretty much a full day of roadwork free, dustless and smooth motoring. There was one minor hold up though, which we were willing to forgive. A school sports day was running races up and down the road near the village of Aagarchatti and as a result one or two cars were delayed by the boys 200m dash and the girls relay. We’re not sure who won but, given the heat and the gradient we thought that they all deserved a medal.

Despite the high jinks of last night, everyone was up bright and early this morning, keen to get themselves down the road to Nainital.

Bjorn Schage and Trond Brathen were busier than most. Before breakfast they had removed the rocker cover from their Morgan, and were deep into the situation with a set of feeler gauges - claiming that it was ‘just a simple matter of adjusting the tappets”.

The bottle that they taped to the wing in Shimla is also still doing a great job as a temperature gauge. When the bottle fills, the engine is getting hot and they know that they need to do something about it.

Although the roads were good and pretty much traffic free, today was a day of impressive driving. Sometimes it seemed that even the bends had a change of direction within them and, when this was added to the rate of ascent or descent, the drivers were given as good a work out as the cars were getting. We’re in a big landscape here, make no mistake, and every kilometre travelled is hard won but the views and the sense of achievement are well worth the effort.

When the cars arrived at the Maharani Inn, in Malla Tajpur and were lined up along the road, the simple buffet lunch which was provided, was quickly devoured by the crews who’d been working so hard all morning. Sarah Ormerod and Guy Woodcock provided the coffee from their improvised Bistro that has now been suitably nicknamed as “Carbucks”.

The afternoon section was, if anything even better than the morning. During the Regularity at Pinoli we climbed through a forest to Ranikhet, a neat and tidy garrison town, where even the monkeys by the side of the road seemed to stand to attention.

One more Passage Control at the Kenchi Temple was all that stood between us and the run to the night halt and, for most of us first time visitors, Nainital proved to be a delight complete with a lake filled with pedalos and rowing boats.

We’re not staying at the same hotel as the 1997 Peking to Paris did due to an ongoing refurbishment but, as Peter Lovett said, the Naini Retreat is “a lovely place and tomorrow morning it’ll be a bit more difficult to leave”.

Manuel Dubs and Robi Huber sadly lost a load of time today because of a failed wheel bearing, although they, along with Jamie Turner and Tony Jones managed to get the Rockne back into running order and it arrived at the night halt only slightly behind schedule.

Andrew Laing and Ian Milne got their Peugeot all the way to the finish only to find that after they’d unloaded their luggage it wouldn’t start again. A blown fuse in the ignition system was diagnosed and duly replaced whereupon the 504 was then able to make it up to the car park.

David and Jo Roberts are back once again after five hours of welding in Rishikesh with the “very helpful Sunjay, surrounded by his cows”. After the problem with the differential and now this suspension failure, Jo’s hoping that misfortune doesn’t come in threes.

Mike Velasco meanwhile, is tonight a happy man. He’s still leading the rally and is hoping that he doesn’t see a repeat of the Sahara Challenge, where he and Peter were in such a strong position only to lose it all on the road to Erfoud.

Tomorrow we take our leave of India for a while and head to Nepal.

Gerard brown images

[KartikeyaL]

Day 14
October 4, 2018

Nainital to Bardia, Nepal : report by Syd Stelvio
Safari Rally

Border days can be busy so an early start was called for and as we ran out along the boating lake in the town centre some us couldn’t help think back to last month when we were rallying around Annecy on the Alpine Trial.

This was a lovely, cool and traffic free morning and on our way down the hill to the border, not only did we bid farewell to India for a few days but, according to the routebook, we also took leave of the hairpin bends, for 550km at least. Sure we’ll miss them both, but we’re consoling ourselves with the fact that this separation is not forever and anyway, the absence will surely make the heart grow fonder.

This was a day where our objective was getting through the border as efficiently as possible and as such there was no rally competition. A series of Passage Controls ensured that we all were on the right track. The busiest of these, was in the town of Khatima where John and Gill Cotton struggled to hear themselves think over the noise from a million blaring horns and chugging engines. Down here on the plains, India can be pretty visceral.

The Mahakili forms part of the border between India and Nepal and it was alongside a toll booth, on the banks of this river, where the days MTC was situated. In the 33°c heat and nigh on 100% humidity John Spiller and Rikki Proffit shuttled between the cars with time cards and toll tickets before sending them on their way to begin the border procedures.

These procedures seemed to involve a long and very precise set of operations indeed. Immigration was the first obstacle to overcome and thick ledgers going back many many years were filled out longhand with the name, the passport number and the visa number of each of the departing crews. Twice. Once in a well ventilated office with a ceiling fan and then again by the side of the road in an open shack with a metal roof.

Then we had to deal with customs. The very well rallied Matt Bryson, tried to shortcut some of this bureaucracy with an old ERA trick, showing them the letters, pointing to the numbers on the doors and telling them that he was on a rally but, this is India and procedures had be followed.

Out of curiosity, while we waited we asked to see some of the ledgers from 1997 when the Peking to Paris came through town but it appeared that the archivist was taking a lunch break and in any case we needed to press on.

Once we reached Nepal we found quite a contrast. Not only were the immigration and customs procedures much simpler and more streamlined, but the roads were a little less frantic and were partly populated with ox carts and pack horses.

The run to the night halt along these roads was an easy one through many villages and towns and over dozens of bridges but, the highlight of the journey for many was a river crossing some 12km from Tiger Tops Lodge.

Echoes of the Classic Safari were now everywhere, as we bumped along through a very rural landscape on unmade roads lined with mud brick dwellings and farm buildings. The rice harvest was well underway here and as the sun dipped and the shadows lengthened we found ourselves sharing the narrow roads with farm workers bearing impossibly large bundles of vegetation destined for the threshing shed on their heads.

Tonight the sounds of horns and engines had been replaced by those of the jungle but tomorrow we start climbing again. The Himalayan Challenge is about to start a new chapter.

Gerard Brown images















Day 15
October 5, 2018

Bardia to Pokhara : report by Syd Stelvio

Press on

The Terai can be a noisy place and the permanent inhabitants of the low lying jungle parts of Nepal seem to like an early start. So it was this morning, most crews didn’t need an alarm clock to get them out of bed.

The monkeys on the roof provided a much more authentic reveille. No one actually saw any of the big cats that shared the forest with us but, given the commotion in the shrubbery around our huts, the ever watchful langurs on the roof surely did.

Today’s departure MTC wasn't in the hotel itself, it was just outside of the Bardia National Park, on the main road. As a result, the crews were able to enjoy a slow run through dozens of small farming communities just as the inhabitants were waking and going about their morning routines.

Driving through this almost pre modern world was incredible and Ann Gillis was only one of the crews who commented on the many wonderful photo opportunities which presented themselves to us through our windscreens.

At 452km, today was slated to be a long haul, the longest of the rally in fact, but we were promised both a good lunch in the middle and perhaps even a steak at the end. Before we got to enjoy these rewards though we had a few hours of tight timing and difficult roads to negotiate.

Covering ground in this part of Nepal can be pretty simple and the road to the first Time Control at Satbariya in the Bagar Baba cafe was mostly arrow straight, pancake flat and made of good quality tarmac, which we shared with all manner of other vehicles. Long stretches of this were also set deep in the trees, which kept the edge off the 27°c heat.

Despite this easy start to the day, Bagar Baba was a welcome rest stop and although the crews took on some extra fuel in the form of chai and sweet biscuits, their cars weren’t so lucky, as on the way to it some of the gas stations had run dry. As a result, Matthias Bittner and Denis Billon’s Volvo ground to a halt soon afterwards. Luckily they had a 5 litre reserve with them which was just enough to take them to the next service station and then on to the second Time Control and lunch in the Baabari Restaurant in Rupandehi.

Following a most satisfactory lunch of veg’ curry with dhal, the road to the Regularity at Chappani was typically Himalayan. Steep, loose in places and occasionally busy but, nevertheless just as in India everything and everyone got through safely.

Our Classics category leaders, Mike Velasco and Peter St George however had a bumpier ride than most. They’d lost some pages from their route book en route to the Regularity which fortunately were collected and returned to their rightful owners by Tony and Lee Strelzow. Following this close shave however they had a coil spring break but a new one was quickly installed by Andy Inskip and Russell Smith. These delays meant that they arrived at the start of the section with only one minute to spare which could have put a lesser crew on the back foot. In the event however they managed to keep their heads and kept a clean sheet.

On the way down the hill and out of the Regularity, we then saw the Polish crew of Artur Lukasiewicz and Adam Tuszynski stopped by the roadside, tightening a spare wheel which had shaken itself loose.

At the following Passage Control Karendanda, in the most excellent Roadside Cafe, we enjoyed the best coffee since we landed in Delhi - period. And, they had western chocolate and Internet access!

From here we only had 45km to go until the night halt in the Atithi Resort and Spa, in Pokhara. As the last car pulled away the sky darkened and the heavens opened.

Tomorrow we turn for Kathmandu where we’ll enjoy a couple of well earned rest days.

Gerard Brown images

[KartikeyaL]

Day 16
October 6, 2018

Pokhara to Kathmandu report by Syd Stelvio

Bienvenue a Kathmandu

As dawn broke and the sun rose over the horizon this morning, and the full grandeur of our surroundings became plain, today’s dawn chorus comprised a series of expletives followed by the question ”....is that Everest”?

In fact, it was not Everest, but nevertheless what we awoke to was an amazing sight. Four of the world's tallest mountains, Dhaulagiri, Annapurna, Manaslu and Machapuchare, the fishtail mountain, loom large over Pokhara, and provided quite the send off for our trip to Kathmandu.

With this inspiring view, most of us began channeling our inner Sherpa, but Andy Mudra, a native Austrian, went above and beyond the call of duty and turned up for breakfast in his lederhosen. You can take the boy out of the Tyrol but obviously you can’t take the Tyrol out of the boy.

Today was a transit day, we had to use the main highway plain and simple and, if the road out of Manali had shades of a Bridge Too Far, then today we were thrown straight into the set of Where Eagles Dare. A time control was set at the bottom of a valley which then led to a passage control some 2.8km away, on a hilltop high above the Trisuli River.

There was a twist to this seemingly easy task however. This was a John Spiller special - a ‘sans vehicule’ PC - which required the crews to check in with Guy Woodcock down in Kurintar at an altitude of 258m and then take the cable car to Gill Cotton in Manakamana sitting pretty at a heady 1,302m.

Once they’d got their time card stamped at the top, there was also the Temple complex to visit before the descent back to the valley where another buffet lunch was waiting.

It is believed that the Hindu Goddess Manakamana to whom the Temple is dedicated, grants the wishes of all those who make the pilgrimage to her shrine to worship her and we couldn’t help overhearing some fervent requests for help from a couple of our crews. Improved suspension was top of the list followed by a more BHP.

With lunch out the way, the final obstacle for the day was the 112km into the hotel, which included an ascent of the so called staircase. A road which leads up the valley to Kathmandu. This particular section is 12km of steep, lorry choked hairpins, over which Marina Goodwin claimed to have passed 162 lorries before reaching the top.

From the top of the hill it was just a case of surfing the waves of Nepalese traffic into the green oasis of calm that is the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

Waiting for us in the lobby, it was good to see some old rally friends who’d turned up to cheer on the crews. Joost van Cauwenberge, winner of the 2016 Rally of the Incas along with his wife Christine had flown in from Belgium whilst Hok Kiang Sia, had hopped across from Malaysia to meet some of his old sparring partners.

We’ll be here for two full days, during which time, all manner of activities have been arranged, from breakfast at Everest base camp to a fixed wing flight over the very same mountain. There’ll also be the obligatory laundry service and doubtless a bit of car repair as well.

Gerard Brown images








Day 17
October 7, 2018

Kathmandu - Rest Day One report by Syd Stelvio
Flying high

Most of us enjoyed a well earned lie in this morning - and a lazy breakfast. Those booked on the first round of Everest flights however had to present themselves at reception at 5.30am for the transfer to the airport and thence to Sagarmatha.

Following their roof of the world odyssey, they were back in plenty of time to begin the spanner checks and running repairs on their cars. Matt Bryson, was first on the tools, he “loves” the Austin A90 Westminster he’s navigating and, along with Adrian Hodgson the driver, reckons that there is “ absolutely nothing wrong with it” but nevertheless Matt is all too aware of the need for regular nut tightening and lubing, jobs he clearly relishes.

Marc-Philip and Ulrich Zimmerman’s Volvo Amazon had lost its anti roll bar links so along with Russell Smith they set to replacing them.

Lee Strelzow spent most of her day in and around the customs office of Tribhuvan Airport, trying to retrieve the tyres for their Bentley. Ultimately she was successful, but tomorrow she plans to see the sights and hit the shops.

Once these few basic chores had been completed then, for most of the rally, it was time for some fun.

Nature abhors a vacuum though, and nowhere is this illustrated more clearly than on the streets of Kathmandu. Every available inch of space is taken up, by either a person, a taxi, a tuk tuk or a motorcycle. The streets of the Thamel District of Kathmandu, make Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi look decidedly spacious.

Those crews who did venture out into the melee did so largely on foot or by taxi. Their rally cars deserved a rest as much as they did.

The historic heart of this ancient city had been hit hard by the 2015 earthquake and sadly, parts of the famous Durbar Square are now either piles of rubble or are out of bounds to tourists, awaiting repair.

There was still plenty to see though and Matthias Bittner and Dennis Billon ventured up to the famous Swayambhunath Stupa with its expansive views over the city. This visit involved a steep climb and a gauntlet of monkeys but, as one of the most sacred sites in Tibetan Buddhism it was well worth the effort.

Interestingly, it was noticed by one sharp eyed rallyist that today’s Himalayan Times reported two pieces of news pertinent to us. Firstly was that the locals held a protest last week complaining about the government’s failure to fix the roads after the earthquake. If only we could have joined them.

Secondly they reckoned that the monsoon had finally finished which was a little odd given that this afternoon the sky darkened and the streets ran like rivers once again.

Tomorrow is another rest day and we’re all looking forward it very much.

Gerard Brown images

[KartikeyaL]

Day18
October 8, 2018

Kathmandu - Rest Day Two report by Syd Stelvio

The roof of the world

For those crews who hadn’t managed to take the Everest flight yesterday, then today was the day. There’s no traffic at 5.30am so we arrived at the airport within minutes. We were whisked through security and on board, comfortably settled in our seats, within an hour of leaving the hotel.

Everyone has a window seat, and the flight itself is like skimming through the pages of a North Face catalogue. The views are breathtaking and the champagne very welcome. And, we can also confirm, the roof of the world is painted a shade of deep blue.

Away from the lofty heights though, there was still a bit of spannering going on, Roy Stephenson and Peter Robinson for example managed to get a new alternator fitted to their Datsun and almost everyone used today as an opportunity to do little spring cleaning in and around the footwells and dashboards. It’s been a dusty few days.

After lunch, a couple of crews were lucky enough to secure permission to take their Bentleys into Basantapur a UNESCO World Heritage site, for a spot of sightseeing. Jonathan Turner’s 1997 Peking to Paris car was joined by Bill Cleyndert’s Super Sports and, both cars were quickly swallowed up by the hordes of tourists and souvenir sellers all keen to get in on the action.

Other than that we can also report that the pool was busy, it didn’t rain and the word from the 48 hour car is that getting out of the valley is a lot easier than getting in.

Tomorrow we set a course for Chitwan on the final leg of the Himalayan Challenge.

Gerard Brown images