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Spiti Winter Drive with the Jimny AT: My 1st experience in heavy snow

8th March 2024, 17:30 by Rahul Nagaraj

The drive included almost every 4x4 SUV like the Jimny, Thar, Wrangler, Scorpio-N, Fortuner, Hilux and even Defenders.

BHPian Kashi053 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I had been to Spiti three times and always wanted to do the Snow drive in Spiti which got materialized in 2024 finally.

The Plan

I have been doing lots of web searches regarding Winter Spiti and somehow didn't get the courage to execute it on my own. Luckily saw the post from DCV Expeditions regarding Winter Spiti in Feb 2024. I immediately discussed it with my wife Preeti and we signed up for the event.

High-level Itinerary

Day 1: Fly from Bangalore to Chandigarh. Collect the Jimny from RBTS and head towards Solan. Stay.1 @Solan.

Day 2: Solan - Rampur - Kalpa. Stay.2 @ Kalpa.

Day 3: Kalpa - Nako - Tabo. Stay.3 @ Tabo.

Day 4: Tabo - Pin Valley - Kaza. Stay.4 @ Kaza.

Day 5: Kaza - Losar - Kaza. Stay.5 @ Kaza.

Day 6: Kaza - Key monastery - Chicham - Kiato - Kaza. Stay.6 @ Kaza.

Day 7: Kaza - Langza - Komic - Kaza - Kalpa. Stay.7 @ Kalpa.

Day 8: Kalpa to Solan. Stay.8 @ Solan.

Day 9: Solan to Chandigarh, return the Jimny and fly back to Bangalore.

Now the search started as to which vehicle to rent. I had already rented 4*4 at Chandigarh from RBTS several times and my experience with them was exceptional. So this time I decided to try out Jimny AT. I talked to Manpreet from RBTS booked the car and asked for airport drop and pick-up. Meanwhile booked the flight tickets from BLR - IXC and finally everything was set and the wait began.

Day 1: BLR - IXC, Drive from Chandigarh to Solan

With so much excitement, reached Chandigarh and waited in the airport parking for the car to arrive. After 10 minutes, the driver came and the car was brand new and was looking neat.

Reached Solan and some of the crew and participants were already there. It was a visual treat checking out all the cars. Almost all 4*4 types were there ranging from Jimny, Thar, Scorpio N, Fortuner, Endeavour, Vcross, Hilux, CRV, Wrangler, Defender etc. Surprisingly there was no Gurka from anyone.

Day 2: Solan to Kalpa

We had an early breakfast and left Solan by 7 AM. After Kufri the situation was bad and there was lots of black ice we were instructed to use 4H in 2nd gear and absolutely no clutch or sudden brakes. We crossed Kufri/Narkanda with caution but the view was just breathtaking. Luckily we got to experience the fresh snowfall near Narkanda.

Day 3: Jeori to Tabo

We had to wait till 10 AM for the road clearance and head towards Tabo.

Since we had around 22 vehicles in the convoy, utilized the Nako Helipad space optimally. Had lunch at Nako and the temp was already subzero.

The last 20 km to reach Tabo were icy roads and took a lot of time. Reached Tabo a little late by 7:30 PM. We had dinner and hit the bed early. All the Diesel vehicle owners have to cover the hood and start the vehicle at 11 PM & 6 AM for about 10 minutes to make sure they don't give any trouble.

Day 4: Tabo - Pin Valley Road - Kaza

After breakfast, we head towards Pin Valley. This is where we experienced almost 1 foot of snow on the Pin Valley roads. My first experience of driving in such heavy snow and it was so thrilling.

Tabo - Kaza road