Off to Auli
Rougher territory
A little closer to the Greater Himalayas
Sheerer drops, along the Pindari
Examining a pine cone
The usual river crossing
Karnaprayag - the ferocious Alaknanda bumps into the calmer Pindari
Rapids
Holy Man
Towards Chamoli
Taller, deeper
First glimpse of the snow in the Upper Himalayas
Usual roads around there
Is that where we're headed?
Temple door
Patched mountainside
Chopped, carved, blasted
I wanna go there
Careful! Slide Area Ahead
Sheer faces
Cutting/widening the road
Stark, pretty
Oops
How many feet to the bottom?
Oh, thats a lot
But the view eggs you on
Totally worth it
Totally
GMVN Resort, Auli
What a lovely setting
Lets trek up to Cliffton
Pretty Windmill
Ski-lift
Ski-lift Station
Wherever you look is a treat
Pretty Sights Galore
And this is the end of April!
A-maz-ing
Snowwww
We've been told we can get there
Tower #8, where the ropeway goes
KMVN down below. Phew.
Shubha and Al about halfway up
Ak walks back downhill
Seasoned Trekker
Al hitches a ride
I'm so tired
ITBP something
Ak races ahead
I trudge along
Cannot have enough of those views
Sublime.
More
Early morning, KMVN, Auli
Oooooh (thats a KMVN log hut)
The Sun's somewhere there
Majestic
The camera failed miserably, in truth
to capture what the eyes did
This ain't bad, tho
or this
Plentiful birds early morning, cacophonous too
They sleep on
Pinewood cabinetry. Lovely smelling rooms.
Happy B'day !
We could only find Brittania Cake
The 4 Ladies from Mumbai were touring all by themsleves.
Ok, chair-car ride time. 200/- a head roundtrip for all but Al.
Here we go
Lift-off
Higher
Admiration. A little fear?
All smiles, though
Those are the ones on the way down
Ooooh
Oooooooooooh
Tower-crossing
Thats all we hang by?
Empty chairs
Pretty flowers all over the place
more
The horse/trek up to Gorsain Meadows, to touch the snow!
Carpet of flowers
Pretty, pretty, place
Hmm, permafrost ?
Temple midway
Fascinating place
Almost there
The riders
Off the mounts
The pretty Gorsain Meadows
What didya catch ?
Ah. Ladybird
Closer
Lets play
Coooolllddd
Slide?
Noooooo
Try some
Brrrrr
Silly city-folk excited by a little patch of snow, thought the horseman
and the horses just grazed around
Yeah
Trek up in the snow?
and?
Oops (slide, immediately after)
Ah, lets thaw the toes and fingers
Snowball...
Crushed
More pretty flowers
closer
Theres - a - sight - to - behold
The guy told me the story of his life
and horses, and trade
Can we go higher?
Maybe
One last bit of playing
Garhwali Horse Owner
Good Stuff, dude!
Seasoned Cliber, now?
Shubha struggles
Umm, dead goat
Walk back to the horses?
Lemme look
at - that!
Oops. Skid!
I'm ok
Me tooooooo!
Please take me back to the horse
I'll play
some more
Bored horsemen
Gingerly down the slopes
Bunty and Babli walk back up
The riders mount
and off we go
bye Gorsain, you pretty thing
bye you pretty slopes
bye you mysterious little temple
Ladybird hunter
The wheels that turn
back down the ski-lift
joyride
windmill, again
Nike, Air?
Kulvinder poses
Snow view too
Out of Auli
The rough slopes
Hats of to the BRO, again
Tough job
Thanks, Deepak
So near
Soooo near
and so far below
BRO Truck, unstable slope
Furry Goats
Goats
Sharp Curve
Jagged
Slip n slide right at the edge
Its wayyyy down there
Tilted for extra effect :)
BRO soldiers on
Slide
Dramatic Roads
Views that make it all worth the effort
Hold 'er up while we pass, o lord
Just the most fun, these roads
Passing through a tiny Garhwali hamlet
Curve, hill, river somewhere below
Rudraprayag
The temple there
Lovely, desolate road from Khankra towards Khirsu
We came across just one vehicle - and it had a puncture. Break!
Thats where we climbed from
Tarred forever.
Park at Khirsu - birds everywhere you see
Wish I knew the names
Pretty, chirpy
Walk in the park
another
slide
Khirsu temple bells and the sunset
The setting sun
and some clouds
Lansdowne Cantt Ahoy
Fairydale - as expected
Pine slopes beside and below
St Thomas' Church (Catholic)
Maggi Sauce bottles line the pathway
The church bell
Exploring
St Mary's (Protestant) has a map of Lansdowne
The Steeple bell at St Mary's
Al admires the flowerbeds around
There's no mass here anymore - no protestants around
Creepers grace the walls
Bhulla Lake, Lansdowne.
Around the lake.
You see birds everywhere in Lansdowne
Quack
Quack, Quack
Boating pleasures
Grumpy?
Rabbit babies
Cutiepies
all ears
Sunset amidst the pines - from Fairydale
Games you can make
1912
Sleepy - en route to Delhi
My not-so-new glasses
Shubha was surprised to see such vast agricultural plains
and fascinated by the wheat harvesting
esp the Threshers
Bridge at the Mid-ganga barrage
Thresher
another view
