sunrise on the way b/w Rishikesh-Uttarkashi
winding roads along lower himalayan ranges
breakfast time
first glimpse of snow-capped peaks on the way to Uttarkashi
Tehri dam backwaters
terraced fields
dam on Bhagirathi
gushing Bhagirathi b/w Uttarkashi-Gangotri
raghu, me & Bhagirathi below...about to step on raghu's hand
Bhagirathi valley b/w Uttarkashi-Gangotri
some idiot took this while i was speaking
Gangotri temple street
Gangotri temple. Gangotri is 3048 mts above sea level
me in front of the temple
Gangotri ghat - looking towards source of Bhagirathi ie. Gaumukh
freezing water of Bhagirathi at the ghat
trek begins - leaving Gangotri towards Bhojkharak which is 7 kms steep trek from Gangotri
unknown peaks seen looking towards Gaumukh
Kedarganga river - our trek path is along this all the way till Kedartal
waterfall on Kedarganga
trek path b/w Gangotri-Bhojkharak
Kedarganga gorge
path to Bhojkharak
thatz me & Raghu on the way to Bhojkharak
itz up up & up all the way till Bhojkarak
looking towards Gangotri
first glimpse of Mt. Thalaysagar at the far end. Kedartal is located near the base of Mt. Thalaysagar
Bharals or mountain goats with my 4x zoom :(
Scary landslide zone before Bhojkharak. You never know when you'll create one landslide with a wrong step or if something falls from above !
Vamshi negotiating the landslide zone
A risky rock slab just before Bhojkharak- a slip here takes you down by 200 mts
Camp for the day at Bhojkharak (3780 mts height above sea level)
me at Bhojkharak
Murali & Raghu
dead tired at Bhojkharak after ascending 700 mts in 7 km from Gangotri
porters putting up our tent
tents ready
Bhojkharak camp with Kedarganga gorge in the background
ready to spend a sub-zero temperature night at Bhojkharak
Bhriguparbat at 6040 mts asl
our camp at Bhojkharak with Kedarganga gorge at the background. there was one more group who were trying to find trek routes beyond Kedartal
kitchen inside a sheperd shed and our cook at work
Bhojkharak camp and seeing towards Gangotri side
bright morning at Bhojkharak
Vasantha...always the first to have breakfast
group minus me
along with guide & porters
time to leave Bhojkharak towards Kedarkharak
looking towards Kedarkharak. Mt.Thalaysagar looming ahead
awesome Kedarganga valley
on the way to Kedarkharak
thatz me
Mt. Brigupanth & Mt. Thalaysagar now visible clearly
Looking to left downwards : Kedarganga flowing ~200 mts below
Looking to right upwards
looking back towards Bhojkharak
rest time - route from Bhojkharak to Kedarkharak is also steep
Kedarganga again
landslide zone - a wrong step will take you tumbling 50 mts down to Kedarganga
on top of loose soil & rocks across a 50 deg incline to negotiate, we have stones & boulders falling from top
Hari negotiating a scree zone
ice at 12.55 pm
looking back towards Gangotri before Kedarkharak
Kedarkharak campsite at 4270 mts above sea level
tired again after a strenous climb of 500 mts in 5 kms to Kedarkharak from Bhojkharak
yellow-billed chough & my pant !
Mt. Brigupanth & Mt. Thalaysagar form the backdrop at Kedarkharak meadow
Kedarkharak panorama - Manda group of peaks
Kedarkharak panorama - Manda group of peaks & Mt. Bhrigupanth
Kedarkharak panorama - Mt. Brigupantha & Mt. Thalaysagar
porter, cook helper and another porter in front of the kitchen at Kedarkharak
Mt. Brighupanth & Mt. Thalaysagar in bright sunlight
Water frozen at 6.30 am next day. night temperature must have been b/w -5 & -10 deg.
much awaited sunrise over Manda. it suddenly increases temperature from subzero
starting towards Kedartal from Kedarkharak at 9 am
leaving Khedarkharak meadow. itz another 600 mts climb to Kedartal from Kedarkharak
mountain goats (Bharals) against background snow with my 4x zoom :(
Jogin group of peaks
frozen stream
snow zone begins
Itz walk on 2 feet deep snow for rest half of 5km distance from Kedarkharak to Kedartal
Vamshi throwing ball of snow on frozen water..interesting !!
Murali, Vamshi & Sachin climbing on snow
Our guide Tej-bahadur & Raghu
Mt. Thalaysagar in the background
hmmm....
i'm already getting mild headache due to altitude
I was wondering how our guide finds the trail amidst endless maze of snow & rocks - the answer is these cairns
path to heaven !
walking/climbing on snow can be strenous in thin air
the final climb on snow to Kedartal
amphitheatre of snow & rocks..looking back
huge crevices on KedarBamak glacier. this crevice is atleast 0.5 km away !
KedarBamak glacier with Mt.Brigupanth & Mt. Thalaysagar at the background
Kedarbyamak glacier, Thalaysagar & Kedartal
finally arrived at 12.30 pm...Kedartal at 4912 mts above sea level...Can you spot two people near the lake?
A Heaven called Kedartal
solo poses - Vamshi
solo poses - me
solo poses - Hari
Kedartal with Brigupanth (6772 mts) and Thalaysagar (6984 mts) peaks in the background
no more trek pics...this is how a guy hit by altitude sickness (splitting headache, nausea, giddiness, vomiting) looks like !
Vishwanath temple - Uttarkashi
lower himalayan ranges at Uttarkashi
Rishikesh colours - Lakshman-jula
Har-ki-paudi at night, Haridwar
