The Anatomy Of Melancholy

My time here draws to an end..2 more days which we will spend visiting Monasteries nearby and just relaxing and taking in the sights and then its back home..



Spending time in the mountains, is like a rebirth... a regaining of lost prespective to the lonlieness that had been stfiling me of late...almost strangling the life out of me..but this foray into the wild has brought realization and some insight into my life... it was sorely needed.



Mt. Pandim Between Dzongri and Thansing (with Mount Pandim in the Background): during the downward Climb to Thansing



There was a wonderful week camped on the flanks of Pandim, the mountain we will attempt next year with a couple of our mates. This time we were just two of us me and Bhakre and we climbed upto 18,400 ft...

ON THE SCREE SLOPES ....



We were pushed back by a storm which left us tentbound for 2 days. It was scary but fun, it snowed and the wind howled down the mountain at enormous speeds, threatening to rip out our tent with us inside, it was touch and go a couple of times when one of our tent pegs came off and our whole tent was soon filled with a layer of white powder in no time, both our sleeping bags got their fair share and after we resecured our wee little tent and finally got back into our inviting bags it was a cold surprise and so we spent a miserable night in soggy bags cold and no warmth.. but it was fun none the less... you need something like this to happen to you to really make it a memorable trip. (its funny how you only remember the worst nights and forget the others which you spent warmly encased in your own private cocoon)...

Storm at 18,000 feet..

Walk In... Campsite no 5.





In the shadow of the mighty Kanch, we climbed up to GAUCHO LA and onto the flanks of Mt. Pandim. Its a colloussus in itself at 6791 mtrs but is dwarfed by the all conquering Kanch.. Makes you feel Miniscule. stuoendous panoramas of the whole massif greet you if you look up from the treachourous scree slopes which have to be traversed before you get onto the snow slopes but all that slow grind up the slope is worth it, once you reach the snowline..



It was exhilirating to climb again after a haitus of nearly 8 months, I had forgotten how good it always makes me feel....The crunchy sound of snow being trodden on cramponed feet... it was heavenly and there were some amazing views to reward us for our hard work. mostly we climbed unroped and only roped up 3 - 4 times during a couple of tricky pitches up one gulley, which seemed a perfect candidate for a windslab avalanche but miracously it held our weights, but while coming down we did notice that it had avalanched while we were up there...

The route we tried out looks doable but there are some places were it is hard going, and grade 5 climbing which will require us to rope up those sections. All in all it was a worthwhile visit.

Camping on the Way to the Misty Mountain Hop

The weather except for 2 days was just perfect, this place is so very TOLKEINESQUE.m ( reminds me of Hollin & Ithelien as described in LOTR.



Some parts we walked through to get to the mountain indeed remind me of the Alps... Rhondodeddron forest, picketed with swarms of wild flowers which pepper the landscape as far as the eye can see... They are everywhere... rocks covered with lichen and moss, the smell of the rotting leaves and that particular aroma you get when you are in the mountains was just soooo,...soooo... pleasing to the self..



Wildflowers on the Walk In..





The valleys are shrouded with mist which hangs low over the landscape, it is just too beautiful for mere words to do justice to the locale...breathtaking... Many a times we just stopped without violition and just stared at the scenes which would open up in front of our eyes...

The walk in to Yumthang Valley was great, and the only downside are the leeches...scores of them...they hang eager from leaves and infest stones awaiting you to pass through and as you cross they invade every hole in your clothing, no to forget shoes and suck you off...now that is a blowjob I can do without ...every night we had fun burning them off with our cigarettes...actually I must admit to deriving insane pleasure from watching them wither and drop off my arms and legs... served them right for sucking my blood...



Yes...I did take a lot of pics but as we had limited gear this time and no frills couldn't update through the climb like I was able to last time.. so I reverted to my dairy but am loathe to type it out right now...



While returning to Gangtok we took a detour to CHANGU LAKE to watch the Yaks...they were busy doing what they do best.....Yakking away....that is..


Changu Lake
It is just a pleasure to see animals in their element , drifting across this high grazing pastures, having the time of their life,...there are also some herds of wild horses and mules...and the place is just stunning...



TSMONGO LAKE.



Tomorrow I am going to Rumtek Monastery to spend a couple of hours with a college friend who is now a lay monk there. I wonder what got into him that he decided to join the ranks of the Yellow Hats....it will be interesting to find out ...





My Hip Yak Friend... I wonder if he is Rapping Yak...





Well thats all for a bit..will update with more pics later..

cheers

Z