Nanda Devi East Base Trek Photo Log - October 2016
As one drives through Kumaon the most noticeable aspect is how different the terrain is as compared to Garhwal. The foothills are a lot more gentle in terms of their elevation and a lot more pleasing to the eye.
The view from Munsiary is dominated by the five Panchachuli peaks of which peak 2 at 6904m is the highest.
Thanks to a new village road the starting point of the trek is now just 4.5kms from Lilam, the first campsite.
The initial 40kms of the Gori Ganga Valley is fairly closed with the river making its way through narrow sections.
The initial part of the valley can be described as a gorge with high walls extending vertically.
The fallout of all this is multiple ups and downs as it is not feasible for the trail to run all along the valley floor.
A most unique aspect of the approach is the way in which sections of the gorge have been carved to develop a trail.
The reality of our times, tents pitched alongside road making equipment at Rialkot 3083m. A road has been constructed from Milam to Rialkot and is now being extended further down the valley.
Pachu Valley Milam Village Newly constructed road Finally after Martoli the Gori Ganga valley broadens and the terrain for a 10km distance becomes a long flat meadow. In the distance is Milam, the last village in the valley. We camp at Gangar village, a couple of kms before Milam.
Pachu Village Abandoned Houses Gangar Village One of the prettiest campsites on the trail was at Gangar Village 3410m set amidst the abandoned houses. From this campsite we Peaks in Kinnaur photographed were visible the in the cover distance. image used in this photo log of the first light hitting Nanda Devi East peak.
Longstaff Col ( not in view ) The walk upto 4000m to the Pachu Glacier is a major highlight of the trek as one gets virtually in touching distance of the twin Nanda Devi peaks.
2km long ridge connecting the twin peaks at 6666m The twin peaks of Nanda Devi are connected with a razor sharp ridge with a distance of around 2kms running at approximately 6666m height or 22,000 feet. In 1976 the first traverse of the two peaks took place when an Indo - Japanese team climbed Nanda Devi East and then did the traverse to the main peak.
High Point reached by Martin Moran 2015 North East Ridge South East Ridge The typical route used on Nanda Devi East is the south-east route which was used by the Polish when they did the first ascent in 1939. In 2015 Martin Moran attempted a new route along the north-east ridge. The team reached a high point 6865m and could not proceed further due to multiple risk factors.
At 7816m Nanda Devi main peak is the 23rd highest independent peak in the world. Nanda Devi is known for its large, steep rise above local terrain, it rises over 6500m (21300 feet) above the valley of the Gori Ganga in only 50 km.
On our descent we walked through Martoli village 3400m which, in terms of its location is the most dramatic village in the valley. The village is situated on a plateau and unfortunately was completed deserted when we walked through. In the background is Martoli Peak.
It is the ITBP which is deployed right across the Gori Ganga Valley and in most demanding conditions maintains a presence across various points along the valley.
Tola Village 3000m Brij Ganga Pass 4768m One of the interesting passes heading into the Gori Ganga valley is the Brij Ganga Pass from the Ralam Valley. This pass on a clear day offers a staggering view of the twin peaks of Nanda Devi, Nanda Kot and various peaks at the head of the Milam Valley.
The descent to Lilam village which we renamed as Leecham as there were some leeches around. From Lilam we were left with 4.5km of a short last day on the trail.
Southern face of Nanda Kot 6861m as viewed from Chaukori on the drive back
Nanda Devi Main 7816m Nanda Devi East 7434m Nanda Khat 6611m Longstaff Col 5910m Last view of the Nanda Devi twin peaks as we drive through Chaukori
While this trek did not hit very high altitude the long walks coupled with multiple ups and downs added on to the level of difficulty. In the final analysis the distance covered was about 130 kms and heigh gain and loss was around 40,000 feet.
Trip Summary : The trek to Nanda Devi Base along the Gori Ganga offers multiple highlights. The approach through a gorge valley was most fascinating, the walk up to get a close view of Nanda Devi from Pachu glacier was special. In addition to all this multiple villages through the valley added an interesting element. Inspite of not hitting high altitude everyone in the group was pushed due to the the sheer number of kms that were clocked. Day Stage Distance Km s Time Hr s Ascent m Descent m Maximum Elevation m 1 Road Head to Lilam 4.5 2.4 308 135 1738 2 Lilam to Bugdhiar 18.5 10.50 1350 677 2596 3 Bughdyiar to Rialkot 20.5 10.00 937 260 3083 4 Rialkot - Gangar 16.6 7.50 823 452 3422 5 Gangar - Pachu Glacier - Gangar 9.6 8.00 760 664 4050 6 Gangar - Martoli - Rialkot 16.0 8.50 587 728 3420 7 Rialkot - Bugdhiar 20.5 9.00 507 1096 3176 8 Bugdhiar - Lilam 18.5 11.50 858 1286 2675 9 Lilam to Road Head 4.5 2.4 181 297 1855 Total Across 9 days 130 69.8 6311 5595 n.a Credit for photographs Maninder Kohli www.juniperopc.com