Trifter

Adventure blossoms in the hearts of those who have nerves of steel and minds ready to embrace thrills.It takes sheer willingness of the heart to tread a path laden with snow-clad sheets for which I am glad, Army Headquarters enthused in me. So we stepped out on an arduous peregrination on 1st September 2009 just after taking my NDA examination. Six cadets in all including me, Cadet NCO Anant  of RIMC set out for Delhi amidst heart-throbbing enthusiasm. The same night we set out for Leh in different airlines. There, the team assembled at 246 Transit Camp. We stayed there for seven days during which we got acclimatized and also did some local sight-seeing.

During our stay, we visited various places. We saw Shanti Stupa, Hall of Fame Museum, Thiksey Monastery and lake at Leh. We also visited Trishul Battle School, where we had a BMP ride. The Ladakhi Market known for its sky-rocketing prices was also one of our destinations. The most memorable site was that of Pangong Tso Lake which was a great expanse of calm blue green water shared by India and China. After our routine medical check up on seventh day, we were flagged off by Lt. Gen. SK Singh, AVSM,VSM. We were taken to Siachen Base Camp through serpentine roads and towering mountains of Leh. We passed through Khardungla, the highest motorable road in the world. For the next one week, we had some basic mountain training at Army Mountaineering Institute (AMI). Everyday we had some briefing about the Siachen Glacier and the safety. We were also issued the equipment , whose cost was beyond our imagination. Even the stringent medical check-ups could not succeed in dropping out any of the team members.

The next morning we set out for Camp-I from Base Camp which was at a distance of 12 kms. Maj. Tejendra Singh, our team leader, urged us to pay obeisance to OP Baba, who is deified and worshipped as a saviour in the treacherous terrain of Siachen.

Thanks to extreme temperatures, the rarefied altitude and the enormous loads, the trek was quite challenging but nevertheless we braved all vagaries of weather and reached half-link. After a break, we started for Camp-I and reached in afternoon at about 1400 hrs.

Next morning after going through an excruciatingly painful morning routine, we braced ourselves for the trek ahead. We crossed over a number of crevasses as well as vast expanse of snow-covered hills. After trudging all the way upto 14 kms., we reached Camp-II.

Bubbling with a lot of energy, we all were ready to move to our next destination-Camp-III. But due to high altitude problems, two of the members – a mediaperson and a cadet could not accompany us further while we were getting ready to kick start our trek. But this did not deter us in any manner from our objective. We covered the 16 kms. distance much faster and made it early at Camp-III.

Next day was the most important for all of us as we were proceeding for KUMAR Post, what we had come all the way to conquer from all parts of the country. We had to trek 18 kms. It seemed as if the glacier was moving along with us as the early seen post was not reaching early comparatively. But at last after covering a lot many moraines, crevasses and ice rivers, we reached the final destination at around 1300 hrs where we were welcomed by 25 Madras Regiment. We all thanked god and paid our regards to deity OP Baba.

We had to stay there for another day as the weather conditions were not good enough. But still facing draconian temperatures, we moved downwards the next day. Drenched in sweat by afternoon, we all reached Camp-III. Similarly, the next day we covered Camp-II easily and reached there early at 1200 hrs.

But all of us wanted to cover two camps in a day so as to cover up for the day we lost at Kumar Post. So we all started very early next morning in snowfall itself. The temperature outside was clearly below -25 C. We could experience the cold winds making us numb slowly and smoothly but nothing comes in a soldier’s way. Covering the snow-covered peaks till Camp-I rather slowly for safety, we reached there early for lunch. After that, there was no looking back. We covered till Base Camp at the fastest speed ever during the trek, just in 3 hrs. We reached there at nearly 4 o’clock and thanked OP Baba for our safe return from the glacier. It was always the team spirit which kept one alive. We were welcomed by many senior officers. It seemed home-coming of a soldier.

On reaching the Base Camp, we deposited all our equipment and after that had a much needed hot bath which relaxed our muscles from strain of the trek. At night, we had a Campfire in which we sang songs and shared our experiences with each other.In the morning, we set out for Leh and after an arduous and tiring journey, we reached there at night and put up in Transit Camp.

The following day, we boarded the plane IL-76 with the team and reached Chandigarh in merely 50 minutes, from where we headed further to our homes.

The Siachen Trek was indeed a great experience and it has surely brought about many a change in all of us. The huge, desolate expanse of endless snow and the arduous climb was an extremely humbling experience making us realize that man is a mere speck in HIS wondrous creation. We are certainly going to cherish these memories forever.

Jammu Kashmir Ladakh