The novelty and the achievement was complete but we still had two days of hiking before we completed our trek.We had travelled all the way up the peak and our bodies were dead beat.
This part of the journey was laborious and exhausting, something we had not imagined at all.



The snow storm drove us back. We started the descent in a hurry with hail stones pelting us from all directions. It was beautiful to be at that altitude witnessing the raw power of nature. But we had no time to pause and enjoy the beauty, we had to rush and head back.


The rocks and boulders were slippery, and we were all weak, weary and feeling debilitated. We had a long descent ahead of us.

Going down was slow and all our knees were throbbing. We all fell several times. Our legs had given way and most of the time, we had no control. The legs would just not listen to what the brain was saying. Stumbling, tumbling, falling face down, picking ourselves up in the excruciating cold and pain.


This time around, the prayers had changed to talking to the hideous dastardly rocky terrain of the mountain. Personally I was angry with the rocks, and almost swore at them at every single step. We were upset that there was no shortcut to the camp.

Descending the rocks that seemed to stretch on and on felt like a punishment, we were doing it the second time and we were indeed battered.

Everywhere we found snow, we slid down the slopes. That was a lot of fun! We crashed into smaller rocks and each other, braking and cutting speed was like braking a rally car in top speed.


The backsides froze and after sliding the cold bit us back quite literally. I recall removing the gloves to eat lunch and our hands burned due to the cold. It took just a few minutes and the palms were frozen.


We lost our way and the guides could hardly see ahead.  To us every thing looked just the same from all sides. It was extremely hazy and even the experts who climbed this peak so often were confused.



We had gotten  off the wrong side of the mountain which added a few extra miles to the campsite.  I recall feeling upset that we had to walk more,  we were not really concerned about losing the way, we were so sure of the guides.  Hiking a few extra miles made us feel devastated!

Our minds again surrendered to the negative thoughts. I imagined I had a ligament tear or fractured knees with all the falls and scaling the rocks. The pressure on your hands and legs is immense. A co trekker had severe altitude sickness and the  nausea meant she didn't enjoy most part of the journey. The boys had shoes bites and spirits were low.



If the ascent took us 6-7 hours the descent took us longer. None of us had realised that climbing down could be taxing. Yash the youngest in our group was so tired, every two minutes he only asked,  how much longer to the campsite. I dont know why I had the notion in my head that climbing down would be a breeze, when actually with the legs and knees already tired it was agonizing.

Reaching campsite felt like a home coming that we were looking forward too.



The next day we were to reach the base and the only thing we told the guides was not to take us on the rocks again.


As we started descending with our backpacks, a big blow that hit us was, climbing down adds more pressure on the knees than climbing up.

We were in a trance and walked like zombies.  Laughing and crying at everything that we had shared. That was the only way to make the long descent pleasant.

A Co trekker was badly injured and was finding it hard to even take a few steps. We all pitched in. The able bodied guide carried the injured all the way down on his back.  The others carrying the baggage and backpack.

I must admit that though we were all weary and weak,  to an extent we were unable to understand or empathise what the fellow trekker was going through. I am sure that person did feel emotionally left out even though physically we were present and supportive.


The beautiful walk through the thick mountain and villages should have taken 3 hours,  but we took 7 and felt it took 12 hours.Suddenly the rains doused us in their splendour and we again forgot every pain we had.

I needed a lot of help and support at every step, the guides and my co trekkers were present all along with a lending hand, which helped me get through.

We were ecstatic when we reached the point where we would get picked up by our cab. We were indeed happy and thrilled to be back and "connected" with our loved ones.

For a month after we returned climbing up and down the stairs of my home and going on my regular walks was pure agony!

What I learned


Climbing high may be tough,  but the climb down is never going to feel as good. Ever!
I  include the slide from any kind of success too in this.Never underestimate the power of your mind to either allow or disallow you to do anything.

The mind succumbs to everything you feed it, positive thoughts and you will feel energized, negative thoughts and you may still get through.  But you would not enjoy what you did.  Not one bit.

The mind plays tricks,  yield to what benefits you.It is possible to persevere and do something as long as you are passionate about it.

Being away at the mountains or any place that you enjoy and can find solitude in helps you rediscover yourself.

All of us who signed up challenged ourselves and did something different, we ventured into the unknown and while the journey was not smooth, it was an experience of a lifetime and we are yearning for it again.



The descent

If you did something extraordinary, pat yourself. :)

A fresh bath, some fragrant suds and fresh cotton clothes felt like nirvana at the end.

The next is mission Bhutan - on a trek and not the usual tourism stint.

Ciao until my next blog.