On the Pangong Trail

Things did not bode well for us on that chilly morning. With an overcast sky over our heads, we were bound to encounter bad weather on our way to Pangong Tso Lake. Chang La! A high altitude pass, infamous for its steep ascents and inclement weather was our major obstacle besides cold and wind. We packed our stuff on the bike and made a move at 9:45 am after unavailingly waiting for the clouds to clear-up. It was very cold outside and riding with numb hands on mountain roads will be difficult, I soon realized. After riding for around 50 kms we reached Shakti village via Choglamsar and Karu. Here I saw a bifurcation on the road, one leading to Chang La (Third highest motorable pass) and subsequently to the Pangong Tso lake and the other going to Wari La (Fourth highest motorable pass). Still unknown in the biking circuit, I thought someday its worth attempting Wari La.

We took a break few meters after to cool off the bike as the ascent to Chang La was about to start. It started snowing mildly as soon as we got off the bike. We both could foresee a major trouble up there. Here I must mention that though we were expecting problems, their nature and magnitude was beyond our comprehension because we both never saw snowfall in our lives. Penzi La provided some experience of riding on snow & its perils. But I came to know later that riding on the settled snow in a clear weather is very different from riding through the snowfall. The conversation that we had during that break is interesting and relevant to quote here.

“Haan Manish! Kya boltaa hai?”, I asked teasingly. “Main toh boltaa hoon Leh wapis chalteh hain, market ghoomenge aur aaraam karenge”, Manish proposed. “Kyon phat gayee” I crashed. Impact was high and Manish blew fire, “Teri bhi toh phat gayee thee Penzi La pe”. I started burning under the snowfall. “It wasn’t me, it was you who proposed retreat without doing Padum circuit”, I protested. But Manish kept firing. “Haan haan theek hai…..I know you are the bravest guy in the world”.

It was decided. I was miffed and without uttering a word started the engine. I pulled the accelerator to gesture that I am ready. Manish quietly sat astride and we were off to Chang La! We both knew it was insanity. While the body kept protesting, I continued revving & changing gears. During our hardly 10 covered kilometers negotiating several hairpin bends and other turns, we took two forced breaks for it was difficult to ride with the numb hands. I used the engine heat to fight the numbness of limbs. Unrelenting snow did not allow us to extend the stoppage time. Riding with discomfort has its own nuances and I was experiencing them concomitantly. A few kilometers after, we reached Zingral, a small hamlet with three military bunkers and a signal station. It gave a deserted look. Since the tyre was getting just sufficient grip because of not very heavy snowing, I decided not to take halt and rev as far as possible. Negotiating some heavy snow patches at zero visibility we reached at the point from where C-top is just 5 kilometers. As soon as we took the next curve, heavy snowing ensued. There was steep ascent immediately and bike could not lug us any further and started skidding back on the slope, on the snow. It was a dead moment and I couldn’t think of anything except to fly myself on the handle to put maximum weight on the front wheel. You can understand that since both feet were on the ground it was impossible to take the rear brakes and since all weight was behind so front tyre was skidding like hell. In the leaned state, I yelled at Manish to get down as soon as possible. Manish got off carefully but I still got the jerk and my feet started skidding on the snow. Now imagine me and bike skidding back. It was the scariest moment of my life. I full-turned the handle bar impeding the back haul and bike did come to a halt. I got it on the side stand after much effort and there we were, huffing and puffing, standing absolutely stranded with no shelter while snow kept pouring on us. After taking some easy breaths, I turned to look at the valley under the snow cover. Nothing was visible except a small memorial in remembrance of a dead soldier a little away from the place we were standing. This scared us even further. Gradually bike started disappearing under the snow. I couldn’t take that in anymore so started clearing the snow from the bike. “Better we should take off the luggage partially” I shot a wisdom dart at Manish. We took both the side rucksacks off the bike. I kicked the bike back to life and revved it full. It did budge and I was off alone to some less steep place. Riding was extremely difficult with numb hands and no visible road ahead. Manish yelled from behind, “Ride carefully. If it is to be like that then we both shall go down together”. Weird thoughts flashed through my mind but I kept revving and balancing. Few meters ahead, bike was intercepted by a thick snow block and bang! The bike skid and there I was, lying on the edge of the road, kissing snow. Carriers did save my leg from crushing below the bike. What I ended up with were a twisted leg guard, twisted brake pedal, some overflow petrol from the tank, torn lowers (left side) and of course me, horrified, terrified, swamped with snow, shivering with cold and puffing for oxygen all at the same time. I erected the bike on the main stand and gave myself a minute. “I have been grossly insane. What the heck, Chang La can be done next time but life won’t return”, I consoled myself. “Kya Paraj! Bas’ haar gayah?”, my ego retorted. And I finally said to myself, “Yes Man! I can’t fight it anymore. It is finished now”. Mother nature brought me to a hash. I set off for taming the mountain but was tamed instead.

I always wanted to experience snowfall and had very happy images of people enjoying it. On the contrary, my first snowfall was my scariest moment. A bad timing, perhaps. Unrelenting snow soon started heaping up on the bike and me. I started kicking the brake pedal to bring it back to shape in vain. Visibility was at a zilch and I, failing to think, cleared off the snow on the seat. Counting on front brake, I kicked the bike back to life for the return. Bike never abandoned me and responded so well in harshest conditions I subjected her to. I hardly was a kilometer off Manish and set off back to catch-up with him. Driver of an oncoming military truck gestured to stop. I mildly applied brakes. Manish and one officer came out of the truck and I was relieved and happy to find some soul there. Luggage was inside the truck and officer asked me to carry on and he will drop Manish & luggage at C-top. I informed him about my defeat and bashing that I got from Mother Nature. He said,“Snowfall aaj jyaada nahin hua hai. Aap aaraam se pahunch jaaoge”. I thought I was Fool no. 1 and he is no. 2. I meekly bowed my head against it and we were off, back to the pavilion, after putting on our luggage. Both of us were breathing like dogs except with our tongues deeply tucked inside but we kept riding, slipping our way down on the snow in the torque gear.

We hardly rode a kilometer back when a miracle happened. Mother Nature pitied our plight. Snowing stopped. Sky started clearing up of snow clouds. I stopped the bike and watched the spectacle happening. “Skies are benevolent towards us. They want us to reach Pangong Tso”, I said to Manish, making an effort to regain our spirits. Manish was more astonished. He looked blank. After waiting for 20 minutes at the point, 6 kilometers short of C-Top we geared the bike again to scale mighty Chang La. We took five breaks to reach the summit, huffing & puffing, and praying, of course!

C-top stood tall at 5425 meters (17800 ft) and saw us shivering under the bright sunshine. Jawans at the post welcomed us. Manish had tea for the first time after six months and I had plain hot water. Had I ever got a chance, Ambrosia would have tasted similar. We both were back to life. The soldiers informed that temperature because of the sunshine is -1 degree Celsius now. “Please don’t freeze after reading but it was -17 degrees the previous night”, the jawans informed. Ride to Tangtse was uneventful and rather hurried after riding past the snow zone. We reached Tangtse at around 5:30 pm and decided not to go further to Lukung as we were tired & drowsy. We got a decent room in a PWD Rest House there. I serviced the bike and brought the brake pedal almost to its original shape till it was dark. We cooked “Paneer” again that day and it tasted really good. By now we were used to enjoying camping without tenting ::~))

Next morning saw us with rejuvenated zeal as we not only did Chang La but also were about to visit the greatest lake of Indian Himalayas and the highest brackish water lake of the world. We were riding with difficulty as the road to the lake has some bad patches, oblivious of the fact that we were just 2 kilometers off the lake. It was then that we had the first glimpse of the lake.

Oh Boy! The blue it was. We both never saw such an expanse of deep blue colour. I will relish the excitement first glimpse of lake gave me for years to come. As I am writing it, the whole expanse is flashing in my memory and how jerkily I applied brakes to stop the bike. It was blue to the extent of approaching black. It baffled us. I just can’t explain to you how it feels to see this turquoise aquamarine body which changes colours with every angle of incident sunlight. The sight comes as refreshing change after continuously viewing barren mountains and brown landscape. Darker shades of blue with orange, carmine & cyan tints keep adorning the lake all the times. If you view from different angles, the lake appears striped with different shades of colours. Soothing colours of Mother Nature – True!

They are inspiring. Pangong Tso is surrounded by Limestone mountain ranges of relatively low height. Also, most of the lakes that we saw had mountains with dense vegetation. Not this one. Mountains around Pangong Tso are completely devoid of vegetation and have sandy soil. This gives Pangong Lake a peculiar setting. “To be seen to believe” sorts.

We tried the Phobrang road but it was callously dusty and strewn with big pebbles. Riding on it was just not possible so we turned back after a kilometer and the jawans at the Lukung post informed us that Marsimik La has been snowed heavily quite a few times. After Chang La there was no question we were going to attempt M-top under those conditions. But it was important for us to go to Phobrang post as Gaurav Jani (a good friend, an avid traveler and our club 60kph’s moderator) gave us the photographs of Mr. B. P. Singh, ITBP Officer posted there to hand over to him. Actually, this gentleman and his company helped our group members and Gaurav a lot during their respective visits. Since we couldn’t go there I was looking for someone who could handover the photographs on behalf of 60kph. We met a few ITBP personnel at the Lukung post and I handed over the photos of Mr. B.P. Singh and his colleagues to Mr. R.N. Singh at the Lukung post. The latter promised he will surely deliver the same to Mr. B. P. Singh.

Pangong Tso not only surprised us by its hues of blues but also by its fury as wind rode on it. Water surfs with waves of 0.5 m height gave us a shocking welcome. Mr. Singh informed us that they are just back from the lake patrol after a near-death experience. ¾ of this 144 km long lake is in China and it is 8 km at its broadest. And did I tell you? This highest brackish water lake of Asia at an altitude of 4350 meters is 100 meters deep at its deepest point. Well, that is SOME depth to justify the etymological significance of the name Pangong which means “extensive concavity or hollowness”.

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