We started crossing the glacier in a single file, maintaining steady progress. I knew there would be two crevasses we had to navigate. Small ones both were, so they really weren’t a concern. The mountain looked gigantic now and yet seemed halved. We had pretty soon reached the base of the south face we were to ascend. Up and up the trail went and we just kept following it, taking breaks in between whenever we had to. On most of the ascent, the inclines ranged between 40 to 50 degrees. It would have been around 2.15 or 2.30am when Ketan started feeling drowsy and couldn’t keep up with the pace set. He wanted to sit back and sleep, a most dangerous thing to do on a steep face. The immediate risks would be the body cooling down and the cold settling in besides the dangers of loose rocks which could roll off the face. It was dark and if this were to happen, we would have no prior warning. Rocks tumbling down can be a nightmare during an ascent and can knock climbers down a face. Eventually we did halt and Ketan did exactly what we had feared he would. For a handful of seconds which seemed rather long to the rest of us, he sat down, closed his eyes and rocked his head back. He hadn’t slept well for two nights and the exhaustion had finally overtaken him. Kalpak and I kept urging and encouraging him to wake up. The continuous chatter was important to keep the morale high and not let sagging spirits overcome the mind. Chain Singh, meantime offered him tea which he had carried. It made a difference and Ketan soon regained his composure. We were ready to climb again.

Continue reading “The Stok Kangri Affair Part 2” »