8/12/2019 Chadar Business Standard (1)

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Ihave often been asked to describe the

Chadar frozen-river trek and every time

I have only one thing to say: the Chadar

is not a trek, it is an experience. First, let

me clear some myths. Doing the Chadar

trek is not a superhuman feat. A lot of the

extreme situations that people talk about aretrue: temperatures dip to -25C at night; the

frozen river breaks every now and then; and

sometimes you have to ford an icy stream. But

thats about it. The difficult bits are not hard to

tackle. Layered clothing and high-altitude

sleeping bags manage to take care of the cold.

Trekkers seldom venture near the broken ice-

sheets and rubber boots help you cross icy

streams.

Our flight is about to land in Leh and

the captain announces it is -7C outside.

I look out of the window and a cold shud-

der runs through me. If at 11 am on a

bright and sunny morning, it is -7C inLeh, I wonder what it would be like in the

dark canyons of the Zanskar river. I look

nervously at my trek mates, put on three

layers of woollens and step into the sun-

light. The temperature doesnt feel any

colder than the winters of Delhi. And I

know, at once, it is going to be okay.

The Chadar, which literally means

sheet (of ice), is essentially a walk on the

Zanskar river. Every winter, the river

freezes to form a gateway to Leh for the

people living in Padum, the largest town

in Zanskar. In winter, when snow closes

all roads and Zanskar is impenetrable,

the frozen river serves as the only gate-

way to the outside world for Zanskaris.

During the trek, it is not rare to see chil-

dren being dragged on wooden sledgesto reach schools in Leh in time for spring

classes.

Our trek starts from Chilling, the clos-

est road head and a tiny village and army

outpost 62 kms from Leh. The drive to

Chilling is spectacular. The inky, dark

road snakes through the wide, white

frozen flats of Leh valley and climbs to a point

just above the confluence of the Zanskar and

Indus rivers. We get out of our vehicle to take in

the first sight of Chadar. Small ice floes float in

a rush to meet the Indus. The Indus carries its

own share of floes and together they merge in

a triangle of white ice and dark-green water.The jeep drops us a few kilometres ahead of

Chilling. I scamper down the rocky canyon to

set my first tentative foot on the Chadar. Our

first camp, Tilat Sumdo, is 2 km away. I didnt

think it would take me more than half an hour

to get there. But I am wrong. Within a few min-

utes, I am sliding on an icy patch, only to land

on my bottom. I learn some quick lessons

about walking on the Chadar you need to

choose sections that are dusted with snow. On

icy sections (and there are quite a few), it is

best to shuffle along. The common sense

advice is to follow sledge marks on the snow.

We reach the camp in an hour.

The evening sets in quickly and so does the

cold the temperature is -18C at 6 pm. Ourteam of porters climbs up a narrow valley to

bring deadwood and a fire is soon raging. We

settle into our tents after dinner and it seems

like my sleeping bag is stuffed with blocks of

ice. Mercifully, two layers of sleeping bags and

a hot-water bottle lifts the temperature.

Next morning, a shaft of sunlight

torches the bottom of the canyon

sending everyone scampering for

their cameras. The light bounces

off the frozen Chadar on to the

canyon walls in a kaleidoscope of

colours. The orange is orange but

more so; the canyon walls purpleand the sky, a blue that could not

get bluer. The Chadar experience

had begun.

On the way to our second camp,

Singra Koma, we decide to walk on

the icy ledges of the Zanskar; the

river is not frozen enough to form

a Chadar. The walls of the Zanskar

canyon twist and turn, and some-

times they spread out to make the

flat white Chadar seem wider than

a football field. At other times, they

curve around a corner into a nar-

row gully. On a long, glassy stretch,

I throw a few chunks of ice on the

Chadar to see how far they go.

They slide endlessly.

On the third day, we wake up tolight, intermittent snowfall. The

upper reaches of the canyon are

now dusted with snow. We get

going but not for long. After walk-

ing for a kilometre, our guide tells

us to stop: the Chadar has broken.

The river is flowing over the frozen

Chadar. We clamber up the canyon walls and

slither on its edges to drop down a few hundred

metres ahead where it is firmer. Returning to

the canyon walls, team members guide each

other to firmer ground. It isnt difficult but a

humbling reminder of the ever-changing

nature of the river. We camp at Tibb in a sectionof the Chadar dominated by narrow ledges and

not the wide flats that we were used to.

Next day, we set out for Nerak, excited about

seeing the famous frozen waterfall on the way.

The day is cold and dark. Drafts of icy wind bite

into our skin, our breath is frozen in a thick fog

and water drips continuously from our noses.

It is hellish and we walk faster to warm our

bodies. Suddenly, out of a bend, the frozen

waterfall leaps into view. It is gigantic and tow-

ers over us, rising almost to the height of a sev-

en-storey building. Its difficult to imagine how

falling water could freeze. But freeze it did

and in such a magical way that even droplets

hung frozen in mid-air.

For the first time on the trek, we leave the

Chadar to climb to a small rest house on thetrail to Nerak. This is a camping ground and not

Nerak village. The village is hidden in the folds

of the mountain much higher than us. The

switchback climb to the village looks formida-

ble. A few of us make an attempt to get there.

With increasing cold, fading light and slippery

trails common sense prevails and everyone

turns back. That night I record -23C. It is the

coldest night I have ever spent in the open.

The Chadar trek returns along the same

path from Nerak to Chilling. The Chadar

changes ever so often that the return looks like

a new trek. Every hour presents a change in

scenery that makes you want to continue for

another hour just to see what is next on offer.

The Chadar itself is spectacular. At times,

there are patterns within patterns in the frozen

ice as if caught in time. At other times, it playsan orchestra of colours. The canyon walls are so

high that they rarely let the sun come through,

but when it does, the sun sets up a canvas of

colours and patterns of unimaginable scale.

The writer, an avid trekker, is a partner at

Indiahikes.in, a hiking portal

PREPARING FOR

THE CHADAR

You need to be in good

physical condition. Youshould be able to jog4.5 kms in 30 minutes

Carry trekking shoes(notsport shoes); fourpairs of trackpants;four full-sleeve cottontees; two full-sleevesweaters, a thermaland a thick jacket.Dressing in layers isthe mantra

You will always need awoollen cap, a scarfand gloves

Carry sunglasses topreventsnowblindness curvedones will cover youreyes well

Carrychapstickor lipbalm, cold cream andsunscreen lotion

Trekkers are expectedto carrytheirbackpacks on the trek,so make sure you packlightand sensibly

TREKFACTS

> DifficultyModerate. The walks are long andtemperature always sub-zero

>Trail typeEasygradient. It is almosta flatwalkon the frozen river

>Nearest airportLeh in Ladakh

> ltitudeHighest10,900 feet (Nerak). Theentire trekis belowthe altitudeof Leh. Ifa trekker acclimatises toLeh, then he/she needs nofurther acclimatisation

>Best seasonThe third weekof Januaryto thefirstweekofMarch

>Temperature-5 to -10Cin the day; can dropto -25Catnight

>CostDepends on number of peopleand route. A six-daytrek fromChilling to Nerakand back cancostaround ~20,000

Walking on

THIN ICESpectacular, stunning and dangerous Arjun Majumdar recounts his experience of theChadar trek on the Zanskar river

ARJUN MAJUMDAR

The sun rarely comes through the Zanskar canyon but when it does, it sets up a canvas of colours. It is best to follow the sledge marks on the slippery snow