The Hindu Business Line : The hills are alive... with foreign tourists

At one of the several wayside dhabas on the 14 km route from Gangotri to Bhojbasa, the base camp for the climb to Gaumukh where the Gangotri glacier gives birth to the Ganga river, the group of tall and lanky foreigners, most of them dressed in shorts and enjoying the piping hot tea, caught the eye.

What one liked the most about them, as one chatted with them, was that they seemed totally at home... not a difficult thing to do considering that few other places in the world would give you such an enchanting environ and such warm and friendly people as the Garhwalis. Small wonder then that almost 80 per cent of the trekkers we encountered on this route were foreigners.

Armin Fisher, the American guide and team leader of the group, was more than willing to share details of his team's expedition, which, as it turned out, was headed right to the Satopanth range in the Himalayas at an altitude of 7,075 m (23,206 ft). We were at an altitude of about 3,700 m and were headed to Gaumukh at 4,000 m. The very thought of creatures headed up a further 3,000 m was daunting, as well as thrilling. But then Fisher, the owner and chief guide of the Italy-based Mountains and More, which organises trekking and mountaineering expeditions, has 25 years of experience. For the last 10 years he has been playing the role of the chief guide in many of the expeditions done by the organisation.

The group had left Delhi three days ago and the chemistry in the team was palpable, even though all of them came from different countries and hadn't met earlier. The wisecracks and the jokes, the camaraderie and the concern for each other, were all very much evident.

Majestic Garhwal

For Rowland Tomaschko, the 34-year-old Austrian in the group, it was the first time in the mountains; totally smitten by the sheer beauty and majesty of the Garhwal range he meant it when he said; "This is the most beautiful place in the world that I've ever been to." David Schneiber from California had been on previous expeditions in the mountains, including the Alps, but was thoroughly enjoying himself. He had only one complaint; "Unlike in the Alps, it takes much longer to get into the mountains here," obviously referring to the flight from home to Delhi, and then the seven-hour drive to Rishikesh, followed by the 10-12 hour drive to Gangotri before beginning the actual trek. As if feeling guilty about making even this complaint, he quickly added, "But the amazing thing is that the people here are so helpful and friendly."

Fisher was quick to introduce the porters, helper and cook accompanying the delegation. The logistics of the entire expedition in India had been organised by RuckSack Tours of Delhi, and compared to lesser souls who would be at the mercy of the dhabawallahs or the indifferent and lukewarm staff of the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam at Bhojbasa (at other places they really take pains to make the traveller comfortable and are particularly keen to serve you delicious hot food), this group of international travellers was really travelling in style.

"All our provisions, including canned food, travels with us and for meals we have cheese, lentils, beans, rice and fresh, hot chapattis prepared by our cook," admits Fisher.

As the Web site of Mountains and More (www.mountainsandmore.com) promised ("We give our guests a personal learning experience not only in the Alps but all over the world that emphasises safety and having fun in a culturally and physically stimulating environment. We take small groups with a low guide to client ratio... to make the mountain experience much more enjoyable for all of us), Fisher had kept the group small. Actually only six of the group, apart from the chief guide, were scheduled to trek to Satopanth. The two women in the group would go only up to a certain point — not all the way to Satopanth — before returning to Delhi.

Indian husbands!

Gender no bar - TAHERI DHANALIWALA

One of them is 26-year-old Austrian Astrid Gradner. Even as one asks her about her profession — she is a waitress in Vienna — the men in the group begin the banter. "Oh she is in India to find a husband," says one voice, with another quickly adding, "Not any husband... she wants to find a rich Indian husband. My sister had come to India sometime ago and found a good husband."

As Astrid blushes a deep pink, the heat is turned on the only other female member of the group — Marie Englhart Gray — also from Austria, who is now training to work in the sports industry. As the chorus of voices chirp that she too is out to find an Indian husband, one wonders aloud if there aren't any eligible bachelors in the group. "Oh no, I'm married," says Jeff Colegrave from the UK. "I'm out exactly for a month and at the end of it, will have to go back home to my wife."

So why didn't she come along... was she busy with her career?

"Oh yes, she works as a mother of three little children, and believe me, that's a real job," he said and was promptly assured that he was talking to another mother with a "real job"!

The Westerners went into raptures describing the sheer beauty and majesty of the Garhwal range of Himalayas and shared our wonder that till then the rain, a constant and unrelenting companion in the Himalayas, had been near absent and the skies had refrained from opening up. Wet weather not only makes the temperature dive, it also makes the trekking path slippery and that much more tricky.

As their local partners spoke decent English, Fisher's group had no problems communicating with the local people and getting any information they wanted. The two women too had found the going "great so far", though Astrid added that she would be much more comfortable "if the toilets in this region were cleaner", as all her team members nodded vigorously.

Physical fitness

On the physical fitness, acclimatisation and technical expertise required in climbing to a height of 7,075 m Fisher said that "excellent physical fitness" was imperative to anybody undertaking such an expedition. Repeating what he had told the expedition members at the outset, he said, "Acclimatisation is the key to success on any mountain after a certain elevation. Satopanth is not a very difficult mountain when the weather conditions are good. However, conditions can change." Of course there would be the need to fix ropes or some ladders at the trickiest points of the trek and he would ensure that these were put in place for the safety of the members, who would negotiate the tricky stretches strictly under his supervision. He added that till Chirbasa the climb had been smooth and comfortable, "but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that our good luck with the weather continues all the way to the top."

But long years of experience has also taught him that this was hoping for too much, bringing to my mind the pithy saying a Garhwal guide had recited to us during our trip to Kedarnath 20 years ago: "Bombay ka fashion aur Garhwal ka mausam... yeh kabhi bhi badal saktey hei! (Bombay's fashion and Garhwal weather, they can change any time.)

We met Fisher and his group once again at Bhojbasa the next morning. Out spirits were subdued following an uncomfortable night at the poorly equipped dormitory at the Nigam rest house, suffering the stinking razais provided to keep us warm. Later, an Uttaranchal Tourism officer we met at Gangotri informed us that providing clean linen had become a huge problem as all the linen had to go from Bhojbasa to Uttarkashi, which is about 100 km from Gangotri. As that would involve first a 14-km journey by pony or a porter, and then a 100-km drive to the district headquarters at Uttarkashi, all we could do was to shudder and pray none of us would end up with a skin infection! A cardinal sin we had committed was leaving behind our sleeping bags, something we had always carried on earlier treks; cheap air tickets come at a price!

We had also failed to get hot water that morning. But Fisher and his group seemed to have suffered no such problems; their high altitude tents, sleeping bags and a personal cook and helper fully equipped with fuel and food supply, ensured them a luxurious passage through the spectacular Garhwal range. Later, as they passed us at Gaumukh and continued to Tapovan, we wished them good luck with the weather and the rest of their expedition.

Response may be sent to rasheeda@thehindu.co.in

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