Stok Kangri

 

Back to back 2 expedition by himshikhar treks & adventure

It’s Proud moment for Himshikhar Treks & adventure that we got success to Summit India’s Highest trekking peak – Stok Kangri 6153m / 20,190 ft. Stok kangri is situated in Leh region near stok village.

On 7th August Punit Pankhania Summit the Stok kangri with his solo Efforts. Although two members Rahul Bairwa & Pcj Parmar didn’t join the Group expedition because of Kanamo expedition.

Punit proved that Guts and efforts are enough to achieve any heights. He just did fabulous effort . First time he went to 20000 ft without any past experience unless it’s worst part that two members didn’t join him, but over the difficulties he made his way. And in the end he made a sweet glory over 20000ft.

He took 8-9 hours from base camp to summit point. He started his journey on 4th August and with acclimatised schedule he finished whole expedition in 3 days. After stok kangri he also completed the Gulab kangri which opposite side of Stok kangri.

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Mt. kilimanjaro

We started the last day climb in the dark.It was cold and the altitude was getting on to me.My eyes were struggling to focus in the dark .My face was frozen,body was begging for water,lungs were crying for oxygen,muscles were begging for rest,my head was going for a spin constantly blacking out in between.
My brain was constantly going to sleep.I struggled to keep one foot ahead of another,i could barely think.My brain was literally going into shutdown.The leg I wanted to put left went right and my speech started getting slurry.I have read enough books on mountaineering and hiked enough in the Himalayas to know what was going on with me.I knew symptoms of alitude sicknesses were crawling up on me.And failure would be breathing down my neck soon.I was struggling to hold myself up and an emotional tempest has already started to brew up inside me and I was struggling to keep the tears away.
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I was going deeper into the dark corners of my mind.My fellow trekker Rahul was trying everything to keep me going.He himself was struggling with his demons.But he never stopped pushing me.No matter what he said or did,my brain was not ready to push on.My brain just kept telling me to sit down and go to sleep and the summit was not worth it.
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There are these points in the mountains where everything works against you,the nature,your body and what not..I believe these are the moments where we shed all those masks that we are accustomed to wearing over the years and encounter our true self.Those are the moments where you finally meet yourself in person.The person who you encounter otherwise only as a voice in your head ,away from the people alone in your rooms,during those lonely dark nights.Finally you get to put a face to that voice in your head you ran to ,during the darkest of times when nobody was there to take your hand.
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It was with him that I took the final steps to the summit,with him pushing me on ,one step at a time even when my body has lost its will to move hours back. I could finally see the plaque at the summit looming over the horizon..I slowly walked towards it taking the final steps towards the summit and finally i had walked close enough to feel the plaque with my cold frozen hands.I finally collapsed on to my trekking pole for support,exhausted .
There were no more steps to take…And in that moment of absolute exhaustion and fatigue i could feel the world vanish around me,i could feel the people around me vanish.It was just me ,alone above the clouds…wind was blowing away at me..and there was this rumbling storm of emotions welling up inside me..It has been going on for quite a long long time now.I have held it back long enough and i knew it was time to let it loose..And I finally succumbed to the storm inside me.
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All the pain,self loathing,self doubt, worthlessness i have collected during the last 3 years came down crumbling down on me .I have carried around this bundle of negativity and poison for so long that i have started believing in it with every passing day.I have allowed it to corrupt me as a person.As my legs gave away,i collapsed at the summit on to my knees and embraced the storm inside me and tears started rolling down my cheeks…
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I would be lying to myslef if i said i did it to uphold a particular cause or I did for somone.The truth is, I did to for myself.My body has gone into shutdown during the first 3 hours of hike itslef.I moved along for the rest of the 12 hours of the trek on pure will power. I did it as a reminder to myslef that,no matter what the circumstances all it takes is a leap of faith into the unknown, to chase what u aspire for.
I would like to call this part of life “Self discovery.
This climb would never have been the same without u “My Man” @rahul
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Meet my brother,my climbing mate during Mount Kilimanjaro.Sachin Sharma
Since after our first meeting in leh,
I admire you for many reasons and after this climb,I learned many lesson from you.
Last but not the least I want to say you thank you for being such a supportive and determined expedition partner.

 

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Mt. Nun Kun

As we had reached at Advance Base Camp (ABC),4621 Meter. We met a team there, very experienced and enthusiast team members with positive mindset. we talked to them and sheared our experiences. they had Everest summiteers in their team as well.
We collaborated with them and decided to move ahead with them. We divided our team into two and planned our first rotation till Camp1 (5500 meter) accordingly. I was very happy to meet them and now it was a great opportunity for me to learn more and apply my knowledge in actual.
Next day
Now day is finally here!!!!All my training and all your blessings, it was time to put it all to use.
Day started off well, we found clear window for Camp1. We were the part of team one so we left advance base camp between 8-9 am. As we reached the first ice wall, it started snowing slightly and with that we had the harsh sun. We did get dehydrated which made every step up here a challenge. Suddenly entire weather changed and we decided to pitch a tent and leave our stuffs there only and decided to descent as soon as possible.
While descending; we faced little snowing, windy but once we reached at our camp. It started snowing slowly but continuously. It was snowy night as well. Next day I woke up to the sound of the snow slipping off the top of my tent because it’s too heavy. A little bit of ice even got inside and some of my cloths and outer of sleeping bag got wet. Early morning we got clear weather and sun was out and quickly dried up my sleeping bag and other stuff.
As the hour went, clouds came and it started snowing again. Hoping we get some sleep tonight and before next day rotation. Our spirits remain high 

nunkun 23393 ft-min

Annapurna Circuit

ANNAPURNA CIRCUIT “
(Off Season December Accent)
DURATION- 10 Days
EXPENSES – Around 15000 Indian rupees
CHALLENGES – Unpredictable weather conditions, Heavy snow fall , Snow blizzard etc. 
LEARNING -High altitude body adaption , fatigue prevention, endurance testing, Route planning, food planning , money management etc.

Around 2.5 month ago after successfully finished my NUN climb. I took around 45 days for my recovery and transition period and I got ready for my new challenge.

This time I decided to complete around 210 km Annapurna Circuit (Annapurna Conservation Area Nepal )
I chose December month for this because, In December there are very less people on the trail and because of unpredictable weather, snowy conditions, strong valley to mountain winds, which make this circuit more challenging and tough in winters.

I left for nepal on 6th December with my 23 kg backpack without any guide,any porter and this time my intention was the same ,to complete my circuit in minimum time while maintaining my heart rates in order to check my endurance and strength.

During this circuit I went through couple of beautiful villages like ( Besishahar, Chamche , Dhukur Pokhari ,Upper Pisang , Manang , Yak kharka, Throung phedi, High Camp, Throung La , Mukthinath, Jomsom, Marpha, Tatopani, Nayapul ). rivers, waterfalls , dense forest & witnessed immense beauty of Manaslu, Annapurna ranges ( Annapurna l, Annapurna ll, Annapurna lll , Gangapurna , Tilicho peak , Dhaulagiri etc.

After hiking 6-7 hours daily, On 15th of December early in the morning around 8:45am I reached at highest point of the circuit “Throung la pass”5416 mtr (17700 fts ). This day was really difficult for me with harsh conditions, like less then -20*C temp , high winds with snow flakes, snow blizzard etc.

At the highest point I wrote a msg and record a msg for my mother, my family and friends.

Here is the mandatory picture and video at the highest point of the circuit.

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