Trip Reports

Stok Kangri - August 2018

Trekking towards Stok Kangri
Trip Report

Written by Leader Harry McAulay, August 2018

This trip has evolved over the years and is now honed to deliver a great package that includes some culture, a great trek and a fantastic objective in the shape of Stok Kangri.

As with all places Ladakh has changed over the years and the number of tourists reaching this far flung destination has rocketed. However Ladakh has enough space for all, although one will see others on your journey, the acclimatisation trek tends not be crowded.

Most of us got to meet up at Heathrow and the long process of getting to Leh commenced. An afternoon in Delhi and then an early start for the morning flight into Leh. At over 3500m the first few days are spent taking it very easy, for the body to adjust to the altitude. During our time in Leh, we visited the world heritage site of Alchi Monastery and then the Warila Pass, besides spending time in the bustling town of Leh.

The night prior to leaving for our acclimatisation trek the heavens opened, providing some much needed water supplies for Leh, but, in the same process, severely dampening the spirits of the group. The weather in all parts of the Northern Hemisphere had been unusual this year and Ladakh was no different. The winter snows, that usually provide the water supply for the summer, had been poor and, as a result, there were areas in Ladakh which were experiencing reduced water supplies. The next day the rain was gone and we hardly saw another drop of the stuff, for the remainder of the trip.

The acclimatisation trek went well and we got some amazing views of Stok Kangri, that I have not enjoyed, for many years, on the trek. The local leader Tsewang and I used a high level camp as the penultimate camp site prior to base camp, which meant we had a night to ourselves prior to the hustle and bustle of base camp. We hit base camp the next day at a good time for us, as people were leaving and we were one of the first groups to arrive. Pasang, one of our fiesta young Sherpas, decided to have a stand off with one of the guides from another company, whom he thought had grabbed too much space. I am glad to say that the quite diplomacy and humour of Tsewang won the day. Unfortunately at base camp we lost a few of the group due to circumstances beyond our control and they went down a day earlier in order to recover for the journey back, after making the decision that summit day was not going to be viable for them. Then on summit day, Charles, who had been manfully soldiering on with a vexatious problem, appeared from his tent and was in no condition to attempt the summit.

Therefore on summit day the remaining four of us headed off, with the assistance of one local guide and three Sherpas. One of the young Sherpas looked remarkably fit, lets face it they all did, however, Sangboo stood out. I later found out that he had earlier this year, in May, summitted Everest at the age of 19 years; no wonder he looked as though he was totally untroubled by our stroll up Stok Kangri.

The mountain this year had no snow on the face we were climbing. There was snow on the summit, but apart form that, it was a long hike up a very rocky, dusty, steep scree field.

Unfortunately at the summit there were no views to be had, just the joy of realising that the summit had been reached and the torture of moving slowly up had come to an end. Well done to Mark, David, and Gina;  they had reached the summit in about 7hours and would be back in camp within 4hours an excellent achievement. Back in camp Charles was much recovered but forgot to meet us, on our return, with his promised  impression of the Lord Hunt of Everest greeting.

My thanks go to Linda, Stuart,Charles, Mark, David, Gina and Nick for making this trip to Stok Kangri such a memorable experience.

Thanks must also go to our ground team, who once again were flawless in the service and support that they provided.

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