Goechala View Point 1, 16,207 ft
0030 hrs, 29th October 2022. I was already awake even before the alarm went off. A quiet thought was already racing through my mind: “Be strong. There is no going back, come what may.” I thumped my chest thrice to check the resolve. The CABG sawn Sternum had healed well & resounded a solid Yes. I knew what was in store for this summit push tonight. It was going to be the toughest night assault that I had ever attempted earlier. I tugged at the three bottoms & four top layers as I straightened out of my tent into the vast open lands of our Lamuney Campsite. Mount Kanchanjunga loomed large afar. I knew the distances are deceptive in the mountains & it was going to be a massive challenge. Narinder Bisht, our trek guide, Buddha Dorji his assistant & the support team of TrektheHimalayas company were up & were preparing the early morning tea & breakfast. With a few customary night shots of the amazing vista, I & my tent partner Sanjay Hosali, took off for the long push uphill at 0130 hrs along with AB Daiji, another able Lieutenant to the guide.
With our headlamps on in the dark & yet starry night, we quietly followed AB Daiji, who knew the dark terrain like the back of his hand. The starry night twinkled brightly as we crossed the frozen water streams & the flat land of Lamuney for the first half an hour. So deceptively easy! AB took a sudden right in the dark to the rocky slopes, with a hiss: “Abb Chadai hai aage, dhyaan se!” (“The climb begins from here, careful.”) Relentless is the story ahead, folks. You walk with your head bowed down with eyes searching for the slippery rocks but the soul absorbing the massifs around. The tired legs nudge the brain to ask the guide: “Aur kitna door?” (How far yet?) After three & half hours of a vertical grind & we finally reached the summit of Goechala View Point at 16,200 ft. The stars & the meteors were making an exit as the darkness vanished. The huge glacier of Kanchanjunga slowly emerged from the shadows to give us an idea of how it would feed the Samiti Lake below & ultimately the river Prek Chu, one of the lifelines of Sikkim. The highest mountains on the other side of the glacier looked just a stone’s throw away. To gauge the altitude of the shoulder-hugging mountains is difficult but any doubts about who was the biggest boy amongst them all were quickly expelled with the first light on the peaks. Just as the lamps are lit in the Diwali festival on the basis of descending order of the Diya size, Kanchanjunga, got the first aurum light on its peak. Clear Winner! The Kabru North (7338 m), Kabru Soth (7318 m), Rathong (6678 m) & Kabru Dome (6585 m) which were closer to the View Point & apparently loomed larger than Kanchanjunga, got their sunlight to glow in their descending order of altitude. Nature has a way of identifying the winners! The glow of the mountains slowly & surely transferred to my cheeks as I silently whispered a thank you note to my family, the doctors & the friends who helped heal my blocked heart & gave me the strength to witness this view.
Goechala View Point 1, 16,207 ft
0030 hrs, 29th October 2022. I was already awake even before the alarm went off. A quiet thought was already racing through my mind: “Be strong. There is no going back, come what may.” I thumped my chest thrice to check the resolve. The CABG sawn Sternum had healed well & resounded a solid Yes. I knew what was in store for this summit push tonight. It was going to be the toughest night assault that I had ever attempted earlier. I tugged at the three bottoms & four top layers as I straightened out of my tent into the vast open lands of our Lamuney Campsite. Mount Kanchanjunga loomed large afar. I knew the distances are deceptive in the mountains & it was going to be a massive challenge. Narinder Bisht, our trek guide, Buddha Dorji his assistant & the support team of TrektheHimalayas company were up & were preparing the early morning tea & breakfast. With a few customary night shots of the amazing vista, I & my tent partner Sanjay Hosali, took off for the long push uphill at 0130 hrs along with AB Daiji, another able Lieutenant to the guide.
With our headlamps on in the dark & yet starry night, we quietly followed AB Daiji, who knew the dark terrain like the back of his hand. The starry night twinkled brightly as we crossed the frozen water streams & the flat land of Lamuney for the first half an hour. So deceptively easy! AB took a sudden right in the dark to the rocky slopes, with a hiss: “Abb Chadai hai aage, dhyaan se!” (“The climb begins from here, careful.”) Relentless is the story ahead, folks. You walk with your head bowed down with eyes searching for the slippery rocks but the soul absorbing the massifs around. The tired legs nudge the brain to ask the guide: “Aur kitna door?” (How far yet?) After three & half hours of a vertical grind & we finally reached the summit of Goechala View Point at 16,200 ft. The stars & the meteors were making an exit as the darkness vanished. The huge glacier of Kanchanjunga slowly emerged from the shadows to give us an idea of how it would feed the Samiti Lake below & ultimately the river Prek Chu, one of the lifelines of Sikkim. The highest mountains on the other side of the glacier looked just a stone’s throw away. To gauge the altitude of the shoulder-hugging mountains is difficult but any doubts about who was the biggest boy amongst them all were quickly expelled with the first light on the peaks. Just as the lamps are lit in the Diwali festival on the basis of descending order of the Diya size, Kanchanjunga, got the first aurum light on its peak. Clear Winner! The Kabru North (7338 m), Kabru Soth (7318 m), Rathong (6678 m) & Kabru Dome (6585 m) which were closer to the View Point & apparently loomed larger than Kanchanjunga, got their sunlight to glow in their descending order of altitude. Nature has a way of identifying the winners! The glow of the mountains slowly & surely transferred to my cheeks as I silently whispered a thank you note to my family, the doctors & the friends who helped heal my blocked heart & gave me the strength to witness this view.