With the weather remaining warm and dry, it was time to utilize the Megamid and spend a few days exploring up high. We decided to head up the Solang Valley and do a couple day tours from camp (photos). Em and I had the multi-day gear to provide for the four touring gringos, but we knew it would require some extra shovel time to make sleeping under the Megamid comfy.

Hearing a local trekking guide talk about utilizing horses to carry gear, we thought the idea sounded not only romantic, but much less laborious. With the road cleared of snow due to the massive tunnel project, we didn’t care too much to spend the first few kilometers walking on mud with skis on our back. So at 9:00 a.m. our horse wallahs and horses showed up outside our hotel. These first 6 km were quite leisurely. We then strapped the packs on and headed another 3 km up the valley.

Setting camp was far from quick as we knew we needed to dig out a lot of snow and the snowpack below 1 foot was extremely hard. After two hours of maximizing the strength of our metal shovels, we were content.

The next day Kelly decided to bail back to Solang due to inadequate gear and being too cold at night. An avid mountaineer, Kelly unfortunately had his overnight gear stashed in Delhi. Joe was stoked as he gained another sleeping bag and pad for the second night. We had a leisurely morning, heading out of camp at 10:00 a.m. for Beas Kund. The tour up the valley was fantastic as Em led us through big terrain with the views continuously improving. From Beas Kund, we all eyed endless ski lines and enjoyed the surrounding beauty. Here are some numbers to relate the massiveness of our surroundings: Beas Kund sits at the head of the valley and a little over 4000’ higher than where we began in Solang towards the foot of the valley. Rising another 7500’ above Beas Kund is Hanuman Tibba. Uhhh….ya, massive.

This day was much more about the tour than the turns as most of the north facing aspects we skied back to camp were variable at best. We all managed to find a few good powder turns, but mainly it was hoping we didn’t break through the crust.

The next night at camp proved to be much more comfortable with only three of us but yet a little more eventful. At some point in the middle of our slumber, we awoke by a hungry animal sticking his head in the tent. Pre-dawn the next morning as Joe and I prepared to depart camp, I heard Joe looking away from me mumbling “Well hello there,” followed by “there are some small beasties over there with green eyes.” Sure enough, we had three creatures sleeping about 20 meters from the tent just waiting for us to leave camp. With Em planning to sleep this tour out and hope the rumbling in her stomach settles, (we have both been getting used to abnormal rumblings) she was not excited to hear that hungry “beasties” were waiting outside. Determining that they were dogs (wild dogs who strayed 9 km from Solang into the alpine), we chased them off as best we could. With Em feeling safe but deservedly upset that her extra sleep would be thwarted by watching guard, Joe and I headed up the south facing slope above camp. Unfortunatey, we both forgot our cameras in the tent, so all we have for pictures is this one showing our route.

We made great time up, beating our turn around time by over half an hour. We still chose to stop just below the true top of the run as conditions were softening rapidly. To our enjoyment, the turns stayed great the entire 1100 m (~3500') and we never experienced the slopfest we expected. This was due to the steepest section being at top and then the slope turning more towards the southwest than south for the bottom half. Conclusion: great spring turns from top to bottom.

As I neared camp, and Emily who was sunning about 50 m above the shady tent, I noticed one of the small beasties another 50 m above her, both in sort of a staring standoff. As I skied towards the dog, I startled him with my speed and he whimpered while trying to sprint away. Not quick enough for skis as I caught him and delivered a solid thump to his backside with a polo swing from my ski pole. Em was happy as the dog finally went away and her knight in shining armor returned safely.

We had a leisurely time breaking down camp, melting more snow, and eating lunch in the sunshine before the dreaded march back. The walk went quicker than expected with a surprise visit from a familiar looking face. One of the dogs, and yes, the one I thumped, joined us on the road back, again hoping for food, appearing not nearly as wild and rabid. All we could do was laugh, contemplate giving him an extra cookie, and carry on.

Labels: India, Kullu Valley, ski touring, Solang