Well, as Emily described, the weather had been inconsistent at best and the ski gods were not dishing up the good karma for the western ski buddies as hoped for. The crew understood the respect mountains deserve (especially these young beasts that rise and fall constantly) and made the most of the many non-ski attractions of this magical kingdom. We ended up bailing on the heli-drop due to a poor weather forecast and instead taxied towards Rohtang Pass for one day of decent weather to get us deep into a basin and then sit in the tent for a long day and night of Himalayan thunder/lightning/snowstorm. For photos of this Rummy heavy/ski light trip, click here.

I just read Em’s post and she did a great job of summarizing our non-ski activities. The one thing she left out, and it does deserve mentioning, is the complete butt-kicking Pepe delivered to all of us in Rummy 500. He won nine straight games and I placed last in just about all of them. We are all a little worried for Pepe and his relationship with Carla as after his first 3 losses with Em and I, he stated with sincere passion that cards and love-life are indirectly related (meaning if doing poorly in cards, one’s love life is great, and vice-versa). Boy, Carla must have enjoyed her time alone in Argentina!!!

With a sketchy forecast ahead of us, but days limited for Pepe and Rob, the crew decided to head up the Solang Valley and see what happens. Rob and Pepe were both passionate that they would rather be in the mountains in uncertain weather than in the hotel as massive formations of rock, ice, and snow is what drew them across the globe. With no expectations except inspiring terrain and great companionship, we headed out with some light overcast overhead. In just a couple hours, it was raining at that most lovely temperature just above freezing. Pepe was holding strong, realizing that his skiing chances for the next day (his last chance) were slowly diminishing, but still wanting to camp somewhere in the mountains. After another hour or two of wet downpour, his tune had changed and he was dreaming of a civilized Iceland Hotel. I was indifferent (knowing the warm shower and hot tea would be nice) and Bolton wanted to stick it out (mostly to get in the tent to avoid more moisture even if it meant heading back to Solang the next day). With a wet hug goodbye to Pepe, Bolton and I threw up the Megamid as quick as ever and dove into our sleeping bags. All we really hoped for was the chance to dry our gear the next day (an extra bonus would be to actually tour or ski). The early morning bathroom call brought clear skies and by 6:30 a.m. the hot Indian sun began its work as we hung out all our items. To our happy surprise, the sky remained blue and we were packed up and moving higher up the valley by 9:00 a.m.

We set camp at 3500m at the bottom of a northern valley with lots of big south facing lines falling off a summit ridgeline boasting peaks over 5000m. After a quick tour to the head of the Solang Valley just underneath Hanuman Tibba, we returned to our site shortly before Frank had showed up on our track to camp. It was great to see him as he always carries a smile and positive energy. We all were stoked we got the bluebird day and just hoping the gods would deliver one more so we could get up high.

Well, the gods have not stopped delivering blue bird conditions and we skied our brains out for the next few days until out of food and needing to get Bolton back to catch his bus to Delhi. I will let the photos do most of the talking, but basically we got what every ski mountaineer planning a trip hopes for. With big descents from over 5000m (one from the summit of Shitidar at ~5200m or ~`17,000 ft), intense ridgelines with views of steep faced peaks in every direction, creamy corn snow, and a great climbing/skiing team, it was most satisfying! So satisfying in fact, I think I am ready to hang up the skis, head south to the jungle, and begin the next phase of our adventure. But before that happens, Em and I still have our week long trip of sunny turns on and around Rohtang Pass we’ve always planned would end our ski time here. She will not let that vision fade away and we all know the benefits of compromise to satisfy one’s partner!!!

It was fantastic to have good friends make the journey to spend time with us during our adventure and share in the awe of these majestic mountains. I'm glad everyone bucked up and made the most of it, proving that the companionships outshine weather.

Labels: India, Kullu Valley, ski touring