While this stretch didn’t give much pain, all were worried about the trek that would begin tonight after few hours. We had to leave at midnight so nobody changed and slept or tried to sleep. When we woke we found that Priyanshu wasn’t feeling well, got some fever and also vomited a few times. He hasn’t opted for ponies as well and finding any at the stroke of midnight was next to impossible, also was firm to complete this trek on foot. It was a tough call as this trek wasn’t easy in fact the most demanding of them all and takes six to seven hours to reach the top of the pass.
Sometimes when you are in a fix, it’s good to leave things on Him and so did we. I think there were 8-10 fellows who didn’t opt for ponies so we decided that two of us will accompany him to the pass on rotational basis. It would later be found that this was done by a single fellow.
So we start at night for the most difficult and treacherous trail of the Yatra that will pass through an 18600 feet high pass, Dolma. We left the camp at midnight in close groups with the one without ponies left half an hour before. It’s better to cross Dolma as early as possible as blizzards may hit without warning and the weather is very fickle so we set off very early with torches. It’s the matter of faith and determination and Yatris were advised to stay in groups. We continued our ascent in dark with ever depleting oxygen that made some fellows suffer and had to be administered supplementary oxygen we carried with us.
While leaving Delhi a medical kit is provided and if someone is a Doctor in a batch it remains with him. Fortunately we had Mr. Pradeep with us who helped his heart out. It’s also advised or believed to carry some Camphor and Sendha Namak as their smells are supposed to ease fatigue and other heart symptoms.
It seemed a never ending trail and even few steps could make you halt. We continued our trek and encouraged each other as it was getting steeper. It was like walking two or three steps then resting for few minutes then repeating the same thing endlessly and it seemed much more difficult than Lipu Pass, that was just short of 5500 mts.
Priyanshu is accompanied by Arvind and me at start. Former is a Punjab lad, incredibly fit and blessed and so far helped his heart out to each and every fellow. I remember an incident few days back where a senior fellow was struggling on a trail that was quite an up and down and was not suitable for pony ride. Arvind was accompanying him all on his own and at one point the senior fellow got his shoes in tatters, to know he didn’t have an extra pair, without waiting for a second offered him his shoes and wore the ragged ones. He was a sweeper in the group and always ensured that the last of the fellows reached the camp safely, not only this he would ensure that fellows remain hydrated and to ensure this he would go past everyone offering water and chocolates and then come back all the way in a stretch, that was usually at least two to three kms depending on the speed of individuals. He is a kind of fellow, very few on this earth; a true devotee and in real sense, a true Yatri.
Om Namah Shivay...
After two or three kms, I began to feel the altitude and thought I won’t be able to accompany him to the top and that left all the efforts to Arvind himself. Rotation didn’t come into picture as altitude made everybody slow and tired with some fellows already struggling, it was hard to assist even yourself at that time.
So I sat thinking what to do next as I knew though Arvind won’t say a word but it’s getting tougher, though Priyanshu is moving but was sick and had to be carried and pushed, with no help coming anytime sooner or later I decided to walk beside and could only offer help occasionally at some steeper sections.
Dolma is still one or two kms away when the Sun finally shows, so basically we just managed to cover 4-5 kms in five hrs. By God's grace not a single drop fell throughout our entire Yatra so far and it was all very clear otherwise walking through snow here would have made things much more difficult.
The final stretch is somewhat flat but equally exhausting in that rarefied atmosphere. I kept on chanting Om Namah Shivay, jai BajrangBali as it proved to be a real task to pull for even one or two steps. So one can guess what an extraordinary and divine task that man Arvind has done here. Finally we reached at the highest point of our Yatra the Dolma, at 5670 meters. The place is strewn with Buddhist flags and old clothes and derives its name from the Tibetan Goddess Dolma. This is also named as Shiv Sthal where the Yam is supposed to judge those who cross it. A rock here represents goddess Tara Devi. Yatris may offer here prayer flags, dhoop etc. It’s just a flat stretch of land at the top of the pass and the feeling was indeed very satisfying. We thanked God for helping us all the way and prayed for the forward journey.
Kailash is not visible here at Dolma. It was, when Sun rose, we saw it last en route and was radiating red like the Sun itself. Everybody is feeling better at the top and the climb was indeed very satisfying. It was a test and all were through. We were the last of the fellows, trailing by atleast an hour to the group and now its almost 7am, at top. Guptaji, Vaibhav and Soniji were nowhere to be seen since last five hours so they might be well ahead of us. The good news is that Priyanshu is now felling much better and everybody thanked Arvind for his selfless extraordinary effort.
Chanting Om Namah Shivay, we started our descent. Just as we start, we see the emerald green Gauri Kund. Goddess Parvati is believed to have bathed here. It’s somewhat deep down and in order to take water from here you have to make a fair descent. It was advised to ask pony handler to bring it for you if you opted for it or may ask fellow Yatris’ pony handlers. They will charge around 25-50 Yuan (Rs 250-500). Many fellows went down and brought it themselves. Priyanshu took help of a porter, I think mid way and he brought it for us. The next 2 km is a steep descent that drops us more than thousand meters and the trek afterwards is somewhat leveled.