The base camp is on a flat piece of ground where 15-20 10-men tents can be erected for the trainees. This space was sufficient for the basic as well as advanced course trainees. There is a stone wall shelter with tarpaulin sheets spread over wooden rafters as a roof. The space is just adequate to pack in 70 odd people, squatting on more tarpaulins spread on the ground. Few steel boxes in the center act as storage as well as stand for the projector, laptop and electric wires and sockets. A pull down white screen at one end is used to project the pictures/ training films and powerpoint presentations shown through the laptop. The instructors bring fold-able stools for themselves as the trainees squat on the sheets. Uncomfortable arrangement but they are making it bigger, utilizing the porters who stay at the base camp.
The fall-in area is along a raised portion of the ground where the kitchen and serving counters are located in another stone hut. Besides this are the water point, garbage pits and on the other side, the quartermaster's store. The instructors and staff tents are out of bounds for the trainees, behind the kitchen.
For morning routine, trainees are supposed to walk down a steep slope, into a dry khud and dig holes for themselves, using the ice axe. This was a tricky proposition, specially when there was snow or verglas and several guys were seen falling and sliding on the narrow path down the slope or on the boulders in the bed. We were told to cover up every day to avoid the toilet paper floating into air with the winds and coming back into the tent areas! This was the grossest experience for most of the city guys but everyone just went and did it, in absence of any other option. It was really interesting to see the way people adopted to keep water warm in their bottles for the morning routine, if they did not feel like using the T.P. Some will take warm water for drinking in the night, after dinner and keep it inside their sleeping bag to keep it warm. Others will try and cajole the porter in charge of the water cauldron in the morning and try to get some water from him. Most of us, used the T.P. though. Shortages were dealt with by ordering some more through the dak carrier, who supplied stuff on the fourth day after the order was placed.
The cold made the food always less interesting although to be fair, the cooks managed to dish out reasonable fare considering the harsh climate and the remoteness of the place. Pretty soon, my dinner became lukewarm soup followed by one cold (and wet from the snow) chapati with cold jelly or custard, washed down with diluted milk+horlicks. Lunch was rice with mutton curry, with some fruit for me. I hardly ever managed to eat the 'Daal' or the vegetable dishes they made, mainly due to the chilly in it. Breakfast was the best, with jam, butter, 4 slices of bread, eggs and daliya or cornflakes with lot of tea.
High altitude rations were 5 toffees, 2 khajoors, some kishmish each and 2 packets of biscuits for the group of 7. We were supposed to fill in diluted squash in half of our water bottles for the day, with water in the rest of the bottles.
We always departed in good weather, at 0730 or 0800 in the morning. PT was held before breakfast (0600-0630) but later discontinued as the weather deteriorated. The weather always went bad around 1100 and by 1200, it used to snow or rain. We always returned wet and cold with no chance to dry the wet stuff. The snow boots were always wet as was the windproof suit we wore everyday. Wet socks and gloves and a wet and therefore heavier rope to carry, rounded off the misery the weather brought on to us. Occasionally one of the guys in your tent stayed back due to medical reasons and that was a boon as then, you were sure that this guy will dry out and put back in, all the wet stuff in the tent, before the weather went bad. We could not do this otherwise, as we always returned after the snow started.
The first few days were pure misery as even after returning from the exhausting training trip up the glacier, you barely had the time to change and have lunch, before the instructors were shouting again to get assembled in the lecture hall ( the stone shelter) for classes. Dinner was also followed by movies on mountain climbing etc. The weather went from bad to worse and soon, the drop outs from the course reached 16!
This lead to some readjustments and our course leader was instrumental in getting our point across. Soon we had free time after lunch, till 430 pm, followed by class or volleyball if weather permitted. The movies turned into Hollywood stuff like cliffhanger, vertical limit and touching the void. Thereafter the movies were also made optional. PT stopped altogether as we settled down into the routine.
The fall-in area is along a raised portion of the ground where the kitchen and serving counters are located in another stone hut. Besides this are the water point, garbage pits and on the other side, the quartermaster's store. The instructors and staff tents are out of bounds for the trainees, behind the kitchen.
For morning routine, trainees are supposed to walk down a steep slope, into a dry khud and dig holes for themselves, using the ice axe. This was a tricky proposition, specially when there was snow or verglas and several guys were seen falling and sliding on the narrow path down the slope or on the boulders in the bed. We were told to cover up every day to avoid the toilet paper floating into air with the winds and coming back into the tent areas! This was the grossest experience for most of the city guys but everyone just went and did it, in absence of any other option. It was really interesting to see the way people adopted to keep water warm in their bottles for the morning routine, if they did not feel like using the T.P. Some will take warm water for drinking in the night, after dinner and keep it inside their sleeping bag to keep it warm. Others will try and cajole the porter in charge of the water cauldron in the morning and try to get some water from him. Most of us, used the T.P. though. Shortages were dealt with by ordering some more through the dak carrier, who supplied stuff on the fourth day after the order was placed.
The cold made the food always less interesting although to be fair, the cooks managed to dish out reasonable fare considering the harsh climate and the remoteness of the place. Pretty soon, my dinner became lukewarm soup followed by one cold (and wet from the snow) chapati with cold jelly or custard, washed down with diluted milk+horlicks. Lunch was rice with mutton curry, with some fruit for me. I hardly ever managed to eat the 'Daal' or the vegetable dishes they made, mainly due to the chilly in it. Breakfast was the best, with jam, butter, 4 slices of bread, eggs and daliya or cornflakes with lot of tea.
High altitude rations were 5 toffees, 2 khajoors, some kishmish each and 2 packets of biscuits for the group of 7. We were supposed to fill in diluted squash in half of our water bottles for the day, with water in the rest of the bottles.
We always departed in good weather, at 0730 or 0800 in the morning. PT was held before breakfast (0600-0630) but later discontinued as the weather deteriorated. The weather always went bad around 1100 and by 1200, it used to snow or rain. We always returned wet and cold with no chance to dry the wet stuff. The snow boots were always wet as was the windproof suit we wore everyday. Wet socks and gloves and a wet and therefore heavier rope to carry, rounded off the misery the weather brought on to us. Occasionally one of the guys in your tent stayed back due to medical reasons and that was a boon as then, you were sure that this guy will dry out and put back in, all the wet stuff in the tent, before the weather went bad. We could not do this otherwise, as we always returned after the snow started.
The first few days were pure misery as even after returning from the exhausting training trip up the glacier, you barely had the time to change and have lunch, before the instructors were shouting again to get assembled in the lecture hall ( the stone shelter) for classes. Dinner was also followed by movies on mountain climbing etc. The weather went from bad to worse and soon, the drop outs from the course reached 16!
This lead to some readjustments and our course leader was instrumental in getting our point across. Soon we had free time after lunch, till 430 pm, followed by class or volleyball if weather permitted. The movies turned into Hollywood stuff like cliffhanger, vertical limit and touching the void. Thereafter the movies were also made optional. PT stopped altogether as we settled down into the routine.
