icemang

Hi friends,

I had planned a trip to an old friend - Leh and Siachen Glacier - but it was aborted due to a host of conflicting requirements. I have settled these hassles and now will go to Leh in June 2012.

This thread will serve as the meeting ground for people who wish to join me on the road much traveled. I will go alone if I do not get any company and there is a very good reason for me to do this: I lost an excellent officer and brave men on the snowy heights of Siachen in 1997. I vowed to return one day to pay homage to their memories at the Siachen Memorial at Base Camp. The time has come now to fulfill my vows.

The civilians with me can go to Leh but may not be permitted to turn right from Khalsar/Satti to take the road to Siachen Base Camp. Sorry for that...

Thanks in advance.

Maneesh

EDIT

The final schedule:

THE LEH 2012 SCHEDULE


09 June Friday – Pune to Jammu Tawi, 10 June Sat – En-route

11 June Monday Jammu afternoon: Rendezvous of members


12 June Tuesday Jammu to Srinagar (290)/Pahalgam: Start

13 Jun Wednesday Srinagar/Pahalgam to Drass (220)/Kargil (280): If Zojilla proves too time consuming, then Drass else Kargil.

14 Jun Thursday Drass/Kargil to Leh via Lamayuru (286/225): Early start

15 June Friday Leh: Acclimatisation, permits, carb setting

16 June Saturday Leh: 2nd day of acclimatisation and sight-seeing if required.

17 Jun Sunday Leh to Siachen (230): Onward journey.

18 June Monday Siachen to Leh (230): Return journey.

19 June Tuesday Leh to Pangong Tso (Spangmik 170): NH Spangmik
20 June Wednesday Pangong Tso (Spangmik) to Nyoma via Chushul (150):


21 June Thursday Nyoma to Upshi/Karu/Leh (159/166/202): Upshi if there is a fuel pump there else Leh, rest in Leh, prep for the return trip.

22 June Friday Leh/Karu/Upshi to Pang/Sarchu (175/139/126>249/213/200): self explanatory.

23 June Saturday Pang/Sarchu to Keylong (207/133): ditto

24 June Sunday Keylong to Manali/Kulu (114/156):

25 Jun Monday Manali/Kulu to Delhi (555/513):

26 Jun Tuesday – Reserve

27 Jun Wednesday - Reserve

28 Jun Thursday – Delhi to Pune


Total days on the road: 14. Emergencies etc: 2 days in spare at the end for travel arrangements. Grand Total – 16 days.

Final meet before the start: Jammu Railway Station, MCO office
Date: 11 Jun 2012
Time: 1200hours (depending upon arrival of Jhelum Exp from Pune)

__________________
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http://tinyurl.com/Leh-members
http://tinyurl.com/Leh-Excel-prep

Noor

Discussion thread approved

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hensil

Manish,
How are you traveling, two wheels or four wheels? How far can a civilian go with you? I am interested in joining you. From where will you start?
My trip will be an photography trip.
Henry

icemang

Dear Noor,

Thank you very much for approving the thread.

Warmest Regards,

Maneesh

__________________
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http://tinyurl.com/Leh-members
http://tinyurl.com/Leh-Excel-prep

icemang

Henry,

I will be biking up and down.

Civilians can go to non-restricted areas; these would be marked amply and clearly. Additional info will be available at the Collector's office in Leh.

I will be starting from Pune. The onward journey via the Srinagar route and return via Manali.

__________________
http://tinyurl.com/Leh-Schedule
http://tinyurl.com/Leh-members
http://tinyurl.com/Leh-Excel-prep

shravanchoudhary9

i am from jodhpur rajasthan, so in rajasthan where from you will travel, also i never been outside rajasthan, so what documents needed and how much it will cost me to up and down for petrol and hotel. will u also ride in nights or only in day period.
thanks.
shrawan choudhary

icemang

Shrawan,

At the risk of rebuking you, may I ask you to read the existing Leh travelogues, especially the one by Vishwas and by Ketan Nikharge? You would be much the wiser after you read the threads about Leh, right?

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http://tinyurl.com/Leh-members
http://tinyurl.com/Leh-Excel-prep

icemang

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B5E...3ODg0&hl=en_US

This is an Excel sheet with some planning data. Readers may not edit it online but may send me edited versions of their downloaded copies at my email address.

I will update it with changes as and when made.

A gentle note for all readers of this thread. A successful return journey to Leh is the outcome of detailed planning, elaborate preparation and sensible execution. It should start much before members post to this thread - the content of the replies of members to the thread would reveal the extent to which they have applied themselves to this project. Please do not litter the thread with absolutely novice questions - this is not the place for them; they would, if members take the trouble to research, be answered in plenty by other informative ones like the ones I have mentioned in an earlier post and/or by Googling for answers. Please help me to keep this thread adult. I would also request all posters to adhere to forum rules - absolutely NO SMS language . I shall ignore any query so made and refer the poster to admin for necessary action. If anyone does not like the thread, kindly moderate your language and its tenor.

Ladies and gentlemen, let us be so...

Next post about the timings.

__________________
http://tinyurl.com/Leh-Schedule
http://tinyurl.com/Leh-members
http://tinyurl.com/Leh-Excel-prep

icemang

The D days are given in the Excel sheet as a working base; terrain, weather and the unforeseen circumstances so common to such tours would cause modifications on the fly which we would do as and when confronted by them.

A look at weather patterns in the general area indicate the following:

Nov to Apr - passes are closed specially on the Manali axis.

Jul to Sep - is the monsoon. When I was there from 1996 till 1998, there was very little rainfall and much more snowfall. Global climate is changing and the negative effect in this area is that there is much greater rain. I for one, am quite shocked at the extent of climate change in just the past 10 odd years.

May to Jun - is the time when passes are open, there is little or no rain, the temp is bearable. Ketan Nikharge's schedule was good and I intend to follow that.

So, tentatively, the trip would start on 28 May and end (if all goes well) on 13 June or so. We can go a few days in advance or postpone the start but not by much due to the monsoon.

__________________
http://tinyurl.com/Leh-Schedule
http://tinyurl.com/Leh-members
http://tinyurl.com/Leh-Excel-prep

avk84

Hi Maneesh.. got the info about the thread from Trivandrum G2G talkie..

Me along with couple of others are also planning for this. We haven't gave it a hard thought yet as we are working in different firms and getting leave for some 15 days for all of us in the same time can be difficult.

may be we will meet sometime later this month and give it a good thought. If we are coming we will be starting off from Delhi. From where will u be starting...

Also which route are you planning..?

If all fall in place may be we can ride together to Leh