Re: Of Gods & Mortals : A snow ride to Badrinath and Mana in extreme winters

Wow what amazing pictures and what amazing ride. Thank you for sharing..

Re: Of Gods & Mortals : A snow ride to Badrinath and Mana in extreme winters

I had to clean off some drool over my keyboard after staring at those snow riding pics
More please

Re: Of Gods & Mortals : A snow ride to Badrinath and Mana in extreme winters

WHAT THE HELL....Simply beautiful

Re: Of Gods & Mortals : A snow ride to Badrinath and Mana in extreme winters

Gupta ji -- after seeing FB pics by you and WED I was waiting for the log and some not uploaded pics

Awesome is an understatement for such an experience

cheers to your ride

Re: Of Gods & Mortals : A snow ride to Badrinath and Mana in extreme winters

Thanks Guys, the next part of the travelogue will be uploaded today.

Re: Of Gods & Mortals : A snow ride to Badrinath and Mana in extreme winters

Simply hooked onto this thread...the pic on the way to Mazaffarnagar is the one I liked most...has got a misty sense about it...anyhow I'm totally awestruck...

Sir, it has been 3 days now. We are hungry for the pictures and log now.

Re: Of Gods & Mortals : A snow ride to Badrinath and Mana in extreme winters

Some 10 KMs before Joshimath the next day, we had our first bike breakdown. Manik’s Duke suddenly died completely due to some electrical problem. We had to open almost the entire bike in the middle of nowhere to fix it. Around 2 hours were lost fixing the bike but we were happy that finally the bike had come to life and wouldn’t have to be taken back on truck as there was no mechanic around in that area who could fix it. The culprit was a cut in the main power cable that goes from the ignition lock to the ECU. We were lucky to find the fault and fix it then and there.


A photo break en route Niti Valley


The mighty mountains just dwarf anything in front of them


A hot water spring en route -


some posing


another angle


a beautiful valley


some more posing


We had planned to go till Gamshali in the Niti Valley and come back to Joshimath the same day as there were hardly any accommodation options in Gamshali. But, the delay in fixing Manik’s bike and getting the permits sorted at District Collector’s office meant that we had already lost the better part of the day. Also there was an approximately 15 KM long patch of extreme off roading. This patch was still under construction & was full of sharp, pointed rocks and dirt coupled with steep climb. And it was here that we first encountered the notorious black ice. The last 2-3 KMs before the village Malari were full of black ice. We had few falls on the black ice as well. By the time we reached the Malari village, it was already 4 p.m. and the group was divided on whether to go further ahead or to turn back as it was extremely dangerous to ride after dark in those conditions. So it was decided that we will ride till 5 p.m. and take a U-turn from wherever we are at that time. A few riders riding ahead, including myself, missed the turn for Gamshali and went on a road that had some extremely bad patches of black ice & frozen streams. Two guys who were riding lead went a little further found that the road ahead had vanished and there was a river stream crossing through it. They went down till the river bed and tried to cross it riding the bike and got stuck there. Realizing that they could not cross it, they tried to get back on the road, but the incline was steep and due to high altitude and a heavy machine, they could not get their bikes on the road. Luckily, the third guy reached there and they got their bikes back on the road one by one, falling and dropping the bikes on themselves in the process. If the third guy wasn't there, it was impossible for these two guys to get their bike back on the road by themselves. All the other guys had turned back by that time time as it was 5 p.m. already. We could hardly cover 1-2 KMs in 1 hour when the 5 p.m. mark forced us to turn back. By the time we came back to Joshimath, we all were completely tired and the entire body was aching badly. This was such a tiring day that at one point while coming back there was mud in the middle of the road and i was trying to ride on the edge to avoid getting in it. Almost halfway through it, the bike started slipping towards its center, but I was so tired that I could not steer it with my body and keep it on the edge, just somehow managed to ride through it without falling.


Hell zone begins


first encounter with the black ice


& the black ice claims its first victim


Had to be helped to get up


enjoy the views




At Malari Village







the wrong turn took me here, notice the frozen stream






Perhaps day's last photo

& here's a video when we were climbing towards Niti Valley
Riding in a landslide zone - The classic WTF moment - YouTube
It was a close call. The surprises mountain throws at you..


But whatever we experienced that day was just a trailer of the things to come the next day when we rode to Badrinath.

Re: Of Gods & Mortals : A snow ride to Badrinath and Mana in extreme winters

Superlike is the word.................

Re: Of Gods & Mortals : A snow ride to Badrinath and Mana in extreme winters

Epic. Brilliant pics.

Re: Of Gods & Mortals : A snow ride to Badrinath and Mana in extreme winters

Beautiful log sir! And awesome pics. Please keep them coming. and yeah.... very cute puppies

Re: Of Gods & Mortals : A snow ride to Badrinath and Mana in extreme winters

Nice Pics Sunil G.


Sent from my XT1033 using xBhp Connect mobile app

Re: Of Gods & Mortals : A snow ride to Badrinath and Mana in extreme winters

As usual...superb pics.. But I really liked the puppies pic...it was cutest of all...and that one where water is coming out of the pipe and froze, creating an ice pyramid

Re: Of Gods & Mortals : A snow ride to Badrinath and Mana in extreme winters

wow ... great adventure ..
great pictures sunil ji

Re: Of Gods & Mortals : A snow ride to Badrinath and Mana in extreme winters

Simply awesome.......

Re: Of Gods & Mortals : A snow ride to Badrinath and Mana in extreme winters

Epic ride Sunil bro....Inspirational