No news of any emergency as such. But apparently some people on bikes accidentally crossed over to the chinese territory and have been detained by the chinese army. So now the passes to certain places are being withheld...

...got no words for this situation...Isn't it irresponsible of the bikers to go this far and get into a mess like this..I hope they are back safe and sound and will appreciate if you could keep posting any updates you have on the situation in Leh (like permits unavailable etc)

Thanks

Scary news. Any Idea when this happened?

I might not be around from next weekend
You can catch the latest updates at the following places
1. BCM Touring
2. HV Kumars Fanpage at Facebook

Sometime last week I guess...

Okay...so the high alert situation is due to Amarnath yatra starting on 25th June..No need to worry guys...just ride safe as there will be much tighter security...

Was on the circuit from 9th to 17th and covered the route Gurgaon - Srinagar - Kargil- Rangdum+Kargil+Lamayuru- Leh - K Top - Pangong Tso - Upshi- Keylong - Mandi - Gurgaon.

The road conditions
Srinagar - Zozila base -- Awesome roads.
Zozila crossing - A bit of bad patches but nothing big. Traffic was a major pain point.
Drass - Kargil -- Like last year 50% awesom 50% awful.
Kargil - Rangdum -- He he.. no roads worth speaking of :-) Just gravel/sand/jagged rocks.
Kargil - Leh -- Pretty good with some bad patches at Fotu La and places where BRO is doing blasting.
Leh - Ktop -- Nice roads till south pullu - Beyond that its bad with one or two icy patches.

Leh - Pangong Tso -- Generally good roads apart from Chang La section which was an icy slushy mix at some places.

Upshi - taklangla --- pretty much same as last year -- the last few kilometers have a bit of slush otherwise gorgeous roads.

Taklangla - Debring -- Bad -- The existing road has been dug up. Its now either gravel broken up road or a bit of slush in the first two kilometers of the descent.

Debring - Pang -- Beautiful -- Much better than last year. Half of the road is gorgeous tarmac and the other half now has a gravel road with some diversions only - Offroading is down to a minimum.

Pang - Sarchu --- Pang to lachungla is as bad as last year -- Only thing its bone dry so sandy roads will be the only problem. Kangla jal was a joke two days back. Hardly any snow at lachung la and in nakeela. Gata loops is same as last year -- a bit of gravel on the roads otherwise pretty good.

Sarchu - Baralachla -- Mix of gravel and tarmac. Baralachla has lots of snow but none on the road. Suraj tal was semi frozen.

Baralachla - zing zing bar -- Moto GP level roads almost. Had lots of fun.

Zing zing bar - patsio -- gravel.

Patsio - Keylong -- Intermittently awesome and gravelly roads. A few minor water crossings.

Keylong - gramphoo -- 1 hour is all it took -- 80% awesome roads.

Rohtang ascent from gramphoo side -- Mostly tarmac with barely two turns with some serious slush. Its a cakewalk this year.

Rohtang descent -- Huge surprise -- Its got a lot of tarmac this year where last year we had struggled in the slush. Dry gravelly roads. Even the traffic was lesser though it was a saturday. Cakewalk again :-)

Do note that weather can be fickle and things can change quickly on the Leh - Manali route :-)

How did the bikes perform? I guess you had CBR250, Impulse and Bullet in your group?

We had the CBR, Impulse and the zma.

Impulse is a dream to ride on the route. With a 250cc heart and with Fi - It would be the best bike for the terrain - period.
That said, before the "wire in a carburettor" mod it struggled horribly. Post that mod - it was pretty good and most of the time we were only seeing its taillight
The zma - business as usual - No frills no spills. No mod required.

CBR 250 -- On tarmac it was awesome. I covered Gurgaon to Srinagar in a day (900km approx) with barely any problems.
On wet tarmac i felt it was a bit unsure and the rear did slip a couple of times at patnitop.
On gravel - Bad - I lost confidence severely and had to tread about gravel downhills gingerly. Same was the case with sand on the roads. Took a few spills on sandy sections.
On ice+slush it was manageable.
Another point was that the bike was very susceptible to cross winds a lot. Never felt this issue with the 220. Overall - i think its a very good bet for leh provided it gets a tyre upgrade. The hunt for the right tyre begins :-)

Siachen Glacier

I thought to share this with our friends here. Most of us will never get to see this place. So pictures say a thousand words. And salute to our Indian heroes.

BBC News - In pictures: Siachen, the world's highest battlefield

"The Land is so barren and the passes so high that only the best of friends and fiercest of enemies come by"

Thanks Mik for sharing this info. We are also leaving for Leh on 27th and will be taking the same route i.e. Delhi--Srinagar--Kargil--Leh--Ktop--Pangong---Tso Moriri--Leh--Keylong--Manali--Delhi...How's the weather in Leh? We are 3 friends going by car and two more will join us directly in Leh. We plan to hire bikes in Leh for visiting Ktop, Pangong and Tso Moriri but have heard that it's raining quite a lot in Leh. Can you confirm this and give some advice on riding on bikes to places after Leh?

Thanks

There were few specks of rain on 13th. Though weather can be fickle there and be prepared for anything. This time we saw zero snow at places where last time we had been overwhelmed by snow in August and incredible amount of snow at passes which had been barren last time around.
A few things to take care - if renting bikes Impulse is the best bet for the terrain. Rentals have started keeping the Impulse.
While riding - icy slush can be a common problem at passes - Ice will not offer any grip but icy slush gives decent amount of traction so don't be afraid.
Don't rev the bike too much on slippery surfaces. Just gentle throttle will see you through the worst of slush etc.

Cool..Thanks Mik

I am planning to take duke 200 to leh in the second week of july from jammu.
Has any one done leh on a duke, any reviews, tips, etc. will be highly appreciated. Would I need to change the tyres for the trip(if yes, any suggestions), as I feel the grip provided with the oem tyres will not be enough while off-roading.

hi Mig, did you change oil to accomodate high altitudes?

hi Mig, did you change oil in your CBR250 to accomodate high altitudes? Kind of 10w 50