Yes, coz Manali-Leh is a seculded route with difficult roads (if any) and very high passes with harsh weather, where help is hard to come by and you are on your own in case of a mishap, until travelling with a group. The route turns scary at night when compared to the well laid Srinagar-Leh route where traffic is aplenty and someone will come for help when you need it. Let us know when you hear from him and how was his experience on that route. If he's done that route before then he might not face much difficulty. It's hard for first timers like me who weren't aware of the conditions out there.
Good to hear you are back safely. You are gonna love the feeling for a day or two before you again start missing all that adventure despite how hard it had hit you. Is happening with me

Hi Friends

I believe Leh - Manali stretch is not that bad either.

I did it alone on 2nd & 3rd July. Travelled in 2 days from Leh to Sarchu & then Manali.

I enjoyed the streams & Rohtang in particular...

@maneesh Sir,

congractulations on your completed ride,
so did u visited siachen ?? and where are the pics ??

The stretch is magnificent, no doubt about it. But it got a little tough for us on sand and nallahs due to the low GC of our car. Also, just as we were entering Keylong at around 10PM we heard the sound of a huge nallah which had us worried since it was tough to judge the depth in pitch dark conditions. We then waited for a truck whose driver guided us through and to our respite we found that it was just a flat stream. That driver warned us to not cross Rohthang pass in night since it's landslide prone and one famous Rani Nallah would be too much to risk for our little car at that point of time. So, we stayed the night at Keylong and just when we reached Khoksar at 8AM, we were stopped for 3 hours due to BRO doing some construction work. We left khoksar at 11:30 AM (after having a tiff with the check post incharge there) and went to the breathtaking, snowy and in the clouds Rohthang pass only to be stuck again for 6 hours due to landslide

I also completed my much awaited Leh trip this june.... Delhi-Manali-Leh-Srinagar-Delhi...2 KR's and 1 Bult 500M....i totally agree that the Manali-Leh strtch is really challenging....we encountered knee deep water pools at rohtang, Rani nallah was strong, my bike got stuck as well...then the ascent upto Tanglang la-a BRO officer coming down hill told us to be extra cautious, what we got was knee deep slush for a full 3-4kms upto the pass :-o .... bikes were losing power ascending changla and to top it up, it had snowed and we had to ride on black ice, while coming back to Leh....zero grip....nothing more to say dear friends, i had an experience of a lifetime.....

Just got a confirmation, he reached Leh safely. Our very own xbhpians helping him out on keylong/rohtang in time of need. He had to return from keylong to mandi for sorting out issues with his bike & lost 2-3 days in the process. No more details yet on how rest of the journey was.

Its really scary to know about your experience on Leh-manali route but i know a group of 7 first timers who did manali leh stretch not even a month ago.
2 punctured bikes, back to back put in seperate trucks after sunset & transported till Upshi by nightfall.
some minor falls here & there, no damage to man or machine.
night rides on 2 out of 3 days on manali - leh stretch, Reaching keylong approx 9.pm & reaching leh after 12.am.
But no major issues as such at any of the passes, the roads, the weather or terrain.
Help was available wherever required, just took a little time to search for it.
Most of those 7 riders are xbhp'ians, united by xbhp for the ride.

But i guess, everyone is not as lucky on manali-leh stretch.

& stupid me, considered travelling to leh in a car would be easier. But hats off to people like you who dare to take their small cars in such terrain.

Do share more stories/pics from your experience if you can.
Cheers.

Good to hear about your friend. We also saw many biker groups on Leh-manali stretch. At More Plains, a big group was enjoying off roading in the sands whereas we were praying for a sand free path as we had already stuck twice. Even after full throttle and two guys pushing, the car won't buzz and would get deeper into the sands since it was as fine as cement, so we just gave up and waited for help which arrived but pretty late. I would have prefferd a bike over our little car at Leh-Manali stretch. I am going to put up a travelogue with all the pics and videos of our journey soon.

Hey Guys, anyone who wanna team up with me for a Leh circuit run, end of Aug- Sept beginning. The friends i was pairing up with might ditch me and drop out and I really want to do this in 2012.
Thanks,
Gurpreet

PS: Reason for going in Aug- Sept is that my right hand is fractured as of now and the date when plaster will be cut open is 11th Aug and ofcourse Leh festival happens in Sept, right?

A bad news.. My friend met with an accident on Leh - Srinagar route. Currently hospitalized in kargil district hospital. Bike seems to be badly damaged & needs to be transported back. Luckily he's fine with only worrysome factor being his leg injury which wont let him walk well for a few days atleast so riding back is impossible.

A sincere request to all members,
If anyone of you, or your friends or any contacts are currently near kargil, it would be of a great help.
We're planning to leave from mumbai tomorrow or day after & reach kargil by monday.
Meanwhile,
Any help is appreciated..

Sad to hear this. Two members of our Team 2 suffered an accident 60 odd kms short of Khaltsi. A police vehicle (!!!) hit them. The rider had a fracture of the arm while his pillion, a girl, had her thigh fractured. Her parents came from Bangalore to take her home. So much planning, preparation and anticipation all down the drain... They are young and recuperating fast.

Dear Gurpreet,
In Sep, your arm would have barely healed. The Leh route is quite rough on the arms - lots of vibrations from broken terrain, lots of physically hefting the bike thru slush etc. So, you are likely to be in pain on the first day itself.

As a fellow biker, I recommend that you review your decision. Leh is not going anywhere and neither are you. But if the fracture is unsettled in the healing process, it will be a lifelong liability which might prevent you from riding at all. I am sure your ortho surgeon will have similar advice.

Regards,

Maneesh

This is really sad to hear. Hope he gets fine real quick..

late to catch on this thread. but was wondering when the mission will be completed. congratulations. waiting for the story.

Manish did you do chushul loma nyoma circuit.I heard that permits are not issued for loma nyoma via chushul route.what about gas station comdition in diskit and karu are the suplying fuel.

Dear oilburner,

We could not get permits for that sector despite me assuring the authorities of my credentials. So, we cancelled that leg and instead, revamped our schedule thus saving two days in the process.

We also did not go to Diskit although I went to Siachen Base Camp. There is a fuel station in Karu and it is active.

Maneesh

Dear Gurpreet,
In Sep, your arm would have barely healed. The Leh route is quite rough on the arms - lots of vibrations from broken terrain, lots of physically hefting the bike thru slush etc. So, you are likely to be in pain on the first day itself.

As a fellow biker, I recommend that you review your decision. Leh is not going anywhere and neither are you. But if the fracture is unsettled in the healing process, it will be a lifelong liability which might prevent you from riding at all. I am sure your ortho surgeon will have similar advice.

Regards,

Maneesh[/QUOTE]

Thanks for your advice jee, lets see what the situation is when the plaster opens on 11th Aug, hoping for the best