Goecha La - The Third Day: Sunrise At Dzongri

It is 3.30 AM in the morning when Justin calls me.

Chae sir..Get up and be ready. We shall start by 4.

The sky has cleared out completely and the stars are twinkling and the moon is shining.

I gulp the tea quickly, take the camera bag and Justin holds the tripod. Brushing the teeth? Well that thought simply doesn’t come to my mind. It can be done once we come back. The pain in my legs is no more. But I feel groggy, waking with a very bad headache. The cold, frosty ground is the culprit.

So, at 4 AM in the morning, under the fast disappearing star lit sky, listening to the swaying bells of the Dzos and in the blistering cold of the sweeping winds I climb past the valley of Dzongri.

"Be careful sir. The ice is very slippery."

The path is icy and completely snowed out.

It is a race against time to a high theater and the entry isn't exactly costly - its priceless. I am walking along the path to reach Dzongri La, the top of Dzongri.

At the top, the sight knocks me off my still groggy senses. A thousand peaks seemed to surround this precious little perch(read pass), where the snow was soft and powdery. All the peaks - Kanchenjunga, Pandim,Thin Chen Khang, Jopuno, Black Kabru, the sweeping face of Mt Kabru, Rathong, Fork Peak, Frey Peak are glowing in the sun light. And even though, by now, I have witnessed a few golden sunrises, this sight looks domineering.

First they look orange and then golden and then they are burn into a bright white. Especially the wide face of Kabru which is glistening golden in the light.And then the light finally fell upon the pyramid like face of the Kanchenjunga.

People armed with tripods, camera, rucksacks, flasks of tea and what not have come to watch this spectacle.High above the valleys and creeks, Dzongri La offers a commanding view of the geography around. Justin points me towards the valley over which we will walk tomorrow.

This was the perfect Himalayan symphony.

There are times in a journey, when you feel that “this is the moment” - and I was living that moment. The sweat and hardships of the past two days ,when I had felt a little lost, is bearing its fruit. Patience is a sweet thing. Its results are even sweeter.

A carnival seemed to be going on at the top.

But, in reality it was a moment of solitude.

One of immortality. Of realization.

I mutter a silent prayer, thank God that I have been fortunate enough to witness a grand spectacle such as this.

We climb down after a zillion photographs.

It is an experience to remember and thank you all that I got to relive it once again here at Team-BHP!

Later I go for a short snooze and wake up on hearing somebody beating the tent. When I look out, I see that the mists have rolled back in and it has started to snowing once again. Never mind, I go back to sleep. Today, we have time to kill, because today we rest at Dzongri.

During the walking days I had made a few friends. And I spent the better part of the evening chatting with them and enjoying sips of hot Chang, the millet brew that’s very common among guides and porters.

This is at the Dzongri Trekkers’ hut and Laxmi Maiyya is at its helm. She chants prayers and lights up some incense herbs in the evening as the snow shows no signs of abating. She stays here all the year round and is responsible for the upkeep of the hut. Her husband is responsible for the rations(thats what the guides told me).

Later, while getting back to my tent, I skid on the crusted ice and fell down. It sure hurts. I get up, my knees shaking and fell again as I take a couple of more steps.

‘Watch out”, says my friend.

I could have stayed at the trekkers hut. But there couldn't have been a better way to experience tent life than this. After all, its only 7 days in a year that we have this wild, wild life! .I step gingerly onto the snow and walk back to my tent. Have dinner and go to sleep.