high road to..

Got Snow ?

vistet — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:36:05 +0000

… everyone in the north got snow over the last three days , not just where it had been sorely missed ( the Solang ski slopes in Himachal green , not white , and apple farmers despondent ) , but in places no one expected it – like the Golden Temple in Amritsar. A number of places woke up to to snowfall for the first time in decades. Rohtang La on the Manali-Leh highway and Saach Pass was out naturally , and anyone planning to run up the Hindustan-Tibet road from Shimla should wait for updates.

Todays weather forecast : no snow in the coming five days in Himachal and Jammu & Kashmir. Time to let the roads thaw out ( Mandi and Jammu among others were out ) , and restore electric power.

Manali-Leh Highway Closes , 2011

vistet — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 10:04:56 +0000

Official on leh.nic.in today : the road is closed.

Srinagar-Leh Out

vistet — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 23:14:29 +0000

.. in a real sense at the moment: five inches of snow blocking the Zoji La , and more in Gulmarg. Weather forecast : cloudy , possibly light dustings of snow in the coming days.

UPDATE : re-opened after last snowfall on the 11th. Khardung La and Chang La out.

UPDATE , NOVEMBER 16th : Kashmiri Transport Minister promises in The Tribune to keep the road open yet : “The government has decided to keep the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh highway open till November-end for all types of vehicles”

Minimal snowfall , partly cloudy in the coming days weather forecast.

Source : Tribune

UPDATE : Closed finally on December 4th

Snow Cutters & Rumor Mills : Ladakh Winding Down For The Winter

vistet — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 15:04:48 +0000

Last supplies for the winter are being stocked up in Ladakh , and the first rumors of closed roads : Manali-Leh is not closed , and HRTC buses are running.

“Maintenance of the highway shall go on in winters, and we shall get the stretch cleaned in case of mild snow.” – to quote BRO. The road may not be cleared in case of heavy snowfall.

Rohtang weather forecast coming six days : 18 mm snow on Friday , 0 to five mm next five days.

False Beards to Khardung La

vistet — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 14:40:35 +0000

Packing list for Ladakh :

* Fleece jackets (check )

* Diamox ( check )

* False beards ( che… whaaat ?! )

Loads of fun with these guys , starting with the discussion threads in the planning stage. I was glad to see them take on this in their distinctly own style , and even more to see them succeed. Read more at Rickshaw 5000

Heavy Rains Coming on Leh Inroads

vistet — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 13:25:01 +0000

India Met Department has issued a severe weather warning today , August 12th , for the coming two days in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. Weather forecast says rain five out five coming days in Manali, Srinagar and Leh , and yr.no projects the peak rain in Manali at 54 mm on the 16th.
UPDATE , AUGUST 14th :Roads and railways in HP have been heavily hit in the weekend with the heaviest rainfall in Una for more than twenty years: railway bridge at Jogindernagar out , Beas river flooding over long stretches of the road ..
UPDATE , AUGUST15th : Traffic running again on Chandigarh-Manali and Pathankot-Mandi stretches.

Rohtang La on the Manali-Leh highway is out after heavy snowfall , snowfall in Keylong as well.More heavy rain to be expected on Tuesday according to Met Department, yr.no predicts moderate rainfall. Weather forecast looks good for Srinagar-Leh.

UPDATE , AUGUST 19th : Sunny weather forecast for the coming week, roads still affected.

High Altitude Risk Bingo

vistet — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 16:40:00 +0000

1. Pick the two highest capitals.

A. Cusco
B. Madrid
C. Andorra La Vella
D. Geneva
E. Addis Abeba

2. Early morning in Pang tent camp at 4510 meters , enroute to Leh. You wake up and realise that your friend is pale … and has stopped breathing !
Vital things to do within the first minute :

A. Start mouth-to-mouth breathing , and send runner to the army first aid post for oxygen.

B. Check level of consciousness , if neccessary with pain stimulation ( hard rub against sternum , sharp pressure against fingers ). If awakening , instruct to breathe deeply , and drink one liter of water.

C. Full CPR , two breaths , thirty heart compressions cycle. Eight mg dexamethason under the tongue.

D. Use watch/phone to measure heart rate during twenty seconds

E. Azetacolamide , if possible intravenously , high flow oxygen , evac to lower altitude

3.Your friend is back among living , looking a bit suprised at the emotionally charged atmosphere . What just happened ?

A. He became unconscious from hypoxia.
B. He had a cerebral edema .
C. He was breathing too much.
D. He had a allergic butter tea reaction.
E. He had low blood pressure from dehydration , and passed out while sleeping.

4. Pick the two lowest capitals.

A. Kathmandu
B. Quito
C. Sanaa , Yemen
D. Ulan Bator , Mongolia
E. Dodoma , Tanzania

5. This type of supplemental oxygen gives a valuable aid when ascending rapidly during

A. One minute
B. Fifteen minutes
C. One hour
D. Eight hours
E. One day

6. The worlds highest road tunnel is found in

A. Switzerland
B. Chile
C. Tibet
D. United States
E. Afghanistan

7. This medical grade oxygen tank is enough for moderate oxygen flow for altitude sickness victims during

A. thirty minutes
B. one hour
C. four hours
D. eight hours
E. one day

8. The mortality rate among climbers going beyond Everest Base Camp is circa :

A. 1 %
B. 3 %
C. 8 %
D. 15 %
E. 21 %

9. Sherpa mortality on climbing expeditions is

A. same as climbers
B. lower
C. higher

10. Worlds highest cable car is found in

A. France
B. Venezuela
C. Bolivia
D. India
E. China

11. Five fellow passengers on the plane to Lhasa from Kathmandu.Who is least likely to develop altitude sickness ?

A. Fiftyfive year old impatient academic , who stopped eight hours in Kathmandu to see Boudnath after the flight from the US. Slightly overweight.

B. Annoying Indian Nintendo wielding five year old that kicks the back of your seat durin the whole flight.

C. The twenty-eight year old mother of the same .

D. Long distance runner , twenty one years old, fresh from one weeks training in Goa.

D. Newari trader from Pokhara.

12. Who is the most likely to develop altitude sickness ?

13.

Boyle´s Law ( Robert Boyle , Irish scientist 1627-1691 ) is directly related to the medical condition known as :

A. HAPE
B. AMS
C. HACE
D. TIMS
E. HAFE

14.Which of these alternative/traditional remedies have a proven effect against altitude sickness ?

A. Soroche Pills (Andes)
B. High water intake
C. Coca ( Andes )
D. Hong Jian Tin/Rhodiola
E. None of the above

High Roads News Sticky

vistet — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 16:08:10 +0000

By request : this will be a sticky with condensed news, continously re-edited .

LEH INROADS :

Manali-Leh Highway closed , November 23rd. People are still ( December 7th ) crossing on foot , rescue stations at Marhi and Koksar.

Srinagar-Leh now also closed , December 4th

Weather : Severe Weather Warning from India Met , Jan 14th : heavy snowfall next two days in the upper reaches of of Himachal and Kashmir , just after the Jammu-Srinagar road has been cleared. Earlier : Massive snowfall in Himachal and J&K : five feet of snow in McLeod Ganj and even down in Dharamsala , Jammu-Srinagar road out . First snow in decades in Kangra and other sites. Widespread power cuts ,traffic still disrupted 13th. Indian Air Force making airdrops in remote areas of Kashmir.
One more grenade attack against Sopore Police station in the Vale.

TIBET : There are still closed Tibetan areas in Sichuan , and no good guesses on how long this will last. Kangding/Dartse is open.

KARAKORAM HIGHWAY has closed in a new way : no visa on arrival in Sost – which means it becomes very hard to enter Pakistan this way without a visa arranged in your home country. The road will close as usual in December.

See the relevant sections ( Manali-Leh , Srinagar-Leh etc ) for more details.

vistet — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 09:37:01 +0000

News today report of a cloudburst near Manali killing one of the of the workers on the Rohtang tunnel project after work , found several kilometers downstream in the Beas. Twenty-two wounded , and eight missing.
More rain in the coming days , weather forecast says 17 to 28 mm in four out of five coming days.

UPDATE , JULY 25th : Road out between Manali and Rohtang , hundreds of vehicles stranded – re-opened the 27th.

Rohtang : Major Landslide

vistet — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 10:57:58 +0000

More than 1500 tourists and locals overnighting in cars and buses under the Rohtang La pass on the Manali-Leh highway after landslides on Saturday.More rain , and renewed lanslides , on Sunday. Good business for the ponywallahs , taking tourists down to Manali…
Weather forecast promises light to heavy rain in the coming five days , on both sides of the Rothang.

UPDATE JULY 13th : Worse , not better : several posters mentioning long ( up to 26 hours ) delays in the Rothang before reaching Leh , and Tribune talking of almost daily six to ten blockages at the Rani Nullah. Travel agents , cab owners , farmers and hotel owners convened a meeting to pressure BRO and others responsible , demanding real change within a week.