Kedarkantha | A Delightful Winter Trek

Each time I post a blog, it’s a customary practice to follow it with a dedicated Photo Blog. A Photo Blog is a striped down version of the original blog offering more visual content and fewer words. This is, especially for the social media generation/addicts that have short attention span. Having said that, here’s the link to my original blog.

INTRODUCTION:

What comes to your mind when winter is approaching? Have you ever experienced an eagerness to venture out only during the winters? Holding back all your leave entitlements and keenly waiting for an exclusive year-end winter-vacation? It’s a stimulating experience of building up an avid fervour for an upcoming travel.

Over the years I have travelled extensively across the length and width of our beautiful country. The joy of stepping foot on snow is undoubtedly an exciting experience. What’s more stimulating is the satisfaction of having experienced snow on a majority of my earlier adventures. However, there’s a difference snow and snowfall. And, I wanted to experience the latter. Here’s a link to my favorite snow experience on the Himalayas. Most people tend to interrelate these two dissimilar yet soundalike phenomena. Before we proceed, here’a delightful trailer of the entire journey!

So, Snow is, typically, anything that’s formed with ice crystals taking shape at altitudes of above 7,000 feet. Depending on the serenity of the location, these ice crystals can either be seen as solid snow, drifted snow or muddy laden murky snow. In contrary, a snowfall refers to precipitation of crystalline water. Typical conducive parameters include a moist atmosphere with temperatures hovering around and below 5 degrees Celsius. In the remote Himalayan settlements above 7000 feet, snowfall occurs from December to February. And, in some rare cases extending up to April. In this blog, I am going to narrate my experiences of a memorable Himalayan Adventure in the peak of winters!

As a traveller and a passionate photographer, typically, I tend to plan well in advance. A lot of preparations go in with each trekking activity. The very first task is to identify the range. The Himalayan Mountain range is vast and it runs from west-northeast (Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan) to east-southwest (Tibet Autonomous Region in China) across massive distance of about 2,400 km. Typically, I look for picturesque landscapes with wider scope for capturing the many spectacular mountain peaks. The time of visit is a crucial factor too. After a lot of analysis, I decided to experience the Garhwal Himalayas. Situated in the Indian state of Uttakhand, the Garhwal Himalayas are mountain ranges crossing two regions: Garhwal and Kumaon. It’s a fascinating and mesmerizing experience!

As a standard practice and courtesy, I broadcast an invitation to most people in my immediate circle to know their willingness to join me. After weeks of waiting for responses, a friend of mine joined hands. And, here goes my journey in photographs!

So, sit back and savour a virtual Himalayan journey with me!