Walking On The Zanskar
I learned about the Chadar Trek a few years back, during one of my summer treks in Kashmir. The whole idea of walking on a frozen river during the peak of winter sounded exciting. The only thing that prevented me from firming up my plan, was the thought of the extreme cold that I would have to endure.
The Chadar Trek, also known as the Zanskar Gorge Trek is a winter trail over the frozen River Zanskar in Ladakh. Zanskar (Zangs-Kar means white copper or brass). The river is the most important tributary of the Indus. It is as big and as voluminous as the Indus itself. While Zanskar flows only through Ladakh, Indus after merging with Zanskar, near Nimmu, flows into Pakistan. The confluence — known as Sangam — of the greenish Indus and the shiny blue Zanskar is a sight to behold. The capital of Zanskar is Padum.
The entire catchment area of the Zanskar River has been formed by the numerous glaciers dotting it. Its important tributaries are Tsarap Chu, Doda, and Khurana rivers. The Zanskar cuts a deep gorge in the lower reaches of the Zanskar Valley, the walls of which are almost vertical, with cliffs as high as 600 m, and the Zanskar River flows through it. There have barely been any roads in this part of Ladakh, the reason being the treacherous mountainside. Most part of the road to Zanskar is still under construction, which our local guide Konchak told us, began sometime only in the year 2000. The sub-zero (-30ºC) conditions freeze the river, forming a several-foot thick slab of ice covering its entire length of 150 km. This sheet of ice is called the ‘Chadar’ and it is the winter lifeline of the locals. From mid-January to mid-February, the Chadar is strong enough to allow the movement of people or a sledge on it. At most places, but not all. During winter, the roads are closed due to snow on the high passes, and the only route to Padum is by walking over the frozen river. This is the best time for the trek too.
I had booked my trek from 14th — 22nd Jan 2023. We were nine of us in the group. On reaching Leh, it is mandatory to acclimatize for a minimum of three days. During this time, all medical tests are also conducted by the administration and one can continue only after they clear it.
We started our trek on the 17th of Jan. All dressed up for the week ahead and rucksacks packed with only the very important items, we drove for 3 hrs to a place called Tsomo. Enroute we stopped at Gurudwara Pathar Sahib to offer our prayers. We also stopped briefly at Sangam in Nimmu to take in the magnificent views and click a few pictures. As we moved ahead from Nimmu, the cellphone signal died slowly.
At Tsomo, as we got off the vehicle, we could see our campsite deep down on the floor of the gorge, next to the white & blue frozen Zanskar. The climb down to the camp was a very steep one. With 7–8 kgs on one’s back, one had to carefully tread over the gravel and dusty trail. After settling down in our tents, we immediately left for a practice walking tour on the river.
We went to see the Tsomo Waterfall. An interesting legend is behind the waterfall suggesting it to be on one of the ancient routes for travellers. We put on our rubber gumboots and set out to learn the “penguin walk” which is the only way to trek with minimal falls. Initially, we celebrated when a co-trekker slipped and fell but with passing days we would just pause, let him/her recover, and move on. I fell thrice on DAY ONE itself. It turned out that my boots were not the right kind. While everyone else bought theirs in Leh, I had carried them from Delhi. Our trek leader promised to provide me either with an alternate pair of boots, if available, or some other remedy that he called “Ram Baan”!
As is the case in all treks, the time is sacrosanct. We were served our morning tea at 6:30, breakfast at 7:30, and we would move out by 8 am. On longer days, we started earlier.
I got crampons to be worn over my boots on DAY TWO. It was a 12 km stretch to a place called Tibb. Lunch would always be served hot somewhere on the river ahead as carrying packed lunch would only mean digging into frozen food! The porters and cooks used wooden sledges to commute on the Chadar. They would identify a good resting point on/next to the river and finish cooking just in time. Melting blocks of ice to cook would be the first step. A hot meal would be ready by the time we would arrive huffing and puffing!
Tibb had a good campsite, overlooking the river from a height. The trek leader said the night would be less cold than the previous one where we had camped on the sandy bank. After a few hot cups of tea and snacks, we left for a walk on the river. We went to check out the caves that Tibb is famous for. The caves were slightly up in the mountainside with huge mouths opening towards the river. One look at the caves, and you knew that they must have been a very important stopover on the Zanskar route. I could imagine weary travellers, pilgrims, and traders stopping here at nightfall. The inside of the cave was completely black with smoke and soot, suggesting fires that would have been lit here — to cook or just to keep oneself warm in bone-chilling winds and freezing temperatures. Most caves or bau as they are called, have fascinating myths around them.
On DAY THREE, we started earlier than usual as it was the longest day of the trek. We had to do 20 km in a terrain that was very unpredictable when it came to the reliability of the Chadar. The formation of the icy sheet on Zanskar depends completely on how the weather during the night behaves. It could happen that when you reach your campsite in the evening, the Chadar is very well formed over the complete or most part of the river. However, the next morning, if the temperature plummets a little or it snows/rains, it could change the formation of the Chadar, rendering it unsafe for the trek.
The ice that you walk on has different textures. With a few hours of walking, you become familiar with the character of each surface. There are some slightly-rough stretches where you find a little friction to make it easier to walk. However, at many places, you would encounter a shiny and glass-like smooth surface, which you have to tread very carefully upon. These milky blue-white stretches are most slippery, where one is most likely to slip and fall down. Then there are undulations that come in between every few minutes, which you need to manouevre carefully, or else, a fall is guaranteed. It is not unusual to break a bone in all this.
The locals explained to us how the Chadar is formed. The river starts freezing from both edges of the river and then the icy layers meet at the centre. If the pressure of ice from the banks persists, the centre breaks — either upwards into huge shards of ice or simply falls apart. You often see a slushy surface in the centre of the river, and in that case, walking towards the sides is the safest. At many places there are chunks of broken ice and glaciers floating merrily in the gushing waters of Zanskar. The white chunks flowing by on the bright blue Zanskar is an ethereal sight.
The surface of the Chadar can be a big illusion. That’s why it’s super important to follow your guide step by step. No shortcuts or self-assumptions should be made about the surface that you need to walk on. Parts of the river are frozen edge-to-edge with tons and tons of 6–8 ft thick slabs of milky blue ice. At times, it looks like a concrete road and you forget that you are walking on a surface with an angry river flowing deep down under your feet. There are unique and pretty-looking ice formations in the layers below as your peer down into the river. Everything looks miraculously stunning. It can actually unnerve you, when at times, the ice makes a loud cracking sound as you step on it. Thinking that one is walking on a river that can cave in, because, it can, can frighten you at times.
We were lucky to have found a strong and firm Chadar on most days, except in a few places where we had to wade through water. Even in the water, there could be places where the water goes well above your knees and you have to be prepared for the same. Right at the beginning of the trek, we were instructed to keep an emergency pack in our backpack, which had a complete set of extra clothing, to be used in case one fell into the water or got wet because the water was too deep. If the Chadar happens to be risky to walk upon or the water crossing is too deep, in that case, we have to do some bit of rock climbing and boulder hopping. In fact, we did everything on this trek — climbed over the rocky boulders, trudged in the sands alongside, and waded through deep water. There are ropes laid out on such stretches to make it as safe as possible to cross. But then, there’s always a risk as you never know what the next step holds for you.
This was the day, if all went well, we would get to witness the highlight of the entire trek — the frozen waterfall at Nerak. We had heard stories of how many trekkers have to return disappointed because of being unable to reach this point. There are stretches on this trail where there is neither access to the steep mountainside nor calm waters to wade through if the Chadar is not well formed. In such cases, there’s not much choice left but to return to the base camp. And if one gets stuck at Nerak, the only way to come back is by being airlifted.
We were clearly told that we wouldn’t stop at the waterfall for more than 20 minutes as we needed to start for the base camp well before sundown. The walk back was tough as fatigue had set in and we had to climb over the rocky boulders and narrow ledges for a long time. We were asked to keep our headlamps handy, in case, we could not reach the campsite before it got dark. Fortunately, we managed to hit Yokma Do, our campsite in the twilight.
Everyone was exhausted and waiting to crash. But we were thrilled too as we had accomplished what we had set out for. The adrenalin was still running high. So, after gorging on a lot of food, like every evening, we settled down in the dining tent for playing Mafia, everyone’s favourite, followed by umpteen games of cards.
Although we experienced around -30 degrees during the trek, the days were sunny with blue skies. That made the cold somewhat bearable during the day. Nights were excruciatingly cold, and many times accompanied by bouts of breathlessness. Every night we slept next to the river. The double sleeping bags (supposedly Siachen-standard) did not do much for most. Many of us had started sleeping with our jackets on, which helped. Then of course, a monkey cap and a beanie on top, a balaclava, two pairs of socks, and gloves — all this is what we went to bed with. And I carried a hot water bag too!
The morning that we had to leave Yokma Do for Tsomo was a bleak one. There were thick clouds enveloping the mountains around us with no sun in sight. We had a longish day ahead via Tibb. It snowed that afternoon as we had our lunch of piping hot pulao sitting on the rocks on the river. It was an easier day as we had to walk on the Chadar most of the time rather than find ways to avoid risky patches on the river.
It snowed lightly as we walked into our base camp at Tsomo. We had done it! It was an exhilarating experience, and it would be very difficult to express how each one of us felt. That evening we had fun on the Chadar — played ball and enjoyed sledging. At night, we lit a small fire and shared our individual experiences sitting around it. The porters and guides all were equally happy and sang some melodious Ladakhi songs for us. Nobody wanted to sleep that night.
We wanted to relish the last few hours that were left before we started for Leh the next morning.
For any feedback or queries, you may write to me at namratawakhloo@gmail.com
