We did the Chadar Trek on the frozen Zanskar river between Jan 7 – 11, 2020 about 70 km from Leh (Ladakh). Chadar simply means a “sheet”, sheet of ice on the frozen river in chilling temperatures. A group of 16 people completed the trek. We walked approx 80 km in 5 days in chilling temperatures and extremely challenging surfaces.
I remember the trek for 5 extremes.
- Extreme Beauty (stunning landscapes, never imagined before)
- Extreme Cold (-35 C weather, water froze instantly)
- Extreme Walking (challenging to walk in snow, glazed ice, slopes, icicles and nearby mountains)
- Extreme Uncertainty (constantly changing state of the Chadar due to sun, wind, water and cold)
- Extreme Water Crossing (we had to enter knee-deep water at one point in -35C weather)
Extreme Beauty
The landscapes were simply stunning. The frozen Zanskar river flowing at about 10,700 ft above sea level between extremely tall and rugged mountains. It was a treat to the eye.
Frozen Nerak Falls (end of trek). This is where we turned back to come back to base.
Extreme Cold
We routinely experienced temperatures of -35 C with wind chill. Water just froze instantly. Wet wipes turned to stone. Boiling water would become cold in 30 seconds.
Even inside the tent, the temperatures were -15 C. The sleeping bags were very warm though (rated for -40 C)
Look closely at the picture below. Even the tears in the eyes froze on the eyelashes.
Extreme Walking
While 80 km in 5 days on a relatively flat surface does not seem like much, it was extremely challenging to walking on the Chadar because of the constantly changing friction due to the nature of the surface. Most of the 80 km we had to walk with our eyes look at the surface below. We had to wear gum boots, regular hiking shoes. The surface was changing every 5 feet. If you did not adjust your walking style, you would fall. On an average, everyone in the group fell about 8 times.
We faced different types of surfaces.
- Snow (walking normally)
- Glazed Ice (skate without taking your feet off the ground)
- Crunchy Ice (Your foot would suddenly go deep inside)
- Wavy Ice (very challenging because skating is hard, combination of slow walking and skating)
- Water (wading through water seeping over the Chadar hoping the gum boots will protect you)
- Rocky Mountains (climbing onto tall, rocky mountains where no Chadar was available)
Extreme Uncertainty
We had to deal with extreme uncertainty with the constantly shifting Chadar. Sun, wind, water and cold were all playing a part. The Chadar trek is a 40 km up upstream till Nerak Falls and then 40 km downstream back to base. On our upstream trek, it snowed, so we walked mainly on snow, easy surface to walk. We felt that the return would be a cakewalk, definitely turned out very differently. Snowing had stopped and winds had started blowing. The Chadar had become like super-smooth glazed glass due to the wind and the river had broken the Chadar in many places, making it extremely challenging to walk. We walked 40 km downstream pretty much never taking our feet off the ground, or wading through water.
On day 4, when Anu was walking alone, there was a loud cracking sound and the Chadar started cracking up. The crack stopped about 5 feet from where Anu was standing. She was worried that the crack would come all the way and she would fall into the river. Scary!
Extreme Water Crossing
There was one point in our downstream 40 km trek on Day 4 that the Chadar was broken and there was no way to continue.
First we had to climb up a mountain to bypass the flowing water. That took about 30 mins for a 100 foot stretch.
Then we had to wade through knee deep water (above our gum boots). Look closely at the picture below. We were instructed to remove our socks and pants. Move our thermals all the way so that they would not get wet. Then all of us just went through the flowing water, feeling uncertain about the when the ice below would crumble.
When people came out of the water, it froze instantly in the -35 C ambient temperature. I was wearing socks. I removed them and kept them on a rock. The socks got stuck to the rock because of the water freezing. I could not remove them and I had to abandon them. Wet feet were also sticking to the rock. We had to quickly wipe our feet, put on new socks and start walking. Trekkers were praying to god, reciting Hanuman Chalisa hoping they would survive the chilling cold. The water crossing was the climactic moment of the trek.
The Aftermath
Now that we are back home, we are appreciating the luxuries of life, like a 20 C weather, a comfortable toilet, washing hands and face in running water, walking without skating.
The Chadar trek was one of the most exciting experiences we have ever had.
Hats off… This is fantastic and you have written it also so well… And the pics.. almost feel like I was on the trek.. maybe I should sit in a AC room and try
Very well explained in words. Some part of it can only be experienced..not explained.
Happy to be part of this journey with you and Anu.
Well captured details. This amazing trek was amazing only because of the amazing group.
Just can't imagine how you braved that chilling weather. Only your experiences described are sending chills down my spine. Great achievement
Incredible experiences nicely described! Great Accomplishment!
Exciting, thrilling, also charming and scary. I was tense even reading about chadar cracking just five feet from Anu. All went well but as Jai San would say, the process had los of thrilling moments. Rajani has sent "Saashtaang Dandwat" and "Kashala itka aghori pana".
My God….what an experience…reading itself is so exciting…..kudos to u & Anu for always pushing Urself for new experiences…
Very well written Samir