My first climbing experience - TelBaila (Tel Baila)

Climbing a Tel Baila, the Wall, is a dream coming true for me when I got an opportunity to climb it with Durg Rasik, a Group of Pune. They had arranged a Climbing and rappelling camp on 8 Feb 09. As the batch was full they asked me if I want I can come a day before when the actual team will climb and fix the rope and I was more than happy to be there.

We started at around 6:45 AM on 7 Feb 09 from Pune by Sumo with all the equipment like Carabiners, hammer, ropes, slings, zumar so on… We had a good breakfast at Manashakti near Lonavala. The food particularly Poha, Sabudana Wada and Batate Wada was really good and we started towards Tel Baila. We reached there by around 10 and reshuffled the equipment in the bags and started walking for the notch. The way to the notch was ok and we reached in 30 mins with some of us taking good snaps of the views in between.

After reaching, Raju sir started free climbing with Dinesh giving Belay from below. We were so excited to see Raju climbed first rock patch so easily.

With Belay, We climbed 1st patch and made it to the little cave. We got hold of our packed food with the sack which we pulled with the rope. Chaitanya was there to pull it for us. We had food mainly jam bread and methi ke parathe.

In the meanwhile, leaders Vikas Satarkar and Ravi Deshpande, both extremely professional climbers with their expertise of climbing managed to fix the rope for us, as that safety was a must for amateurs like us. As the second rock patch over water tank (dusara panyacha Kund) and was without much holds, the duo also made sure they fix the ladder for us. With lots of strength, we climbed that with a belay and finally made it to the top. The view was really amazing and we were just proud to be there. Had a dream of reaching a top of a pinnacle, came true with the group and mainly with Vikas ( aka Bhau) and Ravi sir's much-needed help.
We were there at the top at around 5 PM clicked few shots and had Parle G. Then started to descend. With rappelling on the Fixed rope, we managed to reach the temple at around 7, where another member Mr Bhalerao prepared a Tea for us. He was also guiding us for rappelling down. During 2 to 4 the other members fixed a ladder for 1st rock patch (around 50 Feet) as it was really difficult to manage a team of 30 odd people to climb it in one day, the way we climbed.

After having Tea they also came to drop us till rock patch as we were not carrying the torch. After rock patch we managed to go as the moon was nearing Full moon. We started back for Pune at around 8:35 after having Tea in Village and reached Pune at 11PM. The experience was just too good and I recommend other trekkers to do climbing not many times may be but at least once in their life. What I liked about the Group Durg Rasik was that they give the highest amount of priority to safety and they are extremely helpful as and when needed.

We 5 which went to top are; Niranjan (thats me), Chaitanya Sahastrabudhhe (he is a climber), Nilesh Pardeshi, Ajay, Amber Deo. Along with me Amber was the one who were very amateurs. Rest all had an exp of climbing. Though I was out for trekking on numerous occasions climbing a proper peak is that way my first attempt and I'm glad I made it.

Happy climbing to all of you…

Check List for trekking and some great TIPS

I have been trekking around for almost 17-18 years now but dont belong to any specific group. I plan treks for my friend, office colleagues, family friends so on. sometimes even go out for trek all alone.

Have been to the Himalayas and many of the Sahyadri forts. All these years have seen no of cases of mismanaged and unplanned treks. So just thot of putting a checklist many of you people can make use of. At this point in time I will only put a checklist for Treks in Sahyadri as generally most of you won't go for the Himalayas on your own(just like me, I went with a group to the Himalayas).

Most of engineering students, like I was before, go out for trekking in their leaves after exams so here is the list of items which you should and which you must carry… I'm putting this list for all who are going for overnight treks.
Just have a look at the bottom for some good tips.

MUST CARRY ITEMS:

· Torch (with fewer exhaust batteries if not new), Candles, matchbox in the zip bag or plastic bag.
· Bedding (in plastic bag if its Monsoon season)
· Extra trousers / Shirts (its advised to wear full trousers rather than shorts as you will be traveling in jungles and bushes, thus protection is best as far as your legs are concerned). Tshirt will be good as after reaching your destination, you will feel cold and you must change at that point else there is a risk of you getting sick.
· Extra pair of Socks (this will help you if in case you sleep in caves with rats around you.) It is also advised to wear socks at a night if your legs are not covered as in most of the caves, the rats are used to cut your feet. Why have socks? Its because the teeth of rats get stuck and they won't continue after trying
· 1 towel
· Couple of hankies, if you are on summer trek, the hankies will help you in staying away from the heat of sun as you can wrap around your cap or on your neck
· Knife if it’s a jungle trek
· Sewing kit (will help you in case of failure of your sacks)
· One water bottle (plastic), minimum 1 Ltr
· Medical kit including Crocin, Painkiller like combiflame, band aids and any personal medication as needed

WILL BE GOOD TO CARRY ITEMS:

· Wind cheater/Sweater/raincoat as needed in seasons
· News paper which will be useful to light up fire as it catches fire easily. Also, it can be made use for placing your food items which will be useful if you plan to sleep there.
· Pen / diary
· Sling (small length rope approx 10-15 feet), which will be handy incase you / anyone is unable to carry sack during climbing some rock patch etc.
· Toilet tissue (if not then an extra bottle half LTR ), Soap, Toothbrush, Tooth pest
· Mug, Plate its good to carry the plate with 4 compartments which eliminate necessity to carry the bowl for the vegetable. It's good to carry food for first-night dinner which could comprise of dry vegetables like mashed potatoes/ Bhindi and so on. Also, one can use plastic bags to carry chapatis (poli) and vegetables.
· Spoon will help in stirring if you plan to prepare as simple as a ready made soup of Knorr or Maggie
· Slippers for roaming around after reaching top
· Some sweet is good to carry as you can have desert which will give you good strength as it will have sugar, You can prepare a good desert if you wish to which is Custard. Its easy to prepare also.

Optional Items:

· Camera to capture the moments
· Extra cells
· Area Map

Some tips which will help you.

1 For filtering water you can use handkerchief
2 Glucose powder can be a very good energy provider as needed during dehydration
3 When you are almost reaching top, start collecting sticks and few big chopped tree stems. Small sticks will help you to lighten fire.
4 Directions, to find directions you have simple trick.
USING THE SUN AND SHADOWS
a)Place the stick or branch into the ground at a level spot where it will east a distinctive shadow. Mark the shadow’s tip with a stone, twig, or other means. This first shadow mark is always west —everywhere on earth.
b)Wait 10 to 15 minutes until the shadow tip moves a few centimeters. Mark the shadow tip’s new position in the same way as the first.
c) Draw a straight line through the two marks to obtain an approximate east-west line.
d) Stand with the first mark (west) to your left and the second mark to your right-you are now facing north. This fact is true everywhere on earth.

An alternate method is more accurate but requires more time.
Set up your shadow stick and mark the first shadow in the morning.
Use a piece of string to draw a clean arc through this mark and around the stick.
At midday, the shadow will shrink and disappear. In the afternoon, it will lengthen again and at the point where it touches the arc, make a second mark.
Draw a line through the two marks to get an accurate east-west line

5 If you are preparing the food on fire (chool), then it’s a good practice to apply some wet clay (chikkhal), wet clay helps protect the utensil from darkening thus you don’t have to worry about your mom shouting at you for blackening the utensil.
6 Its good sometimes to carry Solid fuel rather than carrying all stove and Gasoline. Solid fuel is just like camphor and is available in small utensil shops in Budhwar peth near Kaka Halwai or Dagadusheth Ganpati in Pune. For using this solid fuel you need to carry simple frame which will hold your utensil. This frame is also available for Appr 100 Rs. One time investment. The time required is little more as compared to gasoline stove but is good for Monsoon treks and if you are tired of carrying the heavy load. Solid fuel will be good if you are 3 to 5 people not more as calorific value of this fuel is less…


Some things which one need NOT do !

Don’t carry valuables like jewelry.
Don’t throw plastic, and don’t burn it too. Carry it and dispose of in dustbin.
Drinking / Smoking, you are playing with life if you indulge in this and may get hurt as well as hurt anyone else
Taking shortcuts
Don’t put hand in mouth before washing properly
Do not clean utensils / and clean yourself, litter near water storage


Some treks which you can start with if you haven’t been for treks around Pune in Sahydari!

Rajgad (all time favorite)
Rajgad to Torna
Kothaligad, Peth cha killa
Jivadhan, Naneghat
Chavand

Sinhgad..the Splendid fort with pathetic approach road

As I’m from Pune, Sinhgad is a dream fort for every trekker. You need no planning and need no time to reach there as it is very close to Pune. Haven’t been to Sinhgad walking all the way, for quite a long, and while watching Federer Vs Nadal (Aus Open final, 1 Feb 09) I just thought of walking up it once. I decided to give it a go. It was almost 5:30PM n I left my place on Sinhgad Road for Sinhgad. I started walking up after parking my bike at hotel near bus stop. I was already 6:10 PM and in a hurry I forgot to carry water bottle and even a torch. But just as I came to know about that, I came to know about serial Man Vs Wild on discovery too, though I’m a veggie. Started walking by normal path and decided to climb as early as possible as I wanted to capture sunset. But the luck was not on side I could only make it to half (Meta) by Sunset. However I could get some good snaps of evening light. Here is where I had a glass of Lemon juice or what we call in Marathi as limbu pani. That was a lifer at that point of time.

Few people were amazed to see me climbing up as they were finding it difficult to descend even there was enough light. I reached top at around 7:12 thanks to my mobile HTC and SPB Time software that I could monitor my speed as I had my timer on.
The Sinhgad from it commercial point of view is as same as it was some 5-7 years back. Those same old folks on the way to the top making their livelihood by selling cucumber, limbu pani and buttermilk. I also experienced some strange people who pay more than 200 bucks per head for a dinner and eating out in posh restaurants.
Recent developments which I liked the most were that Drinking and Non-Veg is prohibited atop as there is a road which takes you up by your vehicle. Earlier people used to come here for booze n used to misbehave which to some extent must have now reduced.
The road condition till end from Dhayari, is PATHETIC and I’m not sure what n how those PMT Buses can ply on that route. I’m sure I won’t go out with my bike again on that road else I will be back with my bike in parts…
Total cost was:
5 Rs for Limbu Pani on the way to top
20 Rs for Buttermilk on top
10 Rs for parking and Tea at foothills of Sinhgad
And petrol of about 40 Rs totaling 75+/- 10 for averaging out.

Gorakhgad and Machhindra

Recently had been to Gorakhgad, not known so much as compared to Dukes nose for Mumbaikars or as Rajgad is to Punekars. Fun filled and adventurous two-day trek to Gorakh and Machhindra. We, Niranjan Dandekar(that’s me), Yeshwant Sadhle (Trek Lead), Suhas Lawate, Devendra Sadhle and Niranjan Joshi had one aim to reach Gorakhgad and possibly attempt Machhindra.
How to Reach:
From Pune, there are two ways, via Katraj and other is via Aale Phata (on Pune - Nashik highway). We preferred to go by Nashik Highway as the road is good and we wanted to enjoy the Malshej ghat, a very popular region during Monsoon season as one can enjoy splendid views of waterfalls and cliffs all along the way. We were traveling by Maruti Gypsy 4×4 and had a lot of fun.
Though we went in Jan, that's (10-11 Jan 09) to be precise, the landscapes were just amazing however we could not get the snaps as the area was hazy.
Our plan was to reach Gorakhgad by 10 Jan evening and climb for Machhindra on 11. We had all the necessary accessories including pitons, zumar, 200 ft and 100 ft ropes, no of slings and so on…
We started for the Gorakhgad by 5:30 PM after having Pohe (poha) at village Dehri which is at footsteps of the ridge. The view looks like this..


We were able to get some beautiful snaps of sunset on the way as we finished our first climb and fortunate enough we were able to see Siddhagad. Soon sun set the horizon and we had no words to describe the marvelous view of Moon, yes there was Pornima, Full moon that day and the time was just perfect. We could not, however, get the moon in between two peaks of Gorakhgad and Machhindra.
Amidst tube light of moon we were able to climb with all our weights on back. We could realize the exposed face only when we descended the path, next morning.



Once on top, at arnd 8 we had food which was packed from Pune batatyachi Bhaji (potato subzi ) and polya (roti). We also had Tea, which we prepared, not to mention.
We tried to sleep at night which was full of noise as more and more groups came to Gorakhgad mostly from Mumbai, not to mention proximity to the site.
Next day (11 Jan 09) morning we got up and prepared Tea, we headed for the Balekilla, the topmost point of Gorakhgad. Me, Devendra and Yeshwant kaka (our trek lead) reached top and once again we had a look at beautiful Siddhagad and we could get few snaps of Machhindra with sunlight spread over it. The climb to topmost point was more difficult than the previous day climb to cave but we were not carrying sacks, and thus we could reach quite fast the route is very narrow with complete exposed rock on one side.


The best thing is there are lots of holds made to ensure you can hold the rock and thus eliminating the necessity of rope. Still I would say people who are afraid of heights need not attempt to reach top.
We came back to cave at around 8 and started descend at 8:45 in the meantime we had Maggie and packed our sack.
We had to traverse a lot to make it to the notch between Gorakhgad and Machhindra. We reached there by 10 and there I decided to wait with my friend Niranjan Joshi, as the climb was not so easy and I could not leave him there alone as its quite boring.
At around 10:30 Yeshwant Kaka, Devendra and Suhas Kaka left for the rock with 400 ft rope and no of carabiners, zumar and …
Climbing was really difficult for the team with Sun setting high on full face. We were cheering them all the time with few Chitale made Bakerwadya (Punekar must be knowing what heavenly taste I am talking about) and homemade Tikhata mithachya Purya prepared by my Mom (Puris made of Hot chilies and salt). The team managed to reach the top at around 2 PM. And we (me and Niranjan Joshi) gave them 3 cheers; also, some people from the Gorakhgad cave cheered them.


Once back, we started descent at around 5:30 PM in between we had Gajar Halwa and then reached at Dehri village at 7:45 PM not to forget we were carrying only 7 Ltr of water when we left Gorakhgad cave at 8:45 AM till we came back to Dehri at 7:45 PM. We asked the shop owner come hotel wala to arrange some Batata Russa bhaji (potato Subzi) 6 plates which we finished so easily that we would have finished another 4-5 plates easily as all of us were very hungry. We started for Pune by approx 9:30 PM reached Pune by 1:40 and finally reached by around 2 AM on 12 Jan 09. It was a wonderful experience though I wanted to climb Machhindra, did not attempt this time, next time I have made my mind give in 100%.