Temperatures were dipping in Delhi to around 6 d C and the news of heavy snow falling in the mountains made us venture out to Himalayas once again. Maps were unfolded and the destination chosen was Dayara Bugyal (DB) an upcoming skiing destination in Uttarkashi district of Uttaranchal. To reach Dayara you have to come to Barsu, from where it is an 8 kms. trek and the other route is through Raithal from where Dayara Bugyal is 6 kms. Since Jan 26 was falling on Wednesday we thought of kicking off on Friday 20th night and return on 26th. Despite the scowls of family members we 5 guys dared to take the challenge of confronting the cold conditions. But later we realized our folks were right.

Squad:- Vinod (J), Venu (S), Parmesh (P), Sreejith(Myself) and Ajith (L).
Bikes :- 2 Ambitions and a Unicorn.

I rung up the office of GMVN (Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam) tourist office to ask about any place of stay in DB. They said there is nothing in DB instead you‘ll have to stay in Bhatwari a village 12 km downhill and there’s heavy intermittent snow fall since two days. I was delighted to announce this to others who were all looking forward riding amidst the white-carpeted mounts. Hit Janpath and Tibetan monastery to buy gloves and jackets also bought one bottle of IB foreseeing the chill.

Day 1

We gathered at 456 and after having two small IB started at 12.30 in the night. The drive was so prosaic on the NH-24 which part I hate about and reached Rishikesh (230 km) after a couple of breaks at 7.30 am. By the time our hands and feet were freezing despite being well clad. After spending 1 hr beside a fireplace enjoying tea and fags we proceeded. Now the mountains started and the sudden change of atmosphere with fresh air and less traffic brought up the thrill of biking. After 40 kms we stopped to freshen up and had brunch. By 3 pm we reached Tehri and the rain started pouring. Though we had raincoats the ice cold water started seeping into shoes and gloves. Having no choice we continued but not for long, the fingers were benumbed. However we reached Uttarkashi by 6 pm and located a warm place with snacks. We were desperate to reach our socks to squeeze the water out afterwards hot jalebis and pakoras with tea comforted us. We thought of staying at Uttarkashi and proceed the next day to Bhatwari, which is 28 kms further, but later decided to stretch it out. Night fell and the rain poured hard, I had a close shave with a fallen trunk on a curve. I thanked the rain first time for which I was riding very slowly. Finally reached Bhatwari at 9 pm, got accommodation for very low price since there were no tourist

Day 2

The sight when the windows were opened in the morning was literally breathtaking. Everything was covered in white and snowing was on. It was my first time to spectate snow falls. We had breakfast and went out to a local shop to fetch new shoes, as our old ones were still wet. On inquiring the locals said this year has witnessed a never before snow fall in this region and the trek to DB won’t be possible as there may be snow up to 5-6 feet. The climate cleared a bit at around 3 pm and we decided to ride up to Barsu. The road was so muddy and slippery coz of snow, we had to ride very slow and took almost half an hour to reach the point where the road cuts left to Barsu and straight to Gangotri. It began to snow again heavily. We parked the bikes on the roadside and began to romp in the snow. After much horseplay we thought of going to Gangnani, which was 9 kms up the way to Gangotri. The roads were almost covered by snow and we were trailing the track of a jeep, which had passed. We were virtually eating the snow, as the visors couldn’t be closed, as it would blind us. It was getting dark and suddenly I couldn’t see J’s headlight in my mirror. His bike had stopped and was refusing to fire. We thought we’ve had it, as Bhatwari was quite far down and pushing uphill in the snow was out of question. Fortunately it came alive and we all sighed with relief. We reached Gangnani at around 9 pm and took a room. We noticed there a hot spa near the hotel. We ordered dinner and hit the water. It had so remedying effect on our frigid bodies.

Day 3

Due to heavy snowfall in the night roads were stuffed in almost 2 feet and marooned us. Nothing else to do, we trekked upto a village uphill. The view was panoramic with mountains in white. We came back at around 3 pm and hit the hot spring to ward the chill off. The roads were still blocked and the news came that the army bulldozer will be coming next morning to clear the snow. So we spent the rest of the time playing cards and chatting.

Day 4

The dozer cleared off the snow from the road and was piled up on either sides. We started at around 10 am, the ride downhill was more difficult as a little excess brake would skid the bike. The dozer had caused some snow to harden beneath its track and our bikes couldn’t grip on those ice sheets. We all had the chance to taste snow especially on the curves. Anyways we reached Bhatwari at 11.30 am. After having lunch we started out for Delhi at 2.30.
It was an incessant drive only with short breaks we reached home 7’o clock next morning traversing kilometers. The spirit of accomplishment was throbbing in us though we were dog-tired. This feeling is what makes us to go on and if you want to experience it you got to shrug off the worries about the future and live in the present.

Sreejith  
Member Team456