Kuari Pass Trek - Day 02 | Gulling to Khullara

I Continue From Here: Kuari pass Trek - Day 01

Kuari Pass Trek

Highest Altitude: 3815m (12516 ft)

Location: Nanda Devi National Park, Chamoli District. 

State/Country: Uttarakhand/ India

Base Village: Tugashi/Joshimath

Trek Open: Year Round

Total Distance: 20km

Number of Days: 3

Difficulty Level: Easy - Moderate

Day 02: Gulling (2850m/9400ft) to Kuari Pass (3815m/12516ft)to Khullara (3350m/11000ft)

Distance/ Time: 11km (6H)

Change of Scene

It was a cold morning. I freshened-up and got ready. Breakfast was served around 6:30AM - Aloo Parathas. While having breakfast, I captured some time-lapse videos. We had a warm-up session before leaving Gulling campsite at 7:25AM. 

The trail from Gulling to Khullara mostly passes through a pine tree forest. We came across flowing streams, some of which were frozen. Just before the Khullara campsite, there was some left-over snow. I was slightly disappointed that on this winter trek, I would not get to see fresh snow. 

At 9:55AM, we reached Khullara campsite. We placed our bags in the dining tent and packed the necessary things in a day pack. We had already carried our packed lunch from Gulling. 

The trail from Khullara to Kuari pass is steep in many places and can be tiring even without luggage. 

We came across an interesting, but dangerous formation on the way. At one area, thick ice had formed across the trail. We had to climb up to avoid the patch and carefully walk, avoiding a slip. One slip would have taken us sliding down the ice patch. 

After this crossing, we had a steep climb to the summit. There was a prediction of snowfall that afternoon. The clouds had already covered most of the mountain peaks. One could otherwise see Neelkantha, Nanda Devi, Hathi Ghoda Parvat, Dronagiri, Pangarchulla, and Chaukhamba from here. Nevertheless, the views were stunning. 

After spending some time at Kuari top, we headed back. We had lunch on the way. It began to snow lightly while we were descending. By the time we reached the campsite, it was snowing heavily. The entire campsite was covered in snow within a few minutes. Little did we know that the snowfall would not stop until we left the campsite next morning. 

Though it was cold, we were happy. After all, it is for this view that we had all come here during winter. We all stayed in the tents that afternoon until we were called for tea/snacks and later for dinner. The evening milk tea, which I indulged in, resulted in acidity. Generally, I avoid drinking milk tea in the mountains.

I used the snow to clean my glass and tiffin box. It was easy to just rub some snow and remove all the stains. The snow acted like a scrub - it solidified the oil and removed it easily from the steel surface. 

At night, I would wake up frequently and punch the tent from the inside to remove the snow over it. Occasionally, the kitchen staff would also come and do the same. If not, the tent would collapse under the snow load. Despite the snowfall, I had to step out in the middle of the night - again after a lot of reluctance. Surprisingly, it was not very cold, as it wasn’t windy.

To Be Continued...