Chobia Challenge - Climbing to Chobia Pass (4930m)

 

Brief Introduction:    Chobia Pass offers a passage from Chamba to Lahaul that has been used by the shepherds for ages in their migration season, ideally from mid/end June when they travel to the higher pastures of Lahaul, mostly into Miyar Valley. They begin to return to Chamba around mid to end of September with their well-fed flocks. The ideal season for trekking to this pass is during the shepherd migrations, mid June up till end October or even first half of November. For the rest of the year the pass is covered in deep snow with frequent bad weather and should be crossed only by experienced hikers with proper gear. The trek from Chamba side begins from Kao Village and ends at Triloknath road head on the Lahaul side or vice versa. It is easier from the Lahaul side if you begin from Triloknath and descend into Chamba side. The approach is easier, and the climb to the pass is gentler.

 

Ideally this trek from Kao to Trilokinath takes 3 nights and 4 days. But you can do it in a day less if you are in a rush. A word of caution, this is a high altitude permanently glaciated pass, so you must have plenty of high altitude trekking experience and must be able to walk and climb and even cut steps on steep ice gradients. Carrying ice equipment is not compulsory but at least an ice axe and a bit of a rope is advisable. The shepherds always carry their axe for safety. Go lightly loaded. There’s plenty of water along the trail and plenty of camping places or cave shelters. So you could also go only with a plastic tarp and construct makeshift shelters like the shepherds. Trail finding is easy as it is well made and there’s always a shepherd around. The trek is not complicated, but physically and technically challenging. There are many stream crossings between Kao and the Pass but each of them has a shepherd bridge and you do not have to wade the stream on foot.

 

I have made a revision to the pass altitude. All over the internet and in sundry guide books, the altitude is mentioned as 4966m. After a thorough study of Army Survey maps and my own altimeter reading at the pass and other neighboring features my estimated Chobia pass altitude is around 4930m. It’s certainly nowhere near 4966m as erroneously mentioned everywhere. Now let’s get started and follow our journey to Chobia Pass and back. Our original plan was to do the entire trek till Triloknath but unfortunately one of the members pulled a ligament so we had to return from the Pass. Even then it was an awesome adventure.

 

The Team:      we were a team of four, including my friend and trusted lieutenant Ravinder Kumar from Tangroti, with whom I have had many adventures and I trust him with my life. He is a seasoned climber, long time mountain instructor and a gem of a person to have around. Along came his maternal cousin from Lamu, Abhinav Thakur, who is also a trained mountaineer. Abhinav is a highly enthusiastic individual with a perennial smile even in the worst of situations and always willing to shoulder the extra weight. Our fourth member was Ravinder’s brother in law and now my dear friend Arun Khanna from Bharmaur. Arun is an oddity and a surprising package. He is one of the finest and kindest persons I have ever seen in my life. He and his family comprising of his wife, mother and son are simply a delight to be with. His home in Bharmaur has now become my home too. In today’s world of deceit, falsehood and shortcomings, when I see people like Arun (he is an extremely rare breed), my faith in humanity is restored. He has a golden heart and that heart is set upon the mountains. Though from the mountains he never got an opportunity to trek or climb or do any kind of mountaineering training. Despite being a late starter, and despite having a hectic work and family schedule, he took to the outdoors like fish in water. I would certainly say that among the three of my companions, it was Arun whose performance impressed me the most.

 

Kathedu Temple

Day 1 – with heavily loaded backpacks we first hired a taxi from Bharmaur till Kao. It took around an hour and half through winding roads till we alighted at the tiny Kao hamlet. Just out of the village we offered our prayers at the Kao temple and then followed the well marked trail to cross the first ridge and started seeing the Chobia stream, a narrow silvery ribbon. To our south the magnificent unclimbed Mani Mahesh Kailash peak pierced the sky. Shortly we came to a steep drop where the trail goes down till the Chobia stream. In under twenty minutes we lost around 200m of altitude and crossed our first shepherd bridge across the stream. Right after the bridge the trail again goes up steeply and then drops down on the other side. There’s a water point shortly after that where we took a rest and consumed some snacks. Few locals and shepherds crossed us. We crossed the stream several times and after quite a few steep ups and downs through landslides we reached the famous Kathedu (Kathed Pal) temple. It’s an ancient shrine made of wood with rest rooms. Its surrounded by thick forest and a massive waterfall. My friends offered prayers and we shared the sweets. Ahead of the temple we were caught in a torrential rain. It was already five hours from Kao so we decided to pitch our tents at a clearing, between two branches of Chobia streams. Else ideally we should have continued to climb for half an hour more and camped at Baggi Got.

 

Day 1 Camp 3100m 

Tent pitching in that blinding rain was bit of a challenge. In an hour the rain subsided and we managed to get a fire going and started cooking dinner on the kerosene stove. Post dinner we had to dry all our clothes, shoes, socks, etc on the fire. I managed to burn my socks and towels in the process, much to the amusement of my companions.

 

Summary – taxi from Bharmaur to Kao Village (around 90min). Trek from Kao to the camp site at around 3100m (5 hours), approx distance 9km.

 

Day 2 – we woke up to a clear day and as we had only a short hike ahead, decided to first get our clothes dry. We ate breakfast at leisure, got the fire going and continued to dry our wet clothes from yesterday. It was a beautiful place and a beautiful day and we were predictably lethargic. Two shepherds crossed us with their flocks. We broke camp around 11am and followed the trail to climb to Baggi Got on the true right bank of Chobia stream. The moment we crested the ridge and stepped upon the massive Baggi Got, several shepherd dogs approached barking followed by their masters. There were around 10 shepherds and perhaps over a thousand goats. We had a brief chat with them about the trail ahead and they informed that they too would be crossing the next day as us. We left them behind and proceeded towards the Alyas (the last camp or shepherd base camp before a pass). We found a relatively flat ground inside a dry stream for our two tents at around 3800m. Several shepherd cave shelters stood to our west. We fetched water from the stream and cooked dinner. At this point Abhinav complained of severe knee joint pain in both legs. After some examination we realized he had pulled both is ACL and we decided to go till the pass next morning, leaving him behind and get back the same way. Seldom do plans in life and in the mountains go as planned and such incidents are aplenty in my life. We can only make the best out of the situation. At night we again had a camp fire under a brilliant starry sky. By then all the shepherds and their flocks had reached Alyas. Some of them would start for the pass as early as 3/4 am.

 

Baggi Got

Alyas Camp 3800m 

Summary – trek from day 1 camp (3100m) to Alyas camping (3800m) via Baggi Got in 4 hours. Approximate distance 6 km. If you start very early from Kao then you can get to Alyas in one day.

 

Day 3 – again a clear sky greeted us as we woke up around 4.30am. Some of the shepherds were already high up. We started in darkness, the trail lit up with our headlamps. The trail follows the true right bank of the stream and at the end turns left into a gulley where we started to climb sharply. We were surrounded by hundreds of bleating goats and sheep. The gaddi shepherds chatted with us, while they blew bidi smokes. We crossed several streams across frozen chunks of ice then traversed to our right and again climbed sharply to the top of the second ridge. At the top, some of the shepherds had grouped before stepping on to hard ice. The ice ridge rose ahead of us. We stayed within the shepherd group. It was kind of fun and crazy to be pushed around by horny bleating goats on ice with towering peaks all around. We continued climbing till the top of the glacier bowl. It took us around 3 hours to reach 4500m bowl, from where we could clearly see the notch at the pass. By now the sun was up in full fury and the heat was getting bothersome. From the glacier bowl we climbed up to the slope on to the right and followed the shepherds. Here we got stuck in proper traffic jam (not unlike Everest) as thousands of goats grouped in few batches stood on the way. If we had proper ice boots and tools we would have simply descended into the glacier and front pointed to the pass, avoiding the shepherds. But with our hiking shoes we had no other option but to follow the shepherds. It took us further two hours to get to the pass top. The pass itself is shaped like a narrow doorway, barely two meters wide and it certainly was the narrowest pass I have ever crossed in all of Himachal. The final 80m to the pass is rather steep and tricky where a slip could be disastrous. The view on the Lahaul side was simply mind blowing as several unclimbed 6000m peaks jostled for space. We gazed at the spectacle silently and at the trail that snaked gently down to the glacier below and further on towards Triloknath. The shepherds were offering prayers with flags, sweets, sindoor and flowers. We followed suit. There were still several groups behind us so we had to wait at the pass for them to cross before we could return back down. Now the empty trail, slippery with goat droppings was treacherous and Ravinder cut steps in the front with me and Arun at the rear. At a point we decided to glissade / plunge through the soft snow and get down to the glacier bottom. As it was covered with thick snow I anticipated no danger from the hidden crevasses. We got back to our base camp around 3pm. En route we put Arun through some basic ice craft techniques like self arrest, front pointing, down climbing, traverse, etc.

 

Chobia Pass

Final climb to Chobia from Chamba side

First ice slope leading to the glacier

Starting from Alyas

Summary – start at around 0500hrs, to the pass top at around 1030hrs. Started back at around 1215hr and reached base camp at around 1500hrs. Total distance covered approximately 9km. But for the traffic jam, you can get to the pass top from the Alyas camp in around 4 hrs.

 

Day 4 – Abhinav was in great discomfort and today we had a long way back to Kao. We started around 10am and reached Kao at around 1840hrs. The final climb up from the stream was rather daunting though we all did it without a break. We reached the temple famished, caked in dust, parched and like magic two young girls from Kao materialized with a prasad thali. They offered us fresh hot poori and rice pudding full of milk and dry fruits. Nothing could have been better for our growling stomach. A brief rest later we got to the road where our taxi was waiting. That night Arun’s mother prepared her signature kidney beans rice khichdi that we devoured with characteristic gusto till we literally burst.

 

Thus concluded our Chobia adventure. Though we hadn’t crossed into Lahaul, as planned, we enjoyed it thoroughly. After a day’s rest at Arun’s place, we headed to Mani Mahesh Lake and Sukh Dali pass. But that story for another time. For now, Om Namah Shivaye and Jai Bhole.