Stok Kangri - July 2012

Stok Kangri (July 2012) – Idea & Preparation

We did Dzongri trek (Sikkim) in November 2011. Climbing upto 14000 ft was something. Then in Jan 2012 Hrishikesh said’ “ let’s do Stok Kangri”. Naam bhi kabhi suna nahi hai….ye hai kidhar bhai..... That was the 1^st reaction. Then I realized that its located near Leh in Ladakh and we had perhaps a glimpse of it during our bike ride through Leh in 2010. It’s a 6 thousander i.e. more than 20000 ft. Definitely daunting. 

The thought remained a thought almost till April and then we finally decided to book the air tickets. 1^st step, I told my boss about the plan and the dates on which I was planning to trek. Once I got the green signal, we booked the tickets. Booking the air tickets was a guarantee that we would definitely go to Leh.

Once the tickets were booked and then started the real preparation.

We bought 60 ltr back pack, head torch, trekking pole & other required stuff. I also ate Arjun’s head over whether “Action Trekking”, the brand of shoe we are so accustomed to wearing in Sahyadris will be good enough for this Trek to Stok. Finally I bought “Head” shoes (Quechua equivalent) which is considered fit for High Altitude trekking. Borrowed glares from Uday and a crepe bandage, few medicines and a mug from Sudeep.

                                                                                        

I was weighing a healthy 82 Kgs then (on 2^nd May to be precise). Having trekked fair bit in Sahyadris (Western Ghats) I knew what it was to carry extra weight while climbing. So I set myself 1^st target and that was to reduce 10 Kgs in 10 weeks. Kaydese ye commitment facebook status bana diya so that I could stay motivated to accomplish it.

Next 10 weeks, I religiously did cardio exercises @ Talwalkar’s (running on treadmill, stationery cycle, stepper & cross trainer). Target was to burn minimum of 600 calories every day. We also did Plus Valley trek & Rajgad-Torna trek. Besides almost all other Sundays (at least 6) went to Sinhgad (close to Pune) with 12-14 kgs back pack and on one Sunday climbed it twice with the backpack on. On 2 other Saturdays I went to BMCC ground in Pune and ran 12 laps (close to 5.5 kms).

I declared that I would not drink until I summit and followed that resolution firmly without giving in. I also followed a daily routine (controlled diet) –

8:30 am –     Breakfast – idli sambar (3 idlis) & chai,

11:30 am –   Biscuits & chai,

1:30 pm –     Lunch – 1 Roti, Legumes & Dal,

4:30 pm –     Biscuits & chai,

6:30 pm –     Evening snacks ( as available in the company canteen including vada-pao),

8:30 pm –     Dinner – 1.5 Rotis, vegetable

Company canteen prepares sweets on Mondays, Thursdays & Saturdays, so ate those sweets. Also went to McD and Pizza Hut. But overall I ensured that I did not overeat. As a result, on 12^th July when I boarded the plane to Delhi I had lost 8.5 kgs. Couldn’t achieve the target of 10 Kgs but still it was no mean achievement. I was fitter, slimmer and hungry to climb Stok Kangri...