The Hiking Club
Current Activities
Trekking
& Mountaineering
Rock
Climbing
River
Rafting
Slide
shows & Talks
TREKKING
AND MOUNTAINEERING
The Club
organizes one – often two - short treks during the October
break every year, which run simultaneously and are of 10-15 days
duration. The main feature of the trekking calendar is however the
Summer Expedition in May-June, which may be 2-3 weeks long.
Some of our
recent treks have been:
- October
2002: Trek from Gangotri to Khara Patthar (beyond Tapovan) and
to Kedar Tal. Kedar Tal leg abandoned due to bad weather.
- May-June 2003: Expedition to
Ladakhi Peak (18,000 ft approx) in the Solang Valley. N. Seshadri
and Pranav Chanchani, along with two guides, reached the summit.
- October 2003:
Trek
across Mayali Pass (16,500 ft), from the Bhilangana Valley to
Kedarnath.
Trek across
Kuari Khal, from Wan to Joshimath.
- May-June 2004:
No
expedition.
Trek
to Sunderdhunga Valley. The team reached Devikund (14,000 ft
approx).
Attempt on
Rudugaira (19,190 ft) in the Rudugaira Valley. Members reached the
site of Camp I, but the attempt was aborted due to heavy snowfall.
Dibibokri
basin expedition. The team established two camps above base on the
West glacier and three members (N. Seshadri, Pranav Chanchani and
Amit Bhura) reached the summit of "Delusion Peak" (18,810
ft).
Trek to
Sahasratal. Aborted above Kiarki because of snow conditions.
A recent practice
has been to also organise 3-4 day long “weekend treks” in
November in order to introduce beginners to trekking.
- November 2001:
Trek to Nag
Tibba
- December 2002:
Trek to Binsar
- November 2004:
Trek to Nag Tibba
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ROCK
CLIMBING
Rock climbing has
always been a major feature of our activities, but a significant
impetus was provided by the donation of much-needed climbing
equipment by Mr. Rohan Kanhai Dutta, a former member of the Club.
Members of the
Club are often to be found at the Ramjas rocks, the Old Rocks and New
Rocks at Lado Sarai, the PBG rocks or at the IMF wall. Occasional
day-long climbing trips to Dhauj are also organised and are eagerly
awaited by climbers.
Tremendous
interest in sport climbing on artificial walls has been generated by
the recent construction of the Eshwaran Bharatan Memorial Climbing
Wall on the outside of the College Gymnasium. In September 2004, the
Club organised and hosted the 10th North Zone Sport
Climbing Competition, on behalf of the North Zone Sport Climbing
Committee, on this wall. Students from College participated
enthusiastically in the Men’s and Women’s categories, and
three of them were selected to represent North Zone at the National
competition in November.
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RIVER-RAFTING
Although the main
emphasis of the Club’s activities is on mountaineering and
climbing, short river-rafting trips near Rishikesh are also extremely
popular with members. These trips are 2-3 days long and are conducted
by reputed adventure companies (which, coincidentally, are run mostly
by former members of the Club!). Our recent rafting trips have been
organised by Aquaterra Adventures and Snow Leopard Adventures.
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SLIDE
SHOWS AND TALKS
We are always
eager to look at great pictures from past expeditions and to listen
to mountaineers tell us stories of their adventures, so illustrated
lectures are a regular fixture on our calendar. Some of the people
who have come to College recently to give slide shows are:
- Col. Ashok Abbey, on
the ascent of Everest and Lhotse by the Indian Army, in 2003
- Mr. N. Raghunathan,
on the Hiking Club’s 1984 Nanda Devi Sanctuary expedition,
and
on an expedition to Kolahoi in 1987
In addition to
this, members of the Club have presented slides of their own
expeditions – to Ladakhi Peak in 2003, Mayali Pass in 2003,
Rudugaira in 2004 and the Dibibokri basin in 2005 – all of
which have been well-received.
A
slide show about the expeditions to Ladakhi Peak and Mayali Pass was
also presented at the India International Centre by N. Seshadri.
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