Kedarkantha Peak - My first snow trek in Devbhoomi Uttarkhand

It all started when the thought of winter trek came in my mind . I googled the easiest winter trek and it was 'Kedarkantha Peak' (Altitude: 12500 feet). Easy trek became the most difficult one due to snow storm.

Trek Distance : 20 Km

Difficulty Level : Easy to Moderate

Duration : 6 Days

Tips : Ascending - Toe First, Descending : Heel First

Things to Carry : Woolen cap, sun glasses, neck warmer, thermals, fleece jacket, t-shirts, waterproof jackets and pant, trekking pant, fleece/woolen gloves, waterproof gloves, woolen and cotton socks, waterproof trekking/snow shoes, gaiters (sometimes waterproof pant has this), hiking pole, head torch, day pack with rain cover, water bottle, thermo flask, back pack with rain cover, spikes for the shoes if the trekking group is not providing it, poncho if your jacket or pant is not waterproof.

History of Kedarkantha :

According to the local legend, kedarkantha was supposed to be the site for kedarnath temple. It is said that when Shiva was wandering in kedarkantha in his bull avatar to hide from Pandavas, his peace was disturbed by the villagers. Therefore he fled to the present kedarnath site.

Here is how we started our trip:

Suddenly one night I pinged my friend Shruthi and asked her if we should go for kedarkantha trek. As soon as she said yes, we booked our slots at 'Trek the Himalayas'. By the time we started our journey , we were 10 members from Bangalore. This was the first trek for most of us.

"A start is always needed to complete something".

We started with a thought of giving a try and then decide whether we can do it or not.

We reached Dehradun from Bangalore in the month of Dec 2020. Next day morning we started from Dehradun by road and moved towards our base camp 'Sankri', a small village in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand (Altitude:6,400 feet). On our way we were able to see beautiful yamuna river flowing and then we stopped to take pictures. It took 10hrs to reach Sankri, a very long drive. We got to listen many pahadi songs played by our TT driver. And the song 'Same time Same Jagah' became our favourite one.

We had sleepless nights most of the time. Sometime it was due to severe cold and sometime due to the wind because of which our tents were making noise. Wearing sleeping bag and using tent toilets were the funniest tasks for us.

We started our first day trek with all the gears up. It was from Sankri to 'Juda ka Talab' (Altitude: 9,100 feet ). A 4km trek with all motivation from our trek leads. Following their instructions made our trek easy. There were many maggie points on our way. Maggie has its own taste in the pahadi region.

Our trek leads Rishab and Yeshpal always used to wait for us and never left us behind. They were never in a hurry. So we were not under the pressure of reaching the camp early. For them safety was always the first priority.

It is said that a water droplet fallen from Lord Shiva's hair has formed this lake, hence the name 'Juda Ka Talab'.

Our tents were exactly near this frozen lake. Hence we had a beautiful panoramic view of lake from our tents.

We were taken to acclimatization walk when other teams were enjoying the rest of the day. But we understood the value of it, when we started our next day trek towards the kedarkantha base camp which was at 11,250 feet height .Spikes were given for our shoes which protected us from falling down. Every camp site in this whole trek was unique, so was the kedarkantha base camp. We were able to see the peak from the camp. The 360 degree view from the campsite was awesome.

Talking about the food , we were given alot to eat. Food was always the best part. We were surprised to see samosa ,jalebi and gulab jamoon as well. Soups, snacks and tea were given in the evening and refreshments like chocolates and biscuits when we start our trek.

Drinking more water will keep you hydrated in the high altitude treks. Carrying thermal flask is very important since water will be frozen overnight in normal bottles.

And finally next day at 3:00 am in the morning, we were walking towards our dream to reach the summit. Snowfall started and we walked with headlamps. My dream to see fresh snowfall in my life was fulfilled. But this made our trek difficult. Temperature was -15 degree . Still we did not give up and continued our steps towards the peak.

I was the last one and missed our group. I joined them again at Maggie point. After the Maggie point , snow storm started. We tried to go ahead ,but at certain point , we were not able to see the trail. Everything was whiteout. Following the instructions of trek lead , we had to start descending towards the base camp , since there was no other way. Another few meters were left to reach the peak and we had to give up.

Unfortunately, dream of watching swargarohini and other peaks from the summit was not fulfilled .

That's ok. We can reach the summit again. But its very rare to experience the snow storm. And we were the luckiest one in that case. I never knew something like that exists.

After reaching kedarkantha base camp , many people moved to sankri and from there to dehradun. But we didn't lose our patience and continued with the itinerary.

We moved towards the Hargaon Base camp. The trail was so beautiful after the snowfall. It was like a fairyland.

Here is the breathtaking view of Hargaon Camp. Perfect place to relax after the trek.Staying in tent was not something different. But staying in tent in between the snow was a different experience. This was the day where we all in a team enjoyed making snow man and spent our time by clicking the pictures. We all 10 members got a big single tent to stay together and not sure when we will get this chance again in our life.

And finally, we were able to see the swargarohini peak, not from the summit . Still the view was breathtaking.

According to Mahabharata , pandavas took the route of swargarohini to reach heaven. Only yudhishthira and a dog reached heaven. All other pandavas died on the way. As per legends belief, this is the only way to reach heaven.

Trek to Sankri from Hargaon was through the dense pine forest. We even saw the golden Oak tree.

Best part in this whole trek was - "No Network" till we went back to Dehradun. We used our phones only to take the pictures. This made us to interact with everyone and we were in the different world.

This trek was a trial and a motivation for our upcoming treks. Hope we will go for more treks in the coming days.

The happiness I found during this trek was more than buying an asset. For me 'Travel is an Asset'.

If you are in search of peace , do visit 'Himalayas'. I am sure you will find it there.