Now that the monsoons are over, here are some scenes of monsoonscapes taken during the morning in Dubra village near Dehradun. I got here with some friends by car. On arriving at the place, it seems very different in contrast to Dehradun. No traffic, no pollution, no noise and just the sound of nature and the other great thing is that it is only a small distance away from the main town of Dehradun.
Himalayas
Winter Landscapes in Ladakh
Here I am sharing a small collection of landscape images taken by me during February of this year. I had photographed various locations in ladakh. Places visited were Leh, Shey, Korzok, Ulley and also a trek to Stok Kangri which you could read about by clicking here.
Stok Kangri Winter Expedition
I had booked to do a winter expedition of Stok Kangri in February of this year. Stok Kangri is a 6000m non technical climbing peak which is mostly attempted in the summer months but in winter due to the level of snow and harsh weather, it becomes a different challenge altogether. I had booked via White Magic Adventure. This is professional company and the guides and support staff are very professional in their approach. In this 8 day expedition, there were 10 of us who signed up for such a venture. However 3 people decided to descend down after 5 days and the remaining 7 decided to ascend the peak.
Trek and Mountain Monthly Competition
I have a good collection of images from the Himalayas so based on this I had decided to contribute one of my mountain images to the readers’ photos section of “Trek and Mountain” magazine. Each month, the magazine runs a monthly competition where the best images are published in the magazine and the winning image getting a small prize. For this I had entered the night shot of the Kang Yatse Peaks in Ladakh with milky way in the background.
Mountains and Monasteries of Leh
Leh, Ladakh is one of the most scenic and photogenic places in India. Leh was the ancient capital of Ladakh and now in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in India. Leh has a lot heritage sites and monasteries and is mainly dominated by Buddhism. The best time to visit Leh would be between April to September. I have myself visited Leh 4 times. It is not only a place where people go for treks and expeditions but also a great place for sightseeing and interacting with locals. One word of advice when visiting Leh is to rest on the day of arrival since Leh is 3500m above sea level. One can get high altitude sickness so it is best to acclimatize slowly at this altitude.
Climbing Mera Peak and Double Mountaineering Boots
After trekking and climbing for a number of years, I wanted to do something more challenging and opted to climb Mera Peak a 6476m peak in the Himalayas. However it is a non technical climb, it does require determination and endurance as one would be climbing in extreme cold temperatures upto -15C and at high altitude. I had organized a solo trek and climb to Mera Peak starting and ending at Phaplu.
Everest Basecamp Trek Autumn 2008
Back in September 2008, I decided to go on the Everest base Camp Trek in the Everest region of Nepal. Budget trip, cost around £550 plus some local fees. Booked through a company called Intrepid Travel. Trek lasted for 21 days. Highlights of the trek were Kala Pathar, EBC, GokyoRi, Cho La Pass and AmaDablam Base Camp. All these were around 5000m above sea level. Our guide was Ashok Phuyal, a local experienced guide. This was a good achievement for a first time trekker coming from just trekking the highest peaks in the United Kingdom.