Chadar frozen river trek

Tripoto
Photo of Chadar frozen river trek by Heena Jain

I’ve heard a lot of people say how fun treks were which made me want to try them too. While considering what trek to take as a first timer I came across some pictures of chadar trek and decided I had to do this. A lot of people warned me against it...my parents weren’t very supportive of it knowing how much of an issue cold temperatures are for me but I had made up my mind to take this leap of faith. Excitement overpowered all the anxiety and I didn’t know how to feel until I reached Leh. Stepping out on Leh airport I could finally feel all the anxiety take over but I knew I had to keep a strong mind. The acclimatisation didn’t go very well for me but clearing the basic medical tests got me some confidence. I started the trek with people none of who were first timers so I did get a lot of support from them which made things a tad bit easy. While trekking a lot of obstacles came in the ice creaking under our feet, walking through ice cold water, slipping on the chadar, mountain climbing and then came the very cold nights (-23 to -30 degree Celsius) where not even bonfires helped but the desire to complete the trek and reach the summit was so much more than all of this. Eventually with a lot of spontaneous changes in the itinerary (which involved trekking for 11 hours a day)we were able to reach the summit and the feeling of accomplishing the first half of my trek struck in and I was left bewildered at the sight of the surrounding. The return journey was equally challenging but I made it through with a lot of help from the fellow trekkers. And now here I am 6 months after my first trek ever all set to plan the next one.

Photo of Zanskar River by Heena Jain
Photo of Zanskar River by Heena Jain
Photo of Zanskar River by Heena Jain
Photo of Zanskar River by Heena Jain
Photo of Zanskar River by Heena Jain
Photo of Zanskar River by Heena Jain
Photo of Zanskar River by Heena Jain
Photo of Zanskar River by Heena Jain
Photo of Zanskar River by Heena Jain
Photo of Zanskar River by Heena Jain
Photo of Zanskar River by Heena Jain
Photo of Zanskar River by Heena Jain
Photo of Zanskar River by Heena Jain
Photo of Zanskar River by Heena Jain