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....." was my 1st 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.

Stok Kangri

The thought remained a thought almost till April and then we finally decided to book the air tickets. 1st 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 2nd 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 1st 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 12th 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...

(This post is written by Amogh. To be continued...)