Chhistibang to Khopra Ridge

Day 6: 13 Oct (Chhistibang to Khopra Ridge)

Tough Morning

Started hiking at 9:00 am. The first 30 min is hard - the body needs to warm up.

Destination: Chhistibang to Khopra Ridge

Stairway to Hell

Continuous steps uphill - like a stairway to hell

Tree line started disappearing as we climbed higher & higher. Walked on the ledge for a long time.

Climb, climb, climb. Steps, steps, steps.

The Long Ascent

By 1:00pm, we started climbing a long series of steps - we could see people in front far away.

Before that, one Azmer said that the trail he was planning to take us was not well maintained so we waited for him to find the correct way. He found it - this was a longer route but steady.

Different Paces

Praveen, Boni, Pratibha & a few others reached the top. Me, Nihar were walking together.

I started listening to country music (Chris Stapleton) and kept going - one step at a time.

Airplane Photography Talk

Talked to Nihar about his hobby of taking photos from airplanes. He always tries to find the best seat and take photos.

We Made It!

Finally we reached the top - a great relief - by 1:30pm

The tea house was a very short distance from this peak. Bushra guest house - community-run tea house

Fog Rolls In

By the time everyone reached the peak, fog set in and we couldn’t see anything.

Lunch & Summit Debrief

Lunch - garlic soup (high altitude sickness), noodles, fried rice

At debrief, Praveen said tomorrow is summit day to Khayar lake. There is Khayar khola on the way. Praveen reached there at 10:45 can go to Khayar lake.

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Tomorrow: SUMMIT DAY - The climb to Khayar Lake at 14,200 feet!