Learning to scale the heights

The sixth day in Leh, the Army8217;s high altitude medical specialist told us, was the crucial test that would decide whether we would catch the next flight back home or proceed to trek up the world8217;s coldest battlefield.

So, on the morning of the sixth day, the daily medical examinations were even more dreaded than usual. For the four members of the expedition whose blood pressure levels were inching towards 8220;unacceptable8221; over the past few days, the evening before the tests was spent on trying out local remedies.

The bus driver assured us that a dose of garlic in the evening before the test would work wonders. A fauji on the expedition, however, swore by his bottle of Old Monk rum. A veteran trekker had his own formula of one liter of water per hour and complete rest followed by regular visits to the washroom.

Accordingly, the motley bunch of 8220;high BP8221; members set out to try the remedies. The first casualties of the local cures were other members of the expedition who had to endure the smell of Garlic during a four hour ride to the Pangong Lake.

Of course, the other remedy of drinking excessive water mandated a series of stops along the way that stretched the journey to a good five hours. Thankfully, the bottle of rum did not cause harm as it was confiscated by the expedition leader before it could be opened.

No one knows exactly what worked but magically, the crucial blood pressure levels of all on the edge8217; members came down drastically to fall within the safe8217; zone. The surprise was visible on the medical assistant8217;s face who had been recording the statistics for the past few days. In one case, the soldier actually cross checked his reading twice before solemnly announcing the results.

With all members of the 30 member expedition finally cleared for the journey to the Siachen base camp 8211; a ten hour drive that would take place on Tuesday 8211; the mood was jovial in the evening. Further adding to the general happiness was a chat with an officer posted on the glacier 8211; reeling out the menu8217; at the base camp, the officer said that chocolates of all kinds and shapes are available aplenty on the glacier. It is doctors advice, he told us, that each meal be supplemented with at least one big bar of chocolate.

Manu Pubby

An Indian Express team begins a trek to Siachen and keeps you posted, every day.