ITS Guys Take On Khardung La Pass !

November 1, 2011

Us folks in the Transportation Industry, particularly in ITS and Toll Roads are often overlooked in the Adventure Department of life. I know what you’re thinking as you read this. You’re thinking, “hey wait a minute, I’m in the transpo biz and I’ve done adventurous things.”

But let’s be honest here. We are professionals and business people, educated and desk-oriented. That’s what we do. Maybe we played hockey or cricket once upon a time. And maybe we rank above swashbuckling accountants on the excitement scale, but most of the time we talk about roads, toll lanes, congestion mitigation, and all the gadgets that make our systems work. A site visit to a road project doesn’t exactly make a riveting story.

Ah, but once in a while we have an opportunity to do something “outside the box”. Something adventurous…a little dangerous, even. And when opportunity knocks, sometimes wonderful things happen when we answer the door.

Senior management from Ledstar Inc., Neolite ZKW Lightings Pvt. Ltd. and Metro Infrasys Pvt. Ltd. answered, and walked through that door last month, when they took a trip to northern India. Casting aside the comforts of home, hotels, personal drivers and central a/c and heating, they ventured to Leh, where they slept in yurts, toured ancient monasteries, and climbed and hiked along peaks ranging from 4,000 to 4,800 meters.

But the highlight of the trip was an excursion from Leh to Khardung La, the highest motorable road in the world.
The group rented motorcycles in town, gassed up and were ready to go! But wait; one of the group was having trouble with a new pair of gloves bought from a nearby shop. What was going on? Struggle, pull, struggle, tug… no luck. No fear, however: With the amount of collective engineering, business, and financial brainpower in the group they were certain to get to the bottom of the problem. Eureka! The shop owner has sold two left-hand gloves! After tracking down the shop, exchanging the offending glove, and a bit of zany antics to keep the convoy of motorcycles together through town (and trying not to get lost), the intrepid gang of five made it out of town and upward along the Leh-Khardung road.

The initial going was easy and pleasant, with beautiful panoramic views of the valley below and smooth dry pavement under the wheels. The road got a bit more rough nearing the South Pollu, where the group stopped at the checkpoint. Permits were checked and identifications were verified by friendly military personnel, cups of hot chai were enjoyed, and then it was back in the saddle once more.

A few hundred meters past the checkpoint, the pavement ended and the potholes began, and the going got a lot bumpier and slower. Constant vigilance was essential, because as you are bouncing over the rough road, you have to make sure your motorcycle doesn’t stray too close to the edge of the road. There are no high curbs, fences or guiderails so a wrong move can send you down, down, down. At the same time, you have to be very careful going around the hair-pin turns –as one of the group found out! He shall remain nameless here, but while rounding a corner he met an oncoming vehicle, skidded, and dumped the motorcycle just in time. Fortunately, he, his motorcycle, and the oncoming Scorpio stayed on the road and (also important) didn’t hit each other. The only injuries sustained were a slightly bruised ego and a sprained self-confidence.

The temperature dropped, the wind picked up, and the air got thinner. The brave gang of fellows pressed on, and a couple of hours later, like an apparition coming into focus, there was the top of the pass! The road leveled out and the group parked along the ridge of Khardung La. At that elevation (18,380 feet, or 5,600m), there is only about half the oxygen in the air compared to sea level. So walking up the slight incline and climbing on the wall to have pictures taken next to the official Khardung La sign felt like a strenuous hike! High fives all around, then into the warmth of the restaurant (well, a little café, really). Steaming hot ramen noodles and chai never tasted so good!

More pictures, high-fives, and a few long moments of quiet appreciation of the breath-taking majesty of the mountains, and it was time to head back down.

A side note here for the curious: When one is at the top of Khardung La and is compelled to answer nature’s call, there is a long line of portable toilets lashed together behind a small military building and secured with aircraft cable. If you are sensitive to heights, do not to look down when inside the porta-potty: they actually jut out over a cliff and it’s a long, long way down…

Back down our brave five went, motorcycles not needing much throttle for this half of the trip, avoiding a few convoys of trucks and the occasional freshly fallen rock in the road. By the time they reached the paved portion of the roadway, a certain member of the group could no longer contain his enthusiasm and began racing downhill, the goal of which was to reach 100km/hr. Disappointingly, the straight-aways were too short and the bike was too underpowered, and a maximum speed of 98km/hr was recorded for posterity. Then, having left his fellow travellers behind, he turned around and raced back up at top speed, hurtling around corners at such a low angle that foot pegs were scuffed a few times. Not being satisfied with the near-one-hundred mark, the same cycle was repeated again and again, until the outskirts of Leh beckoned and sanity had to be restored.

Who said transportation guys were boring?

Photos

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Author’s Note: I wish to thank Sachin Bhatia of Metro Infrasys for organizing this fantastic trip. He’s a supreme gentleman with a ready laugh and spirit of adventure. Thanks, Sachin, for memories to last a lifetime.

Source: Mr. Greg Bartlett (Guest Editor)