Short Itinerary
Day1 - Arriving Manali
Day2 - Manali to Dhundi to Bakkarthatch
Day3 - Bakarthatch to ABC at Lady Leg
Day4 - Load ferry on camp 1
Day5 - Acclimatization and Reach Camp 1
Day6 - Summit Attempt
Day7 - Reserve Day
Day8 - Back to Manali
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1- Today the trekkers will assemble in Manali for various permissions in order to go on further. The Friendship peak is counted as a Trekking peak by the IMF. According to a new process proposed by IMF in the Manali region, the trekkers have to provide intimation along with xerox of ID proofs of all the candidates and staff. IMF has established a regional office in Manali for trekking in the upper Himalayan stretches. Once you have a receipt on this intimation from the IMF regional office, you need 2 more permits, 1 from BRO and another from SDM. These two permits are required for using a vehicle on the road of Solang Nala & Dhundi. If you are unable to achieve this you'll hike from Solang Nala to Dhundi which is a 7 Km walk on the road along the River.
Day 2 - Today, you will reach Dhundi. The trek is quite easy today with a steady ascending trail. You will cross 3-4 fixed camps in Dhundi where “sailanis” are visible around the year. Initially, the trail is on the left side of the Beas River that flows alongside through the day. Soon, you will cross a wooden bridge without any “railings”. The bridge is exciting and lovely. From here, you will walk through the lush green trail on the right side of the Beas River. During May and June, you can spot some snow on the ridges. As you are nearby Bakkarthatch, you will come across 2-3 small streams of tributaries of the main river. After lunch, you will start setting up your base camp here.
Day 3 - Today you will start early morning to reach ABC early for camping and to learn about Snowcraft here. Post breakfast, you'll reach the camp early enough, around 11.30 am. You will now set up the camps here for yourselves and take a small rest for a couple of hours. If the weather allows in the afternoon, then you will move forward to snow stretches in front of the campsite for your Snowcraft. You will learn critical things today such as ascending and descending on heavy snow, Using Ice ax for temporary use, roping and many such acts to help yourself during the trek.
Day 4 - Today, you will ferry your summit loads to Camp 1. This will serve you with acclimatization objectives. You will spend some time at Camp 1 and then return to ABC in the evening.
Day 5 - The day will start with practicing some stuff in order to make your body fit for the trek. You will step towards the Summit Camp in the afternoon. The hike is very short till the Summit Camp where tents will set up. You will go a bit higher from the large bum where you will set your Summit camp for acclimatization and come back to rest at the Summit Camp. Summit Camp may set up higher if snow is less.
Day 6 - Today is the day for which you planned everything so far. You will pack yourself with all the necessary stuff needed for the day. From your summit camp, you will move on to the default side. You will walk with the shoulder of the peak. The texture of the climb is steep and roping up or fixing rope will not be required. If you will climb in the month of May, then crampons will be needed on this patch only till the shoulder. The climb till here will take 4-5hours and the morning will take place. The Summit trail from the shoulder is vertical. You can't go zig-zag as the patch is full of crevasses. After climbing for another 2 to 3 hours, one would reach the Solo Summit. You would take a small diversion towards the north and after 30 minutes of climbing, you reach a black rock. Summit is near here. You will reach the summit by 10 am. Here, you can enjoy the moment after your hard labor. Descending early is necessary because the way is long. If the snow gets slushy then descent will become difficult. When you climb down, fix and roping is needed. As you reach Summit Camp, you'll gather your breath and have some quick bites. You will wrap up everything and move towards ABC.
Day 7 - This day is a reserve day for a second attempt to the summit only if the weather conditions are not in our favor.
Day 8 - Today you will set up your way back to Dhundi from Basecamp and then to Manali.
Temperature/Weather
Maximum temperature of 25degree Celsius and minimum of 5-degree Celsius in the month of July to October.
Difficulty Level
Difficult. Hence, it is required that you have trekking experience of 2-3 treks.
ATM / Mobile Connectivity
The network is inconsistent during the trek. It is better to communicate before leaving for an expedition.
How to reach it?
By road - You can take buses which are direct from Delhi to Manali. There are HPRTC Volvo buses which are available overnight from the ISBT Kashmere gate.
By rail - You can take a direct train from Delhi to Pathankot and carry on further with a bus to Manali or a train to Joginder Nagar which is the nearest railway station to Manali.
By air - The nearest airport to Manali is Bhuntar which is 50kms. From here you can opt for taxis or buses to travel to Manali.
Inclusions
Exclusions
- Personal Porters for carrying trekker’s backpack.
- Personal trekking equipment – like trekking poles or sleeping bag liners
- Personal insurance or the cost of emergency evacuation
