The Ice Caves

They are located close to Shivling hill about 5 km from here, just off Schirmacher, on the convoy route. They are usually snowed under during the winters and can be seen only during the summers. But this year they were discovered to be open during the winters during one of the Geology traverses. So it was planned to take all the expedition members there in 2 groups. We were all eagerly waiting to go there for a picnic.

So 14 of us were off to the ice caves in a cabin vehicle, cameras fully charged up, fruit juices, and sundry other eatables in tow. The ice caves were located in the deeper parts of some snow dunes in a large depression hidden from the surface. So unless one came close, one could see neither the caves nor the depression. But once there, the opening of the cave was unmistakable. There were 2 caves: the larger one was truly massive. It was about 20 metres long and 5 metres wide. Its opening was fish mouth shaped, irregular and narrow. But inside it was very spacious. One could easily construct a house inside. Mounds of snow had collected inside due to the blizzards. So it was a roller coaster walk through- climbing up and sliding down. There was a pleasant blue tinge on the walls, roof and the floor. That colour is indescribable. Cool blue should be an apt word. The floor was very slippery. Without snow boots, there would surely have been a few broken bones. The exit was half covered with blocks of snow and ice. It was narrow as well. The walls and roof were irregular with sharp edges. There were plenty of cracks as well. The surface was like any other natural cave found in rocky terrain, except that here they were made of ice.

The second cave was much smaller in all dimensions. The roof was so thin that it is sure to melt away in the coming summer. One had to crawl to pass through this tunnel. In the centre, there was a gap in the roof. One could stick his neck out of the gap. A photograph taken in this manner gave the illusion that one is buried neck deep in snow. Surprisingly, it was warmer inside the cave than it was outside. This is the principle of the igloo.

There was a clamour for photography at these caves. Many people like Mr Raghunathan- the water supply and sewage disposal systems in charge, Mr Venugopalan- the generator mechanic, Mr Gaur and Ramesh- the communication room in- charges who are not able to go out too often because of the nature of their duties were at the forefront of the assault on the ice caves. All of us were frolicking around like kids, sliding around on ice, climbing on each other. The sight of a camera created frenzy. I was carrying one and was literally mobbed. Those who were left out sulked for days. It was a pleasure taking photographs there. The unique colours and shades in the caves were what attracted me. I wished that I were better trained at photography.

Thereafter, to escape being lynched, I went out and climbed a nearby hill to get a good view of the surroundings. To my surprise, I found a small lake on the top of the hill. I don't know if it is shown on the maps anywhere. I went up alone. On looking back I found people gaping at me as if I had climbed Mount Everest. I was photographed extensively from below like we would photograph a penguin. The downhill climb was fun, half walking and half sliding.

We then left for the station, leaving the ice caves behind groaning under the effects of the onslaught by crazy Maitrians. I chose to walk back with Narayan Singh, our cook. He is obsessed with his weight loss program and tries to grab every opportunity to exercise. He has achieved tremendous success in his mission. The walk was lovely due to the bright sun and windless conditions. Narayan did not stop at all on the way to make his exercise more effective. I stopped often to taken in the views and for photography. We went up and down the hills, walked over numerous lakes, slid down the snowy slopes wherever we could and finally we were back in 45 minutes, very tired. Our moustaches and beards were covered with frost. I could not open my mouth because of it. The snow goggles were also covered with a layer of ice. So they were useless. Camera batteries were down. Thankfully, the lens had not frozen over. I was covered with frozen sweat. It made me feel uncomfortably cold.

So a memorable day came to an end. I will surely return to the caves, this time on foot. It makes the trip so much more fun and adventurous.