The Trishul Peak and The Long Lake

On 14th Oct, I planned a trek to the Trishul peak and the Long Lake along with Shuklaji. The Trishul is the highest peak in Schirmacher, though it is only about 300 meters above sea level. The Long Lake is supposedly the longest lake in Schirmacher at about 1.2 km. They both lie north- west of Maitri, close to each other.

We left at 10am under windy but sunny conditions. It was bit uncomfortable. But we decided to go anyways. We first crossed the Priyadarshani Lake to its western bank. The lake had now become very slippery due to the melting and refreezing in the October sun. One had to tread cautiously. We traversed through moraines and over the hills through rocky and snow slopes. We crossed numerous lakes on the way. When the lakes melt, we will have to skirt them and the distances will increase manifold. At places the snow was soft, but at most places, the snow was wind packed and hence almost as hard as ice. We reached the base of Trishul in about half and hour. Now the steep slopes of Trishul loomed in front of us. Since we were on the windward side, there was minimal snow deposition. The slope was largely rocky. Some rocks were huge boulders, but at many places there were loose stones. This made the climb treacherous. One had to have a good grip on at least 3 limbs before lifting the 4th limb. I also had my cameras to take care of. Shuklaji, being a “pahadi” person, climbed up like a mountain goat. I was huffing and puffing all the way, taking each step with extreme caution. The wind was not making life any easier. It pierced through my clothing like a thousand needles. The vapour from my breath froze in front of my nose and mouth on the balaclava. Finally, we reached the top. Just below the top, there was a huge boulder where we took refuge from the wind for a while. After a brief rest, we went to the peak, which had been marked with a wooden pole by one of the previous “explorers”. I managed to take a few snaps from the top, but my hands and my camera froze in the wind. It was a while before the sensation returned to my numb hands. Sweat made matters worse. All of Schirmacher was visible from the mountain top- the eastern end to the western extremity. Novo was also visible and appeared deceivingly close to Maitri. I quickly began my descent on the leeward side of Trishul. This was more difficult than the ascent, since most of the slope was covered with wind packed snow. It was dangerously slippery, with rocks jutting out menacingly. Shuklaji was already down by the time I had even started. I took each step with great caution, grasping rocks where ever I could. I took about half an hour to descend.

We now proceeded in the northerly direction to the Long Lake. This was an easy walk and took about 15 minutes. On the southern bank of the lake is a steep cliff towering high up. The northern bank is level. Standing in the middle of the lake, the huge expanse of blue ice all around presented an awesome sight. We rested for a while on a rock beside the lake and took in the views and the silence. Then we proceeded along the length of the lake in the easterly direction, and then back to Maitri along a different route. The round trip took us about 3 hours.