From Kafnu to Mud: NCC Girl Cadets Brave High-Altitude Terrain to Conquer Bhaba Pass.
Shimla:
The All India NCC Girls High-Altitude Expedition crossed the Pin Bhaba Pass and reached Mud village in Spiti’s Pin Valley today, completing a demanding ten-day, 60-kilometre trek from Kafnu in Kinnaur that took the team over a 16,125-foot pass and marked the successful conclusion of Phase I of the expedition.
The contingent had set out from Kafnu on 24 August, moving through the Bhaba valley via Mulling, Kara, Pushtirang and Baldar before crossing into Spiti and arriving at Mud. The route rose steadily from Kafnu, at an altitude of 7,710 feet, through the high camps of Mulling (10,660 ft), Kara (12,140 ft) and Pushtirang (13,450 ft), before the team made its final push over Bhaba Pass at 16,125 feet — the highest point of the trek — and descended through Baldar (12,795 ft) to Mud, at 12,500 feet.
The crossing of Bhaba Pass proved the toughest stretch of the expedition. Cadets set off in the early hours to negotiate a long, steep climb over undulating terrain, reaching the pass as dawn broke over the Kinnaur and Spiti ranges. The descent that followed, through glacial terrain, moraine and scree into the barren high-altitude landscape of Spiti, was equally taxing, testing the endurance of the cadets. The trek has been graded Difficult, involving multiple river crossings, boulder-strewn ascents and sustained high-altitude exposure through much of the route.
The team received a warm welcome on arrival at Mud village, with locals in their traditional costumes greeting the cadets with the traditional folk dance of Spiti — a colourful and spirited welcome brought a festive close to a physically demanding first leg of the expedition.
The Pin Bhaba Pass crossing was undertaken as a preparatory and selection exercise for the second and more challenging phase of the expedition, that is the crossing of Parang La, which will take the team from Spiti into Karzok in Ladakh. Having negotiated the altitude, distance and terrain of the first phase, the cadets now move into preparation for this final and most demanding stage of the “Aparajita” expedition by All India NCC Girl Cadets
