Visiting the ski slopes of Auli - The Destruction

The destruction

Golden Oak Trees marked for felling




Just completed! Swimming pool for storing water which will be turned to ice and then sprayed over the slopes.



The ski slope and swimming pool for snow in perspective




Bull dozers and men at work



Dislodging grass and bushes which held together the mountain slopes for years



Army training camp



A very cryptic message!

Visiting the ski slopes of Auli - The Treks

The treks

R.R Point
Absence of snow at Auli had a silver lining to it. We could go for small treks around the place with our normal trekking shoes. The easiest trek was just 1.5 km, to R.R Point, an army communication center.




From R.R point one could see the Hemkunt range and the Valley of flowers enveloped in clouds far away. Immediately below is a village, which is shaped like the map of India.

India map village against rhododendron flowers blooming in February


Gorson Bugyal 3.5km

Many ventured on this trek as Gorson meadow had a patch of hard snow where one could get basic lessons in skiing.

Gorson from the hotel



Bharati, a black dog and Sheru a brown dog faithfully accompanied us on all treks. In the pic below, Sheru waits patiently for the tekkers to catch up while Bharati is following us close on the heels. The feeling of oneness with nature one experiences on treks is reinforced by these two best friends of man.

Sheru and Bharati



This trek is indeed beautiful. A temple called “Padiyar Devta’greets you half way up the climb.


As we near Gorson point, one is within reach of the snow clad peaks.



Beyond Gorson



The Forest Trek- 4km

This trek through steep golden oak forest is rated as difficult-mainly because the climb is continiuosly steep without plain resting spots. It is made tougher these days since one has to climb up the ski slopes- now being shorn of grasses and bushes thanks to the bull dozer razing through it many times to create the artificial ski slope.



As we neared the golden oak trees, we saw some with huge cavernous holes ( Black bears sleep there, our guide informed). Fresh diggings in the mud were attributed to wild boar. Distant trees moved with the weight of animals or birds flying about-monkeys or Himalyan monals? Here is the lichen with which monals make nests on trees, our guide showed a clump on the ground



As we moved down I collected a few branches of golden oak leaves. The trees marked with the "death warrants" continue to haunt me when I look at these leaves dried but golden, weeping silently in my vase.



More on the destruction of the forest in my next blog!

Visiting the ski slopes of Auli - The Flora

The Flora

The trees and plants one sees above 10,000 feet surprise you with their sturdiness. The trees look majestic and protective. The sturdy bushes and grass support your heels while climbing up. Pretty flowers smile at you lighting up unknown corners. Trekking on foot is the best way to appreciate the terrain and the flora.

Here is a Basant tree with Nanda Devi in the background. The tree is having flower buds in February. Normally at this time it will be covered with snow.



"Blushing unseen"



Blooming in times of global warming




The golden oak trees




The ‘Nahar Bush’ has lovely smelling leaves and is an insect repellent. Here is Rakesh, our guide with the Nahar Bush




We are fascinated by the pink white flowers of Basnt tree. Here is a pic of me holding a bunch in my hand.



We found beautiful flowering trees lining the roads on our way back to Joshimath. We wanted to know the name of the tree. Some Bank officials whom we met, who were posted in the area, could not help. Nor could the hotel owner at the hotel where we had lunch. The most common local tree had no name!

I had seen the same flowers in Mandal (on the way to Kedarnath) a few years back. Here is a photo of the tree in Mandal. The flowers resemble cherry blossoms.



But we saw ‘bottle brushes’ and ‘gulmohars’ being planted on the roadside by PWD (or Forest dept) to make up for trees cut down during widening of roads. The question which came to us was, why are we not propagating the local trees?

The most majestic of all the trees in Auli? The Golden Oak, no doubt. Two hundred of these more than hundred year old trees, are slated to be mowed down for the ski slope. More on that in the next blog!

carbon footprint

We had an online chat on the topic "Taking responsibility for one's carbon emissions" at indianwildlifeclub.com. The chat threw up grassroot level solutions which individuals can implement to contribute one's bit to a global problem.
Read the transcript at
http://www.indianwildlifeclub.com/mainsite/ChatTranscript.asp