Date – 1^st March 2019 to 14^th Mar 2019

Location – Kibber, Spiti Valley

Team – Vinod (lead), Ashish, Ashwin, Anil, Regi

The dates might be first week of March, but the planning had started almost 6 to 8 months back and for me it was 6 to 8 years back when I had first watched the movie “Vertical Limit”. Peter Garrett is shown working for Nat Geo and he is on top of K2 photographing a pair of “Snow Leopards” in a playful mood. That scene had a lasting impression on me and I had decided that once in lifetime I would like to see and photograph this most elusive mammal.

Vinod, a dear friend, has been associated with Spiti united (an organization who arranges Snow Leopard expeditions in Kibber, Spiti valley) for many years and has been coordinating these expeditions year on year. I had expressed my willingness and gave my confirmation to come for the expedition scheduled in Mar 2019. Ashwin my cousin (not a photographer but loves to be in nature) also showed interest to join. Anil being a friend of Vinod gave his independent confirmation and Regi (from Belgium) was in contact with Vinod for the expedition joined us at Chandigarh on Day 2. The team was formed!

Day 1 (1 Mar 2019) - Pune to Chandigarh

Amidst tension getting escalated between India n Pakistan, airports getting suspended for few hours, we were, until last moment were unsure if we could make it for the expedition.😟 Slowly the tensions got deescalated and the plan was ON!. 😊

All preps done, we all met at airport and boarded flight for Chandigarh. Chandigarh has some fantastic eateries and we enjoyed our dinner at Pal Dhaba with some mouthwatering chicken tandoori... Yummy!

Day 2 (2 Mar 2019) - Chandigarh to Rampur

The road via Shimla to Rampur is very scenic. Can't forget the amazing fresh orange juice on the way. For some of us the never ending ever winding uphill road made a mix of digestive juices which body decided to throw away. 😰 But all in all, a scenic yet a bit tiring journey came to an end after 12 long hours. We checked-in our heritage hotel in Rampur. Delicious french fries and hot tea refreshed us all. A hot water bath and a yummy dinner ended our day.

Day 3 (3 Mar 2019) – Rampur to Kaza

An early start and our last hot water bath 😊 started our journey to Kibber. As we started gaining altitude, it started becoming freezing cold and the road became very scenic. 

  

Maling is one area in the journey which is very prone to landslides. One has to be very careful and cautious while passing through this area. When we approached the area, it was full of snow and most of the vehicles were facing a challenge to get a good grip due to black ice on the road. 

This was resulting into a wheel spin. We had to occasionally give our vehicle a push to go through the ice. We also lost few hours cos of vehicle puncture and avalanche near Maling where we had to shovel away the excess snow from the road.

Nearing Kaza, Vinod sighted a Red fox sitting majestically on the snow. We halted briefly and Anil quickly grabbed his camera and managed to click some photos. What a welcome start it was for the expedition!

Reached Kaza near sunset and got the first surprise news that our road to Kibber is blocked due to avalanche. We had to do some contingency arrangement for our stay in Kaza. We check-in an homestay. The rooms have a centrally fitted iron fireplace and a Chimney exhaust which goes through the roof. The exhaust of our room was clogged and the owner lit the woodfire w/o realizing it. Soon the room was filled with smoke. Gosh!, we had to open the windows for ventilation which allowed the freezing air (must be -15 deg Celsius) to clear the smoke in the room. It took hours for the owner to clear the clogged exhaust and lit the fire in the fireplace. Can't forget the toilet was outside the house some 50 ft away. Man! It was a nightmare going to toilet in the night as one had to walk out of the house (with jacket and shoes ON) and make your way to the toilet through 3 to 5 feet of snow. To make things worse, we all had started Diamox and hence had to frequent our visit (known side effect) 😬.

An eventful night which consumed most of ours (self, Ashwin and Regi) sleep time. Not sure if Vinod and Anil are different species (🤔?). They settled in the adjacent room which had an electric heater. The heater coil produces more light (seems like a halogen lamp is lit in the room) and less heat in these harsh condition. But both were in deep sleep in front of it for good 8 hours! God gifted folks! Wondering how come Diamox didn’t affect both (ponder).

Day 4 (4 Mar 2019) – Kaza to Kibber

The snow due to avalanche had covered the road to Kibber. A vehicle was arranged from Kibber till the avalanche place and we from Kaza made up to the place in the car we had. The bags were transferred by porters and we walked our way through the snow to the new car. While were in transit, we got the news that the snow leopard is sighted and we would be heading to the place immediately. 

The news was confirmed as we reached Kibber and with all the Adrenaline pumped in,we started our 1.5 hr long trek to Badang. Little we knew how difficult it was to carry yourself at 15k altitude with body yet to fully acclimatize to the harsh conditions (temp -15 deg Celsius) and atleast 5 layers of warm clothing to protect ourselves. But the news itself was a strong motivation and we reached Badang in time to witness the first sight of the "Grey Ghost". 

First glimpse – On reaching Badang, porters helped us setup our camera and trackers helped us to track the location of the leopard. Initially it was hard to spot as the leopard was on the front mountain beyond the deep valley. It took a while to get the references corrected and then alas! here it was, the "Grey Ghost" finally sighted. They were 3 of them, one mother and 2 subadult cubs. 

It was a dream come true and an emotional moment for all of us. Never had we expected 3 leopard sightings on day 1 of reaching Kibber.

Returning back was tough as the weather started to grasp us all and it was becoming darker and colder every minute. On return, hot bowl of soup was waiting for us and while sipping it, thought back, what a day it was! 

Day 5 (5 Mar 2019)

We were extremely tired as the body was slowly getting acclimatized to the conditions. During breakfast we discussed, we would rest ,but off came the news that 3 leopards family is sighted near Sudu nala, and all of them have settled in a gorge. This was a great news and we were on our way to the spot. 5 layers of protection, porters carrying our equipment and snow stick in our hand, all of us started our journey to Sudu nala. It was bright sunny day, yet freezing cold. We settled down and through binoculars saw the mesmerizing sight of 2 cubs taking a nap in a gorge on the huge mountain in front of us.

After some time their mother reached out to them giving us fantastic opportunities to photograph all the family in one frame. 

It was a dream sight for any wildlife photographer and we were no exception!

After spending entire day with the family, late evening it was time to say good night to them. With temperature rapidly dropping post sunset, we hailed our way back to our homestay with mind full of memories of the day.

Day 6 (6 Mar 2019)

In the morning during breakfast, we were eagerly waiting for any news of the 3 leopards from our trackers. But, no news came till late morning, so we decided to do some local birding in Kibber village. 









It was a bright sunny day and we hailed with our cameras to the terrace of our homestay to photograph red and yellow billed choughs.










It was turning out to be a relaxed day. Post lunch we made our way to track and photograph the Red Fox. This mammal is seen near Kibber village and we managed to sight two individuals. Both of them were resting and we patiently waited for them to do some movement so that we can get some action photos.

While we were all settled at the location, news came that the family of 3 leopards have moved further down the valley from Sudu Nala and are on the move. They can be sighted from road. Vehicle was arranged and we immediately made our way to the spot. It was nearing sunset and the sight of the leopards was very far on the opposite mountain, so most of us preferred to watch them via binoculars instead of clicking photos. It was a sight I have imprinted in my memory and would cherish it for a long period of time.

Day 7 (7 Mar 2019)

At sun break, our trackers reported that they have sighted pug marks of a snow leopard and asked all of us to remain on standby. After sometime, we got the confirmation that a male snow leopard has been sighted and while we were getting ready our porters went ahead with our camera gears to the spot. When we reached the spot, we realized that the snow leopard is on our side of the hill.

We realized, it was going to be another best sighting of our lives. The leopard, after an initial glimpse, made its way back somewhere in its path and decided to hide from us for the entire day.

It was a patience game for all of us. Few moments before sunset, we were anticipating his move and were ready for a photo-shoot. Our tracker (Tenzing) said that the leopard has changed the course and now has come very close to us but deep down in the valley. In a flash, we hurried to the spot, making our way from knee deep snow and porters carrying our camera gears. Wasting no time, we quickly did our setup. It took us sometime to spot the leopard as he was completely camouflaged and then the silence was broken by the sound camera shutters release. 


Content and happy, with smiling faces, we made our way back to our homestay.  

Day 8 (8 Mar 2019)

Self and Ashwin decided to visit Key Monastery today.

Kye Gompa is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery located on top of a hill at an altitude of 4,166 metres above sea level, close to the Spiti River. If you are in Spiti Valley, this place is one of the STAR attractions and a must visit. We hired a car and I took my wide angle lens leaving behind my super-telephoto lens. Idea was to click some landscapes and not focusing on wild life. 

Key monastery was founded by Dromton , a pupil of Atisha, in the 11th century. This 1000 year old monastery is home to around 300 lamas who receive their religious education here. The location of the monastery is very picturesque and is definitely a must visit places in Himachal. 

Little I had known that on our way to Monastery, we sighted a full adult Blue sheep on road. Seeing our vehicle approaching, the animal started to run and then off it went on the hill besides the road. I managed to click some photos, peeping out of car window, of this magnificent mammal.

For our trackers and porters, we had decided to treat them with some “daru” to night. We picked up some stuff from Kaza and post lunch started our journey back to Kibber. On our way back, Ashwin spotted a Blue sheep female grazing peacefully besides road. Slowly we approached towards her and she allowed me to take some full frame photos using my wide angle lens. 😃 

Evening time was party for all our friends from Kibber. They were overwhelmed with our gesture and for dinner prepared some yummy chicken with hot Rotis and Rice. Wow! What more do you want?

Day 9 (9 Mar 2019) 

Morning time we got the news that the 3 leopards have reached Getthe. An area far off from Kibber. One needs to trek for atleast 3 hours in knee deep snow with gradual but exhausting ascent uphill. We had a choice to make, either we reach out for Getthe or spend the day covering bird species around Spiti valley reaching out till Lidang. We decided on birding and left for Lidang. Plan was to visit Key Monastery, Kaza (buy some supplies and lunch) and then go till Lidang covering bird species on the way.

It was a bright sunny day and route was very scenic.

Regi visited Key monastery and we started to scan the area for possible bird activities. 

Surroundings were full of Guldenstads Redstart and Brandt’s finches.

On the top of the adjacent mountain, we could see Tenzing and other photographers, who by now had reached Getthe. Down below with us, we met Meme Dariya (senior tracker), who had come all the way to Key monastery to track the movement of the 3 leopards from below. We just had a bleak chance of seeing them again from Key Monastery. We scanned the entire mountain cliff, but in vain. Bidding Adieu to Meme Dariya, we left for Kaza. Did some shopping and had our lunch of hot noodles.

Post lunch we started our journey to Lidang.

Few kms away on the road, Vinod sighted a big flock of Chukar partridges. We managed to photograph this beautiful bird and then decided to approach them cautiously for some close ups. The snow was very deep and we were immersed till our waists during our approach. It became riskier with every step and we decided to fall back and move on.  

At Lidang, besides the road, there is a beautiful temple. We halted there and scanned the area. We could see pug marks of Woolly hare, but could not sight it. We took rest for sometime and then decided to go back to Kibber. 

On our way back from Kaza to Kibber, we sighted a huge herd of Blue Sheep grazing road side. Super excited, we managed to photograph this wonderful mammal.

A day well spent covering some unique bird species of high altitude.

Day10 (10 Mar 2019) 

A day we will never forget! Little we had anticipated what this day had kept in store for us. The male snow leopard at Sudu nala had killed a male Ibex and the news spread like wild fire in entire Kibber. Everybody hurried to the spot to witness the sight. The leopard was resting few yards away from the kill, probable getting his energy back before the meal.

After a long wait, the leopard did some movement, emptied his stomach (shit happens 😁) and came to the kill. From the belly side of the Ibex, the leopard did his entry to feast on the organs of the Ibex. His face painted with blood, the leopard started his meal. Had some portions and them it went to relax again. This happened couple of time during the day. Nearing sunset, the leopard did not do any movement and we decided to come back early next morning to check on status

Day11 (11 Mar 2019) 

Early morning we decided to reach the place where the leopard had made its kill. Nothing had changed overnight, we descent down even further to go as close to the place as possible to witness the days events.
Through out the day, the leopard did some movements and came twice to the kill for feast and gave us some wonderful opportunities to click some fantastic photos.

Afternoon, the weather changed dramatically and it started to snow. We packed our gears and decided to head back to our homestay. In our minds, we all were content & happy about the sightings.

Evening was party time for all of us. With mouth watering chicken and some beer & whiskey to go, we all party hard as it was last night for us in Kibber. All the team narrated their experiences, with promises to come back(may be in next few years). With some parting gifts and tips to the core team, we headed back to our rooms to complete our packing.

Day12 (12 Mar 2019) – Kibber to Rampur 

With a heavy heart, all of us started our journey back from Kibber to Rampur. It was a long journey back to Rampur  (12 hrs) with everyone at times silent (recollecting experiences of last 10 days) and at times chatting of what would be our next expedition etc. For Regi, it was just a beginning as he was on a 58 day long wild life exploration tour of India!

After checking in our hotel at Rampur, the only thing in everybody’s mind was beer, chicken tikka, shave and a HOT water shower (after 10 days!!! 😊)

Had a wonderful evening spent with friends, we crashed late evening. Gearing up for another day long journey to Chandigarh.

Day13 (13 Mar 2019) - Rampur to Chandigarh

A tiring 10 hour long journey to Chandigarh was looking like never ending. Late evening, we met Regi at his hotel for a treat. Had a wonderful fun time with some amazing Belgium beer and roasted chicken to go…yummy !!!

Day14 (14 Mar 2019) - Chandigarh to Pune

Home coming, meeting dear ones (wife, daughter…gosh I had missed them a lot!) Bidding adieu to wonderful bunch of friends at airport we reached home. The WA group we created is still active and occasionally we all share our innermost feeling about going back to Kibber. I think our minds are time locked in Kibber and am sure, it would take a long time to come back to reality.