Autumn Ride - An Unsuccessful Ending (sept. '18)

With riding season fast approaching to an end here in the mountains, I decided to visit Zanskar Valley.

I decided to leave on 20th September, 2018 from Jammu, spend a week or so in the valley, photograph the place and simply enjoy the ride.
I like to go off-season as the places are usually less crowded and in especially autumn, you get a colourful foliage all around

It all went according to plan till I reached Rangdum. Then the weather Gods simply didn't want me to go further and I had to bow down to their will.
It snowed hard for over 24 hrs, the road was closed and I had to return back.

Trip dates - 20th September to 27th September, 2018
Trip route - Jammu-Anantnag-Kargil-Rangdum and back

Drass


Hunderman Village, Kargil
The village was abondoned around 1971 war and is now a museum


Colourful Suru Valley


Enroute Rangdum


A pananormic view


This is what 24hrs of snow storm leaves behind

 

Superb start, Nadeem. Sad to note that you had to abandon the journey due to the storm that took everybody by surprise, leaving hundreds stuck in remote mountains.
As they say, there's always a next chance, Cheers...

 

Thank you

Ya, the havoc this storm caused all around was totally unexpected.
I was able to leave back for Rangdum to Kargil on the second day.
I was lucky that I hadn't crossed Pensi La, else I would have been stuck there for over a week. uff..

 

Great Start !
Great Storm !
Great Stories !



Coming Soooooooon ?

 

Thanks Satinder Ji..
Posting soon..

 

Day 1
20-09-2018
Jammu to Anantnag

A ride/drive of torture.
The road from Udhampur to Quazigund is under construction and the dust is unbearable. Jams are pretty common nowadays. I was able to maneuver my bike through the jam at Banihal. uff..

Day 2
21-09-2018
Anantnag to Kargil

All ready to leave


Unlike during my last trip in May when it was raining, it was sunny all the way this time.

Dal Lake was hazy as always and pics never come of that are worth sharing.
My first break came at Sonmarg for a hot cup of tea. From here on, I took frequent photography breaks. The weather was amazing and I was enjoying the ride.

Start of haze




Part of the Thijwas Galcier
View from Sonmarg market






The road is truly amazing and a joy to ride on
Butter smooth tarmac, beautiful views.. ah! what else could one ask for..






Zoji La was dusty.
I met a group of riders at the checkpost who were going to Leh and who knew they would have a change in their plan and we would be stuck together in Rangdum.

I love this image
A centered lonely cloud atop rugged mountains..











One of my favourite images from the trip.
This particular spot is just after crossing the Drass town.
Loved the colours and the flowing river.



Stopped at the Kargil War Memorial





I reached Kargil around 3:20pm and went to see Hunderman Village. One can see the Pakistani village and outpost from here. Proceed further to see the ruins of the Hunderman village.

The small green patch is in Pakistan



Closeup of the village on the Pakistani side.


a little further up the road, we get to see the Hunderman Village













Not a sign you would want to see
The road was mined during the 1999 war and some may still be there along the road..


I then returned back to Kargil and took a room at Afzal Guest house. I had also stayed here in May. The rooms are big, clean washroom with gyser and parking. Paid 600 for the night.

P.S.. I used a CPL filter for the first time in this trip, so some pics may have irregular colour shades in sky.

NEXT...

 

tough luck Nadeem, better luck next time

great captures specially the one showing Suru valley

 

Exactly the kinds of logs that get me tempted.
That pan shot in the opening post is very well captured.

Long exposure helps in such situations. Dial in some positive compensation while clicking or even editing pics. Unlike street lamps or city lights, which come from a pointed source with limited intensity; snow/fog/rain disperse light to a larger extent and that fools the camera lens into over correcting the light passing through it, lending the resulting pic a washed out effect.
Dial the shutter to 2 secs or even 5 secs and see the difference for yourself (exposure compensation would be needed accordingly).

And for landscapes, a (mini) tripod would help, again with longer exposures than ones you took these pics at!

 

Great Views !
Great Pics !

 

Ya, there is always next time. safety first..
and thank you.. patches of orange foliage looked amazing that morning.

Thank you

Ah! I will keep this in mind next time and try long expo. in such conditions.

Thank you