Day 9: Mountaineering Course Series

#day9 #mountaineering series #packup

*Behind the scenes and glamour*

It was total chaos.

Queues, lots and lots of them.

It was time to leave the @NIM campus and embark on our journey to higher camps for the remaining two segments of the course.

We spent nearly the entire day standing, waiting for our turn in one line or the other.

First to gather our equipment. Mess tins. Helmets. Ropes. Crampons. Down jackets. Trying them on- too big, a bit small, just weird until I settled with something a shade better than what I had started with. Opening the sleeping bags, checking if they were okay and in one piece. Attempts at fitting it back inside that tiny bag, left me sweating. Then two-three of us stretched it, rolled it, sat on it to squeeze it and get it inside somehow. Phew! We felt accomplished.

Second queue was to get it checked. Did you have sun shades that would protect you from snow blindness? Did you have socks, woolens? Torch? Woolen cap? Waterproof gloves?

My instructor gave a slight nod of approval. I smiled out of relief and for making a good choice- I had burnt a hole in my pocket at decathlon before I left for the course.

When people realised they were missing one thing or the other which happened with almost everybody, they invariably headed to the institute’s only store. One place where a line would have been a blessing, there was none. Imagine the face of the in-charge flummoxed by girls asking for different things. The poor guy was too confused to know which direction the ‘sir, please sirrr’ was coming from, who had come first and how much each one had to pay.

After our things, it was our turn to be checked out. We lined up yet again, this time outside the medical room to get our vital stats checked and get the final green signal.

Everyone got to gathering and putting themselves, their things together. Only after that would the struggle to actually fit things in the rucksack begin.

Socks. Woolen socks. Normal socks. More pairs of socks. Check.

Torch. Extra batteries. Check

Waterproof gloves check.

Sanitizer check.

2 full-sleeved t-shirts and two lowers I would swear by check.

Jacket check.

Camera check.( I just had to fit it in somehow)

Sunscreen check. (This was the first time that I would actually use it before realising it has expired. More out of necessity than inclination. )

A small notebook check.

Anti-fungal powder.( didn’t imagine how grateful my feet would be for this)

Tang, dry fruits (such life saviours)

Chocolate (what a treat it would be there)

The dorm room was a sight to behold. It was as if everything was turned upside down. Things were so scattered all across the floor on mats, it was difficult to find a spot to roll out mine and start packing. I just stood there observing people taking out things, more things and felt that I should also get started but just couldn’t function. The buzz and things lying around were so overwhelming that I decided to wait and pack my stuff when people around me were nearly done with theirs.

The lines did not end here. There was an even longer one for the washrooms. No, not everyone had a fetish for having baths like me. It was more to wash and dry clothes which we would need for the next 12 days. There was no possibility of washing or expecting them to dry in those low temperatures. Waiting with filled-up buckets, the delight on people’ s faces was something to watch as soon as someone heard a bolt open. People would become alert suddenly, just ready to dive in.

The next challenge was to find a space to dry the clothes. Next and even bigger one was to not mix them up. Given the huge popularity of @decathlon, everyone’s clothes and socks looked so similar, it was hard to pick yours if you didn’t remember the spot or if someone decided to take yours instead!

We found ourselves in another line. This time in our beloved NIM mess! Our last meal at NIM before we left for the higher camp. The day was exhausting in a very different way. Finally we could crash alas with lots of mosquitos for company.

Until the next fall-in. Six hours later.