Chicham Day 2 - Day of the Ibex

5th February was a sunny day. Clear skies. The storm had washed itself away.

Our door was opened at 0645 with hot water for tea, and wood for the fire. Most important was the information that the gas had been lit in the toilet at 0600, meaning it was now warm enough to get moving.

Had eggs and local bread for breakfast. Lunch was packed, a mixed rice. Stepped out of the warm homestay at 0900. Into the cold. And, it hit.

The first 100 meters were difficult walking. We were gasping. Found this happen all days we were here. Once we got up to the Gypsy and stood in the sun a bit, it all settled down. Lungs woke up, got used to the cold. Legs woke up, Boidy stayed warm under the layers.

The toes and finger tips refused to cooperate. They stayed cold, complaining constantly. Good in a way. Else we were having too much fun.

Learnt the way our day would be.

Trackers and scanners went out at 0730, towards the last known or seen direction of Snow leopards. In snow, it was simpler. They scanned for tracks, then tracked the leopards using their tracks. Without snow, it was extremely difficult as they would have to cast wider and wider circles, while scanning the mountain sides for signs.

That morning we learnt that the cat had be elusive for the last week or so, after being visible at multiple sites before the snow came in.

Our plan for the day was to therefore drive out, look for anything interesting along the road, like Ibex or Blue Sheep or Red Fox. And, wait for the trackers to call us. 

We sighted Ibex quite quickly, as did the other 20 odd  vehicles. 

The vehicles would line up by the side of the road. The porters would carry the large cameras and tripods to vantage points, with much jostling till all settled. Chairs were laid out, tea was served.

Simple cameras like ours did not need a porter, though we did have one. It turned out that he used to be an excellent tracker. He came along and pointed out what we could not see.

Midway thru the day news came down that leopards had been sighted high above Kibber, a 4 hour trek. And, at the end of binocular distance. It made no sense doing the trek.

So, the Ibex.

 

Should be noted that all sightings were normally at a distance. Normally across a valley or a gorge.  Distances varied from over a few hundred meters to much further. 

The last picture gives you some idea as to why there were so many heavy cameras. And the tripods became essential for the heavy cameras to keep them steady. Not only was the weight there, it was also cold, the wind was blowing. Temperatures mid day were around minus 10 Celsius.

We stayed a bit, then drove back the way we came towards the area where Red Fox had their dens. Our guide was an overt active individual who liked to keep doing.

People who came here seemed very okay settling down to one sighting and following it for the day. 

Not us. We moved !! Went and stopped above the Chicham bridge. The bridge is the highest suspension bridge built over a gorge. People of Chicham used to walk down one side then up the other to get essentials before the bridge was completed not too many years back. Had lunch there. Soem form of mixed rice. Was too much, but the food was packed in single containers. Overate, then went walking towards the bridge, just as one of the many vehicle expeditions headed across the bridge.

This expedition was made up of a mix of heavy cars - fortuner, discoverer, range rovers and so on. To me painful. To the locals, economy.

Towards late afternoon we went back to where the Ibex had been. People were still perched on their chairs, taking pictures. 

To good thing was that the Ibex now seemed to be wanting to cross the road to higher ground. So we got closer shots.

 We closed the day around 1600, as the sun was heading behind one of the mountains rising high. Seemed to make sense to get into warmth before the outside chill froze us.

The home stay was warm, the fire lit. Had some hot tea, as water was heated for us to wash. Wash meant feet, hands and face. Full stop. Too cold for anything else. We crossed a corridor that was unheated to and from any wash place, where temperatures were easily  below freezing. We were in a fire heated room.

Ate by 2030, after some medicinal alcohol. Sleep came well. Were happy to have survived our first honest day in sub zero temperatures quite well. Body gear had worked. Shoes and socks, apart from the initial freeze had worked. The fingers were the issue. Each time we worked our cameras or our binoculars, they froze. Next time, we will carry chemical warmers.