Hi welcome to RideToNirvana. Some things that life has given me and I am so greatful to share them with others. There are somethings that make us diffrent from others and give us our identity ,Then we find people with similar notes and it becomes music. Most of it is dedicated to Himachal , The Himalyas, Rock Music and other things that matter.

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Monday, April 09, 2007

Choor Chandni







Chaur Peak (Choor Chandni or Choor Dhar) : 3,647 m. It offers an unhindered view of wonderful landscape, vast meadows, green forests, open valleys and distant habitations from the hill top-a gorgeous pointed peak. There is a Shiva temple and a Sarai located here. As per local legend it was here in Choor Dhar that Lord Hanuman found the 'Sanjeevani buti' which was administered to Lakshmana, brother of Lord Rama for his revival.




It is trekkers' dream, The trek leads through forests ad slush created by gurgling streams and snow. It is easily accessible from Shimla via Solan-Rajgarh-Nohra near Haripur Dhar or Sainj near Kotkhai or Tiuni.











This week I got the opportunity to trek to the Choor Dhar with four friends.
Though this was not the best time to trek to choordhar because of the snow but it made the trek more exciting and adventurous.

















Wednesday, April 04, 2007

This page is going to be a joke in the next 23 years....

This page is going to be a joke by 2030.

For a long time I have been thinking of writing about Himalayan Glaciers on my blog.
Finally I did....


Bara Shigri :-
Bada Shigri is the largest glacier in Himachal Pradesh. It is located in the Chandra valley of Lahaul and it feeds the river Chenab. Bada Shigri glacier is more than 25 km. long and about 3 km. wide. It lies on the middle slopes of the main Himalayan range. It is also aided by many small tributary glaciers. It is surrounded by high mountains from three sides. It is said that this glacier formed Chandertal lake by causing a major havoc in Chadra valley in 1936. Bada Shigri glacier was conquered by all women mountaineers in 1956. It was further successfully trekked by Stephenson in 1956. There are number of prominent glaciers in Chandra valley in Lahaul. Some of them are Chhota Shigri ( means Small Glacier ), Kulti, Shpting, Pacha, Ding Karmo, Tapn, Gyephang, Bolunag, Shili and Shamundri. Gyephang is the chief deity of Lahaul valley and the Gyephang glacier is named after him. It is full of snow all the year. It is considered as the Manimahesh of Lahaul.

Chandra Nahan Glacier :-
It is located on the South-Eastern slopes of the main Himalaya in the area to the North-West of Rohru in Himachal Pradesh. Chandra Nahan Glacier is also aided by various small tributary glaciers. The famous Chandra Nahan lake lies in it and it feeds the river Pabbar. Chandra Nahan lake is accessible only to experienced trekkers and fed by a series of springs. Chandra Nahan glacier is surrounded by high rising peaks. The elevation of Chandra Nahan glacier is more than 6,000 meters. Bhadal Glacier: - Bhadal glacier is located on the South-Western slopes of the Pir Panjal range in the Bara Banghal area of Kangra district. It feeds the river

Bhadal:-
Bhadal river rises from the snowy range of the area lying between the Pir Panjal and Dhauladhar ranges. Bhadal river's catchment is made up of U shaped valleys, waterfalls, moraines, cirques and towering peaks. This river is one of the main tributaries of the river Ravi. The size of Bhadal glacier suddenly grows up because of rapid and heavy snowfall.

Bhaga Glacier:-
It is located on the slopes of the main Himalayan range in Lahaul area. This glacier feeds the river Bhaga. U shaped valleys, waterfalls, glaciers and moraines characterizes the upper catchments of the Bhaga river. The entire tract is devoid of a vegetative cover. The discharge of this river increases during the summer months, when the snow on the high mountains start melting. Bhaga Glacier is surrounded by high snow-clad peaks from all sides. Bhaga glacier is 25 km. long. The other important glaciers of Bhaga valley are Lady of Keylong, Mukkila, Milang and Gangstang.

The Lady of Keylong: -
The Lady of Keylong glacier is very popular among visitors. The name 'Lady of Keylong' was given by 'Lady Elashainghday' about a century ago during British ruling. The glacier is situated at an altitude of about 6,061 meters and it can be seen clearly from Keylong. It remains covered with snow throughout the year. But in the middle, there is seen a dark bare patch that looks like the figure of a womam, walking with a load on her back. It is also recorded as 'Lady of Keylong' by the geological survey team of India.

Mukkila Glacier :- It is situated at the height of about 6,478 meters. It is located in Bhaga valley. Its impression is awesome.

Sonapani :- It was first surveyed by Walker and Pascoe in 1906. It is visible from the Rohtang Pass. It is about 6 km. from the confluence of Kulti Nala.

Gora Glacier :- It has receded in the recent past due to a unstable mass balance. It lies in the South facing slopes of the main Himalayan range.

Perad Glacier :- The Perad glacier is small and easily accessible and it is near Putiruni. It also has a nice cave.

Parbati and Dudhon :- These glaciers are located in district Kullu. Both glaciers are 15 km. long. They feed the Parbati river. Beas Kund :- It feeds the river Beas and is located on the South facing slopes of the towering Pir Panjal near the world famous Rohtang Pass


Day before yesterday I woke up and as usual got hold of the news paper. The front page gave me a real shock "Forget Himalayan Glaciers by 2030" ie 12.5 years from now.

I rushed to my computer to investigate more and was astornished to see the facts. Here is one of the article I came accross.


"Don't dismiss it as one of the favourite whines of environmental campaigners. The result of the melting of most of the Himalayan glaciers by 2030, as predicted by the UN panel on climate change, could be truly catastrophic for India and its neighbours.

Rivers 'mothered' by the Himalayan glaciers are the lifeline of hundreds of millions of people in the Indian subcontinent and China, most of whom live far from the Himalayas.

As much as 70% of the world's fresh water is frozen in glaciers. The Himalayan glaciers are the largest store of water outside the polar ice caps, and feed seven great Asian rivers — Ganga, Indus, Brahmaputra, Mekong, Salween, Yangtze and Huang Ho (Yellow River). The glaciers are believed to be retreating at a rate of about 10-15 metres a year.

The first danger of the meltdown could be widespread flooding. In a few decades, it could be followed by irreversible droughts, threatening the livelihood of millions of people. This would not only mean unprecedented food shortages but also a massive water crisis. The Gangetic basin alone is home to more than 500 million people. Nearly 70% of the discharge into the Ganga is from rivers in Nepal, which means that if the Himalayan glaciers dry up so will the Ganga downstream in India.

In some rivers, the flow may go down by as much as 90%, according to glaciologist Syed Iqbal Hosnain, who has conducted extensive studies on Himalayan glaciers. Studies have predicted that in the Ganga, the loss of glacier melt water would reduce July-September flows by two thirds, causing water shortages for 37% of India’s irrigated land. As water flows from glaciers dry up, the energy potential of hydroelectric power will decrease, causing problems for industry, while reduced irrigation means lower crop production.

In a report in 2005, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) warned that "in the long term, the glaciers could disappear altogether, causing several rivers to shrink and threatening the survival of those who depend on them". What was forecast to happen "in the long term" two years ago, appears imminent now.

All is not lost, though. Experts say immediate action against climate change could slow the rate of melting. The Himalayan glaciers have been found to be in a state of general retreat since 1850. But the retreat has been alarming since the 1970s.

The Himalayan region, called the 'Water Tower of Asia', has a glacier coverage of 33,000 sq km. It provides around 8.6 million cubic metres of water annually.

Researchers have estimated that about 17% of the Himalayas and 37% of Karakorum is currently under permanent ice cover. The main glaciers of this region are Siachen (72 km); Gangotri (26 km); Zemu (26 km); Milam (19 km) and Kedarnath (14.5 km).

The Gangotri glacier, which supports one of India's largest river basins, is receding at an average rate of 23 metres per year. The Khumbu glacier, a popular climbing route to the summit of Mount Everest, has retreated more than 5 km from where Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay set out to conquer the worlds highest peak in 1953. "

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/India/Himalayan_meltdown_catastrophic_for_India/RssArticleShow/articleshow/1848002.cms

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