At a height of 8,586 meters, Kanchenjunga (Khangchendzonga, Kangchenjunga) is the tallest mountain in India.
The picture was taken about 7 years ago during the 7-day trek to Goecha la (gochela). We woke up on a freezing morning at 5am and walked up to a ridge near Dzongri log hut for this view. It was cloudy and we were doubtful about seeing the peak during the sunrise. Thankfully the weather got better at about 6.30am, when this is what we got to see.
Shot using a fuji sensia colour transparency.
Mridula’s post on sunburns provoked me to make this entry. She says – “Every trip in which we trek, I get sunburned.” That’s very likely to happen to everyone who is at the mountains because of rarefied air and strong sun up there. But some preparation helps to avoid it completely. Here is a list of everything you need to be prepared for the mountains.
1. Carry a sun screen. This is a necessity because of the strong sun in higher regions. If your journey takes you above the treeline, you must have this with you. It is generally recommended to use sunscreen with SPF 30, but I have seen that anything more than SPF 15 will do. For the uninitiated, SPF is Sun Protection Factor, a measure of how much your lotion can protect you from the sun. The larger the number the more protection. Products available in the market usually have SPF from 15 to 30. And when you apply the sunscreen, along with your face, don’t forget to apply it behind the neck too. This is an area most people forget to apply sunscreen on, and end up with burns.
Update(16-Jun-07): From my recent experience in the mountains, may be it is better to use sunscreen of SPF 30 and above. A SPF 15 worked fine but needed repeated re-application through the day.
2. Goggles. I recommend using them every time you go out anywhere in summer, not just mountains. And if you are likely to touch snowline, never ever go without these. Intense snow can hurt your eyes so much that spending four hours in sun where there is plenty of snow can cause swelling in and around the eyes. Use good quality stuff, not the cheap plasticky ones.
3. If your skin is sensitive to sun, carry a good, wide hat that ensures shade all over your face.
4. If you have dry skin or likely to get skin problems in winter, carry moisturizer and a lip gel. You can easily suffer from dry skin in cold weather and your lips could bleed.
This is pretty much all that you require to come back home with your skin completely unharmed. But I often wonder how people in the mountains manage to do without any of these. May be it is in their genes?