Basic Mountaineering Course/ HMI campus & understanding Mountains / Part 1

I did my BMC from Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in 2021 November batch. Ours was schedule in May, but it was postponed for November due to Covid-19. Nevertheless it was one of the most challenging, adventurous and fun thing to experience.

In this Blog I will tell you all about Basic Mountaineering course and what happens during those 28 days of your life.

1. Week 1

• HMI Campus and Understanding Mountains.
  The course starts by arrival at HMI and registering yourself. You have to fill few formality forms and your very basic medical tests are done. Once all that is clear, your training for base camp starts. You stay in HMI campus for a week before heading for basecamp, and in this week, you jog and run daily for 5-7 kms in morning followed by yoga.
  
  Our day started at 4:30 am (although my started just 20 minutes before fall-in time, no judging pls) and after getting freshen up and breakfast, we started our 5km run/jog from HMI campus to Chowrasta and back. And somedays we also had yoga after our run. Trust me, every movement felt challenging when your muscles are sore. Everyday a different instructor used to lead the jogging, and the toughest was by Robin Sir, he made sure we were mentally and physically prepared for our further course.
  
  We learn Rock climbing, Rappelling, Rope knots, Anchoring and how to pack your Rucksack along with some theory classes to make you familiar with mountains and its terminologies.

• The TIGER Hill trek:
  HMI has a Tiger Hill trek in which we need to carry 12-14kgs of backpack and trek for 17-18kms. This is to build your endurance for the coming days. Tiger hill is the highest point go Darjeeling, famous for its sunrise, so it’s sort of an uphill trek.
  You can watch it in my detailed video here.
  

• The Pandem trek Test:
  While Tiger hill trek is just a tip of an iceberg, we also had a physical fitness test “Pandem Trek”, in which we had to cover 14kms in 3.5 hours, and if you are late, you are eliminated from moving further for Base camp. Our Batch had 35 girls, of which 5 of them were eliminated after Pandem trek.
  
  After Pandem trekk test we were divided in Ropes, in layman’s language Groups. Our rope instructor was Umang sir. Mountaineering is a team work, so rest all the activities that you do, you do it with your rope mates, as it’s easy to get in sync and understand the strength and weakness and that is what we need to climb and descend any mountain.
  
  The first week at HMI we are introduced to mountains and its manners and the equipments that you must understand to climb or descend. We are throughly trained in Rock climbing and the main focus is on increasing the endurance and strength for the coming days. We are also subjected to medical tests and are monitored on daily basis (like in my case), and once I was declared fit (which was questionable for me for the first 4 days), we prepared for what we were waiting for.
  You can watch it in my detailed video here.

• Rock Craft at Campus and Tenzing rock.
  This happens to be the most technical aspect of Mountaineering, and the most important one. In Rock craft we were introduced with different types of ropes and rope knots. We practiced rope knots along with anchoring and belaying. After getting the gist of it, we went to Tenzing rock for our practicals. It was my first time doing rock climbing and if I may say so, I kicked ass in it.
  
  Rock climbing is an interesting and technical sport, we were taught various climbing techniques and different kinds of holds and obviously rappelling, coz you don’t just ascent a mountain, you descent too.
  We practiced Chimney Climbing which is like a gap between two cliffs and you use your body to climb. We also practiced multiple techniques of Rappelling like shoulder, stomach, long phase where we did over hang jump to rappel down.

After first week at HMI campus (which felt like 2 days) we were excited to move forward and start our journey towards base camp.

2. Week 2
As there was a class on “How to Pack for an Expedition,” we finally got the hang of packing a rucksack. Trust me, it makes a whole lot of difference, even a slightest error can put up 2-3 kgs at wrong areas on your body and that can result in injury and that feeling of extra weight!! trust me you don’t want that!!! So the distribution of weights plays a key role in packing your rucksack.

• Yuksom.
  After packing our rucksacks, we move to Yuksom (5840 ft) in Sumo, it takes around 5-6 hours. In Yuksom we learned to pitch our own tent and spent a night before moving to Tshoka (9701 ft). We were given an option to keep any belongings if we don’t wish to carry them further. Given the weight of our rucksacks, some of us did left few items and well, it was a good decision.

• Tshoka.
  Now here the fun starts, we trekked for 16kms to reach Tshoka and almost all uphill. This was really challenging as we had a rucksack of around 22-24kgs. And gravity is an heartless bitch. We were so exhausted, I won’t lie a bit, this was really challenging because this was the longest trek -16 kms, and the uphill was killing. We reached almost at the time of sunset (4:30 pm) and it got darker and darker as minutes went by. But once we reached, we settled in our Hut, laid down our sleeping bags and essentials, and immediately dinner was served.
  Honestly the amount of efforts kitchen staff had done is remarkable. They trekked along with us and yet were preparing 3 meals, tea and snack every day. I believe it is impossible to think doing this without them. Anyways, next day we went for acclimatisation walk, and prepared ourselves for the next destination.

• Dzongri.
  One the 3rd day we started our journey towards Dzongri (13218 ft). Tshoka to Dzongri is 9 kms and it gets really windy and cold. We started early as 6 am and reached at 3 in afternoon. The route was indeed very scenic but colder than Tshoka. We also had to walk on hard snow path along the way. After spending a night in Dzongri, we started our journey for our final destination which is Base camp (Chowrikhang) where we will spend the next 12 days.

• Chowrikhang (base camp).
  Dzongri to Chowrikhang is 13kms at the altitude of 13600 ft. Chowrikhang stands at 14600 ft altitude. And to trek there you must be really strong mentally and physically. Not that we had a choice, but the trek here is extremely challenging. There are no tree lines and on each and every step you are breathless due to low oxygen levels. But what made me complete is constant pushing myself in systematic manner. I made a strategy to walk 20 steps, and rest for a minute. Trust me, it sounds low number etc etc, but this was working just fine. And you have to be consistently strong, mentally as well as physically and think smarter ways to utilise your endurance. Just done forget to keep breathing 🙂
  
  Anyhow, the fun had just begun, Once we reached base camp, the next 12 days will be the most memorable thing that could happen to us. You not only make good friends, but you are challenged with conditions which can truly shape you, make you more kind.
  

(And if reading is not your thing, watch my super fun detailed video on BMC
Part 1 and Part 2.
Other BMC related blogs you might find useful:
– Basic Mountaineering Course / Basecamp / Part 2.
– Basic Mountaineering Course, Institutes, and how to apply.
– Basic Mountaineering Course, How to train and prepare, My workout routine for BMC.
– Basic Mountaineering Course, What to carry? All about Gears and clothes.