«Mountain Biking and Hiking»

Events:

Typically I am touring around with some friends on nice week-ends. Having fun is much more important than going as fast as possible. However, from time to time I participate in one of the «long-distance races» like:

1994 & 1995: «Bike Around the Clock», the 24 Hour Race in Eschlikon TG
1996 & 1998: «Swiss Bike Masters» in Küblis GR
1998 Bike Leg in «The Ultimative Gigathlon»
1998 Verbier - Grimentz «Grand Raid Cristalp«
2000 In eigener Kraft von Nord nach Süd «Direttissima Schweiz«

Tour into the Indian Himalaya:

In 1997 Nikolaus Bieler, Urs Burckhardt and I had the chance to spend 7 weeks biking in the Indian Himalaya.

Through the Plains and Foothills.
In the hottest season with temperatures well above 40°C we crossed the plains from Delhi to the foothills of the himalaya. It took us one week and with passages through deep canyons and climbs over several high passes to reach Manali in the fertile Kullu valley.

Suspension Bridge over Beas River, Kullu Valley

Passage through Melting Water, Sarchu H.P.

«Haute Route» to Ladakh.
From Manali to Leh extends for 540 km one of the highest and most spectacular roads of the world. We had to climb over the passes Rohtang La (3978 m), Baralacha La (4830 m), Nakee La (4800 m), Lachalung La (5065 m) and Taglang La (5360 m) before descending to the Indus valley and reaching Leh, the capital of Ladakh.
Along this leg of the tour one notices a dramatic change in the climatic situation. As one travels north, one finds the landscape more and more arid, as the clouds of the monsoon rarely come across the high chains of the himalaya.
Even more than a climatic divide, the great himalaya also separates two cultures, i.e. the hinduism in the south and the tibetian buddhism in the north.

The Gravel Road Ends in Zanskar.
A direct access to Padum in Zanskar is possible only on foot. On wheels one has to make a long detour to the west. First we followed the «Military Road» through the deep gorges of the Indus and over several mountain passes to Lamayuru and Kargil. From the latter extends a gravel road through the muslim dominated Suru valley over the Pensi La to Padum, where the motorable part of the road ends. On the way one gets very close to several impressively large glaciers and gets good views of the Nun and Kun mountains towering over 7000 m.

Trekking with Bikes on Horse Back over Shingo La.
Shortly after Padum the track gets too rough to be biked easily. Therefore we decided to load the luggage and the bikes onto the backs of poenies and to hike over the Shingo Pass into the Lahaul valley where we made it again to the road from Manali to Leh. On the way we visited the remote and beautiful monastery of Phuktal.
A more complete account of the journey with an html formatted journal and hundreds of pictures of the tour is available on personal request from me.
A small selection of pictures can be found on this server.

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Last modified: 11-Nov-2002