Bali Pass Trek

We have opened up from October 2020 and have been running treks since then by following our Strict Covid19 Safety Protocols. Till now all of our trekkers and staffs have been safe from Covid and it is a result of following our strict Covid SOP. Uttrakhand Government has opened unrestricted travel within the state for asymptomatic domestic tourists without any quarantine.

• This Sankri Range or the Saraswati range of the Himalayas are in close proximity of the Dhauladhar range and due to these intersecting ranges, this belt gets a very high amount of snowfall during the winter season.
• Snowfall in the altitudes above 4000 meters start as early as October and continuous snowfall keeps piling the snow till the end of the spring months in March.
• The lower altitude mountains below 4000 meters in this range get heavy snowfall from December till the end of March.
• The snow starts to recede from the month of April in lower altitude peaks like Kedarkantha and Har ki Dun and by the time its May, the High Passes of this belt - namely the Bali Pass, Dhumdhar Kandi Pass and Borasu Pass opens up to the trekkers.
• It can snow even during the months of May in the high altitude zone above 4000 meters.
• Snow definitely make the Bali Pass trek a little exhausting and trickier as well.
• It needs a strong team and an experienced support team to ease the crossing over of the Bali Pass.

Though this year snowfall has been less, currently there is too much snow on the Bali Pass route to make the crossing of the pass easy. However, compared to previous years, we presume this year we can do this trek by the end week of April.

• Pre Monsoon Season: The Best Time to do the Bali Pass Trek would be in the months of May, June and till the mid of July. These months do have a good cover of snow, especially in the month of May. Snow somewhat make the crossing over of the pass easier as compared to open moraines in the Autumn months of September and October. This does depend upon the timing of the day's trek with the early hours of the day making it easier and quick through the steep ridgelines. During this time, snow would have just receded from the valley and the Ruinsara Lake and Debsu Bugyal will be in its full glory with colourful flowers and waterful streams. The temperatures are quite comfortable during this time and will range between -5 to 14 Degree Celsius in the higher regions, whereas from 5 - 20 degrees in the lower valleys.
• Post Monsoon Season: The months of September and October sees stable weather and clearer skies with hues of deep blue spreading love all over the valley. The sharp snowclad peaks make a perfect frame with a blue background. The snow cover on the route is minimal and the rough rocky moraine is exposed revelling the true view of the terrain. Crossing over the Bali Pass in this season is easy with a good support team and experienced guide. As the weather prepares for the first snowfall in October, the days get colder and drier with each passing day.  The temperatures are comfortable even during this time and will range between -5 to 14 Degree Celsius in the higher regions, whereas from 5 - 20 degrees in the lower valleys. However, with each passing day, it will tend to get colder and drier making it difficult in the high altitude zones.

• Accommodation in Sankri will be in a good local homestay while on the trek it will completely be in Camps which will be moved and pitched every day.
• We DO NOT fix our camps as it is very harmful to the ecology. We always use running camps creating minimal impact on nature.
• Our camps are selected keeping acclimatization, comfort and safety in mind.
• We select our campsites based upon the availability of level land, beautiful camping spot with views, walking distance from the starting point, altitude gain, next day's journey, clean water source, safety from rockfall or landslide zone, etc.
• We provide top quality camping equipment for safety and comfort against the harsh and extreme Himalayan Weather.
• Waste management in our campsite is well taken care of and we ensure that we do not harm Mother Nature and the local ecology by burning firewood for fun, defecating in open, littering plastic waste, washing is direct river water, making noise, etc.
• In our camps, we create a dry bio-toilet by digging up a pit in the ground and covering it all around by erecting a strong cabinet tent. This way, the breakdown of biological waste happens very quickly.
• Most importantly, our emphasis on small group size helps in minimising the impact on nature.

• Bali Pass is a strenuous trek and doing it is not easy. It requires a physically fit body used to exercises and long walks.
• Negotiating the steep ridgeline covered with soft snow requires power and that has to be there in the legs and core muscles. Stronger shoulders for carrying your rucksack on the steep rigorous climb is very essential.
• Do make sure that if you are trekking the Bali Pass, bring a well hydrated and strong body. Exertion in a High altitude eats up your body to sustain, so you need to have a little reserve as well to perform better.
• Make sure you are used to the high altitude before you venture here in remote corners of the Himalayas.
• We do talk about physical fitness and its importance often ignoring the mental demands of the trek. Any difficult trek is 60% beaten by mental attitude and 40% of Physical fitness.
• While physical stamina can be built up with training and exposure, mental endurance needs experience and a good support team.

Beginners in good physical shape can do this trek with the help of a good support team. We have in the past made many beginners summit the mighty Stok Kangri as well. However, it's a must that you have to be a nature lover and possess a never say die attitude in the mountains. Self-motivation is the key to success.

• Its a high pass crossing trek and is very remote. So there are many scopes of being inflicted with AMS if not taken proper care of all the factors to prevent AMS.
• Controlling altitude gain with the itinerary plan, hydration, keeping warm, not exerting, acclimatization walks and most importantly keeping happy are the most important factors of keeping AMS away.
• We take care of all these factors and believe in Natural Acclimatization.
• Since we create a filtered group of trekkers for our groups, trek in smaller groups, take care of all the factors causing AMS, we face little AMS concerns on our treks.

• The Bali Pass trek ventures into the remote terrain of the Sankri range. The starting point of the trek - Sankri itself does not have any medical facility up at service.
• Once we leave the village for the trek, we are pretty much on our own and the knowledgeable trek leader comes of great relief to answer the medical conditions during the trek. If you have any health conditions, it's better you keep yourself off the trek route.
• The Ruinsara valley and the Odari campsite is far away from any villages and any emergency there would mean a head bogging evacuation to plan out wither with the help of 4 porters where mules do not venture. Till Ruinsara, mules or horses can carry out the evacuation. Its easier said, but the experience isn't good and we do not want to experience any such thing on our treks.
• So far we are on the safer side with our SOP. We rather work on prevention than cure. On every day of our trek, we monitor the health of our trekkers to avoid any emergency in the coming days. The trek leader is well equipped and knowledgeable enough to take care of your health during the trek.
• After crossing the pass, the descend is treacherous and working out a rescue there will be very difficult. So better we send back a trekker with symptoms of illness before we cross the pass.
• The Himalayas has its own ways of filtering out unfit trekkers if you care less about it. So come well prepared.

Sankri ad Taluka has an unreliable mobile network on BSNL which works only about 40% of the time. Once you leave Taluka for the trek, there will be no mobile tower on the trek route till you return to Taluka again. No other mobile tower works here.

Sankri these days have just got WiFi internet solution. BSNL here works on 2G network and does not provide internet. Few cafes are offering WiFi at a nominal cost. However, it is to be noted that this usually remains crowded. There is no mobile connectivity and internet connection on the trek route.