Yearbook Report (2008-2009)

This year two members of the Hiking Club decided to cycle from Manali in Himachal Pradesh to Leh in Jammu and Kashmir, crossing some of the highest motorable mountain passes in the Himalayas. With the expedition turning out to be a great success the Club is now planning to organise similar trips to other parts of the country as well (a cycling trip on the Konkan Coast is in the pipeline for the coming year!). Besides the cycling expedition, the Club also organised two treks. In October, fifteen members of the Club (many who had never seen snow!) made an attempt to cross a relatively lesser known mountain pass, the Pangchi Galu Pass, in the Great Himalayan National Park in Himachal Pradesh. Unfortunately, heavy snowfall forced the team to abandon the trek but, what now seems like a blessing in disguise, the team decided to cross the Chandrakani Pass giving the team an opportunity to visit the mysterious village of Malana. In December, the 4th St. Stephen’s Open Sport Climbing Competition was held at the Easwaran Memorial Climbing Wall. The event, coupled with a photo exhibition of the Club’s recent activities, was a great success. With participants coming from as far as Jammu and Bangalore, the competition clearly seems to be gaining popularity among climbers from across the country.This year we decided to restart the weekend treks as many members were unable to make it to the October treks. So a small team of students accompanied by the Staff Advisor trekked from Barsu to Dayara Bugyal. This was a great opportunity for those who had never trekked before. Based on past experiences of heavy oversubscription for the rafting trips we decided to organise two rafting trips in February this year. The trips were quite eventful (with rafts flipping over on ‘The Wall’ and an encounter with a floating dead body!) and we would like to thank Vaibhav Kala (a Hiking Club alumnus) and his team at Aquaterra for giving us this exciting opportunity year after year. Other than these annual features, the Club held regular climbing sessions on the climbing wall and also organised a natural rock climbing trip to Dhauj in Haryana. In January, current members of the Club along with some alumni members got together for a prayer meeting in memory of Rohan Kanhai Dutta (popularly known as ‘Kan’), one of the most enthusiastic climbers of the Club. His presence will be missed by all those known to him.