Voyagers of an iced waterfall

Mountain climbing is an adventure sport that challenges physical strength of any climber. The challenge reaches the next level when the temperature is below zero and entails ascending a frozen waterfall. Abhijeet Singh and Pranav Rawat recently became India’s first frozen waterfall climbers by successfully ascending the 260-feet high frozen Shela Waterfall in Spiti Valley.  

“This sport is totally different from climbing snow-covered mountains as one never finds frozen ice on most mountains,” shares Pranav, adding, “The formation of glacier ice from snow is totally different, as glacier ice is very stable and easier to climb compared to frozen ice water. Frozen ice is temporary and brittle and the risk involved is much higher.”

Abhijeet chips in, “The risks and techniques involved in ice waterfall climbing make it an extreme form of climbing. It’s difficult and painful to gain a footing on ice that’s seasonal. And it could take multiple hits and kicks to gain one’s hold on such ice, and on a long pitch, the resulting pump in the arms and calves actually drains you out much faster than on normal alpine ice. Also, the chances of ice chipping off and falling are very high.”    

Despite being a dangerous sport, they have taken the thrill of ice climbing in India to the next level. It got these two 31-year-old mountaineering enthusiasts together. “Ever since I started mountain climbing, I was more interested in every section that could offer any form of ice climbing exposure. In fact, climbing ice pitches is my favourite part in a climbing expedition. Thanks to social media, I was introduced to Western climbers climbing frozen waterfalls,” shares Abhijeet, who quit his job to pursue his passion.

The journey wasn’t easy, their plans to climb were affected by bad weather in the past. “Our first choice was Nerak Waterfall in Chadar trek, Ladakh. We were to climb it in January 2015 but due to a massive landslide right before our trip, the entire area was shut for the entire season. The next option was to go to Spiti after a couple of climber friends went and attempted Shela waterfall. But heavy rains and massive landslides in Kinnaur region forced us to return without even reaching Spiti,” explains Abhijeet.

Talking about the present scene of ice climbers in India, Pranav says, “Water ice climbing is attractive but it is very difficult to get gear and equipment to scale such daunting heights. I believe we have a lot of potential climbers in India but funds and initiatives to encourage young climbers is lacking. We thought it will be great to inspire climbers and explore the potential of ice.”

The trek was filled with some terrifying tales — some scary and some crazy — and they will cherish these with friends and family. Pranav says, “During our climb at Lingti Waterfall, Abhijeet decided to shoot the climb. So I asked Nitesh (terrain expert) to belay me up. It was mid noon and the sun was up that day. I finished almost 40 per cent of the climb and Nitesh started telling me that the water is running over him. Initially, I thought it might be a minor overflow and told myself not to worry and kept climbing up. But in the next five minutes, I saw the water in full force and I was completely wet in a minute.”

Narrating another incident Abhijeet says, “Every morning, we tried to start the climb as early as possible to avoid softening of ice due to direct sunlight during the day. But Pranav and I had to spend at least two hours every day getting the shooting crew ready with harnesses, jumars and crampons etc. We had to get them tied to anchors to make them hang from the rocks to shoot our climb. If the climb was scary for us, the idea of shooting lying on a ledge or hanging from a rock was even scarier for them.”

Calculating risks is crucial to any climber, and overcoming one’s fear with safety measures is paramount. “Fear is important as it keeps you safe. It’s the difference between madness and adventure. To negotiate fear and succeed every time is a big challenge. This sport is not very affordable and we cannot bear failures financially. But failures are part and parcel of such expeditions and it demands more mental strength than physical. You might be very good but once you hit high altitude, the whole scenario changes,” Pranav concludes.