Day Four Fri 27th Oct Manali – Chail 270km

Another early start – 6.30am – for a long day which was to include the scaling of the high mountain pass. We said goodbye to Mike after breakfast. He was going back to the Kullu Valley to be flown to Simla then on to Delhi. We were also going back to the Kullu Valley and were intending to cross the river a different way, but traffic jams intervened and we ended up going back across that bloody rope bridge! This time some of the group managed to get photos of us going across, so I’ll post those when we get them.

Matt’s favoured route to the Jalori Pass was blocked and we waited around for the local guide to catch up with us to see if he knew a different route, which he did. I decided at this point that I didn’t want to ride up the Pass so one of the mechanics rode my bike and I went in the back of the people carrier. Jon said that I’d developed a ‘moral objection’ to the mountain being there, as if it shouldn’t exist! But I think I'd actually decided that wanting to go up it was macho posturing (like ‘Munro-bagging’) and a male obsession with big pointy sticky-uppy things that I didn’t really buy into. I was also extremely knackered and, I think, rather affected by the previous day’s accidents – especially Mike’s. This wasn’t me taking the easy option as Indian driving is very scary, especially when they’re haring round these tiny mountain roads that don’t have anything to stop you falling off the edge! My way of coping with this was to lie down in the back with a coat over my head and my headphones on and try to get some sleep, so that I couldn’t see what was happening! So the chaps all set off up the hill. My decision was vindicated a couple
of miles down the road when there was a 100 yards or so of smashed up boulders to cross – the bits were definitely too big to be called ‘gravel’! We got a puncture half way up and the wheel had to be changed so by the time we got to the top of the hill the chaps had all had lunch and we missed ours!

The Jalori Pass is 3,135 metres high – three times the height of Snowdon. The air was so thin that they had to go up in first gear as there wasn’t enough oxygen to keep the bikes going in 2nd! Iain’s died completely just before the summit and really didn’t want to go again. Jon had a rush of blood to the head and thinks that he made it up the mountain first - although he can't quite believe that's true and thinks his memory must be playing tricks - right behind Matt, who was slightly surprised. The summit is topped by a Hindu shrine and a café. The views were absolutely stunning and lots of picture taking was done.

It took the chaps over an hour to get down off the mountain and whilst they headed off to Simla, we got the puncture mended. Which meant that the driver really went for it to try to catch them up and, I can honestly say, I’ve rarely been as scared in all my life as Schumacher-Ji hurtled round blind bends. At one point I almost left a ‘goodbye’ message on Jon’s answerphone ‘cos I really thought I’d never see him again!

The roads climbed up to Simla (2,400 metres high) and we caught up with the bikes not far from the city. It was much colder up there and rain was starting to fall. Nick was wearing an open-faced helmet with no scarf and looked frozen so I offered to take his place, but he said he’d press on. But about an hour later as dusk was falling Matt asked if I’d swap with Nick and I readily agreed as he looked completely done in. Night fell, making the mountain roads even more exciting as we descended to Chail about 45km from Simla. I burnt the back brake out on my bike and had to swap bikes with one of the mechanics. It took about another hour and a half to reach the small family-run Oakwood hotel where a warm welcome awaited us.


All the blokes were completely knackered – Jon just sat on the edge of the bed unable to move – but all had a sense of achievement at having done it. They’d had a really tough day climbing to 3,135m then descending to the valley before climbing
again to over 2200m. We realised that they'd spent over 11 hours on the bikes since 6.30 this morning and covered over 270km - most of it vertical! I thought the day a bit too ambitious but I think they felt more camaraderie for having all made it.

Bev