My First Winter Solo Ride in Snow: Chopta Tungnath

Just before the Covid-19 Pandemic struck I was fortunate to have undertaken this Winter Solo Ride to Chopta in Dec 2019. I had been feeling miserable for some time in my job, simply because there was actually nothing to do with the product I was leading. The priorities of the company had changed and it was imminent that the product might be given the axe. So before that could happen, I decided to take matters into my hand and resigned. As always, I felt a strong urge to run away from all the frustration and misery and decided to undertake another solo ride to the Himalayas in the middle of the winter. This would be my second winter ride after the ride I had undertaken in Jan 2018 to Lohajung, the base camp of Roopkund and Brahmatal, the trek I had done then. 

But where to go? This was a question that plagued my mind for a couple of days. After having undertaken so many rides in the Himalaya, the lower hills have all but lost their charm to me. They all seem the same, crowded and brown, especially in the winter. I have now understood perfectly that if you want to experience the Himalaya in all its glory, you have to venture deeper and deeper in the mountains. Also, I wanted to experience snow this time and so wanted to go somewhere I could ride in the snow (which was an absolutely terrible idea, but more on that later). 

So, after doing a little research and talking to a couple of Pahari friends, I narrowed it down to either Auli or Chopta. Now, since I had already gone to Mana (India’s last village in Uttarakhand) via Joshimath before and also because my friends told me that Auli is very crowded and expensive in the winters, I decided to give Auli a pass. Once I finalised Chopta, the next step was to get ready for my Solo Ride. So I got the bike serviced, collected all the necessary gear, clothing and other paraphernalia and was ready to go. 

Winter Solo Ride Day 1: Noida to Rudraprayag 

The route I decided to take was: Noida- Haridwar – Rishikesh – Rudraprayag – Ukhimath – Chopta. And within 3 days of having finalised the ride, I was off. I started from Noida on a chilly but otherwise fine winter morning at 7 AM. I would have liked to start earlier, because the traffic in Ghaziabad, which like the Khumbu icefall while climbing Mt Everest you have to cross while heading towards Uttarakhand, is a nightmare. But since it was a winter morning, I was able to cross Ghaziabad without being stuck in traffic. Once you cross Ghaziabad, you can either take the highway or you can take a less crowded and more scenic route through the Upper Ganga Canal Road which passes through idyllic villages and fields side by side the Upper Ganga Canal. I simply love this road and needless to say I took it. This road ultimately connects you to Roorkee highway via Bijnore. 

I had planned to ride non stop till I crossed Rishikesh and was to have lunch somewhere in a roadside Dhaba in the mountains. I wanted to cross the crowded Rishikesh as soon as possible. Although many people decide to stop in Rishikesh to have breakfast or lunch, I find it very noisy and prefer to ride all the way into the mountains. So after riding continuously for 5 hours without any breaks, I stopped beside a roadside Dhaba to have a little breakfast cum lunch and to rest for a while before I started the ride again. I was really feeling in my elements in this ride and just wanted to ride, continuously. 

So after having Maggi, Omelette and tea, I started again. When you ride in the mountains you can’t help but notice that the roads usually follow the river valleys. This reminds you of the magnitude and grandeur of the mountains and also of the fact that it is the mountains that give man the right of passage and no man claim it as a birthright. There is a lot of construction going on in Uttarakhand under the aegis of the “Char Dham Pariyojana” and I just can’t help but think of the adverse environmental impact on the hills. 

The national highway 7 follows the Alaknanda all the way to Mana via Badrinath. Initially one has to ride along Alaknanda as it is joined by its major tributaries on the Prayags which one crosses. At Rudraprayag, Alaknanda is joined by Mandakini. In order to reach Chopta, one has to leave NH 7 i.e. the Badrinath highway and take NH 107 i.e. Kedarnath Road which winds its way alongside the Mandakini river. But here is a catch. There are actually two Choptas. One is in Rudraprayag itself known as Chopta Pokhari and the other one is Chopta Tungnath which was my destination. And the funny thing is, the road to both of these places diverts from the same place. In order to take NH 107, you have to cross the Alaknanda bridge in Rudraprayag and just when you cross the bridge, there are two roads: one on the left is NH107 towards Kedarnath and the one on the right is a small road taking you to Chopta Pokhari. I had the navigation active on my phone it asked me to take the right one and I took it. It was 5 PM and the destination was showing 1.5 hrs to Chopta. So I thought why not push and reach the destination and then rest. So I pushed on, not realising that I was headed in the wrong destination.

It was getting dark and cold, and all I wanted to do was to reach Chopta and rest and eat something. When I reached the destination, I saw that it was a small sleepy hamlet with a bazaar where most of the shops were closed. I realised that there was something wrong. Because I had heard that there was a lot of snow in Chopta, but here there was no snow to be seen anywhere. Also, the setting seemed entirely different. When I asked some local guys, they told me that the Chopta I was looking for was Chopta Tungnath. I was feeling so tired and hungry by now and was terribly pissed at Google Maps. Although I could have gotten a homestay in that place, I decided to go back to Rudraprayag, because in any case, I had to go to Rudraprayag again in order to take the road to Chopta Tungnath. By the time I reached Rudraprayag again, it was 9 PM. Terribly tired and hungry, I took up a room in a hotel and after having dinner, went to sleep. By that time I had been riding for around 14 hours and all I wanted was to just rest. Sleep came easy. 

Day 1 Gallery:

Day 2: Rudraprayag to Chopta 

It was a fine winter morning when I got up. After having a breakfast of Parathas and Chai, I set out for my further journey, only this time I made sure that I put in the right address in Google Maps. In order to reach Chopta from Rudraprayag, you have to take NH 107 which winds alongside the Mandakini River till Kund, after which you have to take NH 107A which goes all the way to Chamoli Gopeshwar. It is an idyllic ride of around 3 hours which rises in elevation as you go along. Halfway along the way, you reach Ukhimath, which is the nearest big town and in many ways a base for people going for Chopta Tungnath. You can purchase your supplies of foodstuff, withdraw money from the ATM, hire cabs for going to Chopta etc. The NH107 just passes on the outside of Ukhimath bazaar and since I didn’t need to do any of the above things, I pushed onwards. Just before Ukhimath, I had met a group of bikers who had planned to leave their bikes behind in Ukhimath and to take a cab to Chopta owing to treacherous snow conditions higher up. But I had no intention of leaving my beloved Clactti behind and I wanted to take it all the way up.

Since it was the middle of December, the weather was gorgeous. There were no clouds in the sky, and as I wound my way up the snaking road the temperature started to drop even though it was noon. For the first one-third of the way, there was no sign of snow on the road, and the ride was an absolute pleasure. But as I gained elevation, I started to see snow on the sides of the road, especially on those parts of the road which were sheltered from sun rays. Still, the snow was only on the side and the road was free from it and I had no problems in riding.

After about half an hour, the snow cover became more and more pronounced. Still, the grip of the new tires on my Thunderbird was good and I didn’t feel any problems. After riding for what was perhaps half a kilometre, I came upon a right side bend in the road which was covered with a lot of snow and worse, verglas had formed on the surface (because of the freeze-thaw process due to shifting sun rays). Frankly, I had absolutely no experience of anything like this. I just kept on going as I would on any other bend in a mountain road. And that was my mistake. Before I could even realise what happened, the bike slipped and I fell down. I was fortunate that the bike slipped towards the mountainside and not the valley side. I was so shocked that for some time I just lay there, without even thinking anything. I have a lot of experience of biking and also of riding in the mountains in both dry and wet conditions in the middle of monsoons and I have never fallen off my bike, ever. But I was humbled by this treacherous patch of snow/frost on the road immediately. I always wear full riding gear while on my rides and because of that I was not hurt, but was badly shaken. Some people from a nearby Dhaba came slowly towards me (simply because the snow was so slippery) and helped me up and lifted my bike.

After resting for some 10-15 minutes, and after I had managed to gather my wits I started up again. Funnily enough, the road up ahead was completely devoid of frost and I managed to ride up to a place called Makku Bend quite easily. At Makku Bend there is a leftward hairpin bend (hence the name), and it is sort of a stop for commuters and vehicular traffic going towards Chopta. Just after rounding the bend, I saw that the road was completely covered in snow and frost. Still, not having learnt my lesson or simply because I didn’t have any experience of riding in the snow till that time I decided to push on. I might have gone some 100 meters this time before I fell down. Again. After leaving the bike on the side, I tried to get up. And my Hiking boots were unable to gain any purchase on the snow and I slipped and fell on my bum. In order to arrest my fall I tried to place my palm on the ground and had I not been wearing my full gauntlet gloves, I am sure I would have fractured my wrist. This last fall badly shook me. I lost all my confidence in my riding abilities which I had generated after riding for around 60K Kms. I just didn’t have the guts to ride my bike again in those conditions. With the help of some people, I managed to bring my bike down the bend and parked it on the roadside and contemplated what to do. Chopta was still some 8 Kms away and I had no heart to ride for that long in those conditions which were only going to worsen higher up.

After talking to some people around, I came to know that the only way up in the present conditions was through a vehicle that had a 4 wheel drive. Any other vehicle was bound to get stuck and no one was going up. I was gutted at hearing that. After reaching so close I had absolutely no intention of going down without visiting Chopta and doing the Tungnath Chandrashila Trek. Fortunately, there was a 4×4 truck at Makku Bend which was being loaded with supplies by the people who run a small cafe called Moksha Cafe in Chopta and when I asked them if I could come along, they happily agreed (though I had to pay 1000 Rs for that 8 Km ride). After loading up the supplies we then started around 4 PM and it was such a revelation seeing a 4×4 truck breeze through the snow and frost while many other cars and tempo travellers were stuck in snow all the way up to Chopta. We reached Chopta at around 5 PM and the driver suggested that I could stay in the Cafe itself which I gladly accepted because I didn’t have any intention of going to search for homestays or hotels after the incidents of the day. 

At Chopta, especially from the very top, the road goes through, the views are to die for. When we got down Shardul (From Moksha) said that “Lo Bhai, Aa Gaye Switzerland (We have reached Switzerland), and I couldn’t agree with him more. At the top, the road, semi-circular in shape, cuts right in the middle of a sheer cliff that continues down thousands of feet. On this cliff, as far as the eye could see there was nothing but snow. I could now understand why Chopta is called the “Mini Switzerland of Uttarakhand”. On the right, rise the snow-capped great Himalayan ranges with clear views of Kedarnath Peak, Kedarnath Dome, Trishul, Nanda Devi & Chaukhambha. As the sun started to go down beyond the horizon, the sky turned into an azure blue from pink and combined with the fluorescent glow of white snow was an absolute spectacle to watch. Even though it was bitterly cold I couldn’t resist but stayed outside to take in the views for as long as I could brave the cold. When I could no longer resist, I went inside the cafe and settled in to rest after a long day!

My experiences about Tungnath Temple Trek: Coming Soon…

Day 2 Gallery: