Ronty Saddle(Part-I)

On the way to Genargali Pass, the pass is visible at the top left corner

After spending almost half an hour at Rupkund we started ascending towards Geonargali Pass (16700 ft) which literally means gateway to Yama. A very steep climb along almost 70 degree inclined path made me realise the meaning at every moment. A very unwilling body, being pulled up by a very cheerful mind and climbed that 400 ft. But the views of the Himalayas from the top of the pass wiped away all the hardship of climbing. Just in front of us, Mt Trishul stood like a huge white wall, Mt Nandaghunti at our left. At the junction of these two, our destination Ronty was clearly visible like a small ice patch.

Mt. Trishul from the top of the pass

Nandaghunti (left) and Trishul (right) as seen from Shilasamudra. Ronty and river Nandakini are visible in between these two

After a short photo session, we started to trek down towards Shilasamudra (means, ocean of rocks) glacier , which looked like a huge pile of stone chips as dumped in a building construction site. The descending was more difficult, because fresh snow in between the boulders made the path very slippery . We pitched our tents on the glacier at the day's end. The terrible sounds of avalanche from Trishul created a real panic that night.