Posted on May 12, 2021 at 6:32 pm By Admin
A Trip to Tsho-Rolpa“Have you ever listened to a subtle silence of the snowfall? Well, It is almost like listening to no sound at all, yet, still an almost utter hush of consistent snowfall would sound nothing but serene.”
Today let us follow the distant footsteps of some travelers, all the way to Tsho-Rolpa, a beautiful glacial lake of Nepal. Located at an altitude of 4,580 meters in the Gaurishankar conservation area of Rolwaling Valley, Dolakha District.
Along with 5 close friends, Mr. Kiran Babu Basnet began this exciting adventure on a motorbike, long before the second wave of COVID 19. He has been working as a System and Network Administrator at acem since 2 and half years. Born in Solu, Sotang of Solukhumbu, he completed his schooling from Shree Birendra Jyoti Higher Secondary School, bachelors in Information Technology and also holds MBA degree from Infrastructure University Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
“Computers and their features have always intrigued me. In fact, I had never seen one during my school days. The limited paid internet in Cyber cafes just did raise my curiosity about computers. Perhaps, it is one of the reasons why I love to work regarding this fascinating machine.” He informed. Mr. Basnet is also a part time lecturer at DAV College; he teaches System Design and Computer Networks for BCA.”
“Well, I also practice meditation; mostly unseen dimensions of life. Metaphysical ones, you see!
And I am a traveler too. I have been to many places of Nepal like Paanchpokhari, Mardi Base Camp and many others. The recent trip was up to Tsho-Rolpa, of course, one of the popular lakes of the world.”
“The route is okay but it was quite scary near the Upper Tamakoshi River. Huge boulders looked like they could fall down at any moment. Yet we crossed that part, left our bikes securely. And then the hiking began.” Mr. Basnet recalled his vivid memories.
Later, many white flakes came as a guest. A surprise visitor was nature itself, but this time in a new avatar. It welcomed the group in its ancient manner of relentless snowfall accompanied by a chilling air, and an eye appealing view. “Well, we enjoyed it. Yet in no time all of us were drenched to our skin. The freezing air and soaked clothes made everything frozen.
Shivering, we hastily started to search around for the shelter. Luckily, we even found one nearby. The small hut was empty. Not much different from a horror movie, is it? However, the cold was more terrifying to us than the ghosts.” He laughed recollecting the moments.
Dehydrated and gasping, Mr. Basnet and the group entered the hut with hopeful eyes. The firewood was collected. Not unlike a winter tale, a fire was crackling merrily in the middle of the room. The warm fire, however, could not help the dehydration.
“We wanted warm water. So, guest what, we collected the snow from the yard and heated it in a couple of empty cans of ‘Tuna fish’. The hot water was as warm as winter sun.”
The group met two new travelers and the next morning, the journey continued. The fresh snowflakes covered the leaves and most of the nook and corners by now, it seemed to have also covered the footprints of previous travelers.
“The sun was quite scorching during the day. And it fell right on the face throughout the way and burned the skin, scarring it for the next few years.
Looking back, I think it was worth, you know, all those pain and hardships. The grandeur of the Tsho-Rolpa Lake is so breathtaking that one tends to forget the rest; the Himalayas captivates its spectator for sure.” Mr. Basnet smiled calmly. Perhaps, for some reason, he could still see the lake.
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