No mountain high enough

Altitude and Alpine is what drives her on. A trek and a photo shoot amid the snow capped sylvan splendors of the Himalayas. She takes on every mountain for the sheer adventure, the incredible moment, imbibing patience or as they say height makes short of memory and "...Therefore I climb." The more arduous the climb in the Himalayas, the more beautiful it is, says the 30 something travel writer, trekker and photographer Ahtushi Deshpande who is showcasing 32 photos of her many sojourns in the pristine wilderness of the great mountains at an exhibition here.

Ahtushi, who has donned various hats over several professions, including many years with a leading television channel, has trekked the length and breadth of the Himalayas. The Triund on Indrahar pass trek in Dhauladhars, Himachal, the Rudranath trek in Chamoli district, Uttranchal, the Milam Glacier trek from Munsiyari Kumaon, the Kuari pass trek, the Kagbhushandi Lake trek in Chamoli, the Nanda Devi National Park Trek in Chamoli, the Dodi Tal trek, pictures of which feature in the exhibition.

She undertook her first trek and snapped the first memorable shot at the age of 20 to Beas Kund, near the source of the River Beas in Himachal Pradesh.

"I have been shooting mountains since my very first trek and got my very first trademark picture of a view from a tent then. I was extremely happy with the exposure and the final result," she says, adding "on a more serious level I started shooting with the Milam glacier trek in 1997."

"As far as shooting from difficult angles in concerned, on many a trek one is constantly walking a tough terrain. And I believe I have a strong visual sense and eye. I don't believe I have missed out on shooting a good landscape no matter what the constraints," she says.

Ahtushi undertook the Milam trek in 1997. Milam is one of the most beautiful glaciers located at the height of 4250 meters above sea level. Gori Ganga,a tributary of the River Kali starts from the Milam glacier. Munsiari is the base for this trek.

One of the Milam pictures featured in the exhibition is titled 'a formidable glacial tongue'. The Nanda Pal glacier is one of several glacial tongues that feed the vast Milam glacial system from the west. The steep glacier ends in a formidable and equally mesmerising snout with icy cold waters flowing beneath.

More than anything else, the trekker swears by the locals who have been her guides along the treacherous pathways. "They are an incredibly trustworthy, happy and contented people, very strong both physically and mentally. In fact they are the happiest people you could meet. They put up with a lot – the cold, the harsh conditions in the mountains."

Her most recent adventures have been driving through Ladakh. The pictures capture the Buddhist spirit of the place. One of them entitled 'Blowing in the Wind' captures a line of multi-colored prayer flags swaying in the gentle breeze at Sarchu in Ladakh. The belief is that the wind shall act as the carrier of the prayers written on the flags and releases them by flapping the flags.

Mountains have always whetted her appetite for more and she looks forward to the month of October to pack her rucksack and trekking kit to set out for more adventure in the Himalayas.

"This time I am thinking of the Pindari and Sunderdhunga glaciers else the Satopanthtal, a high altitude lake ahead of Badrinath," she says.

Mt Everest, surprisingly, is not on her map of things. "It is too beaten and the solitude of trekking somewhat lost on me there. I do however plan to do some trekking in other areas of Nepal for after my assignment to Nepal - my eyes opened to the spectacular and different terrain there as well," she says.

Bureau Report