Kaza-Komik Road, Himachal Pradesh, India, 23 January 2017, 1052 hours:
We are heading to Komik today. There are a couple of ways to get there, one is via Langza. We are taking the direct from Kaza.
With every passing day, my desire to let go of the comfort of a fixed base to return to is getting stronger. I would rather leave the warmth and security of assured food and bedding, and take a road, not knowing where or if I will eat or sleep tonight. Today am down to two layers of clothing, travelling light and am hoping for colder weather and I know I will walk and climb today.
What is it that drives me? Not just here but anywhere including on the plains and in the cities? An ever-lasting quest to know myself and nothing more or less than knowing my self. And every time, I break new ground (at work, on a journey, in a relationship, situation, etc), I am a new me. So it goes on, as it should.
I am not a mountaineer or climber. I am simply a very common man with a rather uncommon desire to use my own hands and feet and mind and body and soul on every journey to tear all my limits apart, and fall down to rock bottom and then to acclimatise, get-up, and start walking again to define a new no-limit … and then do it again and again and again. No equipment, no tools, no guides.
But when you travel with others there is a responsibility to pace yourself with others. I can’t push others or put them at risk.
The drive to Komik is simply spectacular.

View of Kangmo Peak from Kaza-Komik Road; Photo: Sanjay Mukherjee