Human traffic on Kedarkantha summit was like that of Everest, 4 of us friends successfully summited

Four of us set out to summit Kedarkantha, a non-technical peak in the Indian Himalayas. We hiked the first day to the summit camp, where we stayed overnight, and the next morning, we woke up at 3 a.m. to head towards the summit. The problem arose as we realized we weren't the only ones heading for the summit. Seeing such a crowd suddenly reminded me of the human traffic on Mount Everest. Slowly, we walked through the crowds, witnessing the sunrise, and at 6:50 a.m., we were standing at the top of Kedarkantha Peak. Let's continue this journey.

After dinner at 7 p.m., we returned to our tents. While I've almost always slept in sleeping bags and tents, this was the first time for my other three friends. A cold wind blew, and inside the tent felt like we were in a freezer. Following my advice, all three of them urinate once, and then we get into our sleeping bags. I tell them not to put their faces in the sleeping bags, and I keep a small opening in the tent for ventilation. After explaining everything, I say goodnight and return to my tent.

We had only been asleep for a few hours when the sounds of trekkers start coming from outside. Those who venture into the mountains for the first time are woken up by their trek guides at one or two in the morning, as it takes at least four to five hours to reach the summit from the summit camp. And if you don't reach the top on time, you'll miss the sunrise and the X-factor of the entire trek. To avoid the outside noise, I cover my ears so I can sleep for two more hours, but that didn't happen.

We wake up at 3:30, wear three layers on top and a double layer on the bottom, put on a warm hat, gloves, and pack 2 liters of water and some food in our bags. At 4:00, we're served a hot breakfast. I don't eat anything except hot water, while I advise my companions to eat porridge. It's 4:30 by the time we gather all the trekkers. The only thing on my mind is that we'll miss the sunrise.

The single trail is very crowded, so crowded that dust is flying as we walk, entering our lungs with every breath. I tell my companions to cover their faces, as this dust can make us sick. It's dark, dust is flying, there are a lot of people in front and behind us, and this crowd is moving very slowly. We're fit for fast walking, but because it's a single trail, we can't even take over.

We started today's trek from 3200 meters, our target being to reach 3800 meters. After about a kilometer and a half, we came across a local tea shop where everyone stopped to rest, drink water, and some even drank hot tea. We stopped there too, heading into the tea shop to escape the strong winds. I told the guide that we should leave first to avoid the traffic. Our trek leader said we would start last, as they were at a good pace and even if we were last, we would overtake them all and reach the top before sunrise.

Following his advice, we waited for everyone to leave. When the last few people were left, we started walking. The crowd was walking less and resting more. Once we crossed 3500 meters, we came above the tree line, where trekkers started to experience some difficulty walking, as there was a slight oxygen shortage. People are slowing down and stopping after every 5-10 steps. Taking advantage of this, the five of us move forward and gradually overtake a much larger group.

At 6:40 in the morning, we catch the first glimpse of sunrise on the horizon. A faint red-yellow glow appears, and it feels like all the hard work has paid off. The guide is a little ahead of us, and the four of us are together. I ask my companions to turn back and look at the red-yellow light falling on the mountains. Seeing the view, all three of us exclaim in unison, "Wow, this is so beautiful."

We reach the summit at 7 a.m.; a large crowd has already gathered at the top, and behind us, there are many people heading towards the summit. Sunrise hasn't yet arrived, but the 360-degree view is beginning to shine. From here, we see Swargarohini (6252 meters), Bandarpoonch (6316 meters), Black Peak (6387 meters), Draupadi Ka Danda (5771 meters), Gangotri (6672 meters), and Ranglana (5554 meters).

The four of us congratulate each other on reaching the summit, all overjoyed. At 7:22, the sun rises, and the people present there suddenly start shouting and chanting the names of Hindu gods. The view is so beautiful, photos cannot describe the feeling. We stay here for 40 minutes and click some photos.

The journey to reach the top has been arduous, and now we have to descend straight down, meaning we will have to descend 12 kilometers in one go. At the top, we drank the water we'd brought with us, ate an energy bar, and, invoking God's name, began our descent. So, that was our journey to the Kedarkantha Summit. I hope you enjoy this trekking story.

Disclaimer: This post is originally written in Hindi and I have used Google Translator to translate the Hindi text in English. All the photos have been clicked by me from One Plus 13R and edited in lightroom, and post thumbnail created in adobe photoshop.

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