Manya Tandan visited Nanda Devi Base (East) with Juniper in October 2016. In her article, Manya shares the events on the final day of the climb, with the mesmerizing Nanda Devi in view.
Not a sound was uttered as everyone stood in awe seeing Nanda Devi in all her glory for the first time. There was no veil of clouds and the rising sun gently illuminated the peak. Left dazzled and dumbfounded by the view, this was our start to the day.
We began making our way up the trail while playing peekaboo with the views of Nanda Devi which were sometimes hidden on the trail. But the views only got more and more spectacular as we moved along the trail. It was after lunch that we reached the head of Pachu valley and got a clear view of Nanda Devi in all her glory. It was almost poetic -- the way we parted our way through the tall bushes for endless minutes and found ourselves mute at what we finally came to see.
We had walked a seemingly endless trail, day in and day out. High and low, through rubble and meadows, in and out of gorges and riverbeds, climbing steeper trails as the days went by. But this one sighting put everything into perspective.
They say it’s about the journey, not the destination. Who were they to know?
The clouds were covering the summit but it didn’t matter because in that moment, Nanda Devi was eternal, beautiful, mighty and I was rooted to the spot. She was yellow, she was white, and she was golden. There are times in life when you know you’ll never see anything like this again so you soak it all in as you find fulfillment. And it shone on, that crazy diamond.
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