Thursday 4 July - the view as we emerged from the tent as spectacular with the sun shining on the craggy valley slopes. Despite there utilitarian nature the water in the showers was piping hot and after breakfast of toast and cereal we set off back down the valley to the confluence with the Nubra Valley where we headed to Sumur and the Bhuddist monastery at Samstangling which was relatively new dating from 1841.
As we had spent the night at 10,000 feet and so the on the climb up to the pass, despite having been at high altitudes for a few days heads began to ache. Sensibly we decided not to stay at the summit and headed down the road to Leh which in fact is a steeper decline that on the Nubra Valley side.
Unfortunately we had only descended about 500 feet before we came to a halt as the BRO cleared the results of blasting which supports the efforts to widen the road to 2 lanes. Our driver, Tenzing, was somewhat cautious of where he parked keeping more to the road edge - looking up the slope with very precarious boulders above you could see why he was concerned ! The delay was about an hour as a bulldozer piled the debris and finally pushed it off the road allowing not insubstantial rocks to roll down the slopes below.
Our second halt came only a few hundred metres further on when again we waited an hour for the rockfall to be cleared. Unfortunately even sitting in the Innova at over 17,000 feet above sea level the lack of oxygen makes itself felt and heads really started to pound !
As we had spent the night at 10,000 feet and so the on the climb up to the pass, despite having been at high altitudes for a few days heads began to ache. Sensibly we decided not to stay at the summit and headed down the road to Leh which in fact is a steeper decline that on the Nubra Valley side.
Unfortunately we had only descended about 500 feet before we came to a halt as the BRO cleared the results of blasting which supports the efforts to widen the road to 2 lanes. Our driver, Tenzing, was somewhat cautious of where he parked keeping more to the road edge - looking up the slope with very precarious boulders above you could see why he was concerned ! The delay was about an hour as a bulldozer piled the debris and finally pushed it off the road allowing not insubstantial rocks to roll down the slopes below.
Our second halt came only a few hundred metres further on when again we waited an hour for the rockfall to be cleared. Unfortunately even sitting in the Innova at over 17,000 feet above sea level the lack of oxygen makes itself felt and heads really started to pound !