TSO-ROLPA: A DRAMATIC JOURNEY

During the secondary level of our school days, there was an article on Tso-rolpa (Tso means lake in Tibetan language). All I recall of that article is the mention of the fact that the lake is located somewhere in the Himalayan region and that it is prone to outburst.

Years passed but the traveler inside me kept reminding me of the lake. Meanwhile I had joined a BSc in Environmental Science at Khwopa College, Bhaktapur. The coordinator of Environmental Science faculty in the college was a geologist. During his first lecture, he talked of Tso-rolpa. In the lectures that followed, he mentioned his involvement in a geological survey of the lake. Thereafter, there was rarely a lecture where he did not mention the lake.

I do not know what triggered so much of his geological interest in the lake. But his regular mention of the lake fueled my plan to explore this lake myself. The time came in the monsoon of 2009, when I set off on a journey to Tso-rolpa.

We follow the heart

On the final day of the first terminal exam, I made a plan to visit Tso-rolpa and asked my friend Krishna Dev Hengaju if he would like to join.

 He replied without even thinking twice, 'Sure, let's go'.

Having made a decision, we paid a visit to the coordinator, to get his advice on which geologic aspects we could study in the region.

He replied: 'Monsoon is about to begin and you are planning of going to Tso-rolpa? I do not recommend!'

Young at heart, we were determined to make our plan a reality. So our ears remained deaf to his response and the next morning we caught a local bus to Singati.

The bus ran east through the black-topped Araniko highway to reach Charikot which is the headquarter of Dolakha district. Beyond Charikot, the bus drove through a dirt road and dropped us at Singati, a local market situated by the confluence of Bhotekoshi and Tamakoshi Rivers.

It started to rain while we were having snacks at Singati. We put on our raincoats and started to walk. On the way we frequently encountered mule caravans, and had sightings of a Squirrel Funambulus sp. and a flock of Kalij Pheasants Lophura leucomelanos. These early sightings had pleasant impressions on us. Darkness had fallen by the time we reached Jamune and we spent the night there.

Jamune

A night in the middle of a forest

The Upper Tamakoshi Hydroelectric Project (UTHP) had just begun its activities in the area. An access road was being built to its powerhouse and the local people were actively involved in the construction works. We passed many villagers drilling stones from the side hills; some were even breaking them manually with iron hammers. 

Local people involved in construction works

Seen in equal numbers were the local people carrying fuel in a doko (a basket woven from bamboo), to be supplied for a tunnel construction being carried at Gongar. While having lunch in a local shop we heard the rocks being blasted for the opening of the tunnel. 

The tunnel site at Gongar

We crossed a suspension bridge over the Tamakoshi River and ascended towards Simigaun (2000 m asl). It was a tiring 90 minutes ascent to reach the village. When we reached Gumbadanda, the clock had already ticked 4:50 PM but the sky was still very bright. We asked with the villagers about the nearest settlement that we would find from Gumbadanda.

'There is a single house at Surmuche, which can be reached after about 90 minutes walk. But you need to take a right turn from the main trail in the middle of the forest to reach it', told a villager. So we continued.

The trail passed through a dense forest. After about one and a half hours, we lost our way. Broken twigs of trees were put on the trail to indicate that there is no way ahead. We removed the obstructions and made useless attempts to locate the trail. Realizing that we were stranded we thought of returning to Gumbadanda, but it was already too late. After a short while, we rejoined the main trail and gave up the thought of returning. At 7:45 PM we found ourselves near an abandoned tea house in the middle of the forest. We were relieved. Complete darkness ruled the scene and we were left with only one option that was to spend the night in that abandoned tea house!

The tea house had a big iron lock on its door. We tried to break the lock with stones, but did not succeed. After about a few minutes of desperate attempts of breaking the lock, we realized that the side walls of the house were loosely sealed with wooden rods. Like thieves, we took out some of the logs from the top row and entered inside.

As we managed to get inside, we lit our torchlight. Our legs were bleeding as leeches had sucked enough of our blood.

In the meantime, we felt thirsty and checked our water bottles. They were empty. We had carried some dry foods. Eating dry foods meant getting thirstier. We also had some polo chocolates. An idea came to my mind, 'Let's put this chocolate in mouth and leave it without chewing for some minutes. It will produce a fair amount of saliva and we shall not be as thirsty!' The idea worked.

We began to feel cold as we were in shorts and thin jackets. We found some wooden logs and dry ferns stored at a corner of the house and in no time we had lit a warming fire.

There were some wooden planks put as seat for the customers. We tried to make a temporary bed with them. But they did not rest perfectly horizontal on the floor.

Soon it began to rain. To our despair, the metal roof of the house had rusted at many places. Raindrops fell on our body through the holes on the roof. We couldn’t sleep and stood up again. Chilled by the rain we lit the fire again. The Rolwaling River was flowing down far away. Its thundering sound combined with the raindrops hitting on the metal roof gave the impression that the rain was growing heavier. Trembling and holding each other to stay warm, it took a long time until total exhaustion let us fall asleep.

The next morning we started the day early. We left the house feeling sorry to have burnt so much of the firewood and the dry ferns, and felt fearful of getting caught.

Coming out of the tea house

But we were feeling very thirsty. This forced us to start moving in the hope of finding potable water ahead. We could hear the Rolwaling River rushing down but it was too far. The thirst grew so intense that we collected the dew drops on plant leaves and the water drops seeping down from the rock crevices. After another hour we found a small pit with water. We collected the water and drank it without caring if it is worth drinking or not.

Collecting water from a pit by the trail

Strangers in Beding village

After a walk of about four hours we found a small hut at Kelchey where we properly quenched our thirst.

At Kelchey

From Dongang, we followed the Rolwaling River and headed east. A short while later we had to cross the River to move towards Beding village. But the existing suspension bridge was completely destroyed by a recent landslide. 

The destroyed suspension bridge

Luckily, the local people had put a new wooden bridge over the River just the day before.

The wooden bridge

As the day progressed the fog kept getting thicker and reducing the visibility.

We reached Beding (3700 m asl) at dusk. Located by the side of Rolwaling River, the Sherpa village had a charming outlook. 

Beding village

With no warm clothes we were shaking. There was only one lodge in the village. The price was much higher than we had expected. So we opted for an accommodation in a local house and inquired a few villagers. To our surprise, nobody seemed to be interested in accommodating us. Everyone said, 'We have no room. Ask in the next house.'

We later learned that a group of young boys had come to visit Tso-rolpa a few weeks before. They had stolen some equipment from the office of Tso Rolpa GLOF Risk Reduction Project (TRGRRP) situated by the lake. The group had also stolen an idol from the monastery of Beding. These events had made the villagers suspicious of any outsiders.

A young girl that I had asked if she had a room for us to stay replied with a sharp scolding.

It was revealed later that the girl and her sister were living in that house alone. Seeing us moving around the village a drunkard had told the two sisters, 'There are two young boys from the city. Tonight, you either sleep with them or sleep with me!'

Without asking anyone further we returned to the lodge. But now the owner was not in the mood anymore to give us a room. His wife took pity and managed a room for us.

By the Tso-rolpa

We reached Na gaon (4180 m asl) after a two hours walk from Beding. 

Na gaon

Another two hours of walk and we were by the Tso-rolpa. Situated at an elevation of 4580 m asl the average length of the lake is 3.20 km at a width of 0.5 km and depth of 138 m.

Tso-rolpa

Considering the risk of a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) event, TRGRRP was already in place since nine years. Implemented by the Government of Nepal with the economic support from Netherlands Development Agency (NEDA), the project had channelized water from the lake through an outlet. Three staffs were appointed to periodically open and close the gate of the outlet to check the rise in water level of the lake. The out flowing water had been used to run a small hydro power plant, the electricity from which was used to lit the office and to operate the equipment.

We spent two hours by the lake. As it got colder fast, we descended down to Na gaon.

For the dinner we had dhindo of millet (recipe: millet flour is put in hot water, stirred till it solidifies and served). We had ordered it ourselves but had difficulty eating it since we were not used to such a dish. However, the fresh milk of yak was too tasty.

The vanished trails

The next morning we took leave of Na gaon and descended fast. At some places the trails we had come through had completely disappeared as the villagers had cut the entire hills to open the track for the UTHP.

The TRGRRP had put one siren at each village from Na gaon upto Simigaon to notify the villagers if a GLOF event occurred. But the sirens were not functional anymore as most of the important components such as batteries and solar cells were stolen.

A siren put to inform of the GLOF event

The monsoon had progressed after we moved up and it rained almost every day. Near Bhorley, the usual trail was blocked due to a landslide. The villagers were busy making an alternate trail through the nearby forest.

Villagers opening an alternate trail near  Bhorley

We caught a bus to Kathmandu at Singati. It slipped at various places in the muddy dirt road. We had to get out and push the bus a number of times until we reached Charikot safely. At Kharidhunga the bus stopped and could not start up again. We took another bus and came back to Kathmandu.