10 Days
Daily Tour
15 people
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Auden’s Col Expedition is considered as one of the most challenging ventures in Garhwal Uttarakhand. Located at a staggering altitude of 18,010 ft above sea level, the pass is named after John Bicknell Auden of the Geological Survey of India, who first discovered it in 1935 and crossed it in 1939. Technically, Auden’s Col lies on the ridge connecting the peaks of Gangotri III (21,590 ft) and Jogin I (21,210 ft). During the expedition, one will encounter long arduous trail filled with numerous crevasses, precarious ridges and boulder sections. So the expedition is meant for experienced trekkers with proper knowledge of using equipment and those who have prior experience in high altitude treks. But for the tight ones, the trek is equally rewarding as it offers overwhelming views of the Gangotri group of peaks, the Jogin group, Bhagirathi group, Rudragaira and Kedar Dome.
Highest Altitude 18100 ft
Total Distance 80 Km
On the first day of your expedition you will be transferred to Gangotri from Dehradun. During the long road journey you will come across popular ill stations like Mussoorie, and Harshil. Upon reaching you will check in into your hotel room in the evening. You can also attend Aarti of River Ganga in the evening if you want to. Later you will stay overnight in the hotel after dinner.
On the first of your Auden’s Col Expedition you will start hiking on a descending trail for around 2 km to enter Rudugaira valley. Then you have to ascend gradually through the dense forests of oaks and birch. After crossing a nallah the treeline will recede and your trail will be on wide meadows. Then you reach the Nala campsite after covering a distance of 7 km in 5-6 hours from Gangotri where you will be accommodated in tent.
Today your hike will be short but steep. From Nala camp you will head towards upper grazing fields and from there your trail will be ascending all the way to Rudugaira camp. The campsite offers alluring views Gangotri group of peaks.
Since you gained a lot of height in the last two days so you need give your body some time to acclimatize. Today you can go for a short hike towards Rudugaira peak and have a glimpse of Auden’s Col. Then you will come back to the Rudugaira campsite, rest and retire for the night.
After a restful day you will start afresh today and leave the Rudugaira campsite behind. You will start hiking on moraine after crossing the valley slopes. Then you will encounter two moraine ridges that are not very big in size. After climbing on both ridges you your trail will descend till the Gangotri base camp. From there you will have to cross Sukha Tal, which is clear blue water lake behind the moraines to reach Auden’s Col base camp. The camping site is on a small flat surface of moraine and from here you can clearly see the trail to Auden’s Col. Upon reaching you will take rest in the tent after a long day.
Today is the biggest day of your expedition as you will cross the mighty Auden’s Col today. Start the day early and, ascend through the moraine zone to reach the glacier section from where you wil get wonderful views of Gangotri and Jogin peaks on both sides. After reaching the flat zone of glacier you will be roped up with the rest of the team. You will follow your leader‘s instruction while climbing the slope. This is the trickiest part of the day and will take around 3 hours to reach the top. From the top of Aden’s Col you will get mind-blowing vistas of Rudragaira, Bhagirathi peaks, Kedar Dome and Jounli. After spending some time at the top, you will descend sharply through a snow-ice gully. The gully gets flattened and wide after half way and then you will descend through the glacier that leads to the Khatling Glacier campsite. After reaching campsite it is time for some celebration after climbing the toughest pass in the Garhwal region successfully.
Today’s trek will be easier than that of the previous day but the distance will be longer. First, you have to traverse on the glacier to the moraine area. From this point you will hike on an unmarked trail till the glacier’s snout. You need to be careful on the trail as you will come across plenty of scree and loose rocks and black ice sometimes. Then you have to descend shortly to reach the valley’s stream and then climb upwards on the slopes of the valley. After some time, you will reach the well marked trail until you reach the zero point campsite located at the Khatling glacier’s snout.
Today you will start descending along the Bhilangana river valley and see some greenery after a long time. It will take 4-5 hours to reach the Uddar camp and the trail easy along the valley. There is another campsite called Chowki across the river on right opposite of the Uddar camp that trekkers use for going to Mayali Pass. Rest of the day you are free to stroll around green campsite after many days.
The trail has become easy now. Today you will hike through a dense forest with few meadows and streams to reach a clearing called Jungle camp. There is a stone structure that functions as a temporary shepherd shelter as this trail is often used by shepherds. After that you will continue hiking on a trail with gradual ascents and descents with a steep incline for two hours before reaching Gangi village. . Gangi is a quaint village with about 100-150 houses from where a dirt road goes all the way down to Ghuttu. From Gangi local transport will be arranged to take you to Ghuttu. Mobile network is available from Ghuttu onwards. After a long day on the trail you will rest in a village homestay in Ghuttu.
On the final day of the expedition you will be transported back to Dehradun. Here your Auden’s Col expedition with us will come to an end.
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