A new beginning ...

And this time it is not just to blogging once again but to a whole new ad"venture". Me and my wife Bhagyashri have been been working on a new startup for a few months now. And the product, if you may call it so, is up and live in stealth mode now. You may want to check out our company website at www.stylebuds.in and our brand website at www.sheepstop.com. More details to follow soon. Till then you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook

Sights on Mt. Whitney

Here I am, out of my winter hibernation and looking ahead at what promises to be a truely exciting summer. The highlight of this summer is going to be an attempt to scale Mt. Whitney, which at 14,505 feet is the tallest peak in the contiguous United States ( the tallest peak in USA being Mt. McKinley in Alaska )

Planning for the trip started way back in January since only a limited number of people are permitted on the Whitney trail every day. That means there is a long drawn application process with the number of applicants far exceeding the daily limit. And then the lottery system comes into play and keeps you guessing until the last moment if you will be one of the lucky ones ( This is sounding so much like this years H1-B process :)) Lady luck was with us this time and we have a day permit for the 8th of July.

So we have about three months of time to prepare for this big hike. Apart from the regular running/gym workouts and climbing a few trails, I think it is important to do few treks at high altitudes. As of now plans are to hike Half Dome ( 8836 feet ) and Mt. Dana (13,061 feet) in Yosemite NP. Each of these treks are challenging on their own and should help us prepare for the big one.

So Mt. Whitney, here we come !!

beep beep beep ... Mission aborted

The "Cactus to Clouds" trail stood true to it's identity as one of the hardest day hikes in the US as we had to abort our mission to the San Jacinto Peak :( The "Skyline trail" which is the initial portion of the trek starting in the town of Palm Springs and winding it's way 11 miles and 8000 ft to the top of the palm springs aerial tramway was itself a monster to handle. Starting at 3:30 am on a new moon night and under a starry sky, it took us more than 9 hours to get to traverse the Slyline trail. And at the end of it we were in no condition ( I would say it was more mental than physical, but not everyone would agree ) to continue on a further 6 miles ( 12 miles roundtrip ) to the summit of San Jacinto peak. But nonetheless it was a great hike to the top. Below are some images from the route.

Stairway to Heaven

I can't believe I am about to attempt this trek at such a short notice. Here are the vital stats

Trail Name : Cactus to Clouds
Location : Palm Springs, CA
Summit : San Jacinto Peak
Elevation : 10,834 feet (3,302 metres)
Range : San Jacinto mountains
Trail length : 23 miles trip from base-summit-tram station
Altitude gain : 10,700 feet climb, 2,700 feet descent
Estimated time : 14-18 hours
Weather(min/max) : 57/90 F at base, 35/53 F at summit
Rating: Very Strenous

More after i'm back !

Rock-climbing at Mission Gorge

Sorry for the slightly long hiatus. Had settled into the sleep-work-play-eat-sleep routine and needed something special to blog about. Well, that's not true. Actually a lot has been happening, michigan is 7-0, tennis classes and the TT club is a lot of fun, even had a nice trip to the bay area. So let's face it, I was plain lazy :)

Anyways, coming to the point I had been rock-climbing to mission gorge last weekend. I've done a bit of indoor climbing and have always wanted to try it in the real world. Finally got a chance as the UCSD Outdoor Adventures center organised a full day trip to the Mission trails park which is suprisingly close to San Diego.

The bad part was that we had to leave home at 6:15 am on a Sunday morning in order to beat the crowd as mission gorge is a local hotspot for climbers. A short trek later we were at the cliffs. And were they magnificent. Towering at least 50 feet above us they posed a great challenge. A short introduction to knots and belaying and we were ready to go.


So after a enthusiatic start, a push here and a pull there, missed footings, back-tracings, nervous looks down the valley, sweaty hands, few skipped heartbeats, packed lunch and gatorade, pumped fists, raised hands, some wild swings, scratched limbs, sore muscles and a full day later we finally suceeded in capturing the three treacherous cliffs.


Needless to say, I had the time of my life :)

San Diego Souvenier

My roommate Daniele worked on this nice little San Diego souvenier post-card in photoshop. It was so good that I had to put it up !!

Ganpati Bappa Morya !!

Ganesh Festival is here and i'm lucky to be part of the celebrations in Ann Arbor ( or rather i planned my visit that way :)) for the fifth consecutive year. After being part of the decoration team for the past four years, there is nothing more satisfying than to see it being carried on by the newer guys in an even bigger and better fashion !! Kudos to you all ! Also here is a glimpse of the ganesh decorations for the past few years.