BANGALORE: Women in their late fifties are usually either caught squabbling with their better half, or making a desperate attempt to get their kids to get married. Vasumathi Srinivas however has no time for that, for the fifty-something-old is busy trekking some of the most dangerous and expensive treks (priced at Rs 1.5 lakhs per head) in the world, Snowman’s Trek.Just back from her month- long expedition, Srinivas completes 40 years of trekking, making her the senior most climber in the state. The expedition was lead by Bachendri Pal, the first Indian woman to summit Everest, and 10 other women, two of which were adivasi girls from Jamshedpur. “I was the only woman from the state who took part in the trek,” said Srinivas. Equipped with two cooks, 32 horses, gas cylinders, ration and a Gamow bag (an inflatable pressure bag large enough to accommodate a person inside. By inflating the bag the effective altitude can be decreased to as much as 1,000 feet) the women crossed 12 passes ranging between the altitudes of 17,000 and 15,000 feet and covered 400 kilometres. “This was the most exotic trek I have done. The landscape is breathtaking,” she commented.She said that while the weather was pleasant, the rains soon caught up. “We trekked in wet clothes and changed into dry ones only when we reached our base camp. Snowman’s Trek is called so due to the altitude. It’s never below 12,000 feet,” said the vice-president for Karnataka Mountaineering Association. “We crossed Lingshi, Laya and Lunana in Bhutan. The culture in all three regions is worth experiencing,” said the member of the first all Indian women’s group to have trekked Snowman’s Trek.Though she returned just yesterday, Srinivas is all set to take two dozen women for ten days to the Valley of Flowers on July 24. “I am gearing up for the coming trek to the Himalayas of the Uttaranchal, that is at an altitude of 3,600 meters above the sea-level,” said the mother of two.
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