Flying “over the back” in the proper mountains rather than just along the front ridge was definitely high on my agenda while I was in Bir, however this was certainly not something to be underestimated with limited landing possibilities and a multi day walk out following an out landing.
With an excellent forecast for the next day I tentatively made some plans, bought some gas and packed my Bivi gear in case I landed out. As this was my first time over the back, I decided against planning to Bivi but rather left it as an emergency option. Next time I will definitely plan a Bivi but it seemed more sensible to just have a chilled out flight the first time rather than worrying about finding a Bivi site and top landing and I was also unsure about the conditions to get back the day after.
Compared to the previous two days it was so easy to climb out from launch and I soon found myself high above Hanuman Gargi ready to commit to the valley crossing and go over the back. While I could see other people had already committed, when I went it I was all alone. The glide was beautiful but there was definitely some anxiety about the first climb after the crossing. Thankfully that wasn’t anything to worry about as the conditions were pretty strong so with a combination of thermals and dynamic lift I was soon back above the mountains and climbing in strong wind blown thermals. At this point I joined a couple of other pilots for the flight further north.
From here onwards the conditions were excellent with very strong climbs right up to Cloudbase at 5000m. I flew north until I reached Barot Top at which point I decided that due to the west wind I would not circumnavigate the valley as I had planned and would return to the front. Despite my heated gloves and thick coats it was definitely cold while flying at 5000m and admiring the wonderful view.
The flight back to the front was also special, as the glide was good which gave plenty of time to sit back and enjoy the view, it also meant that as I arrived back towards the front ridge I arrived above cloudbase which led to some very atmospheric conditions. I first flew to the Dhauladar range and then onwards to “Hobbiton” before calling it a day and flying back to Bir.
As the day was still going strong when I arrived back at Bir, I decided to carry on east to “Train Station” before flying back to land after one of my most memorable flights.
When I return I will definitely camp over the back, hopefully for multiple nights and maybe even fly over Himalayan glaciers.
The rest of the trip will be covered in further blog posts, but was absolutely fantastic with two Bivis on the front ridge and two excellent flights all the way to Dharamshala.
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