Trekking Auden Col in Himalayas

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Auden's Col is a mountain pass situated in the central Garhwal region. It connects the mountain peaks Jogin I (6465m) and Gangotri III (6580m) and is at a height of around 5242m. Auden's Col binds two glaciers on either side - Khatling glacier on the south and Jogin Glacier on the north. A little distance lower to Jogin Glacier is the Gangotri III glacial system. Auden's Col is approachable from Gangotri and one can trek up to Kedarnath following Auden's Col and Khatling glacier. Auden's Col gets its name from J B Auden, a famous British geologist. He first explored the region in the year 1939. Auden's Col is a less frequented trekking route in this region of the Himalaya compared to the Khatling Glacier.

Auden's Col Trek
Region: Garhwal Himalayas
Duration: 13 Nights 14 Days
Destination Covered: Delhi – Rishikesh – Uttarkashi – Gangotri – Nala – Rudugaira – Col BC – Khatling glacier – Chowki – Masartal – Mayali Pass – Vasukital – Kedarnath – Rudrapryag -- haridwar -- Delhi
Altitude: 5800 m above sea level
Best Time: May to June and Early Sep to Mid October
Grade: Alpine Trek

Day by Day Itinerary

Day 01: Arrive Delhi

Day 02: Delhi – Rishikesh by vehicle overnight hotel

Day 03: Rishikesh – Uttarkashi by vehicle overnight hotel

Day 04: Uttarkashi – Gangotri by vehicle overnight hotel

Day 08: Gangotri - Nala trek overnight camp

Day 09: Nala Camp - Rudugaira BC trek overnight camp

Day 10: Rudugaira BC - Rest day and acclimatization overnight camp

Day 11: Rudugaira BC – Col BC trek overnight camp

Day 12: Col BC - Khatling Glacier trek overnight camp

Day 13: Glacier Camp - Waterfall Camp trek overnight camp

Day 14: Waterfall Camp – Chowki trek overnight camp

Day 15: Masartal – Mayali Pass – Vasuki tal trek overnight camp

Day 16: Vasuki Tal – Kedarnath trek overnight hotel

Day 17: Kedarnath overnight hotel

Day 18: Kedarnath – Gaurikund trek Rudrapryag by vehicle overnight resort

Day 19: Rudrapryag – Rishikesh by vehicle overnight resort

Day 20: Rishikesh – Delhi by vehicle overnight hotel

Day 21: Departure Delhi tour end

Trekking  Option II ::

Duration: 13 Days
Max Altitude: 5242 Mtr
Best Time: July to September
Grade: Hard (Hi-Attitute Trek)
Location: Uttarakhand
Permit: Required (2 pax. min.)

Day 01. Delhi to Haridwar

On arrival at Haridwar rly. Station meet, assistance and transfer to hotel, check in. rest & relaxes. Explore the town ship ant attend the evening Aarti of Ganga JI (Evening prayer of Holy River Ganga). Dinner & over night in hotel.


Day 02. Haridwar to Uttarkashi

After breakfast checkout from hotel and drive to Uttarkashi, on arrival at Uttarkashi check in hotel by the noon. After having hot lunch visit to Nehru Institute of Mountaineering and in evening visit & attend the Aarti of Vishwanath temple. Dinner & over night in hotel.

Day 03. Uttarkashi to Gangotri. 3048 mt.99 km.

Checkout from hotel after breakfast and drive to Gangotri, while Gangotri. On arrival at Gangotri check in hotel. Rest & relax. Post lunch visit to Gangotri temple. Evening attend the aarti of Holy river Ganga. Dinner & over night in hotel.

Day 04. Gangotri to Bhoj Kharak ( 3640 mt.)

An early start you trek from Gangotri after having pack breakfast and calorie diet, walk upto the Nala camp. The path started from behind the GMVN guest house into the pine forest. About two hours into the trek you reached the Rudraganga river gorge. The river was thundering down the valley and its echo could be heard from a very far. You had to cross a log bridge and continue the trek from the other bank of the river. Continued walking along the steep incline along the gorge. Having some problems and decided to continue till the camp site,After another sustained climb, crossed the tree line and reached the grasslands. From here you caught the first glimpse of the Gangotri III peak.

Day 05: Bhoj Kharak to Rudugaira Base Camp ( 4350 mt)

Start you trek after having breakfast and calorie diet to the Rudugaira Base Camp bypassing the Nala camp. The trek started with a steep incline of about 150m after which was there was steady path leading to the Nala camp. We reached the Nala camp (4000m) at about 10:15 am you will follow the well formed path – mostly steep climb till you reached a landslide area with a waterfall. Once we crossed this water fall, there was a really tough stretch of continuous steep ascent which was more than 70* at places. After an hour or more of this difficult leg, we reached the Rudugaira Base Camp (4350m) at 12:30 pm. The camp site offered excellent views of the snow peaks around us. We had the Rudugaira peak to the South-West, Gangotri I, Gangotri II, Gangotri III to the South and the Jogin I to the South-East. We also caught the first glimpse of Auden’s Col from the campsite.

Day 06: Rest Day and Acclimatization

After having good breakfast go for acclimatization walk in the morning and started along the ridge of the Rudugaira peak and climbed up and back to camp for lunch dinner & over night stay. From the top you can get a very clear view of the Jogin I, Gangotri I, II, III peaks and Auden’s Col.

Day 07: Rudugaira Base Camp to Auden’s Col Base Camp(4560m)

Start your trek an early in the morning from Rudugaira Base Camp with packed breakfast & calorie diet. After climb hi you are able to capture some magical moments atop the Gangotri peaks if you will start early in the morning and reach the Col BC by noon. walking along the ridge of the Gangotri mountain and had to cross some rocky moraines and the Gangotri III glacier. The day’s trek consisted walking mainly along the steep ridges to reach the Col BC by the noon. The Col BC (4560m). setup your camp along the Gangotri III glacier system.

Day 08: Col Base Camp to Advanced Base Camp (4720 mt)

Today start trek an early in the morning with packed breakfast & calorie diet. After about an hour of climbing on snow ridges, you will face a huge wall of ice. The other side of the ice wall was rocky and you will be able to descend easily. From here onwards you will walk over a ridge that snow ridge and it was steady climb to the Col ABC.

Finally you will reach the Advanced Col BC (4720m) which is on the Jogin Bhamak at around by the noon and pitch your camp . from here estimated that you would take another 2 hours to reach the Col and 3 more hours to reach the other side.

Day 09: Col ABC to Auden’s Col (5242 m)

Leave the camp with packed breakfast and start the final assault towards Auden’s Col calorie diet. Started on the gully in front of camp and started the gradual climb on the right of the gully. After some time of walking through knee deep snow. Auden's Col is characterized by the rock formations on either side known as "Rabbit's ears". We had heard a lot about it and it was very satisfying to be seeing them in person. The climb down the other side was estimated to take at least 2 hours. Pitch your tents for overnight stay.

Day 10: Auden’s Col to Camp Dev

Leave the camp after having breakfast start your trek with calorie diet. The path to descend down the Auden’s Col cover with snow. There was a waist deep snow field to negotiate as soon as we got down the Col and we had almost 3-4 hours of walk before reached Khatling Glacier, climbed up the side of the rabbit’s ear to take a closer look at the other side. After lots of deliberations and keeping safety aspects paramount and get down to the Khatling glacier side and go started the descent down Auden’s Col. After Advanced Col BC, descended down the huge ice wall to the Auden’s Col BC and went further down to a camp known as the Bakriwala camp. This camp is regularly used by shepherds and is lower than the snow line. Better still, you will find the running stream near to this camp and get spectacular pictures of the sunset. Dinner & over night in camp

Day 11: Camp Dev to Gangotri

Starts your trek after breakfast from Camp Dev to Gangotri with calorie die. A route that bypass the Rudugaira Base Camp and taking you straight to Bhoj Kharak camp and Gangotri. The route takes deep into the valley along the streams that form the Rudraganga river, difficult descent to walk over huge rock boulders and cross the gushing mountain streams a couple of times. Reached Nala camp at around by the noon and walked steadily downwards till Gangotri by the evening. On arrival at Gangotri check in hotel. Dinner & over night in hotel.

Day 12:Gangotri- Dehradun

Checkout from hotel after breakfast and drive to Dehradun by coach. Lunch en route. On arrival at Dehradun, check in hotel for dinner & over night.

Day 13: Dehradun – Delhi.

Checkout from and transfer to Rly. Station to board the train for Delhi. Breafest in train. On arrival at Delhi the tour conclude with unforgettable memory.