Friendship Peak Ski Touring
Trip Details
Trip Type: Ski Touring
Region: Kullu - Himachal
Grade: Challenging
Duration: 8 days
Max Altitude: 5289m
Batch Dates: Custom Trips Only
Friendship Peak Ski Touring Overview
Set in the Manali valley, Friendship Peak is popular among climbers who have introductory mountaineering knowledge. The ski descent is great for intermediate ski mountaineers. The peak is at the headwall of the main Manali/Beas valley and is clearly visible from Manali town. Friendship peak is a trekking or non-technical 5300m summit that is extremely accessible and makes for a great short spring adventure!
Trip Cost
This is a custom departure tour and so please write to us for prices and more info on this trek.
Friendship Peak Ski Touring Detailed Itinerary
Day 01: Manali - Solangnala (2400m)
Arrive in Manali and shift to Solang nulla. Spend the afternoon and evening doing some small ski runs. Overnight in a hotel.
Day 02: Solangnala (2400m)
We do a few runs at Solang nulla and at Phatru today to get used to the area and the snow conditions. Alternatively, we can head up to Patalsu peak, 3800m with packed lunches. We start early in order to reach the peak and ski down on its north-west slopes to reach our hotel by the evening. Overnight in a hotel.
Day 03: Solangnala - Dhundi (2900m)
Duration: 3 hours
Start our expedition today following the road that leads up to the Rohtang tunnel. This road is very susceptible to avalanches in late winter and early spring. We camp at the side of the snowed out road in Dhundhi on the banks of the Beas river.
Day 04: Dhundi - Beas Kund (3600m)
Duration: 6 hours
A longer day today, we start to gain elevartion steadily and reach the snowed out summer pastures of Bakarthach after crossing a couple of snow bridges over the Beas River. We make our way by the late afternoon to the Beas Kund glacier and camp overnight.
Day 05 - Day 07: Climbing and Skiing
Over the next three days we make our way up the mountain. Friendship does not have any steep technical sections and our route is mostly over snow walls. We make our way to Lady Leg which will serve as Advance Base Camp and move towards the summit in one push from there. The slope gradient rarely goes over 40 degrees and the snowed-in glacier makes for an enjoyable ski descent.
Day 08: Beas Kund - Manali
We retrace our steps down to the road head where our vehicles pick us up. Drive to Manali. Trip Ends!
- Camping tents on double occupancy
- Kitchen, Dining tents
- Insulated Sleeping Pads.
- Nutritious, high-calorie food will be served as per the itinerary
- Cook and camp helpers until base camp.
- Porters carry loads on the route until base camp up to 10kg/person
- Transport as detailed in the itinerary
- All technical climbing group gear.
- Ski guide for the duration of the trip.
- All Staff Insurance.
- All applicable permits.
- Hotels and meals in Manali
- All expenses of personal nature like drinks, tips, telephone calls, mineral water etc.
- Any insurance.
- Any evacuations expenses.
- Sleeping bag.
- Your personal, technical and safety ski and mountaineering gear. It's best you get your own ski equipment as it will not be possible to rent any gear locally. Mountaineering gear, if any is needed can be easily got from our well-stocked gear store in Manali.
- Transport to and from Manali at the beginning and end of the trip
- Anything not mentioned in the inclusions
Ski Gear:
- Skis / Split boards
- Climbing Skins
- Some spare Wax
- Ski Boots or Snow boarding boots
- Ski Poles
- Ski Crampons
Clothing:
- Good quality waterproof ski jacket.
- Ski trousers.
- Down Jacket.
- Fleece jacket.
- Beanie - warm
- Sun hat
- Warm ski gloves - (waterproof outer, fleece inner) are good.
- Mid-weight fleece top.
- Long sleeved shirt.
- Travel and camp trousers.
- 2 wicking tee-shirts (synthetic or merino wool)
- Normal clothing for around town.
- Long sleeved thermal top.
- Thermal long johns.
- 2-3 pairs underwear
- 2-3 pairs of standard socks
- 1 -2 pairs warm sock
Footwear:
You will need shoes for around camp and the same you could use when in town.
Pack:
- Main bag - soft shell duffle bag for all your gear.
- Ski Pack (whatever you are normally used to) - You will use this to carry your camera, water bottle, Trail layers, trail food etc.
Accessories:
- Personal Avalanche Beacons. (You can also rent them from us if you need)
- Dark ski glasses/ googles (the sun is quite strong),
- Camera
- A couple of spare passport photos photocopies of key documents. e.g., passport (data and visa pages),
- travel insurance policy
- Toiletries - Sunscreen SPF 40+, Moisturizer, Lip balm, Soap, Toilet paper
- Repair Kit (needle and thread).
- Headlamp/ Torch.
- Water Bottle- Ideally keep two bottles 1 litre each.
- Plastic Packing covers.