What do you do on acclimatization days?

[Ramya]

Hi trekkers, I have seen that there are some days where we only get to trek for 1-2 hours and have the rest of the day free to acclimatize. Based on your experience what activities do you do ? I was thinking on lines of: walking around campsite, meditation, reading books , journalling? 

Asking cos I'll be going on my first trek soon and have such a free day.

Thanks! 

 

 

 

 

[Tilak Ram Rawat]

Hi Ramya on acclimatisation day we usually hike a little further higher altitude close to summit in a different direction of sometimes in the direction of summit and rest back at the summit base camp. We also would spend some time at campsite jorunaling, meditating and doing some fun energizer conducted by trek leaders. 

[Gautam Singh]

On 10/20/2022 at 2:51 PM, Ramya said:

Hi trekkers, I have seen that there are some days where we only get to trek for 1-2 hours and have the rest of the day free to acclimatize. Based on your experience what activities do you do? I was thinking on lines of: walking around campsite, meditation, reading books , journalling? 

Asking cos I'll be going on my first trek soon and have such a free day.

Thanks! 

 

 

 

 

Hi Ramya! Acclimatization days are the most fun, if you ask me. 🙂

I'll share my experience from the acclimatization day at Goechala. We started at 4 AM for a short hike to Dzongri Top, watched a spectacular sunrise over the mountain ranges of Kanchenjunga, teared up, and were back to Dzongri in 2.5 hours.

After having piping hot Aloo Parathas in sub-zero temperature, warming ourselves up under the sun, we were on our own for the rest of the day. We were free to do anything we liked under the sky (literally!). So, few of us wandered off to a remote corner to journal our journey, few of them were busy with their GoPros, some of them went up a nearby hill to enjoy solitude, while most of us started playing frisbee until a blizzard hit us hard.

The force of the blizzard was so strong that even if we ducked inside our dining tents, we couldn't beat the cold. At one instance, our dining tent flew away. So, we resorted to forming a group hug and play antakshari and dance to keep ourselves warm under the hard-hitting snowfall. We were so engrossed in songs and dance that we didn't realise when the blizzard stopped, and when 3 hours had passed!

So, yes, as I said you do not realise when the days passes during an acclimatization day. Unless your Trek Leader has lots of activities planned for your group, you should be free to choose what you like and get on with it till the day ends.