Epic 17,000: Exploring with an Excuse of an XC Sufferfest

It was 40 degrees Celsius outside in Calcutta, so hot, that my Sram Brakes were acting funny.

Sitting in my little air-conditioned cave, I looked to the left and glanced at my bikes resting by my bedside. Right in the moment of my lethargic staring, I was startled by my cell phone ringing. It was a call from a friend up in the Sikkimese mountains who informed me that the North District Administration of Sikkim was interested in having some mountain cyclists go up to one of the highest lakes in the world. The Guru-Dong-Mar Lake and perhaps turn it into an annual race.

This place has been on my radar for the past few years since I found out about it, but as the legend says, no matter how hard you try, you will not visit this holy lake unless you are truly invited.


Situated at an altitude of 17,800 feet or 5,425 meters, this glacial lake is one of the highest freshwater lakes in the world. A portion of this lake never freezes up even in the bitter cold when the entire lake is frozen, a section remains unfrozen. Legend has it, that it was blessed by Guru Padmasambhava (a Buddhist Deity) for it to be able to be a source of drinking water.


I immediately agreed to attend the race as a director just because I was stoked on putting my tires in the dirt at those oxygen starved altitudes. The highest I personally had been to till now was around 14,000 feet and spent a couple of hours up there, but 14,000 feet is comfortable altitude according to Himalayan lifestyles. So the thought of getting altitude sickness was haunting me right from the start.


The Indian army (the only residents at those dizzying heights) recommends a four-day acclimatization period for anyone visiting the dry deserts here. According to my travel itinerary, I was barely going to get a night’s sleep. After a 12-hour bus ride and another 14 in a car, I was at Lachen, a small town in North Sikkim located at an altitude of 9022 ft./2750m at 9.30 at night. After a quick dinner and building up the bike, I needed to get at least five hours of sleep before I had to take on a climb till Lachen, 36 kilometers away and 1500 vertical meters above. All the participants in this sufferfest were residents of the Himalayas; everyone seemed at ease with the prospect and willing to take on the suffering. Being on the organizing board means you cannot sleep. It also means you can ride whatever you want, and not ride what you don’t.


My 1x9 Sram x7 drivetrain setup would have made climbing that long pretty impossible anyway. A 34 tooth up front paired with an 11-34 cassette, there was no way I would have made the climb without a granny ring up front or a dinner plate cassette.


I lugged my bike onto my car till the end of stage one and strangely the weather took a turn for the worse.


By the time the riders were reaching Lachen, temperatures read 2 degrees Celsius and the rain did not help the situation much either.



Accommodation in Lachen was candle powered. You’re right, electricity is a luxury up here and temperatures were to plummet to sub-zero at night.


After what I felt was one of the longest nights of my life, I woke up at crack of dawn, layered myself up and walked out to one of the most mesmerizing sights I had seen in a while. All the bitterness from the night before washed away by the sunlight reflecting off snowy peaks all around.


Since I was adjudicating the race, I happened to be the first person to be taken up to Gurudongmar, and I was to spend five long hours up there. Tourists are not allowed to stay there for more than an hour given the lack of oxygen and the bitter cold winds of the Tibetan plateau. Nobody can really be outdoors there post 1 pm. The winds get too strong and the only shelter is a temple and a tiny army building. The desert, however, is littered with army bunkers, but civilians would not have easy access I presumed.







The winds were so strong even early in the morning that the Red Bull wigwam could not be pitched up. After a couple hours, before the riders who were climbing up all the way on their bikes began appearing, the altitude began to get to me and I decided to fix it by delegating my timekeeping responsibility and going for a ride around the lake.



Oxygen-starved and full of stoke, the dirt was unreal. One could see lines on the mountains as far as the eyes could see and I realized how much more time (and travel) I needed. My 120mm hardtail was scampering about on the rocky soil. Not to mention the heavy sound of my heart pounding, trying to breathe in the oxygen deprived air.


Out of 22 riders who chose to take on the Epic 17,000 15 of them made it to the finish line within the cutoff time. The Epic 17,000 aims to become an extreme endurance race in the high altitudes of the Himalayas in 2018. Fun Fact: A special permit from the local authority is required for Indian residents to enter North Sikkim and from the National Authority for anyone not holding an Indian Passport. All vehicles must have a permit too.



Tenzing Chombay Sherpa, Aseem Sharma and Kiran Subba. Fastest men to make it up the gruelling climb.

Once the sufferfest was over, and everyone packed up their bikes into the transport trucks, I stared at the holy lake and I heard it telling me that vast networks of trails lay beyond and that I needed more time (and travel). Another deep breath and I began riding down, 60 kilometers of constant gravity assisted carnage. The roads of North Sikkim are a playground for a 120 mil hardtail. 60 kilometers with perhaps a couple photo stops, and one to change the SD on my ActionCam. It was definitely the most fun I’ve had on my bike in quite some time.


The tarmac section was a nice warm up for the long descend up ahead. Also gave me the freedom to look around and feel puny as the majestic landscape seems to engulf everything.



The valley parallel to this one is a hiking route. Locals say it's not rideable on bikes. Locals are not very aware of what mountain bikes are capable of. A trip through the Yumthang valley is definitely due later this year. Within three and a half hours, I had descended from 17,800 feet to 9,022 feet. I could feel my arms and my legs ache due to the incessant battering; the mud freckles on my bearded face made me grin ear to ear.


Medals were awarded, respects were paid, plans were announced and the beer was flowing. I got out of the restaurant to glance a view at the night sky, (I saw Shivam run outside with his camera equipment.)

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We must have sat there staring at the stars for a couple hours before I realized I had to put my bike back into the box for we were headed down to the plains the next morning. Now that I have dipped my feet in the water, (not literally) I can’t wait to explore more of North Sikkim. Perhaps next time, I'll need to take a bigger bike. #ridebikes

Special Thanks to // Red Bull India, Hub Outdoor, North District Administration of Sikkim and the Indian Army.

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