Woke up early in Manali and found nothing open until 9 am. Brewed some coffee and looked outside to see a few inches of slushy snow. Waited till 9 then packed up and got going. Ate delicious Indian breakfast next door at Johnson’s Cafe. Armed with that we went shopping.
The Sky One Ski Resort is clean, but a little bit rugged. Walking from the car requires postholing for a couple hundred feet. And it’s cold here. Like most hotels in the area, insulation is poor, double paned windows don’t exist, and there’s no central heating. I’ve had two electric resistance heaters cranked for the past 8 hours and my room is in the low 50s. I am sleeping in my 15 deg bag in thermals w/ a hat on. On the bright side we were able to order excellent Indian fare from the chef downstairs. Selections were limited because a landslide down valley has prevented a large food truck delivery.
Timbo and I wolfed down our meal. It was sort of like winter camping without having to prep the meal and do the dishes. I was too cold to photograph the food.
Tomorrow the aim is to get up to about 3350 m (11k ft) on Pataslu and get our first day of measurements. That’ll let us scout of the route for a real ski ascent and descent if we have time and weather.
