I'm back in Manali for the last time now, which is a shame because I love this place. We've got a couple of days here, then a couple in Amritsar before heading to Pakistan. The plan at the moment is to drive flat out through/around Lahore and Islamabad till we get to Gilgit, where apparently it is less dodgy.
The last week-and-a-bit was spent at Chota Dhara, a place even smaller than Chattru, about 20km further up the Chandra river. It was higher (3800m), quieter and more barren, but much warmer which was nice. TopsOff4Power all day long!
The trad lines looked sweet but the altitude and quality bouldering meant I never got more than 20ft off the ground. A few guys put up some bigger lines on perfect granite splitter cracks, so there's reason to head back in a few years. The bouldering was great but a little different, the rock was in general very smooth, presumably eroded by the river or glacier. It took a bit of getting used to but after a few days I'd cracked a font 6c+ traverse and a bunch of 6bs which was sweet. Ed and Zamora both ticked 7a+ which was a wicked effort especially given the altitude. We were topping out breathing as if we'd done a 40m sport route!
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