Onir on completing KGL trek: I wanted to overcome my fear of height

Filmmaker Onir recently returned from Kashmir Great Lakes trek (KGL trek), which is 73km long and reaches an elevation of around 13000 feet. The moderately tough trek takes seven to nine days to be completed. However, the 54-year-old managed to complete it within four days.

He admits it was not an easy take and he spent a lot of time preparing for it. “I’ve been wanting to do it for a while but when I recently saw a couple of pictures on Twitter, I was motivated,” shares Onir.

“I started jogging for 10-12 kilometres, at least twice a week. I also did cycling and swimming to build up a stamina because I knew that it’s not going to be an easy track,” he says.

Despite all the preparations, it was one difficult adventure. Opening up about the challenges, he says, “The most challenging part was this constant change of terrain, and having this one pair of shoes, which was not really equipped to deal with snow, boulders and all the obstacles we faced. It was very slippery at times and I had to use a stick to keep moving. And there were times when I thought about what my sister said – ‘Don’t push yourself too much. If you feel that it’s dangerous, just turn back and come’. But I wanted to overcome all my fears including that of heights.”

When he saw people giving up, Onir confesses it made him wonder if he would be able to make it.

Recalling an incident which shook him to the core, he says, “The water was freezing and while trying to cross a river, I slipped into it. My feet went into the cold water and I just froze. I could not even take the feet out of the water. It was my guide, who literally had to pick me up bring me to the bank. That was a moment when I got really scared because I couldn’t imagine that I would be so paralysed”.

Going on to share another danger that he encountered, the filmmaker shares, “We reached a point where my horse keeper asked me to walk faster because there would be boulders falling. He told me that every year, someone dies because of it. It was terrifying. But I knew that I would have to continue in the same pace because I am 54-year-old. I had made up my mind that I would not be trying to compete with either of them (my guide and the horse keeper) who were in their mid 20s. But eventually, the speed increased second day, onwards and I completed the trek in four days”.

And he could do it because he didn’t take long breaks in middle of the treks. “Everyone was surprised. I think being someone who frequently does swimming, cycling, jogging, it helped me in terms of the stamina. Because of that I didn’t have breathing problems. My muscles were used to a certain amount of wear and tear that really helped. Moreover, my biggest strength throughout was my ghodawala Parvez and my guide. They kept encouraging me and boosting my confidence”.

“I also got a lot of help from the Jammu and Kashmir police as well as the Indian army. They also were very helpful in getting the necessary permits, in turn helping the horse keeper in crossing the paths from where everyone else was returning,” he wraps up.