‘I was overcome with fear and awe, witness to a power I could feel but couldn’t comprehend’. In another account of his adventures in the Garhwal Himalaya, Zachary Conrad recalls a treacherous trek to Sahastra Tal.

‘The avalanche went to ground; in its path all snow had slipped off the mountain, leaving only rocks and ice. For a moment the world was suspended in fear and dread. Chaos followed.’ Zachary Conrad recalls a fateful snowboarding adventure in Gulmarg and the lessons learned at the mercy of snowy, Kashmiri peaks.

Gulmarg’s Raja’s Hut was the subject of the 2018 documentary Iron Khan. Citing the film and personal experience, Zachary Conrad recalls the guest-house and its owners, in the foreground of the Himalayas, snowboarding, and insurgency in Kashmir.

From Bandarpunch and Nanda Devi to the Annapurna and more, Zachary Conrad recommends five must-read books for a better understanding of the mountains we seek to scale—beyond us, and within us.

‘The yeti is the mountain. He’s the mountain’s teeth and the mountain’s claws, a manifestation of the power of nature, and a reminder to act with respect.’ Zachary Conrad recalls an awe-inspiring hike to the Himalayan summit of Bandarpunch

‘That night I knew that there was magic left in this world’ – On a trek to Kedar Tal, Zachary Conrad faced danger, awe, and unmatched beauty.

‘It was late October, too late for shepherds, and we had the mountains to ourselves.’ Read Zachary Conrad’s vivid narrative of another perilous and rewarding hike in the Himalaya.

“I feel a lot of things in the mountains, but gratitude is what I feel the most.” In his first ‘Pardesi Pahadi’ column, Zachary Conrad writes about an unforgettable hike for a glimpse of the majestic Nanda Devi