Warmer winter impacts ice hockey, Chadar trek in country’s coldest region of Ladakh

Subject: Geography

Section: India Physical Geography

Context:

Unusually warm weather in Ladakh this winter has affected extreme winter sports like ice hockey and the 105-kilometre Chadar trek.
In Ladakh’s Kargil town, ice hockey rinks faced challenges in forming a proper ice surface, prompting the use of electric fans to maintain safe playing conditions.
The warmer temperatures, deviating from the normal pattern by four to eight degrees, also impacted the Chadar trek, causing a delay in its start and a shorter route due to late ice formation on the Zanskar River.
- The Chadar trek is one of the extreme sports in the country and is held only when the temperature drops between -30 to -35 degrees.
The usual extreme conditions required for these activities were not met due to the warmer and deficient snowfall months of November and December.

About Chadar trek:

The Chadar Trek or the Zanskar Gorge Trek is a winter trail over the frozen Zanskar River, which lies in the Indian Union territory of Ladakh.
It is traditionally the only means of travel in the area during the harsh winter months. The trail has become popular with foreign adventure tourists.
The walls are near vertical cliffs up to 600 m high and the Zanskar River (a tributary of the Indus) flows in a narrow gorge that is only 5 metres (16 ft) wide in places.
The overall distance is approximately 105 kilometres (65 mi) – an average trekker walks 16 kilometres (10 mi) per day.

Zanskar River:

It is the first major tributary of the Indus River, equal or greater in volume than the main river, which flows entirely within Ladakh, India.
It originates northeast of the Great Himalayan range and drains both the Himalayas and the Zanskar Range within the region of Zanskar.
It flows northeast to join the Indus River near Nimo.

Source: TH