Bengaluru, Jun 7 (PTI) Often, lured by pretty pictures and videos of peaks and valleys, rivers and waterfalls, people embark en masse on treks without proper knowledge, their only intent is to tick off items on the bucket list, said seasoned trekkers from Bengaluru.
They pointed out that if one searches for Kumara Parvatha trek for instance, considered the most challenging of treks in the Western Ghats, Google pulls out hundreds of videos posted in various social media, where people urge others to undertake the journey as well.
The problem is, the experts said, enthused by what they see online, people want to scale peaks overnight, they seldom pause to check if they are equipped to tackle a challenging trek, resulting in incidents like the recent Uttarakhand trekking tragedy that saw nine Bengalureans lose their lives.
“Yes, weather is completely unpredictable at higher altitudes of the Himalayas. But if you have been trekking long enough, you will know that it is not the right time to do the trek at that altitude. Locals do not venture out now, they wait for the monsoon season to end,” said Nagabhushan M N, an avid trekker who has been trekking for 15 years and founder of a Bengaluru-based, but now defunct trekking group Wanderophile.
Santosh Kumar Gupta, another seasoned trekker, who has been trekking for more than 20 years, said people in India often mistake trekking as a fun activity.
“But it is a sport and just like all other sports one has to prepare for it and gradually increase one’s capacity,” said Gupta, who too ran a trekking group called Bangalore Hikers until Covid put a full stop to it.
Lack of preparedness means people often have no idea how to even behave in nature, said the experts.
“Drinking and littering have become the norm. There was news of a doctor some time ago, who died of a heart attack because he climbed after drinking the previous night. Imagine, a doctor is not aware that change in altitude does things to our body,” said Nagabhushan.
Clement Dominic, who is running Bangalore Mountaineering Club for 20 years now, said in the last two to three years, there had been an exponential increase in Bengalureans wanting to trek.
“I would say from 5,000, it increased to 5 lakh people going on a trek in a month,” added Dominic.
Gupta, an IT professional himself, said this is because Bengaluru is home to many techies earning handsomely and looking for fun things to do. Bengaluru being closer to many trekking routes in the Western Ghats, trekking became the hip thing for these high-networth individuals, he added.
“Trekking is also a good outlet for mental stress that plagues IT professionals. So, it is not surprising that it is becoming popular by the day in Bengaluru,” said Gupta.
Although most of these trekkers – Dominic pitches the number at 80 to 90 per cent – start with professional trekking organisers, once they plug into the network, they often form groups on their own and take off for more complex routes like Himalayan treks, without necessarily preparing for that, said the three.
Dominic, who insists that his club undertakes treks only in the Western Ghats, and in routes that have been vetted by experts, said many in India do not even equip themselves with decent GPS devices, considered a must when venturing out in the wild by professionals.
“Social media reels make the trekking sound so easy that people are fooled into believing that they don’t need anything,” he added.
Gupta, on the other hand, blamed the commercially motivated tour operators equally. “If you are following someone experienced, they will tell you when you overreach. But when making money is the only motivation, then safety becomes secondary. They agree to all the insane demands of the trekkers,” added Gupta.
Nagabhushan said the one-up game started on social media, which saw people competing with each other to bring to light “secret” trekking routes, had gotten out of hand.
“If you ask me, that is the biggest problem today. People get into trekking for all the wrong reasons,” said Nagabhushan.
According to him, this herd mentality drew a crowd of 4,000 last February to Kumara Parvatha, spelling disaster for both mankind and nature.
“This also led to a temporary ban on this popular route between February and October depriving serious trekkers who wait for this season. It has become so bad now that seasoned trekkers like me avoid going on treks during weekends and holidays,” added Nagabhushan.
Considering how popular trekking is becoming, building awareness is the only way forward, said the experts.
“People should hire locals who know the terrain well and should also listen to them when they share their experience or tell them when they go out of their depth,” Gupta said. PTI JR JR SS
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