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Leh in December

Replies: 11 - Last Post: Nov 7, 2012 8:44 AM Last Post By: vistet

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Carrot_cake

Carrot_cake avatar

Nov 6, 2012 1:50 AM
Posts:  8

Leh in December

Has anyone been to Leh recently? I sounds amazing but is it worth it, especially late December when it's a little chilly!

fivejacks

fivejacks avatar

Nov 6, 2012 3:37 AM
Posts:  470

1

NO.!.

vistet

vistet avatar

Nov 6, 2012 5:08 AM
Posts:  813

2

I´m heading there right now ... it can be very nice , as long as one accepts the limitations : little choice in food , and too cold for any enjoyable trekking . Think minus twenty night time in late December. A lot warmer in the daytime , though.

flanagan

flanagan avatar

Nov 6, 2012 5:11 AM
Posts:  610

3

especially late December when it's a little chilly!

It is already cold and in all December you can expect drop of temp. to -15, maybe -20.

wisegranny

wisegranny avatar

Nov 6, 2012 5:29 AM
Posts:  189

4

If you are immune to the cold- do a Chadar trek in January ! if not stay away till June!

vistet

vistet avatar

Nov 6, 2012 5:30 AM
Posts:  813

5

..expect drop of temp. to -15, maybe -20"

Again : night time only. Temperatures rise dramatically as soon as you step in to the sun ( and vice versa). Mid-day late November I still walk around with my jacket in my shoulder bag , and put it on as I go inside for lunch.

The problem with the Chaddar trek is that Ladakh also is affected by global warming . Ice cover on the river comes later in the year & is getting thinner and harder to trust. Last videos I saw was with long stretches of open water mid stream.

Edited by: vistet

Fieldgate

Fieldgate avatar

Nov 6, 2012 4:21 PM
Posts:  2,779

6

I haven't visted Leh in Dec, but all I know is that temps get down to 0 C, or -5 C at the most. Lower at night. You'd need to choose good accommodation not to freeze your bum off.
-15 to -20 C can be the case in Drass, famous for its freaky local climate and extreeme temperatures.

vistet

vistet avatar

Nov 6, 2012 4:44 PM
Posts:  813

7

First hand experience : daytime temps do definitely go subzero in around mid-December. Drass is lower than Leh , I suspect the reputation( "coldest place in Asia" etc - hello - Siberia ) is highly hyped , in the same vein as the Khardung La altitude.

Edited by: vistet

Fieldgate

Fieldgate avatar

Nov 6, 2012 4:56 PM
Posts:  2,779

8

Drass is lower than Leh , I suspect the reputation( "coldest place in Asia" etc - hello - Siberia ) is highly hyped , in the same vein as the Khardung La altitude.

Drass - not first hand, but that's what I find:
Drass (3230 m) ... Winter temperature is sometimes known to plummet to less than minus 40 degrees.

KhardungLa
I passed through last July. Altimeter showed 5608m.

vistet

vistet avatar

Nov 6, 2012 5:43 PM
Posts:  813

9

"...sometimes known.."

Vague , and no source : I´d call that a rumor.

"KhardungLa
.. Altimeter showed 5608m.."

i.e. air pressure . My GPS shows 5350-ish , repeatedly. Same with satellite data , Google Earth etc . Even BRO personnel freely admit that 5600+ is a myth.

Fieldgate

Fieldgate avatar

Nov 7, 2012 8:12 AM
Posts:  2,779

10

.. Altimeter showed 5608m.."

I was surprised too, as I knew that it'd been disputed. The instrument wasn't mine though, it belonged to someone else who was there at the same time.
I'm used to minor differences, upto 50m, but 250m is just too much (although not uncommon on local maps of that region).

vistet

vistet avatar

Nov 7, 2012 8:44 AM
Posts:  813

11

As mentioned in the link : there are tons of good sources that place the pass at 5350-ish . Yet another : Janne Corax carried both altimeter ( saying 5327 ) and a GPS ( 5342 )
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