[manmohanmaan]

Hey Guderian, nope nothing reclusive about me, just been busy with things. and with respect to your (Manuuj and Bharat too) demands of a travelogue I am just the planning and driving guy. The Travelogue should be up sometime by 'Coooolcat21' on this forum, she does the travelogue bit. And not to worry about pictures we shot about 75 GB of stills .
@scopriobharat: Yes I did use the LL on some of the treacherous curves at Rohtang-la, while crossing a mudslide on the road from Batal to Grampoo where we were stuck for two nights and once while crossing a stream on the way to Loma from Chushul where the vehicle dug into the soft bed as i had mistakenly chosen to cross at an seemingly smoother area. In LL one gets the feeling that as long as the wheels have traction you could climb over any obstacle without breaking a sweat. The rest was done in normal drive mode.
@Manuuj: I guess that must be the reason for the undersized bottle holders. As I have said above the Travelogue should be up soon, but with so many excellent TL's covering the same area and around the same time I wonder what more we could contribute to the information pool available here on Team BHP. Hey we trawled this very forum for all the information we used and that is what made the trip possible in the first place.
Manmohan.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by manmohanmaan

Hey Guderian, nope nothing reclusive about me, just been busy with things. and with respect to your (Manuuj and Bharat too) demands of a travelogue I am just the planning and driving guy. The Travelogue should be up sometime by 'Coooolcat21' on this forum, she does the travelogue bit. And not to worry about pictures we shot about 75 GB of stills .

Hey MMji, No, no sir...was just pulling your leg. Of course am aware of your crazy schedules.
Hey ! I didn't ask for the t'logue. All I did was to put it in perspective. Coooolcat 21 eh ? Uh oh - the cover is blown though. Anyway will be eagerly awaiting the write up. 75GB of stills ? When did you get time to drive and gape at the scenery ?

And a general Q to all here. I have been bothered for sometime now about the usage of HL/LL (center differential locked - high & low range). As per many of the many posts/debates here on TBHP and the instructions on the usage card in the vehicle once LL is engaged (HL too ?) one has to travel in a straight line. Turning can damage the differentials, axles and shafts. What does one do if one is in a deep quagmire in LL and a curve looms ? Like a curve on a sharp gradient with heavy 1 foot deep clay underfoot ? What tactic to be adopted ?
And if the HL engaged - can one turn without damaging the T line /torsional windup ?
Advice please !

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Originally Posted by Guderian

And a general Q to all here. I have been bothered for sometime now about the usage of HL/LL (center differential locked - high & low range). As per many of the many posts/debates here on TBHP and the instructions on the usage card in the vehicle once LL is engaged (HL too ?) one has to travel in a straight line. Turning can damage the differentials, axles and shafts. What does one do if one is in a deep quagmire in LL and a curve looms ? Like a curve on a sharp gradient with heavy 1 foot deep clay underfoot ? What tactic to be adopted ?
And if the HL engaged - can one turn without damaging the T line /torsional windup ?
Advice please !

It's not an issue if you need to turn since the clay will let one of the wheels slip and this will not result in a transmission wind up. Don't worry about it. It's an issue on tarmac only.

[Coooolcat21]

Originally Posted by manmohanmaan

Hey Guderian, nope nothing reclusive about me, just been busy with things. and with respect to your (Manuuj and Bharat too) demands of a travelogue I am just the planning and driving guy. The Travelogue should be up sometime by 'Coooolcat21' on this forum, she does the travelogue bit. And not to worry about pictures we shot about 75 GB of stills .
@scopriobharat: Yes I did use the LL on some of the treacherous curves at Rohtang-la, while crossing a mudslide on the road from Batal to Grampoo where we were stuck for two nights and once while crossing a stream on the way to Loma from Chushul where the vehicle dug into the soft bed as i had mistakenly chosen to cross at an seemingly smoother area. In LL one gets the feeling that as long as the wheels have traction you could climb over any obstacle without breaking a sweat. The rest was done in normal drive mode.
@Manuuj: I guess that must be the reason for the undersized bottle holders. As I have said above the Travelogue should be up soon, but with so many excellent TL's covering the same area and around the same time I wonder what more we could contribute to the information pool available here on Team BHP. Hey we trawled this very forum for all the information we used and that is what made the trip possible in the first place.
Manmohan.

Well the TL will take a while and I can promise more than 100 pics for sure. Till then the pic of the fortuner that took us to the sunsets of Leh.
Regards

[Monaro CV8]

Originally Posted by Coooolcat21

Well the TL will take a while and I can promise more than 100 pics for sure. Till then the pic of the fortuner that took us to the sunsets of Leh.
Regards

Wow!
The beast in the wilderness of the Mighty Himalayas!
Fortuner sure gels well in these surroundings.

Thanks for Sharing!

waiting for more..

@HG - this sure calls for the road trip that's waiting for some time !

[nilanjanray]

Originally Posted by Monaro CV8

Wow!
The beast in the wilderness of the Mighty Himalayas!
Fortuner sure gels well in these surroundings.

Thanks for Sharing!

waiting for more..

@HG - this sure calls for the road trip that's waiting for some time !

If you guys are thinking of a Leh roadtrip, count me in. On my to do list for next year. A convoy of T-Forts would make for some interesting photo opportunities :-)

@Coooolcat21: waiting eagerly for the travelogue!

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

It's not an issue if you need to turn since the clay will let one of the wheels slip and this will not result in a transmission wind up. Don't worry about it. It's an issue on tarmac only.

Hi Tejas,
Thanks for that input.

Originally Posted by Coooolcat21

Well the TL will take a while and I can promise more than 100 pics for sure. Till then the pic of the fortuner that took us to the sunsets of Leh.
Regards

Hi Coooolcat21, (or should the salutation be Gursharanji ?!!)
Welcome to Togo Channel.
Those snaps of yours have made this page of the TC one of the most yummylicious. Something that really gets me off the armchair and into the driver's seat with an urge to zoom off and not look behind till me n Admiral reach the abode of the Gods.
Many thanks - do post more gorgeous snaps of the silver glory in its natural sorroundings !
And of course awaiting the t'logue with bated breath.
Thanks for the post.
(Pssst...one advantage of your snaps I see is that even if me n Admiral don't make it to the mountains - I can pass off you snaps as those of Admiral's and corner the illgotten fame, admiration and esteem. Corruption of every kind seems to have touched a new high in this country !)

Originally Posted by Monaro CV8

Wow!

@HG - this sure calls for the road trip that's waiting for some time !

Originally Posted by nilanjanray

If you guys are thinking of a Leh roadtrip, count me in. On my to do list for next year. A convoy of T-Forts would make for some interesting photo opportunities :-)

Sirs,
Already planning and plotting. The great drive could be in Sept 2012 InshAllah.
So keep your diary pages uncluttered guys !

[AlphaKilo]

Hail General!

AK Reporting sir.

Wow! Admiral going to Mountains. Sounds interesting, more interesting would be the way General is going to fill his log book! So, General and Admiral together in the mountains, sounds like a Joint-yudh abhyas?
We have the Wehr und Marine(Army and the Navy) Any Senior Generals from the Luftwaffe(Airforce) joining in? Looking forward to it!

[amitwlele]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Sirs,
Already planning and plotting. The great drive could be in Sept 2012 InshAllah.
So keep your diary pages uncluttered guys !

General - Are you serious? Is there place for me in the Admiral? Would love to go there again.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

Wow! Admiral going to Mountains. Sounds interesting, more interesting would be the way General is going to fill his log book!

Calling AK come in...
That is one drive I am eagerly planning to do. And have been planning for quite sometime. I think the best place to try Admiral's capabilities to the fullest perhaps !

Originally Posted by amitwlele

General - Are you serious? Is there place for me in the Admiral? Would love to go there again.

Hi Amit,
Of course I am serious ! Still annoyed with myself to have missed a glorious drive in Sept 2009 on the Scorpio due to official miseries.
And yes - you are on, though bookings for the Admiral's seats haven't begun as yet, but as a special case ! So one seat reserved.

[Guderian]

Yeh Leh !

And after being soaked in Leh snaps here and in the T'logue section, I thought I'll put up 'my Leh' snaps where I and Admiral went early this week. Or rather I was shamed into posting these snaps.
Don't believe it ? Have a look...

You reach this point after a very sharp gradient from the nearest motorable road. The air is a little rarified. You could be a victim of high altitude sickness (if you have lived underground all your life) and so it is better to acclimatise yourself slowly. First by climbing small bushes and then medium sized trees.
Admiral performed brilliantly while coming up the gradient but no HL/LL mode/s was/were required. The instant ave FE indicator on the MID showed 10 KMPL while climbing up the gradient.


Abundant greenery on top:


An all weather road seen in the distance. When the lake overflows or looks like overflowing with rain water from the hills coming down (during monsoons) water covers the road - the point is then called 'Ekdum Pagal Nullah'. But Admiral does the stretch brilliantly.
Not sure whether the road is maintained by BRO or CRO (City Roads Organisation):


Fab scenery no doubt but filled with danger. Chinese designs !
Somewhere next to the Cosmos Monastery is a Chinese, yes Chinese, joint...

Eating anything from there could lay you up for 3 weeks minimum. Who needs cross border incursions ?

Admiral taking in the view from top after a most strenuous run ! Almost 100 meters of sharp, unpaved, rocky trail. No fuel pumps either on the 100 meter stretch. So carry fuel if you are coming up.


Our bravehearts:

A lot of young couples drive here to...errr...get close to the line of control or cross it. My salute to them for bravely facing hostile stares, hostility of the local population and never thinking of the families they have left behind.

Another shot of the glorious scenery:


Ahhh...such a beautiful break:


And time to rush back to the plains.

(PS: If there is any resemblance in the above snaps to a spot in Thane the same is purely coincidental and is no way intentional by the force of nature. The author very strongly believes that as of now this is Leh or something close to it and possibly reflects his frustration of not being able to push off to Leh right away !)

[amitwlele]

@General - So where in Thane is this? Yeor hills?

IMO that white building at the start of the hills is such an eyesore. I hope i am not offending you. I mean i hope that is not your abode. I guess it is only a matter of time before the hills are covered with builidings advertised as giving superb views.

[nileshch]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Yeh Leh !

And after being soaked in Leh snaps here and in the T'logue section, I thought I'll put up 'my Leh' snaps where I and Admiral went early this week. Or rather I was shamed into posting these snaps.
Don't believe it ? Have a look...

Not sure whether the road is maintained by BRO or CRO (City Roads Organisation):

Eating anything from there could lay you up for 3 weeks minimum. Who needs cross border incursions ?

My salute to them for bravely facing hostile stares, hostility of the local population and never thinking of the families they have left behind.

I dropped from my chair and for five minutes! A big salute to you, General, for carving out the ultimate Leh experience from our friendly neighborhood Cosmos Tekadi and Upvan Talao!!

[Swanand Inamdar]

. Leh indeed. What an howlarious account of your "short" visit to Leh. Or rather the Mumbai version of Leh!

When and where was this trip taken? I agree with Amit, that building is such an eyesore to the otherwise (only) greenary in Mumbai.

[amitg79]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Yeh Leh !

And after being soaked in Leh snaps here and in the T'logue section, I thought I'll put up 'my Leh' snaps where I and Admiral went early this week. Or rather I was shamed into posting these snaps.

Hey! I've been to this part of 'Leh'! And the nice part of it is that its just a couple of hours from Pune.

But seriously, am laughing and rolling around on the floor while typing this, which is a very difficult thing to do...