[satan]

Originally Posted by MiKeMo

Oh! My,my.I’m speechless. Simple, engaging narrative along with drool worthy photographs. I could identify few of the places I visited : Khardung la, Turtuk , places around Leh, just by looking at your lovely snaps. I wish I would be able to do such trip. Ladakh trip is always a step forward to one more such trip in that part! Hat’s off to you, and all the very best for many more such trips to you @satan!

Thank you!

Originally Posted by Rocketscience

I always want to know how the car performs in such extreme conditions and most travelogues don't talk about the car much but just show off their pictures and their stories, which is fine but those pointers that you added are much appreciated.

Thank you

Originally Posted by Rocketscience

Also as per my knowledge cars loose around 3% of power every 1000 ft of elevation and at the elevation you took your car to this must have piled up to be a significant amount, how much of a power loss did you notice?

I am not a technical person but i will answer your question based on my personal past experiences. As per me, the perception of power loss at altitudes is a function of the following variables
1. Road condition (smooth tarmac vs broken stones) that dictates your speed and therefore the gear you drive in and eventually comes down to power delivery of the specific motor
2. Road gradient which dictates whether you can zoom or crawl up an ascent
3. Torque characteristics of your specific motor ie rpm at which max torque is delivered to your wheels
4. Physical condition of your vehicle ie gross weight/overloaded, state of your motor, air filter, tyre pressure, etc
5. Power to weight ratio of your vehicle
6. Finally your own physical state at that point in time ie how strong or heavy headed you feel at higher altitudes will indeed have a direct bearing on your assessment of how the vehicle is performing

These are just some of my personal experiences. i remember my mpfi gypsy struggling to take off from a parked state on the last few bends at Wari La back in 2011, just because I had idiotically managed to stop at the head of a very steep incline. So this was pure driver error coupled with a lack of low down torque and a short stroke motor of the MPFI gypsy.
Another time i experienced a significant power loss was on More plains whilst returning from Leh in 2016 when my 4.2ltr turbo charged AT LC would not rev to above 2300 rpm nor kickdown. Again a classic case of driver error wherein I had not bothered to clean the completely choked up air filter after driving the vehicle through a 3 hour sand storm between Diskit and Shyok 2 days earlier.

Coming back to your question and the Thar's performance. The highest points we drove up to were Umling La, Foti La and Khardung La in that order. As i have mentioned earlier the approach to both Umling and Foti La is super gradual and very well surfaced. Moreover there was no snow on the road which made the ascent a piece of cake and even before we knew it we were up there. Ascending Khardung was another story as there was packed snow/ice on the road which meant more power would only cause the vehicle to go sideways quicker. So in any case we had to drive with a lot of restraint although the motor was revving to go.. So this was an overview of the road conditions at the highest points.

Coming to the Thar's performance its really hard to fault the fault the auto box as it does a great job of making you look good. We experienced no power loss at any point during the drive as the gearbox was doing its job of ensuring adequate power was going to the wheels. Also to be honest we were just 2 of us with minimal luggage in a relatively light and powerful vehicle. So this physical characteristic of the Petrol Thar read bhp/tonne would definitely play a role here.

One word of caution though from my personal experience driving the Auto Thar on snow. The Auto box allows you to drive in the manual mode(manually shifting gears up n down) by flicking the gear lever towards the driver side. So manually downshifting gears while descending on regular paved and dry roads helps take the pressure off constant braking and importantly prevents overheating of brakes through prolonged usage. However what you do not want to do is downshift or for that matter drive in manual mode when you are in 2wd (ie Rear wheel drive) on snow/ice as that will likely cause the rear to slide out ever so slightly on a straight but quite sharply if that happens to be around a bend. So simply put, when on snow and descending engage 4wd hi or low, keep your feet off the brake pedal and leave the vehicle in auto

Originally Posted by Rocketscience

It should be somewhat lesser for turbo engines but then again those are electronically actuated turbos which compensate for that to an extent and I don't think many cars come with that.

Not sure I am qualified enough to respond to your Q so will leave that to some of the experts on the forum

[MobilisAdvento]

Originally Posted by satan

Its always the same with the mountains, once you have lived with them for any duration of time you belong to them. They keep pulling you back, there is no escape – Ruskin Bond (Notes from the Himalaya)

A self drive trip to view Ladakh during winter

It's an amazing travelogue. The entire journey, your experience is such a great read. The pictures are simply breathtaking, no better way Brand Thar can be presented. The way you have connected with local people is really great to see. It's heartwarming to see how generously the Scorpio Cab driver guided you and offered you to stay like a family.
Your passion for Hills is reflected when you started with Ruskin Bond's quote. I wish you all the best for your future trips.

[FloatingCanvas]

Thank you for taking us all on a ride into the memerising mountains.

All the pictures are stunning and their beauty made me pause every few seconds. Took over an hour to go through your succinct travelogue.

This thread makes me want to get a Thar the way Manuuj's thread makes me want to own a Gurkha. But I realise it is the time and place that matter more than the physical asset.

Hope the "one day" expectation of experiencing the glory of Ladakh becomes a reality in near future.

Grateful for the beautiful journey, Satan. You've succeeded in tempting me off the path of the devout.

[satan]

Originally Posted by MobilisAdvento

It's an amazing travelogue. The entire journey, your experience is such a great read. The pictures are simply breathtaking, no better way Brand Thar can be presented. The way you have connected with local people is really great to see. It's heartwarming to see how generously the Scorpio Cab driver guided you and offered you to stay like a family.
Your passion for Hills is reflected when you started with Ruskin Bond's quote. I wish you all the best for your future trips.

Thank you for your kind words. You are right in observing how hospitable and warm most of the locals in the Himalaya are. We received a very similar reception in Kashmir last August and it does set you wondering where our thought process and mental makeup towards strangers got so messed up along the way living in cities. I mean even today it would not even cross my mind to invite unknown persons home who I meet on the road from another state even for tea, leave alone insisting that they stay overnight. Thank you once again Mustafa and Naseerullahji!!

Originally Posted by FloatingCanvas

Thank you for taking us all on a ride into the memerising mountains.

All the pictures are stunning and their beauty made me pause every few seconds. Took over an hour to go through your succinct travelogue.

This thread makes me want to get a Thar the way Manuuj's thread makes me want to own a Gurkha. But I realise it is the time and place that matter more than the physical asset.

Thank you. I agree with your thought process. While a good and capable vehicle is important to traverse such terrain what matters more are the experiences you gain from the road, the journey, the locals and of course the destination.

Originally Posted by FloatingCanvas

Hope the "one day" expectation of experiencing the glory of Ladakh becomes a reality in near future.

Grateful for the beautiful journey, Satan. You've succeeded in tempting me off the path of the devout.

Most events will happen depending on how badly you want them to Instead of simply hoping, manifest the thought and before you know it things will fall in place

[satan]

There are credible reports that the Zojila pass may open up mid season by Feb 27th . This means anyone wanting to make a similar winter trip in their own vehicles can flip a coin and make a dash for Leh or Suru Valley from the Srinagar side after checking weather forecasts.

There is however a very real chance of getting stuck in Ladakh until May if there is heavy snowfall at Zojila whilst you are on that side. That will indeed mean leaving your vehicle there and flying out of Leh which is what makes this trip a true adventure

So compared to the tame (and now overdone) winter drives to Spiti this is the real deal for anyone who wants to do an extreme winter trip.

Happy to help anyone crazy enough to attempt this, with local logistics and support.