Spiti snow drive in my stock Maruti Suzuki Jimny: My experiences

With the Jimny successfully procured in October 2024, the itch to do Spiti in winters started again and I decided to seriously plan given the time constraints and work related commitments.

BHPian Pancham recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Snow Drive in Spiti (December 2024)

(Some pictures to lure you into this thread)

Part 1: That one trip we always wanted to do!

We all have that one trip that we always wanted to do - that one Goa trip with school/college friends, that one road trip in Europe (after watching Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara?), or a trip to Manali with your special someone. For me, that 'one' trip has evolved over the years. Back in 2009, when I was a teenager I dreamt of driving my own SUV (read Fortuner) to Ladakh. At that time, I think it was a big deal. Nothing happened until summer of 2022, when I did Zanskar through Shinku La, Kurgiyak to reach Leh in my Jeep Compass (see the change in car taste, too). Slowly and in parallel, the idea of driving on snow in Spiti creeped in. Friends - the urge to do something extreme and getting out of your comfort zone every once in a while is a deep dark hole that some of us cannot get out of.

For me, the Zanskar trip was an eye-opener. It was kind of a solo trip with another Bhpian (he was in his Thar, and I was in my Compass). It was extreme and tough and took a toll on us for different reasons but it was epic. That trip instilled the need in me to do an extreme trip at least every once in two years (given work and other commitments). Cut to 2024, I ended up buying a used (almost new) Jimny for exactly this reason. I felt the Compass 4X4 could do many things but it was my primary car and is pretty expensive to fix. I need a rugged go anywhere - in came the Jimny MT 2024 (Zeta). This was in October 2024.

Having said that, there were no trips planned. Longer breaks during the Christmas and New Year time were my best bet since things are usually quiet in office. But it is always a trade off between indulging in selfish solo trips or going back to Kolkata to see my mum (I live in Gurgaon, by the way). This year I planned to do both. I carved out days between December 20 and January 5 so that I could do a trip of my own and immediately leave for Kolkata afterwards to spend some time at home. But like I said, there was nothing planned till November end.

Part 2: Spiti, the idea of doing a snow drive.

Back in 2021, when COVID was doing its thing, the urge to travel and exploring places hit me hard. I am sure this is true for many of us. As things went from bad to worse, us humans started to introspect more - we started spending more time with family, consumption on personal goods sky-rocketed, self-care signed a new lease of life, and most importantly, 'travelling' became a hobby for a lot of us. Around that time, in addition to being hit by COVID, I got bitten by the Spiti bug. Not just any Spiti bug, but 'hardcore winter time snow drive only' Spiti bug. I wanted to drive my own car to Spiti - period. In winter? - yes. On the snow? - Obvio!! Not sure how this would materialize, it remained a distant dream. I did manage Zanskar but that was it. I was not fully sure about taking the Compass for a snow drive in Spiti. My last failed attempt for a Spiti winter drive was in December 2023 and then I almost forgot about it this year (at least most of 2024).

With the Jimny successfully procured in October 2024 (and specifically for doing hardcore trips), the itch to do Spiti in winters started again and I decided to seriously plan given the time constraints and work related commitments. Nothing happened till November 27, when I decided to drop a text to Overlandtrips 2019 (OLT2019) - a typical Instagram Page that organizes these trips to Spiti. I had my eyes set on LaHimalaya but they were charging something astronomical for the Spiti trip. OLT2019 was surprisingly cheaper at one-fourth the cost. If you really costed a trip like this - you would think the package quoted by OLT2019 sounded about right. So I did some thinking and sometime early December, I took the plunge. I sent them a token amount to book my slot - that is it. It was INR 8000 and was partially refundable. The long awaited Spiti trip was locked in.

Why do the trip in December when you do not usually get snow during this time?

A lot of friends asked me about this. I did not have an option. I knew it will most likely not snow in December in Spiti and I will end up doing a dry drive in cold. A lot of them smirked too at my foolishness - doing something like this in December is stupid - since its cold and you do not get to see much more than what you will see in the summer. Why go through this hardship? But I had no option. A sure-shot snow drive would mean going in Jan-March and I did not have that luxury due to work commitments. So it had to be December. And the urge to go through something extreme (which started post Zanskar trip) was always there - so I mentally accepted the fact that this will be tough trip - cold and harsh - and if luck would have it, I will get snow. If not, it was alright. Nevertheless, I did start tracking the weather and there were some predictions but by December 19-20, all predictions for snow were quashed and a dry winter was mostly confirmed. I checked with OLT2019 and they said there will be no snow and snow chains are not needed. Just chill. Lol! I should have realized that OLT2019 is not very experienced and professional and should have relied more on my intuition (more on this later).

Continue reading BHPian Pancham's post for more insights and information.