Nehru Institutue of Mountaineering - Basic Mountaineering Course - Part 1

This past March while traveling in India I decided to go on a month long Basic Mountaineering Course in the Indian Himalaya.  Why in India you ask?  Why not...  I have been an avid hiker for years, but one thing that has always appealed to me were the mountains.  And where on Earth can you find the most bad ass mountains??  In the Himalaya of course!  So with my mind set on finding a mountaineering course somewhere in the Himalayan mountains I began researching my options.  Turns out there are a number of world renowned mountaineering institutes in India and Nepal, go figure... Eventually I settle on the very official sounding Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in Uttarkashi, Uttrakhand.  I am told that I am welcome to join, and that the course will be comprised of 2 foreigners and 70 Indians.  Right then I knew that this is going to be one hella interesting journey...

Rope 8

Finally the day arrives, and after 6 hours traveling by train from Delhi to Haridwar I hop on a bus for the bone shaking ride to Uttarkashi, deep in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand.  I get in to town and start asking people if they know where this place is.  Nobody has any idea what I'm talking about.  Now it's a pretty small town, and the institute is well known, I figure surely somebody should know where it is.  Still nothing.  Eventually I ask "Do you know where NIM is??"  Maybe they know it by it's abbreviation.  Blank stares, and now I'm starting to worry...  Eventually, after asking maybe the tenth person I get frustrated and say "How do you not know where NIM is???  You know, N.I.M!!  Ahhh, he says, N.I.M, why didn't you say so!  He then leads me around a corner to a waiting bus with NIM splashed all over it.  Friggin India...
Day 1 - The guys I have met are pretty cool so far.  I'd say about half can speak English, the other half are from the military.  Turns out a lot of units send soldiers here to get their mountaineering training.  My true trial by fire begins when I am assigned a bed, only to find rat droppings all over the pillow.  No big deal I think, I was in the army myself, I can handle some grossness.  I gather my sheets and go to the quartermaster to exchange them, but he doesn't want to, they are low on sheets.  Now I consider myself tough enough, but hells no I ain't sleeping on rat shit sheets!  Eventually they replace them when they realize that I'm not going to back down.  I tell my roommates the sordid tale, expecting a bit of sympathy, but they aren't really surprised, in fact they say it's all part of the course.  What have I gotten myself into...   
So far my assumptions have proven me an ass, per usual.  I can pay with a credit card right??  Nope, cash only.  I walk down to the lone ATM in town and pray it will let me take out 30,000 Rupis at once.  It lets me get the money all right, but only in 500 Rupi notes!  30K in 500's is a lot of bills stuffed down your pants, I can tell you that much.  Well at least the classes are mostly in English right?  Wrong again...  For every 20 minutes in Hindi there are maybe 2 minutes in English.  At least my rope (group) mates are willing to help translate.  Obviously we will get hot showers though, I mean that's a given right?  Guess again.  Freezing cold showers, and the temperature is dropping every second.  They really aren't kidding when they say don't assume...
Day 2 - Our first full day starts bright and early at 5:30.  Our schedule is as follows: tea, then PT (physical training), followed by tea, then a lecture, then you guessed it, tea.  I'm only slightly exaggerating, but they really really like their tea here.  Also on the agenda, souvenir buying.  Souvenir buying?!?  I just got here, I don't need a souvenir yet!  Turns out the souvenir shop also stocks gloves and hats and whatnot.  Still, I thought it was funny.  We are also confronted with our first truly important choice. Which meal plan do we want for the duration of the course: veg, non-veg, or the ever popular eggetarian.  Food is great so far, but is basically the same every day.  Omelet for breakfast, then rice and dahl (lentils) for lunch and dinner, sometimes with some meat thrown in for us non-veggies.  Tastes great, but can I really eat rice and dahl twice a day for a month?!  I guess I' just going to have to find out.

Day 4 - Started with early morning PT per usual.  Some of these guys are starting to fall apart already, what's going to happen on the mountain??  Had a couple lectures, including one on mountain etiquette.  "If you get lost, just ask someone where you are."  WOW, that's way better than using a map and compass, I should have thought of that one earlier.  At least we started practicing some rock climbing techniques.  They have a pretty nice climbing wall, and tomorrow we hike over to Tekla Rocks, where we will begin practicing our climbing skills outdoors.  I can't wait.