Eleven TVS Scooty Zest 110s conquer Khardung La
We climb. We always climb. As a race we climb. And at OVERDRIVE, we love it when the passes open in the summer and we get the chance to return to Ladakh. And so it was this year also. But this time we were going to ride one of our favourite scooters of recent times, the TVS Scooty Zest 110.
But the story isn't as straightforward as you think. Because we weren't alone. TVS was sending a gaggle of Zest-mounted girls, and we were following their journey. Team leader was Anam Hashim, a young stunter from Lucknow. She did a longer tour in the same region last year â€"â€" known as the Himalayan High Season 1.
The plan was simple. We would start at Mandi, cross the high passes that lurk between Manali and Leh before crossing the fearsome Khardung La into the Nubra Valley. And then all that remained was to cross the Khardung La once more and end in Leh where we would surrender our brown Himalayan edition Scooty Zest.
The TVS Scooty Zest 110 was our Scooter Of The Year, and we love it for its effervescent nature and the spring in its step. Powered by a 110cc engine that it shares with TVS' other scooters, the Zest wears its lightweight and lower gearing rather well, and it really is a delight in the urban cut and thrust.
But how was it going to fare in the mountains? How far were we pushing the wee scooter out of its comfort zone and would it make it?
Anam seemed fairly confident, "I didn't have any problems last year. The Zest climbed all the passes without any issues." We noted at this point that Ms Hashim weighed a scant 46kg and climbing high passes with our considerably greater girth was going to be a completely different challenge.
But leaving Mandi for Manali, the Zest seemed to sense our fears and work hard at allaying them. The low gearing which gives the Zest strong acceleration up to about 60kmph - perfect for the urban riding cycle - also gives the TVS the ability to handle slopes.
On the reasonably good roads between Mandi and Manali, we re-familiarised ourselves with the bubbly little scooter. As did the girls. Many of them ride motorcycles and a few ride scooters. All of them commented on how cheerful the scooter appeared to be. The Zest is far from the ploddy, utilitarian machines that many scooters find hard to exceed in role and personality.
The real test lay on the other side of Rohtang though. A chap on a motorcycle stopped to chat. "Seriously? Leh? On that?" He said laughing. Er, yes... "Well, my brave friend, let me just say that lots of molten chocolate awaits you!"
What he meant was that the climb down to Sharmaji's (think meat-rice) at Khoksar was an utter and complete disaster. Between the broken roads, stones and rain, it was just endless wet mud that we had to traverse. We even had to stop for a BRO 'dozer to clear a small landslide.
While more suspension travel would have been welcome, the Zest seemed unfazed. There was a bit of sliding about and many of the ladies (and ourselves) had legs out as outriggers multiple times, but our TVS scooters were proving to be effective and feeling very robust, indeed.
The run into Jispa for the second night halt was almost a routine run - that's how easy the scooter made the going feel.
But then came the first of many warnings: "The roads past Baralach La are in terrible shape. You're so gonna hate it tomorrow."
Baralach La itself is far from an easy pass to cross. At nearly 16,000 feet above sea level, it's a deceptively unthreatening pass. The only clue you get is the climb which seems to go on for a long time. And the fact that it seems to lead the fatality statistics from the front.
At a chai stop at Deepak Taal, Garima Kapoor, from Lucknow said, "This feels so much lighter than my scooter back home. I cut through traffic on that so fast; the TVS Scooty Zest will be insane!"
All the levity stopped at the Baralach La top though. We felt the lack of oxygen, and shortly thereafter the lack of tarmac as well. The roads felt like the Himalayas had chewed them up and spat them out. Arriving at Bharatpur, our lunch stop was a relief. It also meant that we were halfway to Sarchu, our stop for the day.
Sarchu is a 14,000-foot camp that's actively malicious. You reach amidst bright sunlight and heat and think, "Well this is pleasant!" But as soon as the sun sets, the wind picks up, the temperature plummets and you feel a palpable lack of oxygen immediately. The cold, the incessant flapping of the tent and the lack of air is a depressing triple whammy.
It was a great relief that no one seemed too badly affected by Sarchu the following morning. This was unusual. Literally 2km later, we would officially enter Ladakh and that would change.
Turns out a truck had displaced metal plates on a bridge and blocked it. The alternative was a deep-water crossing with fast-flowing, supercold water. It took us nearly 3 hours to get through one scooter at a time. Between feet aching from the cold water, the lack of oxygen and the sheer effort of the crossing, it felt like we'd just climbed a mountain. Except that we were still to hit the first of two passes for the day!
The Zests, though, were troopers. They climbed handily out of the valley and headed, post-lunch, towards our next stop, Pang.
We crossed the two passes without incident. The first was Nakee La which is always overshadowed by the slightly higher Lachulung La that comes up right after it. The convoy only stopped for eats and drinks, and our little Zests manfully handled what can only be described as endless hours of punishment.
We tried everything. Slow down for the rocky roads. Which produced hard hits that had the kidneys begging for mercy. Sped up to try and skim the surface. This worked better until the succession of hits would cause the forks to stop suspending, and you'd have to back off to allow them to work once again.
Then nearing Pang, the roads changed to a smoother, sandy consistency. The first slides were scary. The next few were provoked and thoroughly enjoyed. We arrived at Pang super thrilled at how unfazed the scooters were in the face of the terrain. Happily enough, the girls had also shrugged off a couple of falls, and all the scooters were now filthy but running happily.
The size of the engine did show up on the slopes, naturally. Some of the steeper slopes would only allow 25kmph, for example. But the flip side was that we all got to see more of the terrain and the incredible scenery. Riding faster machines tends to narrow your focus to the road and the scenery sort of blurs by.
It was the run between Sarchu and Pang that convinced us that the little Zest and all of the girls would make it to the top of Khardung La without drama.
The Zests duly dispatched the endless climb up to the top of Tanglang La and then we smoothly zoomed into Leh. Phew.
The climb up to Khardung La was going to be hard work though. "They're widening the road for tanks, and there are sections where you're literally riding over freshly cut mountain."
Despite the dire warnings, the climb wasn't so bad. The weather was clear, the water crossings nearly dry, and we even tried standing up and riding using the pillion pegs. The Zest seemed at ease with all this even though the altitude and the slopes were costing us speed.
Gasping for breath at the top of the pass, speed was the last thing on our minds though. Envy was â€"â€" we all wished our Zests didn't make it look so effortless. At 18,000 feet above mean sea level, there is 40 per cent less oxygen and that seemed to affect us a lot more than the wee Zest. Breathless hugs exchanged, two million selfies taken, we embarked on the uneventful but visually jaw-dropping run through the beautiful Nubra Valley into Diskit and then the run back into Leh crossing Khardung La once more.
It wasn't until our last night in Leh, scooters surrendered that the true magnitude of what we had just managed sank in.
We had just taken a small, urban-focussed scooter across some of the highest mountain passes on earth. We had fought our way through bad terrain, a lack of oxygen as well as the sheer hour after hour pummelling that body and scooter both receive in this region.
And we were all feeling worse for the wear too. But our little Scootys? They just climbed on enthusiastically and tenaciously. They really did live up to their name, eh?
Images by Ishaan Bhataiya
Also see:
Image gallery: TVS Himalayan Highs Season 2
TVS Himalayan Highs Season 2 in India Book of Records
2014 TVS Scooty Zest India first ride
Comparison: Mahindra Gusto vs Suzuki Let's vs TVS Scooty Zest 110