Behind the Scenes of Organizing a Successful Trek

"Sunglasses? Check!"

"Backpack? Check!"

"Flight tickets? Check!"

When you are busy checking every item on your checklist for a trek, the TTH team is braced to make your trek a memorable one.

Have you ever wondered, what is trek organizing? What does it take to make a successful trek?

Get a sneak peek into the workings of the TTH team...for the first time...!

So these are the entries on their checklist.

1. Getting a Trail Going to a Beautiful Summit

Before anything, the trek location must be finalized. The trial analysis is called recce in the adventure world. Recce includes investigation of the entire route, literally, step by step. Finding out water sources, camping sites, resting points, emergency exits, network availability, checking forest permits, and medical help modes, are some of the common consideration points during a recce. If you have ever been on a trek, you would know the importance of local guides and helpers. The guides, local helpers, porters, mules, yaks, etc. are decided right at this time.

All the above management is considered as per all the seasons. It happens a lot of times, that the water source chosen in summer freezes in winter, therefore alternatives are planned during this phase only. "We usually send 2-3 trusted people who are aware of the location for a recce. The most difficult task is finding a water source near the kitchen tent, for all the seasons. If there is no water source nearby then we have to carry water," says Rakesh, co-founder of TTH.

The Trek then is opened for trekkers to register. Based on the number of registrations, further logistics are orchestrated.

2. Getting the Materials

Once the trek location is finalized and a rough idea about the number of trekkers is known, then begins the actual preparation. Arrangements for every small and big thing are made. As per the calculation, the grocery is sent to the base camp. Along with ration, all other apparatus like gas, cylinders, and utensils are also transported. This checklist is checked by the store manager and also by the cooking staff, to serve you delicious food on the trek.

Another major section of the luggage includes equipment and gear like tents, sleeping bags, and emergency tools. "We keep updating the design of sleeping bags. Before issuing the final ones to trekkers, our trek leaders use them. They are tested by them at different altitudes, and temperatures, inside the tent, and outside the tent. Only after proper assurance, do we finalize a design and print our logo on them, perfectly good to be used by trekkers. The same applies to tents and other things," says Sandeep, co-founder of TTH.

Before and after every trek these necessary objects are checked for faults. If found, they are immediately removed for repairs. "I remember having a session with our team, where we were discussing the improvement of stretcher design. While carrying a casualty on a stretcher, the stretcher starts degrading, of course, due to uneven terrain. We sat together with our team to get their ideas and suggested a new design," recalls Sandeep.

3. Getting the Trekkers

All the things on the field? Checked! Next, come the trekkers, for whom these provisions are made. "My work timings are from 12 am-12 pm. Yes, I am not kidding! Trekkers arrive at any time, at 3 in the morning, daytime, or late at night. I arrange transport for them accordingly. Not only trekkers but also for our store luggage," says Rajat, Transport Manager. "I feel happy that I am the first and the last person, a trekker communicates with. I always hope for happy faces when the trekkers leave."

4. During the Trek

How expert a manager could be, or how perfect a team could be, things will never work as expected in the mountains. There are always some unknowns during the trek. Running out of kitchen items, spilling water in a salt pack, spilling kerosene on rice bags, breaking tents due to winds, cloud outbursts, injuries, the list is never-ending. Probably that is the real test of how strong a team is!

No technology can ever predict the actual weather in the mountains, hence being prepared is the only choice. Apart from being prepared, the team's immediate responsiveness always proves as a savior.

The trek leader is the one who has to be aware...all the time. Trek leaders are like the heroes of a trek. They keep strong coordination between the trekkers and the rest of the team. Sometimes, they have to act smart, sometimes innocent, sometimes caring, and sometimes strict.

The cooking staff and helpers are the sleepless members! They work day-night, preparing dish after dish for breakfast, lunch, evening snacks, and dinner. They wake up at 4 in the morning to prepare breakfast items to be served at 5-6 am. Sometimes wake early to make the packed lunch. They pack up the campsite and leave after the trekkers. Yet have to pace up so that they arrive before trekkers, to serve refreshments to the tired participants. And the cycle goes on unless the trek is complete.

A base camp manager is passively active for immediate assistance. It could be sudden arrangements of groceries, helpers, or gear; he is the go-to person. He is the bridge to communicate with the locals. "Of course, it is a difficult job to manage everything from nonliving things to living humans. Worst is when there is no network for communication," iterates Harinder, Base Camp Manager.

Especially, when the weather gets unfavorable, the entire team becomes active for the safety of trekkers. "The entire staff sometimes wakes in shifts at night to clear the snow from the trekker's tents," says Sandeep. "I clearly remember this funny incident of Roopkund Trek. At Patar Nachuani, there was a sudden downpour, just before we could reach and set up tents. All were rushed inside a small hut here. Imagine 30-40 people in a small hut with heavy rainfall outside. Our staff then stood with sleeping mats partitioning the hut into 2 parts. One section where the kitchen staff started preparing hot tea and other where participants were changing," laughs Sandeep.

We have an enormous number of such weird incidents. These seem comical now but in reality, these are the heroic deeds of the team. You might have heard of the team members going out of their way during a rescue. Rescue operations deserve another huge article. The stories and efforts put in by everyone are humongous. "We provide high-quality safety and emergency evacuation of the victims. This is one of the most prominent reasons why we are notable in the adventure field. All of us are out of sleep until the patient is reached the hospital," states Rakesh.

5. Getting Back Home

It has become a tradition to serve exquisite dishes after the summit attempt. Along with preparing regular food, the cooking staff excitedly serve an additional delicious dish. When you are getting ready to retrace the steps of the return journey, the entire staff is busy packing up things. The trek leaders are busy preparing a souvenir for you. Filling up your name on the achievement certificate as well as recalculating the trek expenses, and winding up stuff.

The remaining staff start packing up the setup. The most important task of clearing the campsite is collecting waste. The accumulated waste is secured properly, to be disposed of in the base village or nearby Municipal Corporation. TTH supports the Green Trails project, under which the trekking sites are cleaned. The garbage is then carried to the base village for disposal.

"Even after the trek is complete, we cannot take a sigh of relief until the trekkers reach to airport or stations that take them back home," says Sandeep. "A trek is never successful until trekkers reach home safely."

6. Getting Reviews

"Customer reviews are like a report card of your performance. Their feedback is of utmost importance to any company. We honor their good and bad comments," states Rakesh.

"It is difficult to answer bad feedback, especially when trekkers complain if they were sent back due to ill health. It is like a debate of life vs money with them," giggles Laxmi, a member of the Sales team.

Yet, some of the stunning captures of the trekkers make everybody realize that everything was worth it. Hence gives the motivation to come back...!

7. Getting Ready for the Next Trek

Despite all the hardships in organizing a trek, the entire team wakes up fresh and energetic to face another batch of trekkers. "We finish everything on a positive note and get started for the next trek's preparation," cheers the entire team.

Next time you are checking your checklist for a trek, remember somebody else is also checking the checklist...!