Valley crossing

4th March 2006

Valley crossing at Nagphani, between Duke’s nose and Dutch’s nose.
(Dukes and dutches are considered husband and wife.)
It seems 2 years ago a couple got wedded in between the valley hanging on pulleys.
Must have been some wild wedding! Hope the adventure is lasting through their marriage.

The concept of valley crossing came up when mountaineers wanted to quicken their expedition. Earlier when mountaineers had to cross two mountains they had to climb one and descend and again climb the next to cross. This consumed a lot of time. But by crossing the valley using the pulley mechanism reduced their time.

Although for the process they need to set up the equipment. One of the members has to go up to the other mountain and set up the ropes and pulleys.
First they need to fasten the ropes to trees and rocks at both ends. Then attach the pulleys. Now the ropes need to be in equal tension for the pulley to pass from one end to the other with the weight of a member hanging. The members need to ensure their harness is in place and their pulley in control.

My experience was wild enough. It was about 200 feet of distance between the dukes and dutches. Most of the members had a smooth cross.

Nagphani is about 30 minutes from Lonavala station.
The view from atop nagphani is amazing.
And the view of the valley down between dukes and dutches was a great sight.
We could also sight the Mumbai express highway hanging between the valleys!