An Indian Express team begins a trek to Siachen and keeps you posted, every day.

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The sixth day in Leh, the Army's high altitude medical specialist told us, was the crucial test that would decide whether we would catch the next flight back home or proceed to trek up the world's coldest battlefield.

So, on the morning of the sixth day, the daily medical examinations were even more dreaded than usual. For the four members of the expedition whose blood pressure levels were inching towards "unacceptable" over the past few days, the evening before the tests was spent on trying out local remedies.

The bus driver assured us that a dose of garlic in the evening before the test would work wonders. A fauji on the expedition, however, swore by his bottle of Old Monk rum. A veteran trekker had his own formula of one liter of water per hour and complete rest followed by regular visits to the washroom.

Accordingly, the motley bunch of "high BP" members set out to try the remedies. The first casualties of the local cures were other members of the expedition who had to endure the smell of Garlic during a four hour ride to the Pangong Lake.

Of course, the other remedy of drinking excessive water mandated a series of stops along the way that stretched the journey to a good five hours. Thankfully, the bottle of rum did not cause harm as it was confiscated by the expedition leader before it could be opened.

... contd.