lynsandtone wrote:1) When is the best time of year, to experience some snow on the mountain, but hot weather lower down ?
Mid to late May, or early June. The "prime" time to climb Stok Kangri is usually given as mid-July to mid-August. But usually by that time, there won't be much snow up there.
lynsandtone wrote:2) Is it possible to visit the area and climb independently ?
Yes you can. It might help to have a porter/man with a donkey/mule carry your stuff up to base camp though. My friend and I tried to do it all by ourselves in May, but got turned around as my friend got sick. We had planned a trip of ~8 days.
lynsandtone wrote:3) Will I need a permit, some websites suggest I would but others suggest not ?
Foreign nationals will need to get a permit for ANY peak in India. Stok Kangri is a trekking peak, and hence the permit fees are much lower than for other peaks, for which they most often require that you be part of an "expedition". Again, since its a trekking peak, you could climb by yourselves (i.e., no need for expedition leader, liaison officer etc.), but you will have to get a permit. I don't know the details of current permit fees, and it looks like the web site of the Indian Mountaineering Federation is down as they have not renewed the domain name
.lynsandtone wrote:4) We will be spending some time in Delhi, post climb, so we'll have a mixture of clothing that we don't really want to cart around Ladakh, is it possible to deposit some stuff at the airport in Delhi, for collection later ?
I don't have any useful info on this topic, but I'm guessing there should be lockers available in Delhi airport. Alternately, if you're planning to stay in a hotel in Delhi, drop your stuff off there before you head to Ladakh. They'll be happy to hold it for you for no extra charge. I would rather do that than use lockers.
Have fun in Ladakh, and post a TR when you come back!
