The Himalaya Outbound Program has been a part of IIM Indore curriculum since 2010. However, every year the places visited by the students have changed. Last year, our seniors went to places such as Musoorie, Dalhousie, Shimla and Nainital. Save for the last place, the other spots chosen for our batch this time were of greater height and trekking potential. The batch was split into 4 groups with three groups visiting the exotic locations in Uttarkhand – Bedni Bugyal, Dayara Bugyal and Kedakanta. The 4
th group was sent to Nainital. The choice of the place to be visited was left up to the students and was given on a FCFS basis. With the batch being as adventurous as it is, Nainital tended to be the last preference for many!
The hikes were arranged in coordination with India Hikes, a relatively new trekking organisation. Every group had to trek for 3 days with rafting scheduled on the 5
th day. Since many of these places required long-distances to be travelled by road, almost an entire day went in that.
A usual itinerary would be as follows:
6:30am – Wake up and Bed-Tea (a lovely concept where tea was brought straight to you to energise you)
7-8am – Breakfast
8-8:30am – Pack belongings
8:30am – Start trek
The trek could last anywhere between 2 – 6 hours depending on the speed of the group. With each group consisting of 9 members, average time tended to be around 4-5 hours. In order to make the treks more fun, a ‘Race-to-the-Top’ game was arranged by India Hikes wherein each team was given India Hikes currency which could be used to help them get to the top first. This could mean ‘purchasing’ a guide instead of a map, who would show you the way faster or offloading your luggage onto a mule and travelling light. There were also various activities scheduled for the last day that required the team to put on their thinking hats and come up with innovative solutions in limited time. An example is a newsletter that had to contain stories and interviews about that trip or a video highlighting the purpose and end-results of the trip. India Hikes currency was given to the winning team and the team that returned with the largest amount won the race.
For the three places – Dayara, Bedni and Kedarkanta, every day the group would trek to new heights and set base camps there. More details about the different base camps can be seen
here. At the new base camps, activities such as collecting firewood, cooking food with limited resources etc were planned for the teams as a way to win more India Hikes currency.
The end-result was that every team learnt a lot about group dynamics, team-support and just basically working as a team knowing the strengths and weaknesses. There were many instances where a stronger person would carry the bags of a more tired team-mate or team-members would cheer on their own team. Similarly, if a team member was too tired and had to rest, the entire team would stay back and help that member. New friendships were forged in this manner and everyone returned having learnt about responsibility from a new angle.
Such learning can easily be translated into corporate life where the entire organisation is one team and can only go as fast as its own strengths and weaknesses allow it to. Whether it’s setting up a game-plan that accounts for potential slip-ups or staying focused and determined on your planned path – many such lessons come out in a unique way in the Himalayas. Students also welcomed the break from the usual grind that allowed them to breathe in the fresh mountain air and get plenty of exercise! Such an exercise is a very valuable and unique section of the IIM Indore curriculum and is an enormous asset to the program.
- Sent by Riya Ghoshal from the IIM Indore Media Committee
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