Desperation sets in when you are just about a hundred and fifty miles from the beauties and still can’t wink at them. On a hazy warm morning at Mukteshwar (6,700ft) when mist was floating over Nanda Devi and its ridge connecting the two peaks, West and East, I surrendered to blind tricks with the camera, fooling with aperture and exposure. Of the ten-odd frames shot with a handheld zoom this is all I can share. Thermals and the particulate matter rising from the valley floor drift towards the mountains and meet the cool air midway creating a cloudy blanket. Kumaon Himal.