Added to the stresses of the terrain are the rigors of performing at high altitude. However, most competitors seemed largely unaffected - perhaps driving up gradually gives the body enough time to acclimatize. With that said, a simple task like changing a tire at 18,000 feet can turn into a Herculean one, despite the help of some bottled oxygen (which again is mandated).

This year, thankfully, the weather didn't play spoilsport as it's done in the past, which is not to say that it was pleasant. With the wind chill factored in, it apparently dropped to minus 25 degrees C - no joy for the bikers on those early morning stages. What made it worse for them was the need to keep their visors slightly open in order to avoid their breath from freezing on the inside of their visors. In a similar incident, although one in which the occupants were slightly more comfortable, the autoXchange Gypsy was slowed somewhat by a water splash that sprayed water onto the windshield. Despite being in direct sunlight, the water then proceeded to freeze before the wipers could have any impact, impeding visibility as you can well imagine. Needless to say, none of this was made any easier by 6 AM starts most mornings, which of course translated to 4 AM wake up calls.

So unless you lose a serious bet, why would someone voluntarily put themselves and their machines through such multifaceted trauma? As the Head of the Indian Mountaineering Institute said in his speech at conclusion of the event, “When you're in the middle of the Raid or perhaps even a mountaineering expedition, you think to yourself, why on earth am I doing this, but as soon as its over, you think, how on earth am I going to wait a full year before doing this all over again.” Proof that his point resonated with the participants was the huge round of applause he received for pointing out exactly what everyone had thought at one point or another during an extremely grueling week.

At the end of the day, it was truly the experience of a lifetime, after which it eventually dawns on you that you've completed, and perhaps even done reasonably well, in the world's highest, and conceivably toughest, race.

The Raid is a fantastic excuse, if ever one is needed, to embark on such an adventure - thank you Himalayan Motorsports.