The noontime temperature in early spring was 10 below, but the sun was bright enough to rapidly turn an exposed nose the color of a radish. Sweat is a problem because it becomes ice in a soldier's gloves and socks. Frostbite is then quick with its work. Even after a day's exertion, most soldiers have little appetite at these heights. Rations come out of tin cans.
Fresh produce is rare.
Despite the hardships, both sides report an oversupply of volunteers. Stints in Siachen usually last three months or less. Mohammad Shafique, a Pakistani. While many people in India and Pakistan hope for rapprochement, others merely heap fresh animosity upon the old. Evil is presumed.