The Moments of No Return

The Moments of No Return

Part-1:

The Hand-Held Rescue:

17 years ago, a then-young tourist went for a trekking from Gangotri towards Kedar Tal in Garhwal. They stayed overnight at an avalanche-prone camping site named Bhoj Kharak. Next morning they were supposed to move-ahead but at dawn got completely engulfed in a white-out (a familiar phenomenon at heights where white dense cotton-like cloud masses rises from the lower valley and gradually fills up the upper valley. These forms potential thunder-heads and later on may further intensify in heavy snowfall).

The tourist got panicked and nervous. Fortunately he had an experienced Garwhali guide who coolly judged the situation, calmly held the hand of the tourist and said..”Sir, no problem at all, nothing doing, we are going down to Gangotri now itself. It’ll snow heavily ahead and I’ll not take you there with me. It’ll be risky for both you and myself as well. Alone I can come back, but not with you. I understood your panic. We’ll go down, rest assured, as long as I am with you, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Anyway they went down safely, in between there were some hiccups, some slippages on slippery glaciers as the visibility was near-zero and the tourist was nervous, but once the guide, and in one occasion the porter saved  the tourist.

Finally after they descended to Gangotri, the tourist was furious. It was all bright sunny there. The sky is hazy blue. The ominous mass of cloud which they encountered at 12000 feet elevation now looks so innocuous-looking floating mass of usual autumn-cloud floating listlessly in the blue sky, it’s hard to believe that the same cloud could have caused a potential fatal consequence for all. Oblivious of his predicament a few hours before, the tourist started blaring to the guide “You rascal, idiot, Garhwali cheat..!! You knew very well that it’s nothing, no problem, it could have cleared a few moments afterwards, no snow, no weather problem, but you were in a hurry, you robbed me a life-time chance to see Kedar Taal but you’ll charge my full money, paisa to wapaas nehi karoge, will you return the money?? You people are..** …..” et al.

The guide was a veteran of many expeditions (he left GMVN long-back and currently based in Swiss Alps). He listened coolly, composed, absorbed everything. When the tourist finished, he stood up and gently pointed out to the distance in deep mountains from where they descended a while ago. The mass of cloud has already blackened at distance. Then moving towards the tourist he replied…..

“Look Sir, a few hours ago we were inside that cloud. You were covered all around in white-out, your visibility was zero, you were feeling helpless, trembling, panting, nervous. Had you been alone, you would have been frozen to death by now, or would have turned delirious and jumped yourself out in the deep gorge out there. There was no escape for you. At that height when it snows heavily – you see it has already blackened – snow has started already – and it was one of the most treachereous route with deep gorge at one side and no track on the steep hill-slope, you yourself slipped twice – had there been no hand-holding for you today, you would have met your own fate – and that was a sure and certain death by now.

But now, as you are out of danger, holding my finger you came out of it, you are seeing the danger from a distance, detached from its consequences, you are now seeing the brighter, positive side of it, the beauty of it and ruing the loss of not seeing what you missed; and firing the very same man who have saved you, rescued you from a helpless situation a few whiles ago.  But I don’t blame you. You plainspeople are always like this, you don’t know what we in hills say – Never believe the 3 Ws (Wine, Women and Weather). I rescued countless people like you from such hopeless situations and when we came out, I got only gaalis like what you are giving to me now. Sir, it’s very easy to feel helpless and clueless when you are ALONE in a hopeless situation. It’s also equally easy to pass judgments, give advice and show expertise from a safe distance once when you either came out of the danger or when you have never experienced such hopeless situations. Trust your hand-holders and always keep one in your life. People like you will always need us for your own survival.”