9 Mar 2018 4 min to read
Blog-Memories of A Midnight Rescue in Everest. Few people are as excited about their choice of profession and their commitment to it as Badri Prasad Aryal, the tour guide, and accountant of Outdoor Himalayan Treks. Mr. Aryal hails from a picturesque village in Nepal that sits at the bank of the Trishuli River in Nuwakot District. He entered into tourism as a trekking guide in 2005 A D, trekking extensively with his guests for several years. Meanwhile, he completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce and promoted himself to a tour guide cum accountant in the company.
A man with a good sense of humor, and a quiet, pleasant personality; Mr. Aryal’s hobbies match perfectly with his profession. He loves traveling, making friends, as well as studying and knowing about the history and culture of different countries. Over the years, he has developed workable French, German, and Italian except for his fluent English. What glues Mr. Aryal into this profession is the opportunity provided by it to meet and chat with people from different countries of the world. Their history and stories from their personal life allure him. He shares the same with them, and feels proud about making the important tourist destinations, the history, culture, and geography of Nepal known over the world.
In his opinion, good infrastructures, smart and informative guides, clean and well-planned cities, as well as renovation of historical places, are needed for promoting tourism in Nepal. Stability and peace also play big roles in this respect. For everyone visiting Nepal, the must-see and must-be places he recommends are the Annapurna region, especially Poonhill; Everest Base Camp; and Pokhara valley. He is married to Durga and they have a son.
Mr. Aryal has many memorable stories to share from his life. Among them, he recounts this one from 2007 very vividly, in which he had saved a member from a group of 4 Spanish trekkers bound for Everest Base Camp from AMS, carrying her on his back to low altitude and arranging for helicopter rescue:
In October 2007, I was leading a group of 4 young and physically fit trekkers from Spain. The trek was going well till Gorakshep, the town situated at the height of 5180 meters above sea level. We had dinner and slept early as we had to wake up early morning the next day to see the sunrise view from Kalapatthar.
My group was sleeping but I was talking with other guide friends. Suddenly I heard some sounds from my guests’ room. Mr. Alejo came to the dining room in rush and told me that Maria started to vomit and had a headache. Then I immediately entered the room and found that Maria was feeling sick. I called other of my friends (porters) and asked for their help to descend to some low altitude. I and Lakpa brought her out of the room and took turns carrying her on our back down to Lobuche (4910 meters).
She slowly got better and stopped vomiting. It was already midnight when reached there. I knocked on the door of a hotel and requested to provide a room and some drinks like hot water and some soup. The hotel owner helped us. She could not sleep well but spent the night there.
The next morning I found her very tired and weak, so I called my office and asked for more advice. Then, my office managers talked to her insurance company and arranged the emergency evacuation. It took a couple of hours for the helicopter to arrive. She was lifted and brought down to Kathmandu and admitted to a tourist-class hospital where she was kept for 4 nights. She then got better and was discharged.
On the other hand, 2 of the other travelers were taken care of by Nima. They went to Kalapathhar and enjoyed the panoramic view with sunrise over the high mountains including Mt. Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Pumori, etc. I met with them and walked down to Lukla and took a flight to Kathmandu.
Once I arrived in Kathmandu, I found Maria and Alejo waiting at the airport for our flight. She hugged me and thanked me for saving her life. I guided them to a few places in Kathmandu after the trek. She has been in contact with me even nowadays and recalls the event and thanks me. The memories of a midnight rescue in Everest is still fresh in her minds.
