Manaslu Dairies: Part 2 - If I Die Up There, Promise Me Of No Circus Rescuing My Body!

Autumn 2015 – Everest Base Camp Autumn in the Khumbu region of the greater Himalaya is the finest season for trekking. At the Namche check post, a signboard displays “You are Entering the Heaven on Earth”. No exaggeration, the route to Sagarmatha region is truly the heaven on earth. My first unanticipated impossible achievement was to scale up to 5580 meters as a naïve first timer; all alone into a strange place at the world’s end/beginning, a step closer to the sky filled me with high positive spirits. II saw this vast mountain called Everest – sometimes exalted as Chomolungma – The Mother Goddess of the World. I found a new introduction of progress called exploration. I met scientists, meteorology researchers studying phenomena of precipitation for the high altitude weather forecast. The intriguing profound conversations with them over the fireplace and research work published by a couple of scientists provoked me. And on the 2nd of November 2015 the seed of an explorer was sowed deep inside me that grew only stronger with time, stronger enough to leave behind/drop off everything in search of exploring myself/ my ambitions/dreams or establishing a name of my own or making my name as a recognition? Or a fear/desire to fair in the toughest possible thing… Even I am not sure…

High in mountain madness with confounded pride feeling for being the first man in my extended family and friends to witness the Mt Everest by naked eyes, I hiked back to this mysterious town called Lukla. This town hosts the world’s cutest airport. As usual, the fireplace discussions began at the overnight stay lodge where I precisely remember a few specific faces embarrassed by my jubilant expression.

I met a man there on that day Mr Temba Bhote of Makalu region. He was returning from Ama Dablam along with his client, an 84year old Señor Carlos Soria upon their successful summit. Temba is an 8000er, he climbed more than six 8 km mountains with six times the mighty Mt Everest by that time. I was astonished, my excitement ceased in a split second only to kick start at a higher level.

I was pretty sure the toughness and strength of this Sherpa are exponentially higher than my single Kalapathar. However, he was super humble and equally excited with my little first achievement. His job is to guide his clients to the summits and collect high altitude ice samples for a research company. I sat alongside the real hero Mr Temba and keenly followed his words describing his client’s story, an 84-year-old man with a mission to climb all 14 8000meter peaks. By autumn 2021, Señor Carlos had completed 13 of them. The 14th Mountain Dhaulagiri is still unfinished, his 10th attempt.

Suddenly, the world looked even more fantastic. The exposure for a fortnight that autumn changed many notions and my lifestyle. I decided to pursue and explore mountaineering (Not an easy task). This man Temba Dai is an important and influential man in my life who have introduced a new me to me.

Cut - SIX year later Autumn 2021 - Manaslu Expedition

While acclimatisation training, before departure from the base camp, I, though, innocently but affirmatively asked him;- “Dai, in this fitness rotation, I am going up to 7000meters. Why not we push for the summit further in a single shot”. I saw this weird expression on his face and he said, – “dude”, “Sapne mat Dekho. Don’t try to be a hero. This altitude is different”. The very next moment, I realised how immature my thought was.

Manaslu : The simple facts about the climb.

Fingers crossed – On a fixed-line scaling, this mountain becomes a little comfortable provided:
a. There are no avalanches between Camp 1 and Camp 2: Icefall, six vertical jumaring sections, two ladders and a long overhang
b. No newly formed crevasses from Camp 2 to camp 3 : A colossal crevasse separates the camp into two parts. Make sure the jump across is accurate. Alt: 6500m
c. No sudden wind blizzards in camp 3(6800m), which could wipe out the entire rake of the icefall: Thin air and breathlessness sensation begins here.
d. No blue ice from Camp 3 to Camp 4: Wind and the weather behaviour can form blue ice in this section. Such seasons would be nightmarish. An overhang near the C4 entrance would vacuum the air out of your lungs.
e. Pray for the intact overhang: This section just below camp4 is prominent to collapse any time.

These are only the weather and climatic conditions. What happens inside the human body is another story. Even if I make it up to C4, overcoming all the above-said obstacles, human lungs are not prepared to inhale the thin cold air after a certain altitude. The process of getting used to the thin air is called the acclimatisation. And the preparation is simple: Climb high and sleep low. The acclimatisation rotation is for approximately 6 to 7 days under favourable weather. Most climbers reach as high as C3 up to ~7000m and return to Base camp for acclimatisation. Some people touch C3 and return on the same day. Some spend a night at C3.

Now the real mission begins; the summit push tests all the patience of your life may be more than that. Lousy weather plays with you and falsifies the forecast of mountain behaviour. After a long patient wait the climate turned into a classic mountaineering experience for the acclimatisation rotation. However, the final summit push was still cynical. One side of the coin, basecamp life, is the best part of any expedition. Good food, cosy tent and warm dining sometimes beer et cetera. Though on the other side every single challenging step up to C3 makes your goal a step closer, it is hard to keep up the same motivation levels to re-doing the entire climb in conjunction with bad weather.

Indeed, the experience and judgement of a sincere mountaineer like Temba dai, who is born and brought up in the high mountains, is hard to go wrong. The weather window he chose for me was flawless. Still, I saw some uneasiness on his face about my successful summit. I can figure out his confusion. Firstly, my attempt without bottled oxygen above 8000meters could kill me. Secondly, sustainability of a sea-level Indian’s lung capacity and body metabolism makes me more vulnerable, he feared.

Thin Air The human body above an altitude of 17000 feet (>5100m) inevitably starts to deteriorate, and an unprepared body will begin to collapse faster. At extreme elevations, the atmosphere still contains the same ratio of oxygen to nitrogen, but the unit distance of oxygen molecules spreads farther apart. Thus each breath a climber takes in less oxygen. To balance the vitals heart pumps faster, trying to carry sufficient blood to the O2-starving tissues. And in a space that exceeds to 8000meters (26247 feet) above sea level, the air is so thin that the human body simply shuts down without adequate strength and hydration once the heart reaches maximum rate.

Even today, after much research, experts cannot completely understand what happens to a human body at cruising altitudes. Many things can go wrong simultaneously. The first step, headache, leads to hypoxia (deficiency in the amount of oxygen reaching the tissues). The next state is hypothermia (the condition of having an abnormally low body temperature) leads to HACE (High Altitude Cerebral Edema) or HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Edema), swollen brain or fluid in lungs, respectively. To my understanding, sickness at high altitude is connected to the past three to four weeks of hydration, diet and sleep cycle in any human being.

Ridhar is Temba’s assistant and my climbing partner. I have refused to carry the emergency supplemental oxygen cylinder on my summit push from Camp 4. At C4 on the 27th evening, we have set up our tent and were glancing at the Manaslu mountain top; I told Ridhar, “If I die up there, promise me of no circus rescuing my body. If you refuse to do so, you may go down or up, but I go on my own.” Ridhar was afraid. Thus, he brought me extra life support. My decision was crystal clear as I was in good health. I was not desperate about striding on the top. And I was prepared to abandon my climb with even a hint of altitude sickness. The altitude is ~7500 meters and I had a good sleep that night. I was surprised because people speak about hallucinations and sleeplessness from C4.

Best day of My life: Summit push began around 10:45 pm from C4. That night was memorable and exhausting. To list the difficulties, they are numerous. It was 20 degrees below zero or more—intolerable cold when the condensed frost inside the tent walls slipped on your skin. The humongous tasks were fastening the harness and wearing snow boots. The next part of horror is melting ice to refill water bottles. Once I stepped out of the tent, two more significant hurdles remained – Crampons and Urination. Absolute horror began when I wanted to take a leak. My sack was full (6 litres a day make you pee 12 to 13 times).

For the final section of the Mountain, I had to deal with a mixture of hardships with utmost perseverance. My thoughts were juggling about the summit. I have already been committed to myself that summit desperation is not my attitude. Every step higher than Kalapathar is my new personal record. I need to stay alive so that I can climb more mountains, reach higher altitudes. Short steps and long breaks, my summit push progressed at a slow pace. Five hours passed in darkness with absolute silence and a half kilometre elevation gain. I was intact, with no headache. I remember everything. However, the last few steps close to the 8000meter mark were challenging; jumaring the final steep section.

Mission Accomplished

I dreamt for ages to sneak out into the death zone and stick my nose into it. The rest of the time to climb the remaining 163 meters was the best time I had spent till date. Pitch dark, supporting weather, beautiful landscape above the clouds, fearlessness in mind, challenging, cruel and yet stable. One side of the Mountain is an endless abrupt vertical drop. On the northern (right-hand) side, ice wall elevation gradually reduced as the approach got closer to the summit.

Upon reaching the summit, I sat on the top of the Mountain. The summit point is narrow; only one or two persons can barely stand. It is 8163meters. I have removed my gloves for a few seconds to grab some snowflakes empty-handed. My cheeks lost senses, almost frozen, fingertips and toes are numb. I reached the summit by 5:20 am. Dream chased, and mission accomplished—my eight thousand’s endeavour was accomplished with a personal date with the top of the Mountain of spirit. I was the second person to reach the summit on September 28th early morning. Sitting on top was as if I was floating in Space—mixed emotions. I believed I fulfilled my grandma’s farewell objective. A new episode of my life began on that day. A steady feeling with real happiness, quietness and of course with better targets to achieve further in my life. Manaslu inspired me, and I am going to pursue further on mountaineering endeavour. I strongly wish that one day I will be in the route-opening/rope-fixing team.

Descent - Inescapable Mountain Danger

Moment of Pride Upon arrival at C3, Temba dai was happy. He ordered me to sit on a mat. He unbuckled my crampons. I refused, but he insisted, “dude! you deserve it”. That was “the moment of my life” where I felt happier as equally as when I was on the summit. Manaslu’s spirit made our friendship stronger. Temba Bhote, this Sherpa taught me to tread lightly and gently. I will follow his guidance everywhere in all my future expeditions. I learned gentleness and absolute leadership behaviour in adverse conditions, and I wish to participate in more mountain summits along his side. Thank you is an understatement, dai.

My discoveries from Manaslu You don’t pick up a hammer and build a house. You need to start with basics and work your way up the ladder. It is a long road of learning for tuning yourself to be an explorer. Summit desperation would kill you. Trust your own judgement, and listen to your instincts. Behave according to your gut feeling. If you try to become a hero, I am sure the Mountain would kick your ass and send you back home, sometimes to the skies as well. Just because you love the mountains doesn’t mean the mountains love you. You might be the stronger, faster than the next guy, but the weather is powerful than anyone else on earth. The slower you take it, the better you get it.

The world would shift back to the stone-age without explorers. I firmly believe my mountaineering skills would assist me to understand and find the purpose of my existence. What goes around comes around. Life, choices, decisions and destinations are random accidents. A simple discussion on weather forecast research six years ago near a fireplace with a great scientist (forgot his name and whereabouts) changed my perception and helped me step out of the mediocre complacency.