A Helicopter Evacuation: June 2, 2009

My Rescue Helicopter.


Villagers Watching the Helicopter Take Off.


I wake up at base camp, I am coughing heavily. My chest is tight and I am still having trouble breathing, but my headache and the dizziness had substantially subsided. When I stand up, I notice that I am still unbalanced and my brain is working slowly but because I have asthma, I am more worried about getting bronchitis than about my apparent altitude sickness. There are no pharmacies in the villages on the Annapurna Circuit and I know that if I need antibiotics I will be in trouble. The nearest hospital is Kathmandu, 4 days of walking plus a 1 day bus trip away. I know now that I can not continue with the Annapurna Circuit and that I have to turn back to Kathmandu, and I don’t think I’m healthy enough to make the 4 day walking trip. I have to find a phone in the nearest village and get evacuated by helicopter.

It took a long time to arrange the helicopter trip—for starters, the travel agency that Dorgee was working with told us that the helicopter would cost $5,400 and that my insurance policy with Everest Insurance Company, a Nepali Company would only cover up to $4,000 and I didn’t have $1,400 to spare. Given that there are only two helicopter companies in Nepal it seemed strange to me that the insurance company would cover less than the fees—something didn’t feel right. After what seemed like hours of discussions, Dorgee’s travel agency informed me that a cheaper helicopter had been found for $4,300. Although it still seemed fishy, I needed to get out of there and I gave them the go ahead thinking that I would split it between my US insurance policy and the Nepali policy or that I would pay for it myself. Several hours later I was in a helicopter bound for Kathmandu. In Kathmandu I was treated at the CIWEC clinic, an expat hospital. The doctor diagnosed me with severe AMS with mild HACE and HAPE. High Altitiude Cerebral Edema and High Altitiude Pulmonary Edema—meaning that I had fluid in my brain and in my lungs. This was caused by ascending too rapidly—i.e. the decision to skip high camp was not a good one. I still do not know why the Sherpas decided to skip high camp. Either they believed the good weather wouldn’t last and we should make a go of it, or the porters were not properly equipped to ascend to high camp in the snow (they were climbing in sneakers). I have a feeling the latter reason played quite a big role in the decision. In the end I found out that the travel agency that Dorgee was working with—Nepal Alsace Trekking—was trying to rip me off with the helicopter. They refused to give me the receipt for the helicopter and when I threatened to call the tourist police they forked it up and the charge had been exactly $4,000. Because of his overcharging, I almost decided to walk to the hospital instead of risking the possibility that my US insurance wouldn’t cover the excess. Because I didn’t know I had HACE and HAPE, this decision could have been lethal.

At times when I am in the East surrounded by Buddhist philosophy and incredibly kind people that are much less materialistic then the people in the West, I feel that people in the East are somehow more enlightened than we are, but when confronted with experiences like this one I am reminded that thieves are everywhere and that people all over the world are the same and sometimes, things are just not what they seem.

As for climbing, my mother asked me if I had learned my lesson and wouldn't do it again. Unfortunately, the answer is no, mom. I didn't learn not to climb again. Instead what I learned is that I am responsible for my own safety. I should have done more research on the mountain. I shouldn't have double checked the safety precautions (i.e. the lack of a satellite phone) and I should not have put as much trust in my guides as I did. In a country where safety standards are not enforced with a risk of legal repercussions for negligence, corners will be cut. Sometimes it isn't even because a person is mal-intentioned, sometimes it is just ignorance. I know better now and from now on, I will be a better educated climber.

Back Safely in Kathmandu.