The Day When Death Cheated Me at Chandratal Lake (SWC)

It was the Sunday afternoon and while scrolling through my Steemit feed, I came across @jerrybanfield post where he announced a unique and inspirational contest Supernatural Writing Contest(SWC). While going through the details, I was taken right back into the flashback of my life and the life-changing story of my life was right in front of my eyes. It was as if I just lost myself in the past timeline for a while and as soon as I returned, I made up my mind to participate in this inspirational contest and share my near-death experience because of which I am today, what I am in my life. Thank you @jerrybanfield for giving this opportunity for sharing the story with fellow Steemians.

The Prologue

Almost a decade back in my life, I was struggling to live and was surrounded by the most difficult phase of my life. One day I decided to start again and afresh, take it a step further and explore if the Himalayas has the magic that can save me and turn into the person I was as a child. Well, we all know that the Himalayas always had a history of being associated with peace and solitude. So, I also decided to give myself a treatment called “Nirvana @ Himalayas”.

I went out into the wild to find out answers to many disturbing questions and memories which haunted me each and every moment, making me ever depressed. In that pursuit of happiness, in June 2009, I decided to make a trip to Chandratal Lake. Popularly known as the moon (Chandra) lake (tal), Chandratal is nestled in the beautiful Spiti Valley in the trans-Himalayan region.

That Moment When Death Nearly Swept Me

In June 2009, I planned a trip to Chandratal Lake with my friend Neeraj and three other cousins. We were visiting in the very early season and roads had just opened barely up. In fact, the work was still going on to cut through the last set of snow walls and open the road for tourist traffic. We also had to hike almost about 8 KMs previous day to reach the base camp.

The Early Warning

There was a well trained, professional old age guy camping near our base camps. Seeing the novices like us in sport's shoes rather trekking shoes, he could not resist but ask "Where are you guys headed?". Well, we had young blood and couple of shots of Vodka already in at that high altitude. A rather arogant reply was sent back, "Going to Chandratal lake, any problems?" 😈 😈

Well, the gentleman replied, "Son, it is a suicide mission. I just came back from half way and snow is tough to cross over. It is partially melting beneath and you can feel it as you walk. One slide and you go down in the Chandra river with body nowhere to find." We just ignored and the guy again repeated, "You guys neither even have trekking gears nor even trekking shoes. It is not something to ignore, you may die." Again, in youth and being high we just ignored and slept like horses that night.

The D-Day of Truth - 5th June 2009

Well, one of my cousins took the words of the wise man seriously and decided not to trek with us. We fouled him and moved on with two guides who were accompanying us. Keep in mind that I never knew what is High Altitude and how it affects your body, none of us knew. It was a 28 KMs trek all the way to Chandratal lake and back to base camp (14 KM each). The first bummer was that we did carry a bottle of Vodka in our daypack but did not mind to carry a water bottle 😆 😆 ... That was the biggest mistake but then we managed water from the streams flowing in the Himalayas.

Slowly and steadily we moved and encountered our first of the many snow slides which that gentleman was talking about. The trekking path was covered with snow slide and there was no way to cross but over it. Well, it did look to me like a slide right into the river in case of one slip. There was no way I was crossing it, man. The gorge was meeting right into the river and due to the barren landscape, there was no question of stopping by any flora/vegetation as there was none. The slip meant you do reach the bottom and swept away in the violent Chandra river 😰 😰

Well, our guide was quick to create the footsteps and asked us to follow them. Well, it looked too dangerous and my senses were a bit shaken. Somehow with the help of the guide, we all managed to cross the first one. Then came second and we managed it with similar difficulty. When the third one came, my two cousins decided to give up and asked us to continue as they will wait for us at that spot only 😱 😱 ... I was reluctant to live my cousins but both guides said, "Sir, let's move on and we will meet them here only. Don't worry."

By that time I was accustomed to the process of crossing the snowslide and so was my friend Neeraj. The guides gave company to us but our progress was very slow. Fatigue was taking over or AMS you can call, the pristine lake still looked very distant and lonely. It was about 1.5 KMs and Voila!!! While crossing one of the water streams, my knee touched the water as I slipped from one of the rocks. As the icy cold water drenched the whole shoes and socks, it sent a cold chill through my whole body. It was already around 2 PM by that time and weather started to take its turn too.

By then, taking one step ahead was also not possible with the drenched foot but with some willpower, we did manage to keep moving though not really sure "Why". The weather was getting darker and darker and then snowfall started. The lake was about 0.75 KMs from the Chandratal lake but the conditions were getting more and more adverse. At around 2.50 PM, we called it off after some initial struggle to climb the last hill. The cold conditions were set in and snowfall had started pouring a bit heavily. Well, as we sat for a while and ate food, I started puking whatever I ate. AMS was all over my I believe by then though I never knew on that trip what AMS was. Finally, I was able to keep one mango inside me. For a while, we contemplated the situation:

1. Soon it will be night and we have to trek back 13 KMs in next 2.30 Hrs. It took about 6 Hrs for us while coming to this point.
2. Cross the same water stream again and get drenched again [CHILLING WAVE, even thinking of it]
3. Wet body, wet shoes, wet pants, shivering and what more 🙂
4. Chilly winds which had the thrust and made walking more difficult
5. Snowfall was making the matters worse.
6. Mango was the only eatable I had.
7. Two stranded cousins in the middle of nowhere and one cousin wondering about our bodies at the base camp.

Well, now we were talking ADVENTURE right 😂 😂 ... What appeared to be the fairytale adventure of the moon lake, suddenly turned into the NIGHTMARE of a lifetime. The race to survival had begun!! I took a couple of gulps of neat vodka from the bottle and started the sprint back to base camp without stopping anywhere. All sought of thoughts were coming to the mind, it was as if the God was punishing me for the sins of the past. As I was walking, the prayers started to come automatically and almost eyes were wet. Finally, we reached the place where we left my cousins but they were nowhere to find and man, they wrote on a big snow patch “HUM GAYE!” [We are going back!] 😭 😭 …

A series of emotions and thoughts just ran through my mind and soul, Ohh God !! What a test... Now where the f*** they went when they could not even climb those two snowslides even when conditions were such favorable and with four helping hands. I was going crazy, few more sips of Vodka and after about 10 minutes, a shouting voice was coming from the uphill "Here they are". It was my younger cousin running down in tears. Well, that was another moment of truth, "When you identify the love for someone only when you feel so close to having lost hem." Though we all had met now, the danger was still lurking around with few more snow slopes to cross and the increasing snowfall.

The Moment of Escape

By that time, I was not walking in straight line and it had to do with bruises on my feet too due to wet shoes and skin rubbing against it. It was then while I was crossing the second last snow slide, the foot slipped and I was lying down on the snow with one foot dug in the snow while the whole body cut loose read for the last slide into the river, the shortcut to hell was in front of my eyes. I had lost it in that moment. The guide had caught my arm soon but maybe it was just 2-3 minutes only, the whole life had a flashback. Somehow he dug a hole and asked me to put the other foot in it. I could feel the water gushing below the snow glacier melt, it could slip away anytime. But, I survived that slip to hell.

We got the ride for last 1.5 KMs as one of the guides had already left us behind to take some help from the base camp. At around 6.30 PM we reached the base camp. It was the run for life and that is why we managed to do it in half the time it took for us in the morning.

Meanwhile, snow was still falling…. 😀 😀

As we reached the base camp, my elder cousin was crying all over the place and had asked for help to bring us back. He greeted us with all the cuss words he knew in life and hugged each one of us. It was not over for me because by that time I had drunk so much and lost so much energy that it was difficult to survive. The local dhabha guys (Dorjay uncle) put me near the fire and gave a couple of pegs of rum to get the warmth in. He knew I was in trouble as I puked twice or thrice even after reaching. They helped me get some dry clothes, forced me to eat some food and dozed me off in the dhabha shack with layers of blankets. I did not have a clue what was going around me and I did not even care, maybe I did not even have energy or alertness to even care. I still remember I woke up briefly for about 15-20 minutes in the middle of the night when my elder cousin gave me an energy bar after which I slept again.

Around 7.30 AM, I opened my eyes only to feel that I AM ALIVE, STILL !!

The next morning when I woke up, I knew in my heart that I was not the same person anymore. Somehow I loved the sunshine and the snow outside. I adored the beauty of the mountains surrounding us, the cool breeze and nature just felt so real in my heart. Suddenly, I realized that I was missing my family, a feeling which was absent for more than few years by then… I knew that though I did not die, for sure my depression did die the last day in a run to save my life, in a run to live my life and I am no longer the person before… I wanted to go back and meet my family, which I did without second thought.

It was the day when life got upside down and also gave birth to my travel blog which I then dedicated to the Himalayas and for its people, who kind of reincarnated me that very day.

Conclusion

There are some moments in your life which just changes the life thereafter forever for good. This was one such day of my life which inspired me to respect each moment of my life, have more fun at all times, spread smiles in the world and keep living happily thereafter. That very day in my life gave me the reason to believe, a reason to love, a reason to smile, a reason to connect, a reason to learn and above all a reason to feel ALIVE... 😇 😇

Once again thanks a lot @jerrybanfield for letting me open up and share the story of the most remarkable day in my life, the day when death cheated me. 😂 😂