The Rescue

Others are better positioned than I to provide the details of the rescue. Let me summarize it as best I know it.. As afternoon settles in, those remaining on the mountain become concerned that they will have to spend the night. They move Aaron to a flat, somewhat sheltered area a few hundred feet down from where he lay. Raja, the guide, returns to the summit to find tarps and the begin the prepare a shelter. The porters return, and fashion a stretcher, somewhat like a cocoon. Aaron is placed in the stretcher, and is wrapped in so that he can not see anything. In this way he is carried down to Gomuck.

At Gomuck they are met by the crew from Gangotri. Aaron is transferred into the dandie. A passing tourist from Sweden helps to secure him in. It is at this point that my poles are used to splint his leg. Aaron is then carried into Gangotri, arriving at 11:00 that night. Tom travels with Aaron. Robert, Robert, and Jojo, stay in Vojbasa for the night.

By midnight, Aaron, Tom, and Raja are in the back of the ambulance for what is supposed to be a three hour trip to the nearest hospital. They arrive more than thirteen hours later, delayed once again by a landslide.

Robert Johnson, once he is able to get cell service, calls one of his law partners who has family in Delhi. They in turn track down a hospital and doctor for Aaron.

We arrive late Sunday afternoon (September 9) at the first hospital that Aaron has been transported to. There is no electricity. As we walk in the front entrance (there is no actual door) we step around the dogs sleeping on the floor.

The next morning at 6:00 Aaron, Tom, and one of the drivers leave for Delhi. On the way, they stop in Rishikesh to let Aaron rest. While there, he makes hotel arrangements for the rest of us.
Aaron arrives in Delhi Monday night, and is put into traction. Tuesday afternoon they operate, putting a rod into the femur and pinning it on both ends. He will remain in the hospital for a week before returning home.

The rest of us arrive in Rishikesh Monday afternoon, and stay until Thursday morning. We then drive into Delhi. Robert Johnson and I visit Aaron in the hospital, pick up Tom from the hospital and head to the airport to return home. Others are staying on in India as tourists for a few more days.

I arrive at Newark Airport at 4:45 in the morning, 17 days and a lifetime after I left. I am home by 6:30. One of the first things I do is to grind the beans and make my morning coffee. Then I take a very long, very hot shower.

(x-ray photo by Robert Johnson)

Namaste