Encounter an avalanche

On the night Chinese New Year's Eve February 18, 2015, a large avalanche occurred in the eastern basin of Annapurna Peak, the world's tenth highest peak, and five Chinese hikers were buried deep in it, and finally succeeded in saving themselves.

Recently, Xiao Wang, a 23-year-old girl, recalled the moment of horror when she was buried in the snow. From the excitement of departure, the infinite regret of being buried in the snow to the awe of life after finally being rescued, she hastily ushered in her growth in such a fearless way—

Annapurna is a world-renowned hiking trail in Nepal. This year, I spent Chinese New Year's Eve nights on the Annapurna Base Camp Hiking Trail (ABC Route). In fact, my snowy mountain hiking experience is almost zero, and I have only tried to hike Yubang (a picturesque hiking trail in Yunnan) in China. But when I made the decision, I had no idea what kind of difficulties and dangers I would face.

Under Annapurna Peak, I met the captain, the captain's long-time diehard Wang Ye, the owner of the post-90s Taobao store Ah Wei, and the beautiful teacher Linglong, because they were all Chinese, we immediately walked together.

As everyone knows, accidents often happen unexpectedly, and you are not even left with time to scream. It was snowing heavily that day, and we were walking in the canyon leading to the base camp, when suddenly there was a loud noise from the top of the mountain, only to hear the captain shouting "hide behind the rocks." And in the next second, the collapse seemed to tear the sky open, and the white snow poured like a flood.

The impact wave after the avalanche is even more terrifying, and it can directly eject people. I was immediately swept into the snow, and huge forces from all sides tugged at me and kept rolling. The ice and snow fell layer by layer, the ballast wore my face, I was buried alive by the stiff and dense ice and snow, I felt that there was still power above pressing down layer by layer, and I could still hear the rustle of the snow falling layer by layer under the snow.

In desperation, I tried to move my fingers to loosen the snow next to my hand, only to find that everything was so stiff that any exertion of force was futile. I knew then that maybe all five of us were buried deep in the snow. I was thinking, I'm going to die in a foreign Chinese New Year's Eve night. Mom and Dad, I'm really sorry for you. Died in Chinese New Year's Eve, every year the New Year is my death day, how will they celebrate the New Year in the future.

I remember that on the night of the 27th day of the lunar month, I posted a circle of friends, announcing with excitement that we were going to challenge the ABC on the fifth day of the winter without a guide and no porter. My mother immediately WeChat me: "Baby, you don't know how the road is, how can you make a decision like this?" Mom agrees with you to go, not to allow you to take risks, go crazy, do stupid things..." To reassure my mother, I lied to her. Told her we had a guide but didn't.

Thinking of this, I couldn't cry in the snow for a long time.

Because I didn't have the courage to face death, I chose to give up on myself and gradually entered a coma, counting down my life by one second, two seconds, three seconds... When I felt someone shaking my left hand in my vague consciousness, my snow-covered mouth and nose struggled to make a sound: "Am I dreaming?" Is someone saving me? Am I dead? Am I still alive? "Oh my God, I'm still alive!

From the left hand to the left arm, to the left ear... It was as if after a century of waiting, I could finally breathe the air outside. In the cold, I could no longer feel my limbs. The thoughts of crippled hands and feet and dead organs crossed the board, but none of this mattered, none of this was as important as being alive. In the ninth second, I hugged the first person I saw—the captain. The captain and Wang Ye were in front of me, they were still alive, and they saved me.

Although I was already delirious with trembling all over, I will always remember the next scene. After I escaped, the captain and Wang Ye turned to rescue nearby Linglong, because one of Linglong's shoes was exposed. At this time, some hikers from other countries had stopped at the scene and desperately helped. Without tools and fearing that trekking poles would hurt people, everyone had to use the strength of their hands to cut through the thick and dense snow.

Digging takes the longest time. Because Linglong was lying downward when she was buried, the weight of the hiking bag completely pressed against her chest, making it difficult for her to breathe, and when she dug it out, her face was purple and black. We waited with bated breath and prayed silently. Slowly, she finally slowly opened her eyes. Then the four of us hugged each other and cried.

We also have a brother whose whereabouts are unknown. Avalanche areas are dangerous, and secondary avalanches can occur at any time, and a little louder speech can become the trigger for death again. But no one was afraid or chose to leave.

The snow is getting heavier and heavier.

"If we can't find Ah Wei, we will stay here forever." So Ah Wei, I can't imagine what the situation would have been if Wang Ye hadn't found you in the end. In the avalanche range of several hundred square meters, Wang Ye was lucky to find the strap of the backpack that Ah Wei struggled to throw before being buried, and it was this very small clue that determined the final extent of his burial. It's good that Ah Wei was finally rescued.

This is a story with a happy ending. The captain, who managed to choose the only means of escape at a critical moment, survived because of a large enough stone. He dug up half of his body in the snow and rescued all of us, with only frostbite and abrasions. Sometimes life and death may only be such a short distance, and in another position, it may be me who dies.

After the avalanche, I didn't choose to continue to the finish line, Annapurna Base Camp, even though I was less than three hours hiking away. But I know that the snow-capped mountains have given me the strength to fear and love life. Because we are all alive, it is enough.

On the way back to the rest stop, I met some climbers who were strange to see us panicking, while I kept crying and exhorting them: "Don't go, nothing is more important than life." Life is more precious than any adventure! "At that moment, I realized that there is no road that must be taken, there is no mountain that must be climbed, and there is no goal that must be achieved. And when I went through the rest of my life and walked out of the deep mountain area without signal, I received hundreds of WeChat messages, and when the red envelope group bombarded my mobile phone, I saw my mother's "Happy New Year, you, I just can't think of my mother..." on the morning of the first day of the new year, I cried and trembled.

After returning from Nepal, I lay down for a whole day. When my mother opened the door, she saw the bruises on my face, and I said, it's okay, I fell down. I also said, "It's nice to be home, Mom, it's good to be back with you." ”

I once saw this text describing walking - "There is no vehicle to walk, no livestock to carry weight, and it is still the same mountain and ravine, it is better to go forward, and there is an end." You only have one choice, climb hard, walk desperately, even if you are so tired that you vomit blood and collapse, you only have one thought - I have to keep walking, there will be an exit. ”

The same is true of life. No one can fool themselves into happiness and destiny, and living is already the happiness that we are born equal.

Although I may never hike in the snowy mountains again in the future, because I understand that my lack of physical strength and survival skills is not enough for me to take risks as the cost of dashing the world, but I will not stop walking, just step by step in real life, step by step, there will be infinite possibilities in the future...

Excerpted from "Gonzo" (Zhao Lei)