Kutla Trek, and the 25ft fall

Kutla village is a 3 hour trek from Tosh which was our endeavor for today. We left our hotel at 1 o'clock and the way to Kutla went straight from the road behind our hotel. The trek is basically divided into two parts, the relatively easy trek till Waterfall Cafe, and a steep trek till Kutla after that. It was the month of March and it had rained and snowed two days ago. The initial trek is a straight soiled path along the cliff, and you’d get some cafes in between. It took us about 40 mins to reach the Waterfall Cafe.

We took pictures with the falls, had maggi and decided to continue the trek. We were in a bit of a hurry since we were staying in Tosh and had to come back before sunset. A person who had a stall there told us to rent the shoes and sticks since it was going to be steep and snowy from there. We took a stick and asked people around about the conditions till the top. We could see a huge patch of snow which was difficult to climb but we heard there were gonna be just three patches like this, so we decided to go on with our running shoes.

We left the checkpoint with another group ahead of us. Many people who didn’t have proper gear were slipping on the mildly melting snow but all of us supported each other at points and crossed the first snow patch which was about a 100mts. There were beautiful spots in between where we took a halt to soak in the tranquility around us.

We reached Kutla in another hour or so, at about 3pm. Kutla village was beautiful, untouched by modernization and not slithered by human intervention. There was a lot of snow up there and a stream flowed from beside with an immediate rush of repose. There were some cafes over there and we went to one to satiate our hunger. We had Maggie and chai while sitting over there and looked at the beauty Kutla was. There was a group of Charcies whom we saw smoking but we had decided to restraint intoxication on treks. We left the cafe and started to walk out of the village.

There was this group of 4 guys who wore trekking shoes and had a greater pace than us, so they overtook us. On the climb down, there was a snow patch just outside the village. We were about 30mts behind them when we heard a scream, I turned my attention towards them to see that one of the boys slipped on the ice and was falling down the cliff. He was falling like a doll, rotating in wheels, it was a horrifying sight to witness. I ran a bit towards the direction, thinking of the possibilities of whether he’d survive.

Suddenly all of them stopped shouting as the guy who was falling had hit a snow patch below and got stuck there after falling for more than 25 ft. Fortunately there was a narrow way from there to walk up. So he climbed up, then they all trekked a little further and took a rest stop. We then crossed the same ice patch with extreme caution and met them on the way down. I asked them if they were okay and if they needed any help. I asked the guy who had fallen if he was feeling fine, and he said he felt fine.

At a point on the way down we all crossed paths again. That’s when the guy who had fallen started shaking heavily and suddenly fell on the ground. His eyes rolled up and his hands folded in an unusual way. Fortunately there was another group over which had a Nepali guy who was an experienced trekker and knew what to do. He kept his fingers between the guy’s teeth and told them that his mouth shouldn’t be allowed to be closed. This was important as if he closed his mouth, his tongue could roll back and the passage of air might be blocked.

Luckily I had hot water in my thermos which we gave to him. The Nepali guy explained what might have happened to him is when he fell from this height, he might have fallen to his chest and this would have hurt his lungs. Thus he wasn’t able to breathe properly and was getting tired again and again. Because of the low oxygen supply on the mountain and due to trekking, the blood flow to his head might have been obstructed and he would have got this attack.

We trekked down slowly and very cautiously on the snow patches after that. We placed our feet properly in the snow so that we won’t move down until we could support each other safely. When we reached the Waterfall Cafe, we were so happy that we even clicked and took pictures of our sticks and thanked them. For the other group, one of the guys went down and called the locals for help. They brought down the injured person on their shoulders by almost dragging him through the way. I was so glad to see all of them came down safely, and the respect for the pahadi locals once again filled my heart.

After this incident the realization of how fragile our lives are hit me again. I vowed to never take on difficult patches without proper gear. Even when you’ve done all your preparation right, the weather conditions can change the situations drastically. Always check the weather forecasts prior to the trip and pack accordingly. Conquering mountains, for as beautiful and revealing as it is, could be equally dangerous if you do it recklessly.