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The Himalayan Rescue Association 1973 – 2013
By the late 1960s the flow of
expeditions and trekkers into Nepal was increasing, but unlike in the early
years of Himalayan exploration more was then known about altitude related
illnesses. However, despite this many people were still succumbing to the
effects of cold and the fact that there was less oxygen in the atmosphere. It
is a fallacy, as believed by many foreign mountaineers and trekkers at that
time, that it was only foreigners who suffered from altitude related problems.
They believed that Nepali nationals, especially the hill people were immune to
such illnesses as mountain sickness and hypothermia.
Many aid organizations were being
established in Nepal during this period and this resulted in foreign nationals
being based in the country for several months at a time.
One
of these was Dr John Skow, an American working with the Peace Corps. He took
advantage of his time here to explore many of the mountain regions, but, upon
visiting the Khumbu he became very concerned about the number of people, both
foreigners and Nepali nationals who were dying from Acute Mountain Sickness
(AMS). This was the result of not only a general lack of understanding of the
effects of altitude on the human body but also the lack of medical support in
those areas most popular with trekkers and mountaineering expeditions.
Considering the situations he had
witnessed Dr John called several meetings back in Kathmandu that included
representatives from the Ministry of Health, the Embassies of France, the USA
and the UK, doctors and representatives from some of the leading trekking
agencies established at that time. The trekking agents realized that it was
also in their best interests to take the initiative in this issue as what was
happening was in fact having a detrimental effect on their business.
As a result of these meetings,
discussions and lobbing the Himalayan Rescue Association (HRA) was established
as an NGO in 1973 with the simple and uncompromising mission ‘to reduce
casualties in the Nepal Himalaya’. One of the premier trekking agencies of that
era to become involved in HRA was Trans Himalayan Trekking and the first and
founding Chairman of the HRA was Tek Chandra Pokharel who held the position of
HRA Chairman from 1973 to 1978 and who later became President of the NMA from
1990 - 1992.
With virtually no money to its name at
that time Pokharel offered HRA a small space in his Trans Himalayan offices to
act as the headquarters from which the organisation would operate. With such a
vital ethos several other high profile characters eagerly put their weight
behind the HRA particularly Mike Cheney of Mountain Travel, Dawa Norbu Sherpa
who was later to become President of the NMA, Jimmy Roberts, PP Prasai and
Elizabeth Hawley.
With virtually no money to its name at
that time Pokharel offered HRA a small space in his Trans Himalayan offices to
act as the headquarters from which the organisation would operate. With such a
vital ethos several other high profile characters eagerly put their weight
behind the HRA particularly Mike Cheney of Mountain Travel, Dawa Norbu Sherpa
who was later to become President of the NMA, Jimmy Roberts, PP Prasai and
Elizabeth Hawley.
Dr
John Dickinson, who was at the time an intern at the Shanta Bhawn Hospital
(Patan Hospital), was one of the doctors first contacted by Dr John Skow to
become involved officially with the HRA. Dr Dickinson handled most of the early
AMS cases and went on to write the first ‘manual’ on AMS for the HRA, a
publication still held in very high esteem today. At this time the writer and
anthropologist Tony Hagen recommend a most reliable Sherpa to act as Clinic
Manager, Tashi Sherpa, a man who had accompanied Hagen on all his exploration
treks, he was strong, dependable and loyal, all the credentials required for
this position.During the first season of operation from the Yak Herder’s Hut in
1973, Danielle Laigret, a French nurse ran the Pheriche HRA clinic. Pheriche
had been chosen for this first operational location because it was at Pheriche
that the majority of AMS cases began to seriously affect trekkers and
mountaineers who had not acclimatized properly. In the autumn season Dolly
Lefever from the USA went up to support Tashi Sherpa at Pheriche where she
stayed until January 1974. It was a bleak existence during the winter, there
was no suitable accommodation, and the yak herder’s hut was to be their base
until it became unbearably cold when Dolly and Tashi moved down to Thyangboche
where there was a more abundant supply of wood for heating and cooking. Dr John
Winter was the doctor based in Pheriche during that autumn season and for the
first time, despite the high number of cases that were seen and dealt with no
one actually died from all those who had managed to reach the clinic that year.
Trans
Himalayan Trekking operated primarily with Japanese companies and it was
through this connection that Pokharel met Prof. Hayata in 1974. It did not take
long for Pokharel to impress on the Professor just how vital a role the HRA was
playing in saving lives in the Khumbu region and the urgency of conducting a
scientific study on the effects of AMS and that this could ideally be done from
a purpose built facility in Pheriche. Prof Hayata went on to contribute more
than 50,000 US $ for the construction and equipping of what we now know as the
HRA Rescue Post, Pheriche. Prof. Hayata’s support did not end there, he went on
to further contribute financial assistance to Japanese doctor volunteers in the
form of return airfares and subsistence allowance while they were volunteering
in Nepal, the Nepali HRA assistants posted at Pheriche were also funded by Prof. Hayata for over six years.
Jimmy Roberts and Mountain Travel were
by 1974 running frequent trek to Nepal and the Everest region in particular,
one of their clients was Dr Peter Hackett from the USA. Although Peter had no
mountaineering experience at the time he became very interested in the problems
of AMS and on concluding his trek he volunteered to work and stay in the yak
herders hut in Pheriche, which he then continued to do for the next three
consecutive seasons. In preference to living in the hut Hackett chose the more
preferable surroundings of his tent pitched in the hut’s enclosure. However,
the hut was not an appropriate ‘clinic’ in which to treat medical cases and
many trekkers were very uncomfortable being examined in those surroundings. Rather
than leave AMS suffers to their own devices Hackett and Tashi Sherpa would make
frequent tours of the few lodges that were operating in Pheriche at that time.
Hackett continued to treat many patients and AMS suffers, and in fact went out
on several rescues maintaining the record of ‘no one dying who had been
attended to by an HRA medic’. During the intervening years Hackett read
everything he could find on AMS and had spent many hours discussing the subject
with Dr Dickinson. Eventually Peter Hackett was appointed HRA Medical Director
and in that position he began to recruit other doctors to volunteer in
Pheriche. By the summer of 1975 Prof Hayata had generously raised and
contributed sufficient funds to enable the HRA to construct a purpose built
clinic in Pheriche, and that is still in use today.
Dr Jim Duff was the second
volunteer doctor after Peter Hackett. Dr Jim recalls that he was in Kathmandu in
early 1977 having just returned from an expedition to the Nanda Devi sanctuary
(Changabang) and was waiting to go back there to climb Devistan.
At that time it appeared that Mike Cheney
was very much involved in the day to day organisation of the HRA. Cheney had been the base camp manager on the British Everest SW face
expedition of 1975. A chance visit to Mike's home resulted in Dr Jim being enrolled as a volunteer doctor and was subsequently sent up to Pheriche the pre-monsoon season of 1977.
Returning in
1977 Dr Jim noted that nothing much had changed in Pheriche with the exception of a purpose built
building funded by Japan, complete with a diver’s decompression chamber of bewildering complexity and a pleasant Japanese doctor.
There was also Dr Peter Hackett who was
taking blood samples to research the role of ADH (anti
diuretic hormone) in altitude illness. This research involved taking as many
blood samples as possible from ascending trekkers and then again on their descent if they had altitude illness. Unfortunately this investigation came to an abrupt end when the liquid nitrogen preserving the samples ran
out during their transit to the UK; the season’s research work was lost. There was no problem collecting samples
as the HRA's new building had the only stove in the village and trekkers would be allowed in to share the hospitable surroundings on the basis of
donating a sample. Dr Jim remembers the HRA team put one sick person into the diver’s chamber without any knowledge as to how it worked, luckily the patient survived. Dr Jim recalls that it was so
frightening that they never tried it again! As a result the doctors, Peter and Jim, talked about the need for a simple portable low pressure hyperbaric
chamber which presaged the development of the three hyperbaric chambers that are now available (Gamow,
PAC, Certec).
If trekkers became very ill they would be
carried on down the trail by a porter or Sherpa. Usually they would recover by
descending but if very sick they would often die at Phortse Thenka before the
climb up to Sonasa and then Namche. Dr Jim can't recall anyone
dying at or above Pheriche while he was there, but, quite a number of
very sick trekkers needed to be carried down to lower altitudes.
To aid in the transportation process Dr Peter purchased a yak; Dr Jim recalls that he paid approximately 10,000 rupees for it. However, while it was a reasonably docile animal a lot of time was spent rounding it up as it would
decamp back to its original owner down the valley when not in regularly use or
tended to.
At that time consideration was given for a rescue post in the neighbouring valley
of Gokyo and consequently Dr Jim spent 10 days at over
4000mts in the Gokyo valley observing the movement and health of mountaineering
staff and trekkers. In that time only two groups went by, a lot different to the situation today. However, Dr Jim
notices that several porters suffering from AMS were sent back on their own,
often not making it all the way back to Namche.
Twenty years later Dr Jim was up at the HRA post in Manang again in a volunteering capacity.
Dr Jim believes the main and major developments that have
changed the face of Himalayan rescue since the early days are the thorough
understanding of the causes of altitude illness and the related precautions taken by present day trekkers and trekking
companies, the treatment, the improvement in
communications and the use of helicopters for rapid rescue.
Once above Deboche many trekkers are outside their comfort zones as are
many doctors during their stay at Pheriche, Dr Jim acknowledges that the dedication and application of those wonderful Sherpa and
Nepali people who have staffed the HRA
posts have contributed tremendously to making life so special for the volunteer doctors during their tour of duty. So much so that many
doctors often volunteer for a second season having spent time in between in
their home country raising much needed funds for the HRA.
In 1978 PP Prasai took over the
chairmanship of the HRA from TC Pokharel and he continued in this post until
1991. Mr Prasi had an office in front of the Kathmandu Guest House in Thamel
and was able to secure small premises nearby into which
the
HRA moved. During these 14 years Prasai and his HRA Board developed policies
and procedures and strengthened the management systems turning the HRA into an
efficient and well established rescue organization. The Pheriche Rescue Post
was up-graded at a cost of over one million rupees sourced from HRA funds.
Prasai also worked closely with the British Embassy and secured a donation of
over £30,000 to enable the establishment of the Manang Rescue Post. Again in
cooperation with, this time, the French Embassy Prasai established an
information centre in Kathmandu at a cost of over 25,000 US $. Once the Manang
Rescue Post was built Prasai over-saw the setting up of the radio link between
Pheriche, Manang and Kathmandu costing 5,000 US $.
Mr PP Prasai was instrumental in
developing and strengthening the foundations of the HRA which has been the
cornerstone of the successful organization that it is today.
The Himalayan Rescue Association and
the Nepal Mountaineering Association have always cooperated well together and
in 1981 the HRA shared a building with the NMA to establish their Manang Rescue
Post in Ongre, Manang. In 1985 the HRA moved into bigger rented accommodation
and by 1991, and with financial support from the UK, a new purpose build Rescue
Post was opened with a major contribution made by Ivan Goyzo Somlai.
The HRA appointed Dr David Shlim as
Associate Medical Director; he worked in Pheriche from the spring of 1979 and
again in 1980 and 1982.
By 1983 the HRA was in a position to
provide two medical staff at both Pheriche and Manang for both seasons. This
practice is still being upheld today with four staff being able to provide
medical support for all those in need in the Khumbu and Manang areas.
Mr. RP Pant, who was also a founder
member of the Kathmandu Environmental Education Project (KEEP) took over the
chairmanship of the HRA in 1991. As an energetic trekking agent he remained at
the helm for a further eight years. During this time he moved the HRA office
into premises in front of the Hotel Tilicho where he could directly oversee the
management of the organization. Mr. Pant played a crucial role in the HRA team
that coordinating the search and rescue operations in November 1995 and the
subsequent rescue of 549 people from the Everest and Kanchenjunga regions,
including climbers from the Manaslu avalanche incident; he also oversaw the
evacuation of, unfortunately, 62 dead bodies. At that time the Prime Minister
of the day, Sher Bahadur Deuba offered his Prime Ministerial Fund to help
finance rescue operations but this was not drawn upon as those rescued
financed
the operations from their own insurance or personal funds.
Pant introduced a medical tariff for
foreigners requiring HRA services, he was also instrumental in securing
1,00,000 NRs annually from the Government of Nepal and he also chaired the HRA
committee for the purchase of land in Kathmandu on which the present HRA
building stands. At this time the HRA had a well founded relationship with all
the Diplomatic Missions, the Tourism Ministry and Government Ministers, all of
this contributed greatly to the way the HRA was perceived internationally as
the ‘Himalayan’ rescue association. In 1992 Dr Buddha Basnyat took on the
Associate Medical Director’s role while Dr Shlim was appointed Medical Director.
Looking to the future Mr. Pant would
like to see a HRA medical centre established in Langtang and an HRA Information
Centre established in Pokhara, both communities he believes lackthis sort of
trekker support at the present time.
In 1995 Mr. Jeevan Dhungel resigned as
the HRA Manager and Mr. Prakash took on the position. Mr. Prakash had previously
experienced first-hand the serious and debilitating effects of AMS as a
result of a rapid ascent to EBC to take up his duties as Liaison Officer to the
1992 Russian Everest Expedition. He was also very grateful that the HRA had a
medical clinic at Pheriche, without which the outcome of this part of Mr.
Prakash’s life might have been so different. He was an ideal choice for the HRA
as he fully understood how the HRA went about supporting people in difficulty.
Mr. Nimesh Singh Dhar was HRA accountant at the time and took Mr. Prakash under
his wing. The two had the responsibility for the development work at Manang,
but, also for providing information
and daily lectures on altitude sickness as well as logistic support to the
volunteer doctors. All were catered for by Indira Ojha who was the cook at the
Manang aid-post at that time.
In
1999 Bikram Neupane became chairman and during his tenure he oversaw the
completion of several major projects. By 2000 the Pheriche
Rescue Post had been so heavily used
that it again required renovation and an up-grade. Dr Sandy Scott of the
Everest Memorial Trust provided magnificent support for this project ensuring
the building had a modern appearance with facilities that are the envy of many
Nepali hospitals. Its size was doubled, the walls were insulated and the insecure
and drafty old windows were replaced with double glazed units, a new water
system was plumbed in and a large wind turbine was installed to provide the
much needed electricity. A new solar water heating system was installed, as was
a new indoor toilet. This new ‘hospital’, now boasts towards for inpatients,
three bedrooms for the doctors and two for the Nepali staff. There is also a
day-room, bathroom, battery/radio room and kitchen. In keeping with the
original justification for a purpose built facility to study
AMS there is, included in the design,
a room designated as a ‘Research Facility’ where researchers can delve into the
mysteries of AMS. This hospital is now the highest in the world being situated
exactly half way between the summit of Everest and Lukla; other projects
overseen by Neupane included the construction of a lecture hall in Manang and
the construction of HRA headquarters in Kathmandu.
Much of the project design for the
‘new’ facility can be credited to John Bean from the UK. John spent eight months
over the three years of construction over-seeing the development of the
building. Now through his regular annual visits and maintenance work carried
out by contractors from Kathmandu the Rescue Post can provide enough electric power
to handle all the demands of all the electrical equipment through a 24hour
period. There are also two oxygen concentrators so that in all but the most extreme
circumstances there is a sustainable and reliable supply of oxygen now
eliminating the requirement of Gamow bags and bottled oxygen.
The
British sculptor Oliver Barrett made several visits to Pheriche before he came
up with the split cone design made from stainless steel commissioned by the
Everest Memorial Trust to commemorate those whose have died on the flanks of
Everest. Their names are inscribed on the two inner and opposing faces of the
split cone and are added to every year.
By 2002 Everest had received over 2,000
ascents and many more people had trekked to Everest Base Camp. People often get
‘Everest Fever’, they become fixated on their own Everest goal and in many
cases they do so at the risk of jeopardizing their own health and often life. In
2002 Ang Kaji Sherpa became chairman of the HRA and he realized the necessity
of establishing a Pheriche ‘outreach post’ at Everest Base Camp, this was duly
set up in the spring of 2003 to mark the 50th Anniversary of the
first ascent of Everest. Since the opening time Dr Luanne Freer has been
instrumental in operating this facility every spring season. The facility has
provided medical assistance for over 1800 patients and has organized over 150
helicopter evacuations.
The
camp is set up ready for service on or around the 1st April of each year and
remains at EBC until the end of the spring climbing season (end of May.)
The experienced medical staff treat all climbers, trekkers and Nepali staff
at EBC for a fee (similar to the operations at Manang and Pheriche) and as per
the policy established by Mr. Pant. In 2004 HRA collected advance funds from
participating teams that allowed unlimited physician consultations for each
climber, allowing budgeting for expedition teams and insurance for the HRA
clinic operations. The clinic gives climbers and trekkers the freedom to
pursue their missions and leave their health care needs to the professionals,
and eliminates the need to bring along a personal expedition physician. Of
course, the HRA mission is to provide low cost medical care for the native
Nepali who carries expedition and trekker logistics as well.
HRA medical volunteers based at EBC will
not climb above Base Camp, even in the event of emergency. Any medical
emergencies occurring above EBC will be expected to be dealt with by the
individual team in the usual manner. The HRA clinic will not supply teams with
medications for their summit attempts. However, the HRA will provide radio and
other non-climbing assistance where possible in the case of an emergency.
Volunteers for the EBC clinic are
selected from a pool of previous HRA volunteers who have operated out of the Manang
or Pheriche posts.
Also in 2004 the HRA honoured Dr Sandy
Scott and John Bean in recognition of the remarkable contribution they made
towards the renovation, extension and electrical installations at Pheriche.
As
with all things ‘Everest’ the HRA Everest Base Camp Clinic has attracted a fair
amount of interest from both the media and film companies this in turn has
provided a good platform giving the HRA exposure to potential sponsors and
donors. However, this is a two edged sword, more expeditions are leaving their
medical base camp teams at home and relying on the HRA to cover the required
medical service, although this has provided additional funding to enable the
facility to continue to operate, it has also made bigger demands on the
volunteer staff providing 24 hour medical care and attention. Kaji Sherpa also
worked closely with the British and Australian Embassies to secure the vital
funding required for the renovating and upgrading of the Manang Rescue Post. No
trek would exist if it were not for the hard working
porters, who in many cases are less
well informed about the issues surrounding AMS and who often suffer far more
that the trekkers as the porters feel it is their duty to ‘carry on regardless’
in the service of their employers, to fail would mean not only the loss of face
but, more importantly the loss of a wage. Kaji Sherpa established the much
needed HRA Mountain Safety, Porter Training Workshops.
Bikram Neupane again took on the
Chairmanship of the HRA for a second term in 2005 when he focused on disaster
and rescue management. He also established Porter training workshops in Lukla
and Dunche in cooperation with TRPAP. Neupane also oversaw major rescues on
Kang Guru Himal and from Ghunsa in the Kanchenjunga area.
Following the avalanche on Kang Guru
Himal on October 21st 2005 in which several Nepali staff and French
climbers perished the HRA coordinated an extensive rescue mission. As a result
of this the French Ambassador to Nepal, His Excellency Mr. Michel Jolivet
awarded Mr. Bikram Neupane with the ‘National Gendarmerie Medal’ and the ‘SOS
Medal’ for his outstanding contribution to the rescue operations. The leader of
the rescue team, Mr. Padam Ghale was also awarded the ‘‘National Gendarmerie
Medal’.
In accordance to the HRA mission
statement it does not restrict its services to only foreigners; it also supports Nepali
citizens who are in need. In line with this spirit the HRA has regularly and
for the last 15 years, provided medical support at Gosainkunda during the
Janaipurnima festival for pilgrims. These medical facilities are operated by
Nepali medical doctors and provide them with a real and meaningful insight into
mountain medicine.
Besides Medical clinics at Pheriche, Manang and Everest Base Camp,
the Himalayan Rescue Association Nepal began operating a satellite medical
clinic at Thorong Phedi, at the base of the Thorong La pass 4550m. On one of
the most popular trekking routes in the world.
This was thought to be a sensible
place to establish a satellite clinic with the dual aims of helping more trekkers
with medical problems and widening the HRA mountain safety network in the
Himalaya.
Survey data from the HRA Manang
spring 2007 season team confirmed that trekkers thought Thorong Phedi a logical
and desirable place for a medical post. Thus, the HRA Manang crew of the autumn
2007 season went to Thorong Phedi and provided medical services to trekkers,
trekking guides and porters including local Nepali people working in the
hotels.
In spring 2008 season, an extra
volunteer doctor was assigned to Manang Aid-post allowing the rotation of
doctors working between the Manang Aid-post and Thorong Phedi Clinic. Santi
Subba became HRA chairman in 2008. In a special program organized on the 23rd
July 2012 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Everest Base Camp
Clinic Dr Luanne Freer was presented with the ‘Tenzing Hillary Mountaineering
Award 2011’ on behalf of the Government of Nepal by the Minister of Tourism and
Civil Aviation, Dr Ganesh Raj Joshi.
In line with the HRA’s role as a
coordinating body for rescue and tourist crisis management a symposium was held
in July 2012. The theme of the symposium, chaired by Santi Subba, was to formulate
the way in which HRA would in future organize rescue and disaster management situations
and be the central information point supported both financially and with
man-power by not only the government but also by the NTB, TAAN, and the NMA.
The police, army and APF would also provide manpower and heavy lifting gear
where possible.
Today
HRA own and have installed powerful satellite phones, computers hosting a fast
email service and the internet to aid research in the modern world within the
field of mountain illnesses in their medical clinics. Lectures are provided at
both Pheriche and Manang to inform trekkers and locals about the dangers of
mountain related illnesses are now conducted in modern facilities utilizing
many of the accepted electronic gizmos, and, both Rescue Posts are being
increasingly used by the local population as regular in season health clinics.
Today the HRA has a very able
administration team comprising of Bhuwan
Acharya, Anil Shrestha, Parista Rai, Karuna Neupane, Arjun Banjade and Jeet
Thapa Magar all operating under the leadership of the CEO Mr. Prakash; supporting
the doctors in Manang and Pheriche is Mr. Gobinda Bashyal.
HRA has published several pamphlets concerning
mountain safety, especially dealing with the prevention of Acute Mountain
Sickness (AMS), providing updated information on AMS as compiled by the HRA's
voluntary doctors, who have gained additional insight from research they have
conducted. The HRA pamphlets are available in English, French German, Hebrew
and Japanese.
An
Eye to the Future
Over the last 40 years the HRA has
contributed in a major way to creating a safer and more attentive and caring
Nepal as a premier adventure and travel destination. However, from a humble
beginning not only has the world of trekking moved on but so has the
development of commercialism and consumerism. There is a very different attitude
being displayed in 2013 compare to that in 1973 not only by the demands
of the trekkers and expeditions but also by the porters, trekking staff and
trekking agents and also to a certain extent by the political situation in
Nepal.
More people have proportionately summated
Everest in the last five years than had summated Everest in the previous 55
years and consequently the number of people trekking as far as Everest Base
Camp has also increased dramatically as have the number of people crossing the
Throng La. The situation and financial considerations displayed by modern day
mountain visitors indicate that they have, in the main, less mountain
experience than displayed by similar groups of people from previous
generations, the leaders have less experience and in all categories the
majority of people appear to be younger, indicating they have, in general, less
experience all round.
The opening up of new peaks and
trekking areas to the west of Nepal will only apply increased the pressure on
the HRA.
From only 30 - 40 trekking agents
being in existence 40 years ago there are now over 976 registered members of
the Trekking Agents Association in Nepal and that does not include foreign
groups who travel and trek using their own logistical preparations with local
support.
The whole ‘rescue’ situation in Nepal
is changing and becoming far more complex. The accepted use of satellite
phones, GPS systems, good mobile phone networks and connectivity are, although
raising the safety margins, complicating the situation. This is only compounded
by the increasing numbers of visitors from different countries, multiple
insurance companies, trekking agencies, helicopter companies providing rescue
services and lodges and hotels scattered along all the major trekking routes.
Since 2004 the HRA has been slowly
gearing up to prepare itself for disaster management. As is evident from recent
disasters HRA has coordinated and handled major search and rescue work,
primarily in a coordinating role. In this work the HRA has to frequently liaise
with foreign embassies, relatives of the
victims, the press, government,
helicopter companies rescue workers and insurance companies. HRA staff have to
understand various protocols, documentation, and often all conducted in
different languages, the electronic means of conducting their work has also
become far more complex.
Today’s
running costs mean that the HRA can no longer be sustainable from the sales of
tea-shirts and patches, even with the generosity of the major funders of the
past the future cannot be sustainable to the extent of developing new systems
to deal with what could be thrown at Nepal in the future. The effects of
climate change and global warming are just two more probabilities that add
pressure to the future role of the HRA.
The HRA was established 40 years ago
with a specific mission ‘to prevent deaths [from AMS]’ however, in today’s
world with the increased pressure on the Himalaya for recreational purposes and
a greater awareness of environmental and geographical issues this remit should
surely be widened, ‘to prevent deaths from AMS, mountain and environmental
disasters’.
There is not only evidence from recent
disasters, but, also a readiness to accept that Nepal is in no position to meet
a disaster head on. The Seti flood, the Manaslu avalanche, the fire in Thamel
not to mention the frequent air accidents all raise the question, especially
within the foreign media, ‘how safe is Nepal
as
a tourist destination?’
It is not possible to establish a
strategic search and rescue operation as might be found in other more developed
countries, but, the HRA is in a strong position, with additional government
support to build up systems so as to demonstrate a professional coordinating
and liaising role.
In simple terms what this future role
might require is an accepted system of communications with the means to carry
out such a task, the manpower is already in position, the army, the APF and the
helicopter services although at the present time the latter are far from
adequate in terms of numbers and type and of course all the mountain guides and
adventure activity staff located throughout Nepal can add specialised skills.
The HRA should be in a position to
create training programs, to organize local coordination centers while the
central HRA office in Kathmandu remains as the hub through which all important
information is fed and into which all enquires are passed and handled.
Nepal is slowly settling down after
the recent upheavals and people are now able to take on a wider focus to their
lives than was possible in the past decade and a half. Many young people are
now able to look at 'leisure time activities' and are developing interests in
social past-times. Included in this 'new' element within Nepali society young
people are looking towards the mountains with new eyes, not as a means of
escaping the poverty trap, but, with an interest in understanding the broader
issues of Nepal and the mountains; climbing and mountaineering for the sake of
sport.
Dr Buddha Basnet, the present Medical
Director of the HRA agrees that HRA could play a significant role in
coordinating search and rescue incidents but emphasizes that if this was to be a developing role then there would need
to be significant financial and logistical support from other agencies, the
Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation as well as those organizations with a
large manpower force at their disposal, the police and army.
For the foreseeable future Dr Buddha
believes that the focus of the HRA should continue to be on the security of the
Nepalese citizens, not only for those people working in the mountains, but, for
those people who make annual pilgrimages to the holy and remote sites in Nepal,
locations that are often situated at an altitude that can produce mountain
related illnesses in the pilgrims. This medical and humanitarian activity should
be carried out alongside the medical facilities that the HRA provide for
foreign trekkers and mountaineers.
In
2008 the Mountain
Medicine Society of Nepal (MMSN) was established. This is a
society of medical doctors, students and allied health professionals interested
and involved in mountain medicine, high altitude physiology and related
maladies. As a non-governmental, not-for-profit organization the Society is
working to understand and explore the science behind altitude related illnesses
and utilizing this knowledge in making the mountains safer for all who enjoy
this environment. With some of their regular activities including organizing
and running health camps for pilgrims; research on altitude related
illnesses and programs designed to
create safety awareness among trekkers, pilgrims and porters going to high
altitude, Dr Buddha feels that this organization can enhance the work of the
HRA by providing local doctors experienced in high altitude medicine to
accompany trekking groups, climbing expeditions and pilgrims, or to be
temporarily stationed in the remote areas of the Nepalese Himalaya during peak
seasons. With Nepali doctors providing these services the HRA could extend
their services into locations as far afield as Kailash and other areas where
Kathmandu is seen as the Asian travel hub.
All images © Luanne Freer, HRA unless
otherwise stated
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