Chapter 404: Climbing Season Cancelled
"Get out, get out, get away! Get out!"
As soon as the group who claimed to be members of the mountaineering association arrived, they started beating and kicking the reporters who were like dog-skin plasters. These reporters were already uncomfortable on the 5,000-meter plateau, and the short sprint just now had exhausted them severely. After being pushed a few times, they fell to the ground and gasped for breath.
Seeing that several people were about to get up, the association staff pulled Bifang and others back to the camp without even introducing their identities. It was not until they entered the tent that it became a little quieter.
"Mr. Bi, you are finally back!" The leading association member Thais was a little anxious.
Thais looked a bit like a traditional Nepalese, with a short stature. He spoke anxiously but clearly: "I am Thais, the secretary of the Nepal Mountaineering Association. This avalanche happened suddenly and the losses were heavy. We are the only members of the association who are currently staying in the base camp. Thank you for your contribution to the climbers, but the rescue team cannot officially arrive yet. I have watched..."
"Just tell me directly, what do you need me to do?" Bifang was able to clearly distinguish the priorities of the matter and knew roughly what the other party meant.
"I hope you can describe the scene when the avalanche occurred in detail again. Time is urgent, and we hope you can organize people to organize rescue first." Thais spoke very quickly, and it was obvious that he was very anxious.
This request is really excessive. Save people?
How to save?
Will a second avalanche occur? A large avalanche can even change the terrain, leaving less experienced guides at a loss. The glacier cracks that are covered up are like swords hanging over their heads. If you are not careful, you will be doomed.
In the eyes of many people, giving a helping hand along the way is already the most one can do.
There is no way. Mount Everest has been hit by natural disasters in the past decade. Moreover, the Internet is developing at an increasingly rapid pace. The whole world will know about any slight incident. If this incident cannot be handled effectively, it may have a huge impact on future tourism development.
Don't underestimate the economic effect that Mount Everest has brought to Nepal. The number of people who climb the mountain is one thing. Every year, at least a thousand people spend money to buy certificates. Perhaps less than half of them come, but at least one person spends 70,000 to 80,000 dollars, not to mention the consumption in Nepal. These people alone represent hundreds of millions of economic income, not to mention those who come here purely for tourism.
In addition, the development of Mount Everest has not been smooth due to environmental issues and opposition from the Sherpas.
If a big problem happens again this time, it will be a heavy blow to local development. No one will come to climb mountains, and the tourism industry will not be able to develop. Then there will be no need for their mountaineering association to exist.
But rescue is not an easy task, and the more extreme the environment, the more so. From risk assessment to rescue efficiency, there are undoubtedly big problems. Being too anxious may cause even bigger problems.
In this context, the appearance of Bifang is undoubtedly a life-saving straw for the mountaineering association!
There is another important reason. The other party is broadcasting live! An epic global anchor!
Professionals can understand that rescue is difficult, but laymen cannot. They will just think that you don't care about the lives of climbers at all. Besides, climbers are almost all wealthy people, and it is impossible for them to think from their perspective, which makes the situation even worse.
After listening to Thaïs's words, the audience also understood why the other party was so anxious that they allowed a traveler who survived the avalanche to organize the rescue first.
[This is treating Fang Shen as a life-saving straw]
[Awesome, I guess no one can use it anymore]
[The main reason is that Lao Fang performed amazingly. Who would have thought that when an avalanche came, he would not only survive, but also bring his teammates along.]
[If those two climbers hadn’t run away, they would have achieved a superb achievement]
Indeed, both in terms of ability and courage, Bifang showed extremely high execution ability under the vast natural disaster this time. He was even able to rescue others along the way while sending his teammates down the mountain. When the terrain and route changed, he relied on his experience and ability to go down the mountain again to open a way.
He is proficient in first aid, has an extraordinary physique, is knowledgeable and experienced, and even his organizational ability is remarkable. The faster the rescue, the better. On the vast Mount Everest, without any help, it is simply unjustifiable not to capture such a person to serve as a soldier.
No matter how we assess the danger, can anyone who has experienced it personally understand it?
No matter how experienced you are, can you be as experienced as someone who can blaze a trail?
Now that things have come to this, how can Bifang refuse?
He nodded without saying a word.
"But I alone am not enough. I need helpers. The seriously injured also need to be carried down the mountain. Not too many people, but at least five or six good hands, preferably Sherpas. Some equipment must also be prepared for me, including sleds, snow shovels, probes and stretchers." Bifang said in a deep voice, and as he spoke, he wrote down a list and handed it to the other party.
"No problem!" Seeing the other party agree, Thais was overjoyed. "The people behind me are all native Sherpas, and they are all young and strong. Below 6,000 meters, two people can even carry one person down the mountain! And I have a good helper here."
"helper?"
Before Bifang could wonder, Thais blew a whistle, and a dog barking sounded, and a big dog with white skin and brown back crawled in from the bottom of the tent.
"St. Bernard!" Bifang said in surprise.
【dog?】
[Looks like a rescue dog, right? ]
[Saint Bernard, sounds familiar]
[What kind of dog is this? Why have I never seen one in China before?]
"This is my friend, Barry. He used to be a rescue dog, but he retired due to injury the year before last. I adopted him later." This St. Bernard was raised by Thaïs himself. When the avalanche occurred, several members of their association and Barry were all at an altitude of more than 4,000 meters. When Thaïs talked about being a search and rescue dog, he even seemed a little proud.
The audience was puzzled by Bifang's excitement, so while Tais was out preparing equipment, Bifang gave a brief explanation.
St. Bernard was originally a guard dog in a monastery in the Swiss Alps. Due to its excellent ability to recognize roads, it became a guide dog. However, blizzards were also frequent in the Alps, so the monks took them to rescue people. It turned out that the St. Bernard guide dogs had extremely strong search and rescue capabilities, and had a strong sense of smell and towing ability, so they became world-famous snow mountain search and rescue dogs.
However, with the development of the times, snow mountain rescue has become helicopters, and the St. Bernard has gradually disappeared from this industry and become a family dog and nanny dog. Bifang never thought that he would be able to return to "tradition" one day.
[Awesome, but I’ve never seen it before]
Bifang scratched his eyebrows. This was an awkward matter.
The St. Bernard is the national dog of Sweden. However, after it was introduced to Sweden, many people valued its characteristics of being less prone to disease, growing fast and growing a lot, and turned it into a meat dog.
Can Switzerland tolerate the national dog being turned into a meat dog?
"So Sweden intervened and banned the export of St. Bernard to countries that eat dog meat."
audience:"……"
At this time, Thais also came back from outside. He used his identity as a member of the association to borrow first aid equipment from the people who were still staying in the base camp. After a short while, he borrowed the supplies that Bifang wanted.
"Well, time is running out, we have to set off again."
Seeing that everything was ready, Bifang didn't say much. He took St. Bernard, loaded all the medical equipment, and boarded again with the people prepared by Thaïs.
Yao Jun and Jarrett stayed in the base camp and received comprehensive treatment along with the other injured.
Looking at the snow-capped mountains again, Bifang narrowed his eyes.
According to Thais' information, there were four rescue teams on the Khumbu Glacier last night, with a total of 36 people. As for whether there were other people, it was unknown. What Bifang had to do was to rescue as many trapped people as possible.
Having had experience in descending a mountain and performing a rescue operation, this operation was not too dangerous.
The only problem is…
Will the Mountaineering Association and Nepal Tourism Board cancel the climbing season?
This is not Bifang's delusion, but something that actually happened. The climbing season of Mount Everest was cancelled during the window period due to surrounding issues, risk assessment issues, and even disaster issues.
After the 2014 avalanche, Nepal cancelled the 2014 Mountaineering Festival to mourn the colleagues who died in the previous avalanche.
There wasn’t one in 2015 because there was a major earthquake and even if it hadn’t been cancelled, no one dared to climb the mountain.
The situation this time was almost exactly the same, which made Bifang very worried. That was why he agreed to the rescue without hesitation. His purpose was to improve the association's favorability so that if this incident really happened, he could explain it easily. At the same time, he could reduce casualties and try to minimize the impact.
Bifang pulled the dog leash, calmed his mind, and said to the Sherpa expert behind him.
"Go, save people!"
…
"*** News: The Nepal Mountaineering Association confirmed in Lingcheng on May 3 that an avalanche on Mount Everest that day buried part of Camp 1, killing six people and injuring at least 30. At the time of the incident, there were hundreds of climbers and guides at the base camp in the area, but they have not been contacted yet."
"The Nepal Mountaineering Association confirmed last night that the avalanche hit the area between the Khumbu Icefall and the base camp caused by the collapse of ice and snow. He said that the specific details of the avalanche were not yet clear and communication between the climbers' base camp and other areas of Mount Everest was intermittent."
"Nepal police chief Chandra Dev Rai said there were about 700 climbers in the Solukhumbu area of Everest at the time, 300 of whom were supposed to be at the base camp, 200 at Base Camp I, and about four climbing teams on the Khumbu Icefall."
…
"During the avalanche on Mount Everest, the famous adventurer and part-time host Bifang was also at the scene. He made contact again within less than ten minutes of losing contact and demonstrated a textbook-level self-rescue on the spot. At the same time, at the first moment of the disaster, Bifang remained calm and not only kept a cool head, but also chose the most correct way to save himself, winning a precious chance of survival for himself and his teammates."
"Except for the two guides who left alone, the team led by Bifang was almost unscathed and went down the mountain in the early morning of the 4th. Regardless of his own safety, he rescued dozens of people along the way and successfully saved the lives of two seriously injured people. What is even more admirable is that after going down the mountain, he was invited by the Mountaineering Association to lead the locals to carry out a second and even third rescue. Together with the rescue dog Barry, he successfully brought the seriously injured down to the base camp for treatment and dug out two other teams. Fans jokingly call him a disaster survivor and a professional rescuer."
"At 4:37 p.m. that day, the rescue helicopter arrived successfully. Under Bifang's command and leadership, the rescue operation was carried out in an orderly manner. This time, Bifang not only demonstrated the commitment and responsibility of outstanding people, but also reflected the spiritual outlook of the Chinese people, which is..."
"Right now, the two tents at the Everest Base Camp are already filled with wounded people. The Secretary of the Mountaineers Association, Thayes, claims that the number of casualties may continue to rise. This report stops here for now."
…
Early morning of May 5th.
Bifang opened his eyes tiredly. Barry, who was standing beside him, seemed to have noticed something and stood up and licked Bifang's palm .
“Hmm…”
He sighed and sat up from the bed. From the avalanche that began in the early morning of the previous night until yesterday evening, Bifang had not had a good rest. After successfully rescuing himself, he took Yao Jun and the other man down the mountain, and then went up the mountain again and went down the mountain again.
When the rescue team arrived, Bifang took them through a safe route again, and together with the Sherpas, he re-set up the aluminum ladder and lifting ropes. Only after the handover were they able to return to rest.
It is estimated that the rescue team did not rest last night. However, the route has been traversed by the rescue team, which has greatly increased the rescue efficiency. Moreover, Bifang has a good memory. Although the terrain may have changed, the road they have taken before can be restored after a few verifications. Although all teams may not take the same route, it also provides a certain basis and reference for the rescue.
After a day's hard work by myself and the whole night's efforts by the rescue team's three helicopters and four professional search and rescue teams, all the personnel who could be brought out of the Khumbu Glacier had been brought out.
As for the rescue at Base Camp No. 1, there is no need to worry too much. First, only a part of it is buried, and it is a platform as a whole, so rescue is convenient. Second, there are many people left there, from climbers guides to medical staff, so the rescue speed is very fast.
From the incident to the end, the losses were reduced to the minimum within 24 hours, which is the speed limit of snow mountain rescue.
I looked up at the time and it was already eight o'clock in the morning.
I don’t know if the news that Thais found out has been reported back. The current death toll in the Khumbu Glacier is six, which is almost the same as the previous case. This makes Bifang very nervous.
I looked up outside the tent and could see some figures through the sunlight. They were reporters who were still trying to get the news, but unfortunately they were stopped by other climbers.
Although these people lack professionalism, they can still help with some small things.
Just as Bifang was daydreaming, the tent curtain was suddenly lifted. Thais's face looked a little ugly. He was surprised to see Bifang wake up, and hurriedly brought the man forward.
"Are you awake?"
"Yeah." Bifang nodded, "What's the situation?"
Thais knew what Bifang was asking. He lowered his head and sighed. Bifang's heart sank to the bottom in an instant.
"The association is very grateful for what you have done, but..."
“The climbing season is canceled.”
