CHENNAI: In pictures, Sarpass, with a frozen lake tucked away in the Himalayas, seemed like the perfect getaway to celebrate the end of college for Samuel Abhishek and his friends. It being situated 4,200 metres above sea level, little did they anticipate that the picturesque trek from Kasol would turn a living nightmare.
Their trekking agencies told them about the physical exertion the trek would entail and had even advised the newbies from Chennai to increase their stamina by jogging. However, they did not tell the guys how to prepare for the high altitude pulmonary edema, which almost killed Samuel Abhishek.
Four days into the five-day trek, Samuel felt breathless and began coughing. He did not know body fluid was seeping into his lungs. His friends took turns carrying him on their backs on the final day and managed to save his life. “Our agency told us this is the perfect trek for beginners so we decided to attempt it. But on the very first day we found how dangerous it is for newbies like us,” Samuel said, explaining how one of his friends rolled down one slope and luckily managed to stop before rolling off a ledge.
Like Samuel and his friends, more and more people are attempting treks without proper preparations, blinded by the spirit of adventure. It is estimated that more than 30 people died in mountaineering accidents in 2017 alone.
In a bid to avert such rash decisions and sensitise people to the precautions taken by experts, Trip 360 screened an exclusive footage submitted for the Banff Mountain Film Festival in the city on Sunday. The gathering was also introduced to training programmes available to prepare beginners before taking up arduous treks.
“We have a week-long programme in Manali which starts in November to train new enthusiasts before they take up trek packages,” said D Balamurugan, an official from Cox and Kings, explaining that Rocky Mountains (US) and the Himalayas are the most sought-after destinations.