Chhattisgarh mountaineer suffers snow-blindness on Everest, calls off mission

RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh mountaineer Rahul Gupta misses reaching Mount Everest yet again while he was just 650 metres away from the target, after he was hit by snow blindness and frost bite, eventually forcing him to withdraw the mission. This enthusiast hailing from Ambikapur city had to call off his journey last year too due to aftershock of earthquake in Nepal which had done much damage on the stretch he was climbing on.
Twenty one year old Rahul Gupta was the youngest among the group of 280 mountaineers climbing as part of Mount Everest Expedition 2016 North Col China.While the target was on the height of 8848 metres, Rahul began his climbing on April 14 from base camp fighting extreme weather conditions but had to quit almost at the climax after reaching on the height of 8300 metres.
Talking to TOI over phone from Kathmandu where he's undergoing treatment, Rahul said, "It was unfortunate to quit from a point so close to my goal. The summit was supposed to end on May 21 and I was all enthusiastic about it till a strong snow storm hit the group on May 20, the target was still a day distant from me. As the storm direction was from right side, first my right cheek got frost-bitten, then the oxygen mask I was exhaling from passed on the carbon-di-oxide up towards my anti-fog goggle. Thin and then thick layer of snow started forming on the goggles which had stopped working, I had another pair but the issue laid with oxygen mask."
Rahul elaborated, "I was left with two options, if I stopped for a day I would have reached the Everest next day but with the availability of oxygen cylinder, I wouldn't have survived my return journey. Another option was to continue climbing but as my one eye went completely blind and another was 50% off, there was risk I would need emergency rescue, which I knew wasn't possible in that area."
Rescue operation in that part of the world is toughest as China bans helicopters in that region.
I decided to quit. My expedition leader helped in rescuing. But I am not at all disappointed, as this was the 20th time I escaped death and I chose life over death on my own will adding another experience to my life.
Presently, doctors said that though Rahul is better but 20% blindness is still there which they fear might get permanent. Moreover, while the check up is still going on, Rahul's throat that goes dry everytime he climbs mountain indicates throat cancer and there are other signs of high altitude sickness as well.
Expressing little disappointment towards non-cooperation from state government for sportsmen, Rahul said that once he returns on June 3, he would now try getting into commercial climbing and drop off the ambition to become youngest mountaineer from state, else there are other sponsors outside state he would take assistance from.
This young mountaineer has his name recorded in Limca book of world records for scaling the heights of ‘Mount Kilimanjaro’- the highest peak in African Sub-Continent at the age of 20.