On April 25th 2015 tragedy struck Nepal with a horrific earthquake. During this time I was unfortunately in Nepal with 3 friends attempting to summit a mountain. However, I was fortunate to be in the northwest part of the country which was not affected by the earthquake (other than some tremors and avalanches). I wanted to share with you my experience during this horrible time. My heart goes out to all of the people of Nepal and other nationalities who have lost family and friends due to this event.
Here is my story and takeaways….
“We have to discontinue the expedition, and descend from Italian base camp immediately” said our Sherpa leader Lakpah. My three team mates and I looked at him and each other shocked and extremely disappointed. We had been planning this expedition for over 12 months; our first 6,000 plus meter mountain ascent (Damphus Peak), and now it just all came to an end so quickly. Our team of 15 porters, 3 Sherpas and 1 cook had to start planning for the next phase of our trip – however, we were now going down the mountain instead of up!
On April 25th, close to noon time in Nepal where we had just made camp at Salughiri base camp when we felt the first rumblings of the 7.8 earthquake that rocked the country for the first time since their last massive earthquake in 1934. We looked at each other and said, “that was a big tremor from an earthquake” not knowing what occurred back in Kathmandu and the Everest region. The next day we continued our expedition to Italian base camp, only to experience another tremor while setting up camp there. News about the earthquake started to filter in via new groups who were arriving later in the day. However, the gravity of the earthquake was still unknown to us. We all thought, “it wasn’t affecting us” so we should push on through as typical Type A males. On Sunday afternoon, April 26th one of my team mates decided to call his wife on the satellite phone telling her we were all fine and not affected by the earthquake. “We are continuing with our expedition” was his response much to his wife’s shock and dismay. I had no idea what my family or colleagues were going through prior to this 24 hour period of radio silence.
On our second day at Italian base camp more groups arrived, and another British led group from our tour company Jagged Globe landed with the bad news. There were whispers and rumors going all over the camp about the earthquake, but it wasn’t until later that afternoon were we told the magnitude of the earthquake. Jagged Globe decided to end the expeditions due to the fact that all rescue helicopters were being seconded by the government, focused on rescuing people in the worst hit villages in and around Everest base camp and the Gorka region. If something serious happened to any of us while ascending the mountain, we would not have access to rescue helicopters.
Resigned to the reality that our goals would not be reached, we refocused our resources and made it down the mountain range within two days to Phokara. Much to the relief of my family I safely returned to Bangkok eight days after I left on April 24th.
It took me 2-3 days to physically and mentally recover after a very emotional trip. However, I started to reflect about what I learned and how it can apply to our day to day leadership of teams and challenges we face.
Here are a few “takeaways” from my perspective (some obvious, some new):
The Big Picture Matters. We could have disagreed with the assessment of Jagged Globe to descend, but it wasn’t just about “us” we were also responsible for the porters, Sherpas and cooks. At this stage we realized our family was just as important. We had to rely upon Jagged Globes expert advice and defer our wants. We were sure the support team was also very concerned about their family members as well.
Refocus the Teams Goals. The support team (Sherpas, porters etc.) were also extremely disappointed to cut short the expedition, fearing lost wages/tips. We had to communicate to them that the earthquake would not affect their tips, and that they needed to set a new goal of “getting us down the mountain and Phokara” as fast as possible. We were being told that it would take 4 to 5 days to walk to Phokara from Italian base camp. We were skeptical at such timings. We realized that we wanted to get to Phokara, and ultimately Kathmandu International airport as fast as possible. We feared that the airport would be shut down and we would be stuck in Kathmandu. We financially incentivized them to move fast down the mountain. What they usually would do in 4 to 5 days, we did in two plus days. Our goal was to be home by Saturday and we reached it.
Take Control of the Process. While ascending we were very much in the hands our support team – deferring to them all the way up to Italian base camp. Once we focused on “getting down the mountain” we took control, driving the process of how many hours we would walk a day and where we would camp. The support team focused on getting our tents ready and feeding us. Our Sherpa leader basically let us decide the rest and take most of the decisions. We walked close to 50km on tough terrain, often going up 1,000 meters and down 1,500 meters in the same day. My knees will never be the same!
Teamwork and Pushing Each Other was Vital. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? We pulled together and project managed the whole descent, assigning tasks to each individual. As we came within cell phone reach, we started to re-book flights, gather more intel on distances, hotels, the airports etc. We packed our own lunch, eating bars and snacks. Helping each other with re-hydrating, and keeping the porters moving by staying ahead of them was key to keeping a good pace. I think they were a bit amazed how quickly we moved, but we helped each other move as fast as possible. In the end, we all got down safely.
Lastly, remember to always call home! One never knows what your loved ones or colleagues are going through. We have heard from our support team, and the good news is that all of their family are safe.
(May 26, 2015)