DeBruemmer
05-25-2009, 06:25 PM
Saga
My life’s dream had always been to be like my father, and all the other Sherpas, to climb the great Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest), but now it seemed that dream would never come true. I was shivering as I lay there in the cold snow, nearly halfway up this great beast, yet I had already felt its fury. I tried the radio again, yelling out help in my painful, scratchy voice, but all I heard was static. I was beginning to lose feeling in my legs and arms. The sun was setting on what was supposed to be a wonderful day and I knew for a fact that fate would soon cut my string.
It started out just like any other day in Nepal. We were at Sagarmatha’s base camp. I was to make the climb with my older twin brothers Yeshe and Jangbu. They had made the climb a dozen times before with our father. Both of them look exactly the same, heavy set, with naturally tan Sherpan skin and short black hair. I, on the other hand am a scrawny young man, everybody says I look not a day over 18, but in fact I am 26 and have a wife and a 3 year old kid named Kipu, which means happy. My brothers are so successful in life and I love them dearly, but for once I would like to step out from behind their shadow and into the bright Nepal sunlight. This was my chance.
We had been climbing for nearly 4 hours, yet it still seemed like the mountain still staggered endlessly upwards. Of course I was in the back and Jangbu lead with Yeshe right behind and they were nearly pulling me up the mountain.
Jangbu turned to us and said, “We are almost to middle camp, just a little while longer.” The wind was beginning to pick up along with an increasingly large amount of snowfall. Of course when a concerned Yeshe asked about the weather, Jangbu assured us we would be fine. I was worried deep inside, but didn’t want my brothers to know, so I kept quiet as we continued our long journey to the summit. I knew if these winds continued, they would prove dangerous. I couldn’t have been more correct.
By now, I was getting worried. Yeshe called up to Jangbu again, telling him we needed to find a place to wait out the storm, but of course he ignored this request and we trudged onward. Then out of nowhere the snow and wind came to a stop and their was complete silence.
“See, I told you we’d we fine!” Jangbu said back to us with a laugh, but then suddenly the worst possible thing happened. Off in the distance, I could hear a low rumbling. It was getting louder and louder and by now I had realized that an avalanche was coming.
“Avalanche!” I shouted. Yeshe and Jangbu turned to see what I saw coming over the horizon. Jangbu quickly jumped into action. We followed him over to a large rock. He told me to tie myself to it. “What about you?” I said, but it was too late. The curtain of white had swept upon us. I could no longer see Jangbu and Yeshe. They must have been taken with the mountain. The snow was everywhere. My limbs were frozen cold. I felt like all hope was lost, when suddenly the avalanche passed. I untied myself and was about to get up when I noticed a sharp pain in my side. I wasn’t a doctor, but I had a guess that I broke a few ribs. I tried to stand only to find I likely had a broken leg. I felt so much pain throughout my entire body. My head was throbbing and my breathes became shallower. Jangbu and Yeshe were nowhere to be seen. I tried them on the radio, but to no avail. I had no choice but lie down in the snow and hope they could find me. All my life I had wanted to get to the top, but that looked doubtful now. As I laid there I thought of my wife, and little Kipu, such a ball of joy, but alas I would never see him again. Tears began to form in my eyes as recounted all these memories. I silently wished that Jangbu and Yeshe would be ok. I was thinking about how I would get to join Buddha and all my deceased relatives once again. If only I could have gotten to the top. I hoped that I could get to the top in my next life. I took a few more short breathes and then that was it. My soul slid in with the mountain, all my worries and cares were over.
As the avalanche hit them, Yeshe and Jangbu were thrust away from their youngest brother and towards the bottom of that treacherous beast of a mountain. Somehow the two brothers managed to stay together. When the avalanche subsided, the young Sherpas were surprised to find that they had no major injuries, besides some bumps and bruises. Their strong bodies had kept them safe. They looked at each other and knew exactly what they had to do – find their brother.
Through all the tortures this beast could provide, the two brothers made it back to the area of the avalanche. Thanks to modern technology, they used their GPS to find their brother. There lay their baby brother’s limp and bloodied body. He looked so helpless there in the snow.
“Nooooooo!” they screamed together as they bent down to their only other brother’s body. “Please be okay! Come on! No! How could we let this happen!”
Yeshe buried his face in his hands and began sobbing. Jangbu wrapped his arms around his brother’s weak body and said, “You can’t die now, Saga, please!”
That’s right; my name is Saga, after the ferocious beast I never tamed alive. I had always loved Sagarmatha, until I met its wrath myself. I guess it was made to be, my death on my namesake mountain.
“Birth at the base,” said Jangbu as he lifted me in his arms, “death at the summit.” He looked over at Yeshe’s tear streamed face and they locked eyes as they both took their first steps to making Saga’s life long wish come true, summiting the mountain Sagarmatha.
My life’s dream had always been to be like my father, and all the other Sherpas, to climb the great Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest), but now it seemed that dream would never come true. I was shivering as I lay there in the cold snow, nearly halfway up this great beast, yet I had already felt its fury. I tried the radio again, yelling out help in my painful, scratchy voice, but all I heard was static. I was beginning to lose feeling in my legs and arms. The sun was setting on what was supposed to be a wonderful day and I knew for a fact that fate would soon cut my string.
It started out just like any other day in Nepal. We were at Sagarmatha’s base camp. I was to make the climb with my older twin brothers Yeshe and Jangbu. They had made the climb a dozen times before with our father. Both of them look exactly the same, heavy set, with naturally tan Sherpan skin and short black hair. I, on the other hand am a scrawny young man, everybody says I look not a day over 18, but in fact I am 26 and have a wife and a 3 year old kid named Kipu, which means happy. My brothers are so successful in life and I love them dearly, but for once I would like to step out from behind their shadow and into the bright Nepal sunlight. This was my chance.
We had been climbing for nearly 4 hours, yet it still seemed like the mountain still staggered endlessly upwards. Of course I was in the back and Jangbu lead with Yeshe right behind and they were nearly pulling me up the mountain.
Jangbu turned to us and said, “We are almost to middle camp, just a little while longer.” The wind was beginning to pick up along with an increasingly large amount of snowfall. Of course when a concerned Yeshe asked about the weather, Jangbu assured us we would be fine. I was worried deep inside, but didn’t want my brothers to know, so I kept quiet as we continued our long journey to the summit. I knew if these winds continued, they would prove dangerous. I couldn’t have been more correct.
By now, I was getting worried. Yeshe called up to Jangbu again, telling him we needed to find a place to wait out the storm, but of course he ignored this request and we trudged onward. Then out of nowhere the snow and wind came to a stop and their was complete silence.
“See, I told you we’d we fine!” Jangbu said back to us with a laugh, but then suddenly the worst possible thing happened. Off in the distance, I could hear a low rumbling. It was getting louder and louder and by now I had realized that an avalanche was coming.
“Avalanche!” I shouted. Yeshe and Jangbu turned to see what I saw coming over the horizon. Jangbu quickly jumped into action. We followed him over to a large rock. He told me to tie myself to it. “What about you?” I said, but it was too late. The curtain of white had swept upon us. I could no longer see Jangbu and Yeshe. They must have been taken with the mountain. The snow was everywhere. My limbs were frozen cold. I felt like all hope was lost, when suddenly the avalanche passed. I untied myself and was about to get up when I noticed a sharp pain in my side. I wasn’t a doctor, but I had a guess that I broke a few ribs. I tried to stand only to find I likely had a broken leg. I felt so much pain throughout my entire body. My head was throbbing and my breathes became shallower. Jangbu and Yeshe were nowhere to be seen. I tried them on the radio, but to no avail. I had no choice but lie down in the snow and hope they could find me. All my life I had wanted to get to the top, but that looked doubtful now. As I laid there I thought of my wife, and little Kipu, such a ball of joy, but alas I would never see him again. Tears began to form in my eyes as recounted all these memories. I silently wished that Jangbu and Yeshe would be ok. I was thinking about how I would get to join Buddha and all my deceased relatives once again. If only I could have gotten to the top. I hoped that I could get to the top in my next life. I took a few more short breathes and then that was it. My soul slid in with the mountain, all my worries and cares were over.
As the avalanche hit them, Yeshe and Jangbu were thrust away from their youngest brother and towards the bottom of that treacherous beast of a mountain. Somehow the two brothers managed to stay together. When the avalanche subsided, the young Sherpas were surprised to find that they had no major injuries, besides some bumps and bruises. Their strong bodies had kept them safe. They looked at each other and knew exactly what they had to do – find their brother.
Through all the tortures this beast could provide, the two brothers made it back to the area of the avalanche. Thanks to modern technology, they used their GPS to find their brother. There lay their baby brother’s limp and bloodied body. He looked so helpless there in the snow.
“Nooooooo!” they screamed together as they bent down to their only other brother’s body. “Please be okay! Come on! No! How could we let this happen!”
Yeshe buried his face in his hands and began sobbing. Jangbu wrapped his arms around his brother’s weak body and said, “You can’t die now, Saga, please!”
That’s right; my name is Saga, after the ferocious beast I never tamed alive. I had always loved Sagarmatha, until I met its wrath myself. I guess it was made to be, my death on my namesake mountain.
“Birth at the base,” said Jangbu as he lifted me in his arms, “death at the summit.” He looked over at Yeshe’s tear streamed face and they locked eyes as they both took their first steps to making Saga’s life long wish come true, summiting the mountain Sagarmatha.