Be Our Guest: part 2

Continuation of Be Our Guest:
Part 2:

Day 4: Our early morning view of the valley around Sarchu. Little did we know we had a another big day ahead of us.

Climbing again. This shot was taken from the top of a series of hairpin turns called the "Gata Loops." (Google it.) I forget how many there are but it's something like 21 or so. It was great fun and a fast and serious climb.

The next pass was at 15,547 feet, not even particularly high for the route. Most of the the passes have these little piles of stones on top. Travelers stop for a small rest and pile them up. I believe they are supposed to be like a small Buddhist Stupa. To me, they seemed like kind of Zen "I was here."

Lachungla pass, 16,616 feet...starting to get up there. Unfortunately, between Nakeela pass and Lachungla pass, one of our gang took a spill and broke his leg. Some good Samaritans brought him down the pass in their car and we administered what first aid we could. We put a pretty good splint on his leg and tried to quickly come up with a plan. Luckily, an Australian biker and his girlfriend, who we befriended back in Keylong, were passing by and gave him a couple Vicodin to ease the pain. We loaded him in a small bus that was passing by and set off to try and get him some medical help. The nearest "town" on the road was Pang. We were told there was a small Indian Army base where we may find a doctor.

The Indian Army Base in Pang. (Yes, that's all of it). A medic gave our buddy a shot for pain but that was really all they had to offer. From Pang it was still about a 5 or 6 hours ride to Leh where we were told we could find a "hospital."  The Indian Army guys commandeered a bus that was passing through and we sent him on his way again.

The third mountain pass of the day was Taglangla Pass at 17,582 feet.  "Unbelievable, is not it?"

At this pass we decided to wait for our buddy's "medevac" and cheer him on as he drove through.

To our pleasant surprise, his bus stopped for a rest and we had a quick reunion at 17,582 feet. Our whole gang made it to Taglangla together but it was still a long way to Leh. We took one very cool photo of all of us at Taglangla pass, then back on the road.

We made it to Leh and the "hospital" was good for one thing. It confirmed what we already knew...broken leg. The x-ray has  two shots of the broken leg on it but you don't need to be a trained technician to read it.  The "hospital' in Leh, much like the rain soaked landslide before Keylong, is a whole story unto itself. But a few quick details about the "hospital." There was no power when we arrived so we had to wait in the dark until the power came back before we could take the x-ray. The "technician" had our mechanic, the cab driver and me cut my buddy's boot off of him in order to take the x-ray. (I used my Dad's old leatherman. Thanks Dad!) Waiting with us in the emergency ward was a young kid with no pants and a horrible case of dysentery. When dysentery kid left he was replaced by the next "emergency" which was an old man who had clearly expired hours earlier. He shared our room with us for a while. The doc told my buddy he needed surgery and should stay in the hospital overnight.  Buddy said, "Nope! Take me to the hotel!"  Which we did, but not before they tried to wheel him out of the "hospital" in a wheelchair that was missing one front wheel.  Not very functional, so the mechanic and I carried him to the cab.

Day 5: We found a great hotel in Leh and spent day 5 trying to make our patient comfortable. There were a lot of phone calls to rearrange his flights, set up doctors appointments and bring concerned family and friends up to speed. That's no cast on his leg. He had to leave it in a broken state, only splinted to stop movement, and fly back to the states for surgery. He's a tough guy and he never complained, except a little bit about the quality of care in the Leh "hospital".

(trip continued in Be Our Guest: part 3)