‘The day boulders rained on us . . .’
FOR each of the six days they spent on a Himalayan mountainside, South Africans Kate Ahrends and Mike Sherman thought it would be their last.
They survived the initial carnage of the massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake that tore through Nepal last week, but the couple continued to fear for their lives.
It was entirely possible, they thought as they sat perched on a mountain in Langtang, that repeated aftershocks and tremors could send car-sized boulders hurtling down the mountain, crushing them to death.
Landslides, which had wiped out some of the nearby villages and hiking rest stops, were also a distinct possibility.
“You’re so helpless when you’re out there,” Ahrends said. “When boulders the size of cars are coming down the mountain, what do you do? Every day we thought about dying. And every day we were grateful [that we were alive].”
Stranded, they thought of home and how their families might never know what happened to them should the worst come to pass.
The Cape Town couple were one day into a two-week hike through Langtang, a popular hiking area in northern Nepal, when disaster struck. With them were two Australian sisters, Tess and Eliza Arnold, and a British and a Spanish woman.
The earthquake — which has left more than 6 800 dead and 14 000 injured — came just as they were crossing a suspension bridge along a narrow path.
Terrified, they fled for cover in a small cave before joining up with two Dutch hikers and a Nepali guide picking their way through the debris and chaos.
Eventually they made it to Bamboo Village, a small hiking rest stop lower down the mountain. There they joined some 65 other hikers. But they were far from safe.
They had no idea when, or even if, they would be rescued.
As the days passed, hopes began to fade. Some members of the group took a chance on hiking further down towards the nearest big town to seek help. Others stayed put.
Then, on Tuesday, their hopes HOMEWARD BOUND: Mike Sherman and Kate Ahrends and other rescued hikers arrive at Kathmandu International Airport after their terrifying earthquake ordeal were raised with the arrival of an Israeli helicopter — and swiftly and cruelly dashed.
“The guy got out the helicopter and told us, sorry, he was just doing his job, and that he could only take the Israelis,” said Sherman yesterday.
“In the end, he also took the elderly and the injured who were with us. We thought we were going to be getting out. It was a huge blow. It was an extreme high and then an extreme low.”
But they were at least able to get messages out to their families that they were alive. Trapped, yes, but alive.
Two more days passed. Thoughts of death were everpresent.
Finally, on Thursday, help arrived in the form of an American helicopter.
One of the couple’s friends, Eliza Arnolds, whom they met SURVIVORS: Kate Ahrends and Mike Sherman, left, spent what they imagined were their last days alive in this makeshift camp with other hikers who had been trapped on the mountain two years ago in Cambodia, said they initially feared they would face the same situation as with the Israelis, in that only US citizens would be taken to safety.
“But they just saw how dangerous our situation was and said they’re not leaving any man behind. They flew us to Dhunche [an army base higher up the valley],” Arnolds said.
They started to feel safer, but the group were still not at ease.
It would only be the next morning that they would be taken by the Nepal military to Kathmandu, where they were linked up with the South African dis- aster-relief team at the Little Angels school.
After a week of sleeping in the rough, they collapsed gratefully into bunks on Friday night — but only after they had spoken to their parents.
Yesterday, they spoke of their ordeal for the first time.
“It felt like the mountain was exploding,” Ahrends said of the quake. “We were all panicked and ran towards a mountain and covered our heads. We got together and found a rock that we hid under for a while.
“Everything started vibrating and moving. It was terrifying. TEARS OF RELIEF: Ntshikeng Matooane, 16, hugs her mother at OR Tambo International Airport after returning from a devastated Nepal. ‘We weren’t at the epicentre, thankfully — but we could feel the tremors,’ said Ntshikeng
Because we were in a narrow valley there was nowhere to go. It was terrifying
Massive boulders were ricocheting off the mountains and down into the valley. Because we were in a narrow valley . . . there was nowhere to go. We were really exposed and the ground was opening up everywhere and cracking everywhere,” she said.
“We just want to get home and be with our families,” Sherman added. Comment on this: write to tellus@sundaytimes.co.za or SMS us at 33971 www.timeslive.co.za