Mountaineer Anurag Maloo, miraculously rescued from Mt Annapurna, tells WION: Life is precious

Anurag Maloo was atop the 10th highest mountain in the world, the 8,091-metre Mt Annapurna in Nepal, when he faced the most fateful day of his life.  

While descending, the mountaineer from Kishangarh city of India's northern Rajasthan state chose the wrong rope.

And this mistake led the 34-year to fall disastrously into a deep crevasse on April 17.

He remained in the snow-clad mountains for three days, waiting for rescue. 

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A rescue team could take him out safely on April 20, 2023, a turning point in Maloo's life.

He was barely conscious. With hopes of his survival seemingly bleak, his friends and family prayed that Maloo somehow could see another day. 

Two Polish mountaineers, Adam Bielecki, and Mariusz Hatala, were among the heroes who would eventually pull Maloo out of the clutches of the icy mountains. 

"There is a lot of joy and celebration now," Maloo told WION, having returned home in Rajasthan after spending about six months at India's prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) hospital in Delhi.

His reunion with family was their best gift this Diwali, a festival of light as well as togetherness.

"Only half of my family was there back at the hospital, and Diwali is one such occasion where everyone is supposed to be together. I am glad I am home," he added.

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The homecoming was marked by love, garlands, and the verses of Hanuman Chalisa.

Asked what does he recall from his time inside the crevasse, Maloo said he had "no memories of those three days."

"Now, watching videos on my GoPro is bringing back some faint memories. I made a station inside the crevasse."

AIIMS, where Anurag spent six months, became his sanctuary.

Grateful for the care, emotional, and mental support, he said, "AIIMS gave me my life back. It is a miracle in itself, and we don't necessarily always celebrate the work that the doctors do. I wish that more often."

"I feel blessed that they took my responsibility and delivered the results. I was not even sure if I could walk again. Now I can stand and walk. The amount of work that doctors do in saving your life...in my case, there were so many complications where my internal organs were not stabilised, they were infected, they had to do plastic surgeries for my body parts."

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Anurag's climb to Mt Annapurna in Nepal was not a quest to make records and compete with someone else but how he re-prioritised his life during Covid pandemic.

With his climbing expeditions, he also wants to send a strong message to leaders to address the impending climate crisis. 

"Life is beautiful and precious," he said while reflecting on his time he spent in the hospital.

"Give your dreams a chance to live. Make an effort to work and train hard. Mountaineering is one's own individual journey with the mountains. Pursue your journey, and no one will stop you. Even mountains will support you."