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Title: Six Winter Days Alone with Death
Source:
Mongolia Today
URL Source: http://www.mongoliatoday.com/?p=401
Published: Feb 20, 2013
Author: unknown
Post Date: 2013-02-20 00:51:28 by A K A Stone
Keywords: None
Views: 459
A wolf cry came out from the nearby forest. Dogs jumped up and began to bark wildly. Man, with eight ribs and one hip broken, could hardly move and just lay still listening intently to the sounds of winter night, thinking how long longer he can hold on. It was second day he was laying buried under snow. Bat-Ochir Oidov, 39-years-old nomadic herder from Tsenkher Mandal soum (county) of Khentii province lives some 60 km away from the soum center, wintering with his horses in the valleys of the Red Willow Mountain range. The day of January 7, 2012 began as usual. He woke up in the morning, made fire in a metal stove to warm up the gher (felt walled tent) which got cold during the previous night. Then he went out to let cows out of a winter fenced shelter to go to pasture and cleaned the dung. After quick breakfast, he decided to go and round up horses grazing on mountain slope at some six kilometers. On that day he decided to ride a bit kinky young mare which was not saddled for over a year. Only later he learned what a costly mistake it was. When Bat Ochir rounded up horses and was chasing couple of stray ones, the horse beneath him slipped, and began to swirl down the hill slope. Bat Ochir instinctively dived and tried to stick to the horse’s neck. When the horse recovered to its feet and started to gallop, he found himself hanging beneath the horse, because the saddle turned upside down. Moreover, one his foot got stuck in stirrup. “With each leap of the horse, I could hear the sound of crushing bones… one hoof blow even landed on my head. I was lucky. After few leaps the saddle’s strips finally tore off and I fell on ground,” recalls Bat Ochir, looking absently and away into a window of the hospital ward, again remembering terrifying moments and pain of that day. “I do not remember how long I was laying there. I did not really loose consciousness, but when I came to my senses and tried to get up, I saw my right leg bended sideway at sharp angle. My hip was broken.” “Initially I did not feel any pain at all. First thing, I put my broken leg into right position. Despite growing pain, I began to crawl to nearby willow bushes. There I found two sticks and tried to get up using the sticks to support me. Each step required big effort. I could barely breath as my chest was burning. Each breath resulted to excruciating burst of pain…” Unable to walk, Bat Ochir tried to crawl using his hands as clingers. He would stretch hands, grab soil and then try to pull his body. It did not work out. Then he tried to roll, but the pain in chest was too much to bear. He managed to advance about 50 meters before giving up. He kept trying for another 2-3 hours, but finally run out of any strength at the end unable to even move. It was clear that he can not make it to home on his own and would have to spend night in snow. Bat Ochir wore deel, a traditional nomadic coat with thick cotton winter underneath and leather boots with fur covers. But these clothes were not good for spending night outside, especially during -30 Celsius cold winter night. He had to think how to survive the night. Inside he hoped that his nephew, who went to visit relatives in Baganuur town, will return soon enough to raise alarm after not finding him at home. Bat Ochir recalled that his father, an experienced hunter, told him about hunters who cave up a hole in snow, if happen to spend night outside. With mountain valley wide open for winds, the snow layer was not thick enough, the very reason he chose this place for pasturing animals. He had to gather lots of snow if to make a snow cave. Wind blows across wide open stretches of Central Asia. He began to look around and spotted a downing in ground filled with snow. It took almost two hours to crawl and reach the spot. Once there he took off painfully slow his coat, spread it and then rolled on it. All this took long time. After every move he had to lay still trying to pacify the waves of pain shooting through entire body. “I was hurrying as the shadows were stretching and evening chill could be felt. I spread the deel on ground, rolled over it, then used one sleeve to wrap around my waist, and covered my body with the other half of the coat. Then put my nose to the another sleeve to allow breathing.” “My three dogs were circling around whining, and when I finally settled, two of them came and lay down from sides, with the third dog nestled in my legs.” “At night I could not sleep of cold, pain and fear of freezing alive.” “Only at noon next day, when sun warmed up air a bit, I could sleep for couple of hours. The awakening was terrible. My whole body stiffened and felt like filled with lead. I could not move my hands. The deel coat turned into a metal armour, because snow around melted from body heat and froze solid.” To distract from dark thoughts, he began to think about his 12-year-old son who came from the capital city to spend summer holidays with him. He also thought about his father with whom he spent most of life, each of his nine sisters and brothers. More he was thinking about his big and cheerful family, more he wanted to live. He was listening to the sounds of winter valley- magpies chirring, frozen tree branches cracks, faraway whining of horse. He did not call for help, reserving his throat for real need. The second night was extremely cold. On that night temperature dropped well below -36C, and though dogs again lay beside him warming up a bit, he could not contain but to shiver throughout the night from cold. Unable to sleep, he tried to move his all fingers, stretch body muscles. It was the only way not to freeze alive. On third day, after circling around and whining for a while, dogs left for home. He remained alone. He felt very thirsty, but he did not allow himself to eat snow because he remembered his father words not to eat snow in winter cold as it only makes inside colder. He only took small bits of snow to water mouth and then spew it out. "When I laid out there, buried under snow, I learned again how precious is life." Time was passing slowly. It was already fifth day he was laying buried in snow. He could not sleep because of cold. He already could not feel his feet and knew that they got frozen. He was hungry and thirsty, and moreover exhausted from constant chest pain. The patience was running out and thoughts of death were coming more often. The only hope that people will search for him was keeping him alive. The nephew returned home only on the fifth day after the accident. Being a young man in early 20s, he did not notice that animal shelter is not cleaned and the yurt not heated for long time. The nephews simply thought that uncle went to neighbors. Only in the evening he become concerned, and neighbors told him that they have not seen his uncles for days. One of herders told that few days ago he saw from distance a bridled horse grazing together with his horse herd. It was apparent that something happened and nephew decided to call relatives. “We arrived quite late in the evening and had to wait until morning to start search. Bat Ochir’s childhood friend came all the way from Baganuur town when heard the bad news. In early morning we all went to pasture and spread across the valley, shouting his name. We had very little hope that we will find him alive, it is simply impossible to survive such cold nights,” says sister Uranbilig. Recalls Bat Ochir: “I could not believe my ears when I heard people shouting behind a hill. I contained breath and was intently listening. Voices were nearing, and when I saw silhouettes of people appearing over the hill top, I began to shout “He-e-e-elp!” “Even when my close friend Bujuunai’s face leaned over me, and clearing snow from my face asked “Are you alive?” I still could not stop but to scream “He-e-e-elp!” When he was extracted from snow, he was all wet, with beard grown, completely exhausted with dehydration, pain and sleepless nights. He lost weigh over last six days, and when doctors of the Traumatology Hospital in the capital saw him, they could not believe that he survived six days in the middle of winter, staying outside and with such injuries. Doctors had to amputate his two frozen feet. “During these long six days I discovered again how precious is life. I survived only thanks to my father, now I understand that every word he was telling me was a life lesson. This is all my fault. I knew that stirrups are a bit tight for thick winter boots. I knew that the horse is kinky and has not been ridden for a year. My father was always telling me to think before doing anything. Now I learnt this lesson, but in hard way.” Even with his feet lost, Bat Ochir dreams of roaming free on horse across steppes. Even though relatives insist that he move to the city and stay with them, Bat Ochir is not planning to change his way of life. He wants to return to his native Mountain of Red Willows and be a horse breeder as before. “If I only could climb onto horse, I can handle the rest. And I will live much better than before, because now I know too well what a joy is to be alive.” P.S. With his two feet amputated, Bat Ochir now needs to raise about US$ 15,000 to make artificial limbs. If you admire the will and stamina of this Mongolian nomadic man, please make direct donations to Bat Ochir Oidov, Golomt Bank, MASTER credit card No: 5546 1614 6080 2697 or call his sister in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar– Mrs. Uranbilig, mobile phone +(976) 99963139 
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